Page 14 of Smoky Mountain Dreams
Christopher double checked his appearance, pleased enoughwith what he saw, and took off for his locker. Ten minutes until show time. Nowwas when his hands started shaking, and his knees knocking, until the blessedrelief of being in the spotlight finally fell on him, and it all came togetherin song and applause. In those moments, even the murmur of disappointment thatalways greeted him when people were expecting Lash didn’t really touch him.
Backstage, staying away from the bustle of the stage handsand the anxiety of the other performers, Christopher chanced a peek through theside curtain. The outdoor theater house was packed, every seat filled, and somepeople even stood along the back row. The temperature had dropped enough nowthat the sun had set that they’d turned on the overhead heat lamps to keep thecrowd warm.
The opening notes from the band reached his ears. Lucy,Austin, and Maria had already stepped into their places. Christopher rubbed hisshaking hands together, his eyes skimming the rapt audience as he listened forhis cue. Then his heart seemed to stop and stutter, squeezing extra hard in hischest. He felt a burst of adrenaline so harsh that it seemed like a light mightshoot through the top of his head and pierce the night sky.
Jesse was in the audience. There he sat, merrily eatingpopcorn in the first row of the second tier with his eyes trained on the stage.He wore a light brown leather jacket and multi-colored scarf, and lookedabsolutely gorgeous.
Christopher’s cue sounded, and he didn’t have time to thinkabout Jesse’s presence anymore. He walked onto the stage, hands up-turned, witha smile on his face. Then he sang, his heart lifting with the notes. Maria’ssoprano took the moment even higher, until it felt like they might both takeflight.
If there was a groan of disappointment, he didn’t hear it,and if most people in the audience were frowning because he wasn’t Lash, hedidn’t see, because his eyes kept falling back to where he knew Jesse sat.
After the show, Christopher didn’t follow the rest of thecast back to the dressing rooms. He darted out from behind the curtain as thetheater started to empty, hoping Jesse would still be there. As he trotted downthe center aisle, he nodded and shook hands, thanking people who were excitedto see him after the performance.
By the time Christopher made it through the crowd to thesecond tier, he was sure Jesse wouldn’t be there, but he was wrong. Gorgeousand grinning Jesse sat in his seat, his legs crossed ankle-on-knee, stilleating from the small bucket of popcorn. He looked calm and collected, whileChristopher was a sweaty mess.
“Hi.” Jesse’s dark eyes glittered with amusement. Heindicated, with a wave of his hand, the people that Christopher had justmanaged to escape. “And you said you didn’t have any fans.”
Christopher chuckled. “I don’t, but they were feelinggenerous after enjoying the show more than they’d anticipated when it was meinstead of Lash that walked onto the stage.”
“Handshakes. Autographs. It sure looked like fans to me.”
Christopher rolled his eyes, but a goofy, pleased smilebroke over his face. If he hadn’t been so worried about missing Jesse, thepeople clamoring for his attentionwouldhave beenpretty cool. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve got a season pass.” Jesse said, grinning around hispopcorn.
“And you just thought tonight would be a good time to useit?”
“Yep.”
“Interesting timing don’t you th—” Christopher broke off. Anolder man, probably nearly seventy, had stopped next to him with anoutstretched hand.
“Good show, youngster,” he said, as Christopher held hispaper-thin grip. “You ain’t no Lash Hinkins but you ain’t bad. Nope, you ain’tbad.”
“Thank you, sir,” Christopher said. “I’m happy to hear it.”
“He’s always glad to have a new fan,” Jesse chipped in, ashit-eating smile on his face that made Christopher feel like he might start tolaugh just looking at him.
“Well, you can count me as one of those,” the man said,patting Christopher on the shoulder. “And my wife too. She thought you werereal cute up there. Real cute.”
Jesse’s eyebrows went up and down, and Christopher had tobite his cheek to keep his smile from morphing into a guffaw.
“Real cute indeed,” Jesse added.
Christopher felt his stomach leap at the blatant flirt. Theman looked confused by Jesse’s comment, but then he broke away toward the exit,calling as he went, “Like I said, good job, young ‘un!”
“That’s two confirmed fans I’ve got now,” Christopher said,wiping at the sweat on his upper lip, hoping he didn’t look like he was glowingtoomuch from the perspiration. “You and him.”
“Three. Don’t forget his wife.”
Christopher laughed softly and shook his head. The crowd hadalmost entirely dispersed, concentrated in small knots working to unravel outthe exits. “Seriously, you’re just here because you have a season pass? Youdidn’t have anything better to do tonight?”
“Pretty much. I had this guy stand me up earlier. I mean, itwas just a work meeting, but I’d hoped we could get coffee after it was over. Icleared my schedule and everything. But then he canceled, and I thought tomyself, you’ve got that Smoky Mountain Dreams pass and you haven’t been usingit nearly enough.” He shrugged. “I like to get my money’s worth. You know howit goes.”
“You cleared your schedule?”
Jesse smiled. “Amanda made that easy for me. She’s helpfullike that.”
“For coffee? With me?”
