Rainier laughed again, and the sound caused flutters in my stomach. There was no reason I should be reacting the way I was. This wasn’t the first boy I’d ever talked to. He wasn’t even the cutest boy I’d evertalkedto.
Of course, there was something about the way he looked onstage.
It was obvious that Owen’s stage presence was choreographed. He would sigh into the microphone at just the right time, tilt his head just enough to look deeply moved by the words he sang. Owen even winked at the girls in the crowd at just right moment. It was all too perfect, and I always got an icky feelingfromit.
But not Rainier. Not only did he command the stage, but everything he did felt authentic. The way he took a deep breath before a tricky part to sing, the way he closed his eyes to tune the crowd out. Even the way he bit his bottom lip while he played the guitar had a way of drawingyouin.
I hadn’t been able to look away, and judging by the gaggle of girls standing suspiciously close to the stage, I wasn’t theonlyone.
“Teach me to play,” I blurted, causing Rainier to look up from his work. He’d just finished putting a bunch of cords into his backpack. This time he didstand.
“What?’
“Guitar. I wantlessons.”
“You want me to teach you how to play guitar?” he asked slowly putting the backpack over his shoulder and grabbing the guitar case in theoppositehand.
“Is that so hard tobelieve?”
“I think you’re caught up in the emotion of the night. It takes a lot of practice to learnhowto–”
“Which is why you’re the perfect person to teach me. You’ve obviously practicedalot.”
“Are you teasing me or feedingmyego?”
“Both? Here, just to show you how serious I am, I’ll even help you with your stuff.” I reached over to grab the small box that rested on top of his speakerthing.
“Don’t,” he said, quickly lifting his hand, but it wastoolate.
“Holy cow, that thing is heavy.” It was so small. There was no reason it should weighsomuch.
“I’ll grab my amp,” Rainier said, reaching over to grab the box, quickly brushing his fingers against mine. “You can take my backpack and getthedoor.”
“Deal.”
The backpack was surprisingly light after I tried to carry the amp. I walked in front of Rainier toward his car but kept looking back to make sure he was behind me. He was, and he carried his case and amp like it was nothing. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe I was still excited by his performance and was impressed by just about anything at thispoint.
“What?” he finally asked, after I’d looked back the second orthirdtime.
“Nothing.” But it wasn't nothing. I needed to figure out what wasgoingon.
“That’s me over there.” Rainier nodded his head toward the corner of the parking lot as we walkedoutside.
“You drive a grocery-getter?” For all our shifts together, I’d never seen hisvehicle.
“The price was right, and it fits all my gear, so I can’tcomplain.”
“I guess not.” I reached for the back door. It was unlocked and opened right away. “But how do you expect to get a date when you drive thisbeast?”
“Well, after tonight’s show, I don’t think it’llmatter.”
That cocky bastard. One night on stage and he was already in love with himself. I swung around to tell him so much, but my words got caught in my throat when I saw his expression. He startedlaughing.
“Veryfunny.”
“You should have seen your face.” We stood there smiling at each other for a minute before he spoke again. “Nice name, bytheway.”
“I wish I could take credit for it, but my parents gave ittome.”
