"Going in five!" the stage manager sticks her head in the booth to let us know that our time is approaching.
"Thank you five!" responds a chorus of techies. There's a rustle of papers and a few cuss words as missing Telex are found, last minute equipment checks are made, and the techies boot up their Telex and man their positions for the show. The man next to me hops up into his lovely big black swivel chair and turns to me with a grin. In the blue "show mode" lights, his face takes on an ethereal look, and his grin appears even more wolfish than usual due to the shadows. Instead of being terrifying, though, it just makes him even more sexy.
"You ready?" he asks as he pulls his Telex onto his head. I'm one half second behind him, and as my Telex headset settles over my right ear, I nod my head.
"Yup. You?" I reply. He grins even wider, and my heart beats faster.
"Always." The stage manager calls for places over the Telex; I wince and turn down my volume, because that is WAY too loud! The man snickers, and I hit him playfully on the shoulder.
"Hey, you two!" she's saying, a bit exasperated with our antics. "Places!"
"Thank you, places!" we reply in unison. He flashes the house lights, a sure sign to any observer that the show is about to begin. Instantly the feral grin is gone, replaced by a face of sheer determination.
I sit at his right hand side; always at his right hand side. Every class, every rehearsal, every show. That is my place as his assistant. It's like that chick in Oliver; I'm around as long as he needs me. Doing whatever he needs done.
Even asking other girls if they like him. Which I do, even though every time he asks me to do that, it kills me. Why can't he see that I love him? They never say that they like him, and it crushes him. And yet, here I am, always at his right hand side, and he's never once asked me if I like him.
"3…." the countdown has begun, and I decide to make my move.
"2….." I reach out and grab his free hand, not intertwining our fingers, but still holding his hand. He looks at me in surprise.
"1…." My stomach starts to sink; Have I made a horrible mistake? Then he smiles, and shifts his hand so that our fingers are twined together, and squeezes. I squeeze back, and, still smiling, we turn our attention to the stage for the final call.
"Go!"