Annie raced to her car. It was after one. She had four hours to decide on a set list, get her equipment ready, find something to wear, and have her hair and makeup done. This was a job for a professional. She called her salon and waited on hold for five minutes.
“This is Jazz.”
Annie wished she had Jazz’s voice. It was raspy and sexy and everything hers was not. “Jazz. It’s Annie. I have an emergency.”
“Hair or makeup?”
“Both.”
“I can work you in right now, but once my two o’clock gets here, I’ll have to work on her.”
“Jazz, I’m opening for Bristol Baines tonight.” Annie knew she sounded winded and overly excited, but she was, and she didn’t care.
“The Bristol Baines? Are you kidding me?” Jazz hissed her questions as though this were a secret.
“No. I have to be at the arena at five, and I don’t trust my hair with anyone else. Plus, you know how bad I am at makeup.”
Jazz yelled, “Bex. Push all my appointments back thirty minutes. We have an emergency.”
“I love you, and I’ll see you in five minutes,” Annie said.
“I want every single detail. I’ll be waiting with coffee,” Jazz said.
Annie disconnected the call and checked her time. Jazz wouldn’t let her leave until she was perfect. She’d already decided to wear her tight black pants, her Doc Martens, and a sapphire sleeveless top that emphasized the color of her eyes. What if she wasn’t good enough or what if she had a meltdown on a stage that big? She needed to calm down. She did the only thing she knew what to do when life got overwhelming. She called her sister.
“What are you doing tonight and/or tomorrow night?” she asked.
“Hey, sis. What’s going on?”
Annie tried hard to keep her voice even, but the excitement kept bubbling up. “How would you and Peyton and Chase like to go to the Bristol Baines concert?”
Sarah paused. “How did you get tickets? That sounds amazing. Chase is working, but if Peyton is feeling up to it, I say yes. Does this have anything to do with Lizzy? Did she offer you tickets? When did you talk to her?”
Annie smiled at her sister’s excitement. “Oh, I got backstage passes and VIP seats because I’m going to be an opening act!”
Sarah howled into the phone. “Oh, my God! Are you serious?”
“Yes! I’m on my way to see Jazz so she can do my hair and makeup.”
“Okay, okay, okay. Deep breath. What are you going to wear?” Sarah asked.
“Something black. I’m more concerned about my hair and makeup,” Annie said.
“Don’t they have somebody to do that for you?”
“Don’t put the cart before the horse. I’m not about to go in there and start demanding things. I’ve got a twenty-five-minute gig and no time to practice, so I’m freaking out.”
“What do you need me to do?” Sarah asked.
Annie loved that her sister was the first to jump in as though she wasn’t the busiest person Annie knew.
“I need you to show up and have a great time.”
“So, what happened? How did they find you? Did they call you? I mean, I gave them my business card, but I never got a call.” Her sister sounded dejected.
“They called The Night Owl. This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t brought Lizzy into the ward,” Annie said.
“Talk about fate that you sang a Bristol Baines’s song when her manager was there,” Sarah said.
“It’s serendipitous,” Annie said. She believed things happened for a reason and those reasons were mostly good.
“I’m so proud of you. Maybe this will be your big break,” Sarah said.
“I’ll just be happy to live in the moment,” Annie said. She respected Bristol’s success. It was the ultimate goal—all the fortune and fame at her fingertips. Annie didn’t struggle financially like most musicians, but she dreamed of top-tier success. How would she do in front of thirty thousand people? Would she do her best or freeze onstage? “Okay. I’m at the salon. I’ll text you later with the details.”
“I’m so proud of you.”
Annie disconnected the call and burst through the door of the salon.
Jazz was ready at her station with a hair straightener in hand. “Over here.” She waved her to a chair in the back of the salon. “Have a seat. Tinks is going to help.” She spun the chair around and pointed for Annie to sit.
“Thank you so much for getting me in. I’m so nervous.” Annie bit her bottom lip and rubbed her hands on her pants out of nervous habit.
“I’m so excited for you. Let’s get you ready for center stage,” Jazz said.
