I shoved all my stuff in my bag and carried my things off the stage as quickly as possible knowing the other band was waiting on us. As I was racing off stage, I caught Matt and Jenny chatting. It pissed me off to see them acting so carefree knowing Chasing Sunsets was about to go on. They were big in Boise. If we wanted to have any chance of breaking into the scene, it would be a good idea not to makethemwait.
I shot them both a look before walking off thestage.
As soon as I set my gear down, I went back up to help Matt with his drum set. He was grabbing things by the time I made it to him, and Jenny was taking care of her stuff too. Within minutes we had the stage cleared off enough for the next band togoup.
I took a deep breath and looked around. The place was crowded, and I couldn’t help but notice a few girls I didn’t recognize giving me looks of appreciation. It was flattering, but I was looking for someone. A special girl with an affinity forcherries.
I finally spotted her at the bar. I should have known. She was sitting with a glass of soda in her hand, which she lifted in an unspoken salute when oureyesmet.
I walked over, bumping into people who were making their way closer to the stage for theheadliner.
“Hey,” I said with a smile as I got close enough for her tohearme.
“You guyssoundedgood.”
I lifted my brows. “Onlygood?”
Michelle's face stayed stoic. “Honestly, I’m not even sure you know what you’re doing. Maybe you’refakingit.”
She got up and started to walk off, but I jumped in front of her before shegotfar.
“Fakingit?"
"Uh,huh."
"How would I prove that it wasn’t aflukethen?”
“They say if you truly know something, you can teach it. Give me that guitar lesson youpromisedme.”
That again. For some reason, it wasn’t nearly as scary as it was the first time Michelle asked. My recent performance made me brave as I flirted with Michelle. “If it’s theonlyway.”
"Itis."
"Then I guess I'd betterdoit."
“I’ll hold my applauseuntilthen.”
We spent a few minutes figuring out the details and agreed that the next afternoon would work for both of us. I planned to go to Michelle's house for the lesson. I didn’t want heratmine.
“Until then.” She got up and started walking towardthedoor.
“You’re not going to stay and listen to ChasingSunsets?”
“Nope. I saw who I wanted to see already," she said, finally giving me her brilliantsmile.
I watched her leave with a grin of my own plastered tomyface.
ChapterNineteen
Michelle
Istill couldn’t believehow good Rainier was the night before. Every time I thought about the way he sounded up on the stage, my stomach started doing somersaults. I couldn’t explain why I was so affected, but I knew it was going to be a long morning. Work was the last thing I wanted to do right now. What I wanted was to get to the part of the day where I saw Rainieragain.
I grabbed the book he had suggested before going to Between The Pages. My dad had stopped ordering new inventory with the closure approaching quickly, so I couldn’t imagine there would be a lot to do at work. Besides, I was getting into the story, as much as I hated to admit it. There even was a hot musician as the loveinterest.
Not that I was looking for love or a hotmusician…
I hadn’t thought about my shift very much beyond knowing it would drag, so when I saw Jenny opening the gate to the store for our opening shift, I stopped in my tracks. Girls like her didn’t intimidate me. I was the intimidator. But sitting with her for the next few hours wouldn’t be funeither.
