Which was great. I didn’t need any unnecessary attention on me. Not tonight.Notever.
As we played the first song in our set, I tried to move to the music instead of standing stiffly. When I looked over at Owen, he stood still in front of the microphone, his shoulders hunched while he gripped the microphone with twohands.
Matt had just hit his drumsticks together for the second song when Owen’s voice rang out through thespeakers.
“I…I’m gonnabesick.”
He ran off the stage toward the men’s bathroom without a backward glance back at us. I looked over at Carter who was looking back at Matt. I looked back at Matt whose eyes met mine. The look had returned. The one he wore most of the evening. The one that said he wasflippingout.
I turned back around toward the crowd, so many people standing there with looks of confusion on their faces. Rainier and the Go-Aways might not be my band, but I didn’t want to let my friends down. I didn’t want to let thecrowddown.
Tap,tap,tap.
My feet felt like they each weighed fifty pounds as I walked from my spot on the stage over to the microphone. I took a deep breath. And another. I wiped my hands on my jeans and looked back at Matt on the drums. I slowly nodded my headathim.
Instead of counting off with his drumsticks right away, like I thought he would, he continued to stareatme.
“Matt,” I yelled, and lifted my brows. If he waited too long, I was going to lose the small amount of courage I had. “Let’sdothis.”
He blinked a few times and shook his head before he lifted his arms, drumsticks in hand. One, two,three.
I found my cue and started playing my guitar. I listened as Carter also played his part on bass. I was still facing the back of the stage as I took one last, final, steadying breath. Thankfully, the current song had a lengthyintro.
When I finally forced myself to turn and face the crowd, I was surprised to hear them cheering. The lights aimed at the stage shone in my eyes, which meant I couldn’t see the audience very well. Even so, I closed my eyes as I positioned myself in front of the microphone, too afraid to look at the people staring back at me. I was nervous as hell about my rash decision and didn’t want to end up in the stall next to Owen puking my guts out. Better to tune them out and get itoverwith.
My voice was shaky as I started the first song I’d ever performed in front of a crowd. But even with the wobble, I managed to hit all the notes while still playing my guitar parts. When we finished, the crowd’s enthusiasm grew. With that, came a sliver ofconfidence.
I wasn’t sure what or who I hoped to see when I cracked my eyes open, but somehow they found Michelle in the crowd. I put a hand over my eyes blocking the light to see her better. She was in the same spot as the last time I was on stage, sitting at the bar with a drink in her hand. However, this time she wore a look of wonder instead of a scowl. It wasn’t quite a smile, but in it I saw approval. Somehow, I'd gained approval fromMichelle.
With that, I got another small boost of confidence. I looked over at Carter who had a wide grin on his face and back to Matt who had a similar expression on his. “Ready for another?” he asked over the sound of thecrowd.
“Hell,yeah.”
We started the next song in the set. A classic song that everyone loved. I could hear voices over our playing. It was unbelievable to be leading such a massive sing-along. Okay, that sounded cheesy, but it wasphenomenal.
I couldn’t explain how amazing it felt as we played song after song. I only missed a few chords as I balanced singing and playing. I thought that was pretty good considering it was the first time I’d done it anywhere other than the safety of my room. Before I realized it, we’d finished the last song intheset.
The crowd cheered loudly before dispersing and walking in differentdirections.
“Wow, Rainier, I didn’t know you could sing like that,” Carter said, coming over to me. “Matt, did you know he could singlikethat?”
“Yeah, dude,” he yelled back, before coming out from behind hisdrumset.
“Why haven’t you been singing for us insteadofOwen?”
“Because he doesn’t plan on staying in the band,” Matt answered for me. “He’s going back to school when fall rolls around. Aren’t you,Rainier?”
Way to put me on the spot. “Only another month or so until Cooper gets his cast offanyway.”
“Rainier,” Carter said, drawing my attention back to him. “If I knew you had that in you, I would have asked you to sing a longtimeago.”
“And you would have hated me even more when it was time for me to leave. This was a one-time deal. Just make sure Owen doesn’t drink before thenextshow.”
“Hold up. We don’t need to be making any rash decisions. Maybe you’ll sing at the next show instead of Owen.” Carter said, lifting hishands.
“I’d consider that a rash decision, Carter,” Matt joinedbackin.
“Especially since I’m just the fill-in,” I said, but the two guys had shifted their bodies so that I was the odd man out. They started in a heated debate on whether or not I was singing next week, if Owen was still in the band and what to do when Cooper’s arm finallyhealed.
