Chapter 61

"Wow! That was great!" I said, sitting in a chair as adrenaline coursed through my body.
Craig laughed as he handed me a cold water bottle. "How do you feel?"
"Addicted!" I said as I unscrewed the cap and took a long drink. I hadn't realized that I was thirsty until I started drinking. "Are we going back to the hotel now? I want to stay and listen to Tasha for a while."
"No. You'll need to stay here," Craig replied as a gleam appeared in his eyes. "I have a feeling that she'll want you to come out for the finale."
My eyes flew open wide. "Really?"
He shrugged. "Be ready just in case. You played a half hour longer than was expected."
"No. Really?" I asked in disbelief. "Was Tasha upset?"
He laughed. "Did she look upset? She was enjoying your set just as much as the crowd! As I said, I have a feeling that I'll be booking you a solo tour before you know it."
I looked over at Greer, who was talking animatedly to Brett and Shawn. "You want to watch Tasha with me?" I asked her.
"Sure!" she said, and then quickly crossed the room. The guys watched her ass as she walked away.
"Watch it, guys!" I warned, laughing.
They laughed, and then started talking amongst themselves.
Greer and I giggled as we hurried out of the greenroom and headed toward the wings. On stage, Tasha was giving a great show and the crowd was on their feet, cheering. A moment later, the song ended and the crowd erupted in thunderous applause.
As we watched, I picked up a lot of pointers about how to control the crowd. It wasn't all about keeping the energy up in the room. It was knowing when to bring it up and when to bring it down. And Tasha Granger was an expert. Greer and I didn't talk as we watched, mesmerized.
"Here," Craig said from behind me as he slipped a robe over my shoulders. He had one for Greer, too. "They have to keep the air conditioning up, so I thought you might be cold."
I smiled. "That was very thoughtful of you."
Greer slipped on her robe, tied the sash, and then crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't realize I was getting so cold. Thanks," she whispered as she forced a smile. Then, she turned her attention back to Tasha.
The warmth from the robe felt heavenly. I was so wrapped up in Tasha's performance that I hadn't realized I was getting cold, either.
The song Tasha was singing came to an end. "Let's hear it for Tasha Granger!" the announcer's voice boomed over the loud speaker.
Tasha ran off into the wings, toward me. "You feel like doing a few with me?"
A broad smile spread across my face. "Are you sure?"
She shrugged as a smile spread across her face. "Yeah! Why not?"
"You had them eating out of the palm of your hand out there," I said over the thunderous crowd.
She smiled, her eyes wild. "Well, you had them warmed up already," she said over the crowd. They were now chanting her name. "You made my job easy." She looked across the stage, and one of her band members was motioning for her to come out again. She nodded, and then turned to me. "Come on! Let's have some fun! But give me just a minute before you come out." When she ran onto the stage, the crowd cheered even louder. "What if we bring out Alyssa Case again?" The crowd roared. "You think we could persuade her to do a few numbers with us?"
Someone in the crowd started chanting, "Alyssa!"
A few seconds later, everyone in the stadium had picked it up.
I started to go out with the robe still around my shoulders, but then pulled it off just in time and threw it to Greer as she laughed.
"Give it up one more time for Alyssa Case!" Tasha yelled and the crowd went wild. She covered her mic, and then turned to me. "You know Country Rock Star?"
I nodded, unable to believe what I was hearing. It was one of her new hits and playing on every radio station. Of course I knew it.
"Let's do it!" she yelled to me, and then she said into the mic, "Feel like a Country Rock Star?" The crowd cheered as her band opened the song.
A roadie ran onto the stage with a wireless mic and handed it to me discreetly, and then ran off the stage. It felt strange singing without my guitar, but liberating at the same time. She sang the first verse, and then we harmonized on the chorus. Then she backed off and let me take the second verse. As we sang, our voices blended together, perfectly synchronized, rising and falling as we anticipated each other's moves. When the song ended, everyone in the crowd was on their feet, cheering and demanding more.
Tasha high-fived me, and then covered her mic again. "Do you have anything slow? We need to bring the crowd down a bit."
I nodded. "Candlelight."
"Perfect!" she replied. "Go ahead and announce it to them."
I nodded, and then said to the audience. "This is a song I wrote with my band, about a night in the candlelight " The crowd cheered. " with someone special. You are the first to hear it, so I need you to tell me if you like it or not." The crowd hooted and hollered. "Candlelight!" Then, I turned to her band as I placed my hand over the mic. "Key of G. Follow my lead."
"You got it!" her lead guitarist said.
I began to sing about a lost love, but that I would always remember how he looked in the candlelight. Tasha's band picked it up easily, and so did Tasha, harmonizing with me subtly on the chorus. During the course of the song, the audience became quiet and sat down in their seats to listen as my voice rose and fell, conveying the bittersweet feelings. When the song came to an end, the crowd cheered, clapping wildly.
"Wow!" Tasha said into the microphone. "Alyssa, I think you have a hit on your hands!" Then, she turned to the audience. "What do you think?"
The crowd cheered and clapped their approval loudly. I looked over in the wings, and Greer was dabbing at her eyes.
"Okay. Let's bring it back up a notch!" Tasha said, and then launched into one of her fast songs. I knew it well, and harmonized with her on the chorus. Seeing that I knew the song, she let me take the second verse, and then came back in on the chorus again.
Before long, the magical night came to an end. "Goodnight, Raleigh! Thank you for being such a wonderful audience!" Then she turned to me as we ran off the stage. "That was amazing!" she said as we walked back to my greenroom. Hers must have been on the other side of the stage. "Maybe someday we can record a duet! Maybe even a whole album like Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn!"
"Sounds great! Just let me know where and when!" I beamed.
As we walked into the greenroom, everyone cheered.
"Well, it looks as if your first stop on the tour was a success!" Craig said as he wrapped his hand around my waist.
I pulled away subtly. "Yeah, thanks to Tasha!"
She laughed, but shook her head, her eyes wild with excitement. "No. Thanks to you!" She looked at the clock on the wall. It was after midnight. "Well, I have to go, but thank you, Alyssa! You were great!" She pulled me in for a hug, and then pulled back. "Just keep on playing like you are now and you'll be a superstar one day!"
A broad smile spread across my face. "Thanks, Tasha! I won't forget this."
We said our goodbyes, and a moment later, the bodyguards were guiding us outside through the crowd to the RV and we pulled away, headed back to the hotel. As the lights flickered, casting shadows in the RV, I was grateful to Tasha for launching my career as a musician, and knew that I would never forget it or this night.