Page 17 of Movers and Shakers

“I liked your song,” I blurted. “Lila Wilde, huh?”

Oh, God.Why would I bring up my alter ego?

“Yeah. She’s an interesting artist.”

“She’s popular, that’s for sure.”

“I’m guessing you’re not a fan.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You have that look on your face that many people get when they don’t like her.”

“I wouldn’t say I don’t like her. But I’m not herbiggestfan. Her newest songs are . . . repetitive.”

It hurt to say, but it was true for many of my longer-term fans. I couldn’t seem to make everyone happy.

Barry had hinted he had been a fan for a while and I knew he had to be in that boat. I wasn’t a fan of hurting my own feelings, but I had to know his honest thoughts when he wasn’t faced with the pop star herself.

He would be nice to Lila—everyone was to her face. But the real opinions were online or when I wasn’t around. It was the only way to get the real feedback.

“I guess you could say that. But even the repetitive ones, I like figuring out their meaning. She puts something into each one. You have to listen very hard to find them.”

The lyrics he referred to were usually background vocals or some hidden line I snuck into the song that got past Mia’s eyes. He had to have listened a lot even to catch that.

“What would you do if you met her?” I asked. I was playing with fire here, but I couldn’t stop.

“I’d treat her like anyone else, which is the best I can.”

“And what would yousay?”

“I’d say hello like a normal person.”

“But what if this was youronechance to say whatever you wanted to her?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I like to think about the what-ifs.” I shrugged, wondering if he was going to answer at all.

“Fine, then. If you really want to know, I’d say that she’d be the one person who gets me, even if she has no idea who I am.”

My heart pounded. There was no way I should see this man again—not as Lila. But those words had me rearranging my schedule in my head, wondering when I could come back.

Barry

“That is . . . a very romantic thing to say,” Rose replied. Her cheeks were red, and I wondered if it was because of the heat inthe building. She was almost as tall as me, but she hunched in a way that made her seem shorter.

“Well, when dealing with Lila Wilde, you have to go all out.”

“I think you’re right.”

I didn’t know why her smile was so wide while I talked about another woman, but it was captivating. The woman before me was beautiful with subtle freckles and full lips. If I hadn’t just spilled my guts to her about Lila, I’d be considering having an entirely different kind of night with her.

“You should go back to dancing,” I said. “You were having fun.”

“Oh, yeah. I should probably get back to it.” She turned away but then paused.

“What?”

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