Chapter Four.
Nervous; it was far more than an understatement right now.
"Um… it was pretty fun, actually." My voice waded softly into a breezy soprano, causing me to swallow my fears. "It was nice; he was nice."
"He was? The media always seems to make him out to be a jerk, so I'm surprised to hear that. But anyways, a couple of our callers have been telling me that you and Eddie have had some sort of connection. Is that true?"
"I uh…well, I wouldn't necessarily call it a connection," I chuckled nervously, "I would probably call it something between the lines of… being caught up in the moment. As singers, it happens, and he was just being really sweet to me so that I could warm up to being on stage, you know?" I rambled on, tapping my nails onto the window, counting down the minutes until we would get to the café.
"Well, how about you talk to some of our callers! Is that okay?"
"Uh...," I looked over at Mel and Adam, Mel shaking her head vigorously and Adam shrugging his shoulders, "Sure, but I can only take a few calls; I have somewhere to be in a couple minutes."
"Okay!" He paused momentarily, before his cheery voice flooded back into my ear. "Here's Bella from Ohio; Bella, you're speaking to Loren Tate, the girl who was onstage last night with Eddie Duran!"
"Oh my God, hey Loren; I was actually there in the front when you and Eddie performed together. How did you feel when you were called?" Bella asked as curiosity weaved into a soft voice of excitement.
"Well, I was seriously nervous. I mean, singing along to Eddie's songs on the radio, it was crazy I was face to face to him, singing with him in person." It was true, I was beyond being nervous, especially being in his presence.
"That sounds so cool! Did you feel, like, sparks with him?" Her voice crackled from the other end of the receiver, and I could hear her telling someone to leave her alone, a sibling I suppose.
I played with the ends of my hair, laughing nervously. What the hell do I say? 'Yeah, it was like love at first sight'? He already has a girlfriend; it isn't like he'd go for me anyways. "Uh, well, not necessarily. It all felt so real, I can't explain the feeling." For the most part, it was true. I felt as if I was dreaming, and the bright stage lights that beamed down on us blurred my eyesight, making me blink a few times.
"Kind of like you and him were the only ones in the room?" She sighed dreamily, a whistling noise erupting from the breeze.
"Heh, yeah, something like that." We pulled up to the café, and I sighed in relief. "I um, I have to go, but it was nice talking to you." I threw the phone to Mel, grabbing my purse and opening the door. I shifted my weight onto the rim of the door, pulling my hand to my fore head to shield the sun. I called back a quick goodbye, closing the door and walking towards the shop. Hopefully all of this karaoke stuff was over, I couldn't bear do this again. A ringing sigh sounded as I pushed open the heavy glass doors, immediately being hit with coffee fumes. I smiled, finally being into my own, known environment: a waitress at a nearby coffee shop in the valley. I wasn't Loren Tate, the girl who experienced fate and a Cinderella night with Eddie Duran. I was Loren Tate, the average teenage girl trying to collect a couple of dollars to pay at least half of her cell phone bill.
"Hello sir, my name is Loren and I'll be serving you today. What would you like to drink?" I asked, spreading a faux smile across my lips, reciting the words I've been saying for the past hour. My feet were already hurting, my hands ached from taking so many orders from the busy day we were having, and a mushed up cookie and orange soda seeped through my white tank top from a previous customer with two tormenting toddlers. Honestly, I was ready to just go home, but I had to suck it up for a couple more hours.
"Um, I would like—"
"Loren!" I turned around, seeing Jasmine, one of the other waitresses, running towards me. My eyebrows scrunched together, falling on top of one another as I ran a hand through my chocolate locks.
"Yeah..?"
"Go serve that guy over there," she pointed to a guy sitting in the corner of the shop with a hat and glasses on. I looked back over at her and she explained further, "He requested your service." She bounced her eyebrows up and down, giving me a wink before bumping me into his direction with her hip. I sighed, running a hand through my hair and bringing it up, clipping it into a makeshift bun with one of my extra pens. Why did he want me to serve him? I slowly walked over to the strange guy, studying his appearance. His chocolate brown hair was hidden under a Lakers snapback, settling in sweats and a white t-shirt that made his bulging muscles evident. He was tracing the intricate patterns on the table when I approached him, not noticing my presence. I cleared my throat, and he jumped slightly, looking up at me.
Giving him a weird look, I took in a deep breath, "Hello sir, my name is Loren and I'll be—"
"I uh, I know who you are." He cut me off midsentence, playing with his giant hands. I lifted an eyebrow, forming my eyes into slits. He looked at my facial expression, and elaborated a bit more. "Um, we met somewhere." His deep voice seemed vaguely familiar, but with my mind going haywire from previous orders and the faint noise of kids crying, I couldn't put my finger on it.
"And where was that, exactly?" I asked, praying he wasn't a stalker. Because if he was, he was going to have to schedule another day; my feet were hurting and I really didn't feel like running for my life. Lazy, I know, but it was a Saturday and I had a long shift, even though I just wanted to take a relaxing bath and go to sleep listening to Lady Antebellum. Or, an Eddie Duran song, I pushed the thought out of my head.
"At Pulsetto," and before I could reply, he took off his glasses, revealing his chocolate brown orbs that I immediately got lost in.
Speaking of Eddie Duran.