Page 37 of If Ever

9

"Chelsea, you in here?" Dominic's voice wakes me from a deep slumber.

"Yeah, I was just catching some quick shut eye." I sit up and shake myself awake trying to figure out how long I've been out. After I sat through hair and makeup, I was exhausted from my late night with Tom and needed a nap.

Dominic appears in the doorway. "I've got good news and bad news."

"Okay." I can't imagine what his news could be. I rub the sleep from my eyes, careful not to smudge my eye makeup.

"We were voted in for the encore dance!"

"No way!"

He grins. "We've got a slot in the schedule to run through a few things before dress rehearsal. You need to get to wardrobe."

"Oh my God this is so exciting. Wait. What about Tom? He flew back to New York."

“That’s the bad news. We'll have the studio band in his place. One more reason to hurry up so we can run through it."

I'm bummed that Tom is missing our encore and wish I'd asked for his number so I could share the good news. By now he should be at 30,000 feet jetting across the country. I rush to wardrobe and slip into my filmy white dress that floats like clouds when I dance.

My head is buzzing with every detail from last night—Tom's laughter, dancing in his arms, and sipping drinks into the early hours.

"You looked like you were having a good time last night," Cassie says, appearing out of nowhere.

"It was fun to get great scores."

She takes a swig from her water bottle. "I mean the after party. I had a thing for him once too." Cassie tilts her head and gives a sly smile.

And now I have another reason to dislike this woman. Why did she have to try to spoil my memories? Inside the sound stage, energy buzzes as the crew prepares for the show, changing lighting booms and bringing in new set pieces. I find Dominic talking with the new piano player. The guy has his back to me. He's wearing a loose T-shirt, faded jeans and old chucks. My mind is playing tricks on me, I'm sure of it, but I can't hold down the hope bubbling inside.

Dominic looks up. "Hey, Chelsea."

The piano player turns and Tom gives me a quirky smile.

"Oh my God, you're here!" We all grin at each other.

"Looks like we've got the band back together," Dominic jokes.

"My flight was delayed and the call came through as I was about to board," Tom says.

Dominic excuses himself to talk to Larry. I join Tom at the piano. "I didn't think I'd see you again."

His mesmerizing eyes capture mine. "I guess it was meant to be."

My breath catches and before I get a chance to respond, Dominic returns. "Here. We have enough time to run through the lifts and then once through the whole thing."

Tom takes his spot behind the piano and tickles the keys in a quick warm up. "Do you want an intro?" he asks.

"A two measure lead in would be great," Dominic responds.

We step to our places and I realize I haven't warmed up. Dominic was rehearsing pro numbers earlier, so probably didn't think of it either.

Dominic nods to Tom and he plays the lead in to our first lift. I force myself to focus on the task at hand instead of enjoying the fact that I get more time with Tom. I turn to Dominic and we mark the steps. I'm off a half beat, but still manage to pull it off.

"Let's run that again," he says to Tom then turns to me. "You seem distracted. Get your head in the game here."

"I'm sorry. All this is happening so fast."

---