Annie put her hand to her stomach and took a deep breath. “When you put it like that, I feel sick.”
Jazz turned her chair so they were facing one another. “You’ll rock the stage. You’ve been training for this for years.”
“That’s just me and a phone. And the coffee shop has maybe fifty people on a good night. This is a stadium. Playing in front of my city is exciting but also frightening,” Annie said. She looked at herself in the mirror when Jazz turned the chair back around. Her brow was furrowed with determination. “Okay, Jazz. Make me look like a star.”
* * *
“I’m supposed to check in here, I think.”
Annie handed the security guard the pass Lizzy had given her. He inspected the front, the back, and finally pressed his lips against his shoulder walkie to read off the number on the tag to somebody who was probably in Bristol’s security.
“Okay. You’re clear to go in. Just turn left. Someone will meet you there to escort you where you need to be.”
This was really happening, Annie thought. She reached the end of a short corridor, and a young man with an impressive pompadour, stylish glasses, and a killer smile greeted her. She returned his infectious grin.
“Annie Foster?” he asked. She nodded. “I’m Vaughn, one of Lizzy’s assistants. Follow me.” She could hear music and wondered who was warming up. Was it the band who was slated to go onstage after her, or was it Bristol Baines? She wanted to walk down one of the corridors that opened to the stadium and see, but Vaughn was on a mission to get her to where she was expected.
“Hi, Annie. Come on in.” Lizzy greeted her as people with defined roles buzzed about. It was wild. Annie wasn’t sure when Lizzy spoke if she was talking to her or somebody in her headset. “Bristol’s warming up onstage now, and then you’ll have a few minutes to practice.”
Annie nodded. “Thank you.”
“I have to go to the tech booth. Want to go with me? You can leave your guitar right there.” Lizzy pointed to a corner and ordered one of the people darting around to stop what they were doing and stay with it. Annie smiled a silent thank you to them and followed Lizzy out the door and down to the open-air arena.
“She sounds amazing.” Annie couldn’t believe that in just two hours, she would be up there on that stage singing for everyone in the arena to hear. Bristol was wearing light blue shorts, sandals, and a sweat-drenched, long-sleeved T-shirt. “She looks great but also hot.”
“The long-sleeve helps get her ready to perform under all the lights. Summer concerts are the worst. If she doesn’t stay hydrated, she’ll drop after the concert.”
Annie stood beside Lizzy and watched as Bristol marched down the walkway of the stage belting out words to one of her major hits. Impressive was too mild a word to describe Bristol. She was remarkable. Annie couldn’t wait to see her in front of her fans. “She’s a real powerhouse.” It was an observation, one she didn’t realize she’d said out loud until Lizzy responded.
“There’s a reason her fans have loved her for years. She’s been doing this half her life.”
“It must be so rewarding to do what you’ve loved your entire life,” Annie said. Lizzy rolled her eyes, but Annie pretended not to see. It wasn’t her place to question anything. She was thankful she was here and wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize her shot.
“It’s been a journey,” Lizzy said.
“Have you been with her the entire time?” Annie asked. Her gaze never left Bristol, and when Bristol gave her a wave from the stage, Annie looked around to see if the wave was for her or somebody else. She shyly waved back.
“Since day one. I heard her playing at a fair when she was fourteen and had her signed within the week. She didn’t cut her first album until she was sixteen. We had to get her voice and piano lessons. Natural talent goes only so far. We had to polish the rough edges.”
Annie couldn’t believe that. Bristol had a range that all singers envied. That talent wasn’t taught. It was discovered.
“Okay. Let’s get you onstage. How are you feeling?”
Annie took a deep breath. “I’m excited. I hope I’m well received.” What she really meant was that she hoped she didn’t crash and burn or get booed off the stage.
“You’re good. Come on. Let’s kick her off so you can get some playing time,” Lizzy said.
The palpitations in her chest became more pronounced the closer they got to the stage. She wasn’t worrying about screwing up. She knew her own songs forward and backward. She was worried about people not liking her. She was worried that her music wasn’t good enough to open for Bristol Baines.
