“You,” Jerry said, pointing to me. “Get your ass backstage.”
Moving over to Mare, I leaned in for a kiss.
She held my face and looked me in the eye. “You’re gonna do great, babe,” she said against my lips.
Once I made it to the back, I settled in with a couple other performers who were already here. They were busy readying their instruments or looking over their music. I took out my guitar, put on my headphones, and listened to some Lifehouse.
It was what calmed me most. If I were to look at my stuff, I’d start panicking. Instead, I listened to other people’s music, songs that have inspired me to write my own shit.
One by one, the other artists headed out to do their thing.
The closer it got to my time to go…the calmer I became.
This was where I was supposed to be.
A girl I didn’t recognize tapped me on the shoulder. “Chase Parker?”
I nodded. She waved for me to follow her and brought me to the short staircase leading to the stage.
I was up next.
“Let’s hear it for Milly!” Jerry yelled. The crowd cheered and clapped. “I think many of you out there came for our next performance. This is his Friday night live debut, so give a warm welcome to Chase Parker!”
The crowd roared as I walked on stage. The spotlight blinded me, the crowd a blur as I stared out. I positioned the stool to the side of the mic stand to allow my guitar to hang just right. As I sat, I lightly strummed a few strings getting their attention.
“Thanks, everyone, for that warm welcome. I hope I live up to your expectations tonight. Let’s give this a whirl, why don’t we.”
I felt like my life had finally begun as I sang the first word.
I knew I should go straight to Mare, but I needed a moment to myself back here. A moment to allow what just happened to sink in.
I played a gig on stage. With my own music. And people loved it. I got a standing ovation.
The adrenaline coursing through my body made me tremble to the point I had to put my guitar on the floor. The sweat poured from my temples as I took deep breaths to calm myself.
I felt amazing.
As I continued to relish the moment, I heard the next performer take the stage. I figured it was time for me to head out front. Opening my guitar case, I set my guitar inside.
“Chase?” I thought it would be Jerry, but when I turned around, the person standing there was a stranger in a suit.
“Yeah, can I help you?”
As I rushed to make my way to Maryellen, I banged against people left and right in the crowd. I wound up being backstage for an hour after I finished.
She was swaying to the music of the performer currently on stage. I hated taking her away from this since she was enjoying it, but we needed to talk.
“Mare,” I said in her ear. She turned and her eyes went wide.
“Where have you been? I was getting worried.”
“Grab your stuff, we’re heading out.”
I wasn’t giving her much time, forcing her to follow quickly behind as I snaked my way through the crowd to the front door. Her grip on the back of my shirt was the only way I knew she kept up.
Once outside, I turned to face her.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “After you played, I thought I would see you. You were fantastic, by the way. I mean, you were so good, Chase. The whole place went crazy for you.”
