Page 93 of That Reunited Feeling

Two words to go.

Dominique puts her arm around me and gives me a subtle nod.

Over her shoulder, my eyes catch Tom’s. He’s standing in the wings, pumping his fist at me, egging me on, telling me I can do it, that he believes I can do it.

The music stops. The Note is next.

I want to throw up.

Dominique squeezes my shoulder.

She takes a lungful of air, drops her head back and holds her mic over itlike it’s a bottle of water she’s pouring down her throat.

Her courage, her belief in herself and me to just go for it, is the shot in the arm that makes me realize if I don’t try, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

I grab some air, strike the same pose as Dominique, and together we throw ourselves at the note.

My voice wavers and splinters, isn’t quite on pitch. Fuck. I need to back out of this, drop an octave or something.

She squeezes my shoulder again. She’s note-perfect.

I force myself to reach for it.

Almost.

One more push.

And I’m there.

I grab that note with both hands and hang onto it.

I’m in perfect harmony with my idol.

This might be the most satisfying thing I have ever done in my life.

And with a bang on the drums, the band joins back in, and my whole body relaxes. It’s like that feeling right after a great massage when every muscle is free of tension for the first time in months.

The crowd roars. Dominique grabs my hand and thrusts it in the air. “Hannah Hepburn, everyone. Remember that name.”

She leans into my ear. “Fucking ace.”

And with that, she jumps off the platform and retakes her spot at the front of the stage.

High on adrenaline, I feel like if I jumped off with her, I might actually fly.

I grip the mic again, but this time my hands are trembling for a completely different reason. My whole body is buzzing with a sense of achievement.

My attention instinctively flicks back to the wings where Tom is clapping, his hands over his head, a knowing smile on his face, nodding as if to say, “I told you you could.”

28

TOM

“Y

ou are flying high off that performance, huh?”

Hannah is virtually vibrating beside me on the back seat of the car. Her eyes are wide and bright, her back straight like she’s ready to spring into action, her smile broad, her face glowing.

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