Page 11 of Call and Response

I gave her back that same energy, but kept in the back of my mind that it wouldn’t go beyond the stage.

I couldn’t afford to let any kind of personal drama fuck up this opportunity.

Once the song was done, Audra smiled at me, shifting out of performance mode as she stood from the keyboard. “So… what do you think?” she asked. “We’re good together, right?”

“Randomly as fuck… we are,” I agreed.

She grinned even wider. “I don’t know how random it is. I think it was meant to be.” She glanced up at the big clock on the side of the conference room. “In about ten minutes, there’s gonna be a bunch of people in here, making sure I’m ready to go on, putting mics on us, all that. So… last chance to escape.”

I shook my head. “Nah, I don’t need that,” I assured her.

“So you’re good then?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

CHAPTERTHREE

Audra

Debutingnew music in front of a crowd was… a tough sell.

It wasn't something I'd recommend to even the biggest superstars I'd written music for. Of course there were people who wouldn't hear the song until it was performed live, but there was lots and lots to be said for the people who would have already heard it, learned the lyrics, and taught themselves complementary choreography to go alongside it all.

That signaled to others they were listening to a hit.

Whatever grievances one might have with “groupthink”, it often worked out favorably for artists. Lots of people—maybe the majority—needed people to tell them they were listening to a good song.

Otherwise they wouldn't know.

Less insidiously, seeing someone else enjoy something influenced you to give it a chance.

Not leveraging any of that was… a choice.

It was the level of risk I’d decided on for myself.

For some reason.

Not forsomereason, actually.

It was because I was a coward.

I never could make myself just post the damn music.

But now that I was on this stage… Now that I'd invitedNobleonto this stage, now that there were thousands of excited faces staring back at us, ready for us to put on a showon this stage… there was no turning back.

“Mahogany Heights, make some noooooise!”

Ah, hell.

Whythatcame out as soon as I opened my mouth to address the crowd, I had no clue. It wassocorny and overdone, enough to cringe over, but it didn't matter.

The Heights made the noise.

Excitement pierced through the nervousness pricking at my chest and I smiled at the crowd, placing my fingers in the appropriate places on my guitar. I looked at the band, looked at Noble, and then… It was time to perform.

Suddenly it wasn't a decision to worry about anymore, it was simply an imperative to follow through on. I started singing my brand-new song that no one knew and maybe only ten or so people had ever heard before.

By the time I made it to the second round of the chorus, everybody was singing along.

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