Highway Song: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel (22 page)

She wrung me dry, and then toppled over to lie panting on my chest. Had that been her way of saying goodbye? Would she be back? Or would she be gone like the flighty groupies who sometimes hooked up with us from one town to another and then slipped away back home before we came offstage in the next town?

It hadn
’
t ever bothered me before. I knew the deal, and so did they. But none of them ever told me the kind of life story Amy had. I felt like knowing all that about her somehow bound her to me, and me to her. Like they say about when you save someone
’
s life, though I hadn
’
t saved hers. Not in any direct way, anyhow. What I felt was responsible for her. And if I believed that was all I felt, I
’
d better go by a bridge off a huckster on the street corner.

I was falling for her, and falling hard. And I didn
’
t know what to make of it. If she didn
’
t come back, what would I do about it? What
could
I do about it?

We
’
d worked with the two subs for about an hour when the door opened at the far end of the room. Everyone looked up, but I was the one to recognize the way she walked, striding toward us in her hurry-up waitress gait. I walked straight off the edge of the stage to meet her. Fortunately, it was only about a three-foot drop. I sprained my ankle, and she ran forward as if to catch me. I caught her up and kissed her hard, not caring if the others saw.

“
I thought you
’
d left me,
”
I said.

“
I thought about it. Rex, I
’
m not sure this is a good idea. They could see us together. They could come after you to get me. But
…”

“
But what, sugar?
”
I asked. Her answer would destroy me or let me live.

“
But I
…
I think I love you. I couldn
’
t leave like that.
”

I dived in for another long kiss, but let her slide down to stand on the floor. My knees were weak with relief. We kissed until the drummer tapped out the time on the side of his snare drum. One, two, three, four, and suddenly the air was crashing around us with a crazy rendition of
“
Here Comes the Bride
”
. It made both of us laugh so hard our lips came apart.

“
Okay, you guys, knock it off. Let
’
s get to work.
”

I have to admit, it scared me. I cared more about her than I wanted to. I
’
d left her hanging, too. She loved me? I wasn
’
t sure I even knew how to love someone. It made the lyrics to the next song we rehearsed particularly poignant.
“
Freebird
”
was always my favorite. Amy climbed up on the stage with us and pulled a tambourine out of one of the bags she had with her. The slow beat, punctuated with her instrument, settled over me heavily. When I looked at her, there were tears in her eyes.

I felt like crying myself, until the tempo changed. Axel slayed the guitar solo. When the last strains faded away, we had to take a break to regroup.

Amy

I
t was so wrong of me to go back. Even though I needed them to help me survive until I could break away, and they needed me to win this competition, I knew it was wrong to put them in danger. I wasn
’
t being self-serving in my belief that they needed me. I truly believed it. I never meant to say what I did to Rex, though.

Once I
’
d said it, I relaxed. He returned my feelings, or he didn
’
t. It really didn
’
t matter which, because I couldn
’
t let them matter. As soon as I was able, I
’
d have to leave, both for their safety and for mine. They were going to be more visible than ever after this, and I couldn
’
t afford to be. It was probably best he didn
’
t love me. There was no use breaking both of our hearts.

The next song just about did me in. I
’
d never felt those lyrics more deeply than I did that day. Rex called a break right afterward. While the other guys threw themselves into chairs and drank water, he and I went over the numbers we would do together. Our slot was an hour long, but we were last, so if we went over by a few minutes, it might not matter. Rex scratched out the play list with the length of each song and did the math. We cut one of my solos. I was left with
“
Piece of My Heart
”
as my only one, and it was going to be the counterpart to his
“
Freebird.
”
Taken together, I thought they were a perfect metaphor for our relationship.

We had a light lunch after rehearsal, and then it was time to leave for the venue. Rex took this time to ask me if I was going to have stage fright. I
’
d never been on a real stage. The places I
’
d sung karaoke sometimes had little stages, and I
’
d been on one where it was even big enough for a live band. But it was a far cry from the stadium where we
’
d be performing today.

“
A little late to worry about that now,
”
I answered.

“
You
’
re not going to throw up, or faint, or anything, when you see the crowd, are you?
”
he persisted.

