Page 37 of Counterpoint and Harmony

Once we’re all piled inside with Charlie in the middle, me behind Natalie in the passenger seat, and Lauren behind the driver, we head for our hotel. Keeping my voice low, I lean close to Charlie. “I really don’t mind reimbursing you for my room, at least.” I offered to cover my room before, sending Charlie a text as soon as Lauren walked away the day she told me the news.

Charlie’s big blue eyes are concerned as she looks up at me. “Why? Does it really bother you that much for me to pay? It’s really not a big deal.” She gives me a cheeky grin. “Besides, it’s a tax write-off. You guys are my special assistants for this show.”

Lauren claps on Charlie’s other side. “Yay! I’m so excited to see you perform again. Are you going to do the same set as last time?”

Charlie shakes her head. “No. The whole point is that every show is different. Not that I don’t repeat songs at all, but I try to do one or two that no one’s heard before, plus a mix of old favorites. It’ll be fun, though.”

“Charlie’s trying out her new ballad for the first time this weekend,” Natalie puts in from the front seat. I’m left blinking at the exchange, feeling completely out of the loop. I’ve never seen Charlie perform before. Ever. Not on the piano, not as Charlotte James. Saturday will be my first time.

Turning to look at me, Charlie offers a tentative smile. “I’m glad you’ll get to be there this time.”

“Me too.” I push aside my own trepidation about us, this weekend, her footing the bill—and holy shit, I don’t even want to know how big that bill is—and give her a reassuring smile. “Thanks for all of this. The plane, the hotel, two highly coveted spots for your show. All just to give us moral support.”

She shrugs like it’s no big deal and quickly looks down at her hands. “I’m happy to do it. It was time for another show anyway. Why not be there for my friends at the same time if I can?”

Lauren throws her arm around Charlie and drags her into a tight hug. “You’re the best, Charlie!”

Charlie laughs at Lauren’s enthusiastic display. I join in, but limit myself to a quick squeeze of her thigh. Once she’s free of Lauren’s grip, Charlie slides her arm through mine and lays her head on my shoulder. Lauren gives me a look over Charlie’s head, then faces out the window, but not before I see a satisfied smile on her face. I guess I have Lauren’s approval. Which makes me feel better than it has any right to. But she was pretty pissed at me when I wasn’t talking to Charlie. So she’d be within her rights as Charlie’s friend to want me out of the picture still.

Soon we’re at the hotel, and we wait in the car with the driver while Natalie takes care of check-in. Apparently this is standard procedure for Charlie. Weird.

Natalie hops back in the car, and we pull around to the back of the hotel where a man in a black suit meets us.

The driver gets out and unloads our luggage while Natalie goes to the door to talk to the suit. She waves from the door, and Charlie pats my leg. “That’s our signal. Let’s go. Natalie will give us our keys when we get in the elevator.”

Charlie puts on a pair of large black sunglasses and gets a baseball cap out of her purse, which she pulls low over her forehead. Lauren moves faster than I do, hopping out of her door, and Charlie’s right behind her, grabbing her rolling suitcase and making a beeline for Natalie and the door. Lauren’s not far behind, her case hanging off one shoulder and her suitcase rolling behind her. I scramble to catch up, hefting my case onto my back and grabbing my luggage, relying on my long legs to close the distance between me and the girls.

As soon as I pass through the door that Natalie’s still holding open for me, we follow the man in the suit down a nondescript hall to a set of elevators, the driver bringing up the rear.

All five of us pile into the elevator, and Natalie turns and starts passing out miniature folders emblazoned with the hotel’s logo containing our room keys. “Charlie and I are next to each other on one end of the hall. Lauren and Damian, you’re across from each other closer to the elevator. I made sure none of us were next to the ice machine, though, because that’s always the worst room. It’s loud, and I know you guys all need your rest. The hotel has been advised of your need to practice and merely request you stop before ten p.m.”

“Cool. I can manage that,” Lauren says. I just nod.

“Do you guys want to practice first or have dinner first?” Charlie asks. “I was thinking we could hang out and eat in my room. Unless you’d rather be alone tonight? I don’t know what your day-before-competition rituals might be.”

Lauren laughs. “Since we can’t practice too late, why don’t we do that first.” She looks at me, her face a question.

I blink at her and clear my throat. “Yeah. That works. I don’t have specific rituals or anything, and I don’t plan on practicing long.”

“Same,” says Lauren. “I just want to touch on everything, make sure it’s still under my fingers. Traveling always makes me feel weird when I play again for the first time, and I’d rather that not be tomorrow morning when I’m warming up.”

Charlie grins. “That makes sense.” She looks down at her phone. “Let’s meet in my room in ninety minutes. That should give you both enough time to settle in, practice, and maybe relax a bit. Natalie and I will order something in. Then we can chill out and watch a movie or something. Sound good?”

“Perfect,” trills Lauren. And once again, I nod.

Wow. This … wow. It’s so different being with Charlie when she’s not able to be anonymous anymore. I mean, I know, intellectually, that she’s famous. But she’s so real and normal that I don’t realize what that means on a daily basis.

This. Darting into the back, getting escorted by security, scattering once we reach the floor, Lauren and I heading one way while Charlie and her entourage go the opposite direction … it’s all completely surreal.

---