"Sometimes I think we're the brightest stars,
And I try to believe we'll find a way,
Will life change when our hearts turn colder?"
I turned to Jade and smiled at her at the pause. I returned my attention to the audience and walked slowly towards the end of the stage.
"All the rhythms in my heart lift me up inside,
We can't stay out of trouble, is it worth the blame?
Is it true that the more you give, the more they take?
All the rhythms in my heart lift me up and say."
I hugged myself with one arm and kept the mic close to my lips. The percussion was drumming in my heart and the adrenaline was making my cheeks flush. I remember doing a performance with Jade watching closely behind me long ago. But this was different. Because …
"All your love will make us ache,
All your love is worth the chase,
All my love, I know they'll let it find us,
All my love's up on the mountain tops."
This was her finally mine and I hers. I raised my fist up into the air and hopped up and down, making my high tail bounce around. My backup singers were young girls who were chorusing after me, all dressed in red and white.
"All my love,
All my love,
All my love (hey everybody!)
Up on the mountain top."
I clutched the mic with both hands and looked at each person who were staring back at me. Playing at a Casino was new to me. I had never played in front of so many grownups.
"All the rhythms in my heart lift me up and say,
We're just a mess of, broken people, but we love the game,
I would do anything for us, it's worth the pain,
All the rhythms in my heart lift me up and say"
All your love will make us ache,
All your love, is worth the chase,
All my love, I know they'll let it find us,
All my love's up on the mountain tops."
I spun around in a pirouette to see Jade again who was smiling at me from the sidelines, clapping to the beat. She had needed to coax me into this. The hickey that tingled in between my breasts reminded me of that.
"All my love (hey everybody!)
All my love
All my love (hey everybody!)
Up on the mountain top."
I had a brief meeting with , he had seemed surprised to see me when Jade introduced me proudly to him. He had shaken my hand vigorously and told me he was excited for tonight's show.
"You're always on my mind,
All throughout the day,
Day where we can fly,
Reach the glory haze, oh hey,
High up in the sun and above the sky,
Sun and above the sky."
"All your love will make us ache,
All your love is worth the chase,
All my love, I know they'll let it find us,
All my love's up on the mountain tops
While I was shown the stage and told who my audience was I was hyper aware that Jade was following me with her eyes ad that Reine was right beside her. That fueled my performance. To knock it out of the ballpark.
"All my love (hey everybody!)
All my love,
All my love (hey everybody!)
Up on the mountain top."
With a last fist into the air confetti rained down on us and the crowd went wild, erupting in applause and cheer. I thanked them for the chance and waved at them. Roses were tossed at me and I looked at them in slight confusion, still smiling at the crowd. I thanked them again. I couldn't stop smiling. Performing was my calling. I loved to sing. A rose tapped my foot and I reached down to lift the rose and twirled the stem in my fingers, blew the crowd a kiss and turned to look over my shoulder. My smile faltered a little when I saw Reine leaning over Jade to talk in her ear. Just then Mr. Fiole clapped me on the shoulder and squeezed it, shaking my hand with the other. He presented me to the crowd again and they kept cheering. I smiled widely again and waved.
I was escorted to the back rooms for the after party that was going to throw his crew and we were all invited. Within the crowd of people thanking me and congratulating on a performance well done I was being pulled away further from Jade. I glanced over my shoulder and I saw her still talking with Reine but her eyes were on me and she gave me a small wave.
.
Jade's POV:
"She's amazing," Reine commented when the noise slowed down. "Hasn't lost her touch has she?" she stood with her arms crossed, watching Cat as she was pulled off the stage. I somehow felt that she was hinting at something else. But I didn't care. I was so proud of Cat. She had done so great at the last minute calling. She was a born performer, I'm glad I gave her the chance to do so. I knew she'd rock it. Plus, I knew she needed a distraction. I waved at her when she looked over her shoulder. Poor Cat, I thought in mirth. I straightened up and turned to look at Reine. "Don't be missing your party now."
She returned my look and uncrossed her arms, "Not coming?"
I shook my head, "Naw, I have things to do for my mom early in the morning. Gotta hit the hay early."
"Cat will stay wont she? Doesn't seem like they're going to let her go so easy," Reine said with a chuckle, staring off into the red drapes. I shrugged, "It's up to her. Go on. I just need a minute."
Reine reached over and touched my cheek and smiled sympathetically. She left without a word, only heard her heels clicking as she walked away. I walked in the opposite direction into the drapes on the left side and waited until I was in the dark when a voice spoke. I didn't hear him clearly, but it was male. Was more like a chuckle. I spun around and demanded them to present themselves or I was going to knock their teeth out. Another chuckle. Suddenly the curtain was ripped open and I cried out in surprise.
"There you are Jade! I thought my favorite girl had already left!"
" ," I grumbled under my breath. Geezus, I took a deep breath and calmed down when I saw Cat standing a few feet away from him with her hands behind her back, smiling gently at me while Mr. Fiole went on and on. But I didn't hear a word he said until he mentioned Cat. He loved the performance. He loved Cat. The crowd loved Cat. I grinned back at him and shook his hands. He left us alone and things were silent again. Cat looked into the darkness behind me and reached out a hand to me. I took it and she gently pulled me out of it into the spotlight from the stage. I shielded my eyes from the bright light, looking around to see that the auditorium had already been emptied out. I turned to see a rose in my face. My eyes darted to look down at Cat smiling at me. She was presenting me with a rose that had been tossed at her. She chuckled when I just stared at her. "You could dry it up," she said finally.
I smiled and carefully took the flower from her and spun it slowly in between my fingers carelessly as I looked at her. She was so damn beautiful, I could get lost in her sweet brown eyes and never come back. I reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her smile slowly faded and her cheeks flushed red and she tried to look away except I cupped her cheek and leaned over, placing my lips gently on hers, catching her breath. After a few seconds I pulled away and she smirked at me. "Now, about that favor you owe me."
I laughed, "Dinner?"
"With a big helping of dessert?" she smiled her dimple smile and I laughed again.
"Red velvet Cake?" This time she playfully pushed me aside and I came back grinning to hug her. I kissed her forehead and squeezed her tightly to me.
I may not remember much and my past was foggy but I knew one thing was certain, I loved this young woman so much.
.