“Sondra’s bringing your guitar so we don’t waste any time. I hope you don’t mind,” Lizzy said loudly over Bristol’s voice that reverberated throughout the stadium. Would her voice be that strong?
“That’s fine.” The guitar was in a hard case, so she wasn’t afraid of somebody banging it up. She stood by as Lizzy said something to the sound technicians, pointed to something on one of the computers, and motioned to Bristol to wrap it up by spinning her finger in a circle. Lizzy guided her to the side of the stage just as Bristol finished her song. She exited with her band and stopped in front of them. Her energy was so large that Annie took a step back.
“You sounded great,” Annie said.
Bristol gave Annie a smile that made everything inside her turn to mush. She was sweating, breathing hard, but looked so beautiful and totally in her element. Annie’s bones felt soft and her knees weak at the sheer power she exuded.
“Thank you,” she said.
Bristol took the towel from Lizzy and wiped her face and brow. “Looks like you’re up now.” She motioned for Annie to take the stage.
Annie didn’t remember walking to the microphone or how her guitar managed to work its way around her neck. Reality didn’t set in until she strummed the first chord. She made a few tweaks on the tuning pegs out of habit and had her first flutter of anxiety on a stage bigger than any she’d ever been on before.
“Start strumming and we’ll adjust your sound.”
She couldn’t tell who was advising her because the sunlight was sharp against her eyes, and she couldn’t see past the stage. She randomly strummed a tune until she realized she was playing a jingle she’d created for an all-natural toothpaste last week. She quickly flipped to a faster song, closed her eyes to find her center, and started singing. The feedback was too much. “Can you raise the mic and lower the amp?” she asked. She gave the techs a thumbs-up when she liked what she heard. She sang one song from start to finish and whirled around when she heard applause coming from behind her. Bristol and Lizzy were behind her onstage.
“That sounded great. You’re a natural onstage,” Bristol said.
“I had no doubt,” Lizzy said.
Annie blushed even though she knew they would be watching at some point, just not in rehearsals. “Thank you again for the opportunity. I think I’m ready.” Annie wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready for something this large, but she wasn’t going to shy away from it. It was her dream.
“Do you have a favorite party anthem? Like a cover song that you like playing that really gets your audience pumped up?” Bristol asked.
Annie laughed. “Yeah, yours.”
A smile and blush spread across Bristol’s face. “Okay, besides one of mine, and not ‘Baby Shark’ because I saw that video. What’s another song?”
Annie chuckled at the thought of Bristol bellowing out the lyrics to the earworm kid song. “Is this to get the audience pumped for the next band?” Her mind drew a blank on the name. Something like Kicking Tires or Burning Rubber. It had something to do with cars.
“No. I was thinking I could sneak out onstage and sing maybe half a song to get the crowd pumped up with you. If you want,” Bristol said.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Annie said. She smiled as Bristol and Lizzy laughed. “Okay, seriously, I love a lot of classics from the Beatles to U2, The Pretenders, anything Pat Benatar.”
Bristol held her hand up. “Do you know ‘Brass in Pocket’?”
Annie tuned her guitar and started playing. It was a sexy song and easy to play on the guitar. Bristol nodded and grabbed an electric guitar from one of her roadies. She played but let Annie sing solo until the chorus. She jumped in, and their voices fused in such a beautiful way that Annie felt it all the way from her fingertips to her toes. She couldn’t take her eyes off Bristol. Her voice was sexy and confident, as if she was born to be in front of a microphone. Even though Annie knew Bristol preferred the piano, she didn’t make a single mistake on the guitar. She honestly couldn’t remember when the song ended, only that her fingers stopped strumming.
“Wow. That was amazing.” Lizzy clapped and stood beside them onstage. “That should be the song you end with. People will be screaming.”
Annie broke eye contact first. “That felt right.” She struggled with the strap of her guitar while Bristol returned the electric guitar to the stand.
“I liked that a lot,” Bristol said. She looked at her watch. “We should go. I need to shower and get ready. Plus, Fast Cars needs the stage. The doors open in thirty minutes.” Bristol’s sexy smile gave Annie such a rush. “We’re going to do great things tonight.”