Waiting in the Wings by Melissa Brayden Page B

you couldn’t have picked a better place to debut. I have
    a feeling you’re going to like it here.” “I think I already do.”
    Everyone chatted animatedly as we walked up the steps leading to the hotel. I looked around for Adrienne at that point, but had somehow lost her in the shuffle of bags and the bustling crowd. I was disappointed I didn’t get to say good night, but reminded myself calmly I’d get to see Adrienne every day in the foreseeable future.
    After receiving my key from the tour manager, I headed up to the room that would be my home for the next two weeks. I hadn’t been in the room ten minutes when I heard a knock at the door. Figuring it was Lanie, I bounded to the entryway, still excited about my new surroundings. I pulled the door open and smiled when I saw Adrienne waiting there.
    “I hope I’m not bothering you. But we didn’t get a chance to say good night so I thought I’d stop by on the way to my room.”
    “Well, that’s incredibly sweet of you,” I answered, taking a step toward her into the hallway.
    “I also wanted to thank you for the company today. It made the
    time fly.”
    “That’s good news. I was worried you were still upset about your tragically poor showing in Twenty Questions.”
    “If you’d stuck to the rules,” she said vehemently, “I would have dominated that game and you know it. I see a rematch in our future.”
    I pretended to mull over that prospect. “Deal.”
    “In the meantime, young lady,” Adrienne said, as she backed up down the hallway. “Get lots of rest tonight and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    I nodded, taking her in. Her hair was pulled up in a haphazard ponytail. She was wearing the pajama bottoms and a T-shirt from the bus ride and was disheveled from the day of traveling. Somehow, she still managed to look utterly adorable. I took a breath
    and suppressed the undying urge I had to chase her down the hall for the kiss good night I so desperately wanted. Instead, I ran my hand through my hair and returned to my less than enthralling job of unpacking my life from a suitcase.
    ❖

    This was the day. Tonight I would take the stage for the first time in Clean Slate. The butterflies had already started. I was meeting Lanie and Georgette for breakfast before our sound check at the theater. As far as Adrienne was concerned, I had decided to turn over a new leaf as of that morning. I had to force her out of my head and focus on the bigger task at hand, my opening night.
    I arrived at The Little Red Hen at ten a.m. and was surprised to see Lanie and Georgette had already snagged a table in the outdoor area in front of the quaint little cafe. For once, Lanie was early. Now I knew she must be excited.
    They were sipping coffee and smiled at me as I approached. “Well, look at the early birds,” I said. “Can I take a photo of this moment? I’m not sure I’ll ever see this again.”
    I had a seat and opened the menu, my eyes zeroing in on the specialty espresso drinks. I was such a coffee whore. Normally, I relegated myself to a simple house blend, but on such a monumental day, I decided to indulge a little and go with the cinnamon roll latte.
    “How are you feeling about the big night?” Georgette asked. “Bring it on,” Lanie answered most assuredly. “I couldn’t
    be more ready to finally get going with this thing. Plus, Jenna’s a kickass Alexis and I’m going to love watching Sienna’s face when the audience goes crazy for her.”
    “I can only dream,” I said. “But seriously, I think the anticipation of finally starting in the show has gotten bigger than actually going on for the first time. Once that initial performance is out of the way, it’ll all be downhill. Now, if we could just skip today and get to tonight, I’ll be set.”
    Georgette patted my hand. “You guys have nothing to worry about. You should see some of the train wrecks I’ve seen put into this
    show before they were ready. Train wrecks ! You’re both