Tony and I joined in the enthusiastic applause at the end of the musical. I found myself watching him and enjoying the sight of his broad smile. I mentally shook myself.Knock it off. You’re just friends. I had to keep telling myself that, even though Tony seemed to accept our arrangement. He hadn’t even pressed me for sex, although I really wanted him to.
When the house lights came on, Tony asked, “Where are you supposed to meet the musical director?”
I pointed toward the front of the small stage. “On the right side. He said he’d be out about fifteen minutes after the end of the show.”
“So we have a little time,” he said. He watched the rest of the audience file toward the exits. “It’s been a minute since I’ve gone to a show. It’s kind of a shame since I live here.”
I shrugged. “You have a business to run. So do I. And show tickets aren’t cheap.”
“True on all counts,” he replied with a smile. “I didn’t know you ran your own business though. What do you do?”
I felt myself flush. “Oh. I’m a web designer and graphic artist.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “After I left school and…well, everything else happened, I went to the community collegeto get some marketable skills. I found out my creativity didn’t end with the keyboard.”
“At least not the musical kind,” he quipped.
That surprised a laugh out of me. “True.”
“You’ll have to show me some of your work sometime,” Tony said.
I shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe. I’m sure your brother is far more talented.”
He shook his head. “Michael is no artist. He can build a website, but we have someone else do the graphics because he sucks at it.”
“Ah, okay.”
We fell into a comfortable silence while we waited for the rest of the audience to leave the theater. Once there was a clear opening near the stage, we made our way down the aisle to the right-hand side.
When we saw a middle-aged Black man walk onto the stage, Tony leaned over and asked, “You want me to wait for you outside to give you some privacy?”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. I don’t think this will take long.”
“Okay,” he replied.
I couldn’t say why I wanted Tony there, but it felt right for him to be near me for this. I walked forward and extended my hand. “Mr. Miles?”
The other man smiled and shook my hand. “Call me David. You must be Greg. Lacey had a lot of good things to say about you.”
My cheeks heated. “That’s very kind of her.”
“How long have you been working at City Lights?” he asked.
I shifted uncomfortably. “Saturday was my first night.”
His brows rose. “You got Saturday night right out of the box? You must be good.” He gestured toward the back of the stage,where a studio upright piano sat next to a rather extensive drum set. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve got?”
I blew out a soft breath and nodded. I’d prepared for this possibility. I sat on the bench and opened the fallboard. “Do you want me to play something from this show?”
His smile widened to a grin. “Absolutely.”
I rested my fingers on the keys for a moment, remembering what I had practiced. Then I played the show’s opening number from beginning to end. When I finished, I looked over at David. He was still smiling. “That was fantastic. How about you play the ballad from the second act?”
I nodded. “You got it.” Lucky for me, I’d run through the whole show several times over the weekend and on Monday.
After I finished a third song, David put his hand on my shoulder. “You’ve convinced me. Let’s exchange contact information, and I’ll send you a contract. You are in the union, right?”
“Yes. I’ve been working all over the City for a while, even when I lived in Jersey.”
He raised a brow. “Please tell me you live in New York now.”