“
I
’
m sure I won
’
t. But just in case, I
’
ll look at the crowd before we get onstage. Then I can do it more discreetly.
”
My sarcasm wasn
’
t lost on him.

“
Sorry,
”
he said.
“
It
’
s just
…”

“
I know. This is important to you. I get that. I won
’
t fuck it up for you.
”

He squeezed my hand.
“
I know you won
’
t. You look fucking amazing, by the way.
”

I was wearing one of my leather bustiers and the boots that hugged my calves up to my knees. I
’
d found a pair of long leather pants that fit like a glove to complete the outfit. I might die of heat stroke, but by damn, I
’
d look good.

“
I
’
ve been thinking,
”
Rex said.

“
Always a dangerous proposition,
”
I deadpanned before he could continue.

“
Ha ha. If what wins this competition for us is the fusion of our styles, you
’
ll have to stay with us. We can
’
t very well win a recording contract with one sound, and then not have the same sound when we record. What do you guys think?
”
he added, sweeping the bus with his gaze.

Axel chimed in.
“
Hey, that
’
s right. You
’
ll have to become an official member of the band, Amy.
”
Cole nodded his agreement.

“
Thanks, guys, but I don
’
t know.
”
Rex hadn
’
t been completely forthcoming about my situation. I looked at him for help. He shook his head slightly. Now wasn
’
t the time to bring it up.
“
I
’
ll think about it.
”

I was saved from further comment by our arrival at the stadium parking lot. Joe was driving, and he swung the bus expertly into an empty space near others like it. We made our way to the promoter
’
s box and let her know we were there. She mimed wiping sweat from her brow and smiled.
“
You have about half an hour before you can set up on stage. Best of luck.
”

Forty-five minutes later, I stepped up to the mic with Rex and belted out
“
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
”
to warm up the crowd. Rex followed with a couple of familiar tunes, then sneaked in an original. By this time, the audience was on its feet dancing. A light rain dampened the air, but not the spirits of the crowd. Most of them ignored it, while a few broke out umbrellas. Rex signaled us to pause before going into the next number. He leaned over and spoke in my ear.

“
Wanta take an opportunity? Do you know
‘
Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
’”

Oh, yeah. I knew it. I
’
d heard it a hundred times in our house in Texas. I nodded, and he somehow conveyed the line-up change to the guys. Since we hadn
’
t rehearsed it, I only came in on the chorus, harmonizing naturally. The crowd loved it. We wound up with my solo and then the
pi
è
ce
 
de
 
r
é
sistance
, guaranteed to keep them singing all the way home. Rex
’
s soulful
“
Freebird,
”
with Axel
’
s amazing guitar solo finishing it out, brought the house down. We took bow after bow, with the audience yelling
‘
Encore!
’
But the promoter finally came onstage and quieted them.

“
I
’
m sorry, folks, but we have to leave it at that. One more hand for Rex Beck and Oklahoma Sweet Crude, and then please exit the stadium immediately. The Redhawks would like to have their field back for practice. Thank you all for coming!
”

The anticlimactic end deflated the audience, and they began leaving immediately, though there was a smattering of applause. Even so, we were pumped full of adrenaline from the standing ovation we
’
d received before. I helped wherever I could in packing up the gear and clearing the stage. Rex and Mark were talking to the contract musicians, so I congratulated Axel on his virtuoso performance.

“
All in a day
’
s work,
”
he answered. But he was grinning ear to ear.

I
’
d thought they were great for their gig at Smokey
’
s. Being in the midst of the excitement was so much better. And I was sure, even though I couldn
’
t hear the sound as a whole like the audience did, that it had been the best performance of their lives.

Rex came over and said to Axel and me,
“
We
’
re going back to the motel for the night, but the studio guys are going to meet us for dinner. We have things to discuss.
”

I hadn
’
t looked any further into the future than this afternoon. Even though Rex had invited me to join the band if they won, we wouldn
’
t know that for another couple of days while the votes were counted and validated. I had no idea what they were planning next. But as long as I was with them, I was content to drift. Time enough to make plans when they were ready to move on.