Halfway to Someday
Rockstar Romance!
Snowed In!
Stalker Ex!
PTSD!
Nightmares!
Rockstar in Hiding!
Halfway to someday can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Halfway-Someday-Wild-Child-1-ebook/dp/B0BKYKSHHX
“What’s it like being onstage?”
That hadn’t been the question he’d been
expecting. Jesse had figured Ryker would start in on the brand of questioning
he’d engaged in ever since he’d caught a hint that Jesse might be a danger to
himself. His not pushing for an answer to those other questions was a welcome
reprieve. At least this was a question he could answer.
“A rush,” Jesse replied. “But more. That’s
too simple a word. I’ve heard other musicians say it’s like being high, but
I’ve never been high, so I don’t know. To me, it’s like standing in the face of
a line of waves rolling in and crashing over me one after the other, the rattle
of my bones, the shaking of my body like the drums, the shouts, and the people
clapping along to the beat.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Jesse rolled,
moved one of his pieces, then slid the die across the table toward Ryker.
“It’s also terrifying,” Jesse admitted.
“I remember the first time I stood in front of a crowd and had to sing. I
couldn’t move. I could barely breathe, my palms were sweating, and I was
clutching the microphone so tight I kept expecting it to shoot out from between
my fingers and hit the floor.”
Chuckling, Jesse recalled the memory
fondly. “I choked on the first word, and I’d written it. I opened my mouth, and
no sound came out. I remember thinking I needed to get off stage and not being
able to remember which way was shortest, but I couldn’t tear my eyes off the people
staring to look.”
Jesse watched Ryker contemplate which
piece to move, studying the board with an intensity that told him plenty about
the other man. Ryker was a planner, the kind of person who liked to look at all
the angles before committing himself to a decision.
Jesse continued with the rest of the
story, even though it was a bit bittersweet now. “Kyle looped an arm over my
shoulder and started singing, which shook me out of my panic and got me singing
too. I could always count on him to be there when I needed him, except when it
mattered most. I’d been on stage before that, but always with an instrument,
hiding out as part of a band. That was my first time being front and center and
I…well, I’m glad it got easier. Up there is the only place I’ve ever truly felt
like I mattered.”
“That’s a shame. You shouldn’t need to
perform to feel like you’re special.”
