“Say that again?” It felt like my ears were full of cotton, the breeze from the ocean washing over me as Eric stood waiting, just a few feet away.
“We would like for you to be a member of United Dance.” He laughed, apparently used to this type of reaction.
“Yes!” I said, finally coming to my senses. “Yes, I would love to! Thank you so much!”
Eric, who knew just what was happening, gave me a thumbs up, with a grin so wide that it covered his entire face, lighting his features. “You did it!” he mouthed, not wanting to interrupt my conversation.
“Wonderful. Will you be able to come in to the studio any time soon to sign contracts?”
“I can come in tomorrow,” I said positively. “Thank you so much for this opportunity, Mr. Webber. I will not let you down.”
“I know you won’t, Scarlet. I’m looking forward to working with you over this next season. I did have one more question for you, though; is Eric Parish with you?”
“Eric?” That caught me off guard, and Eric as well it would seem. He looked confused as I waved him over. “Yes, he’s right here.”
“May I speak to him? I don’t have a number to reach him with otherwise.” He sounded all business again and I shrugged as I answered.
“Yeah, here he is.” Handing the phone over to him, I watched expectantly, wondering what was going on.
“Hello?” Eric listened for a moment, his eyes growing wider by the second until it looked like they were about to pop right out of his head. “Are you sure?” he finally asked, quietly, with a voice full of doubt. Mr. Webber spoke for another minute before Eric nodded and sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I’ll think about it and let you know. Thank you, Mr. Webber.”
Hanging up the phone, he handed the device back to me and took my hand in his, remaining silent as we began up our slow walk to the beach again.
“What was that about?” I pressed, burning with curiosity.
“He offered me a spot in the company.” Eric was in shock, a state I almost joined him in as I heard his answer.
“Are you serious?” I all but shrieked. “He offered you a spot?”
“In the chorus,” he replied, nodding. “He said that he was very impressed with my performance at the showcase and would like to treat it as an audition. Apparently, several of the people in attendance expressed to him how much they liked the performance as well. He claims that none of them were put off by my . . . condition.”
“That’s wonderful, Eric!” I couldn’t have been happier for him. This was his dream, coming back to him for a second chance. “Are you going to take it?”
“I don’t know,” he confessed. “A few people not caring what I look like is one thing. But a whole audience every night? I don’t think it’s possible for all of them to not be upset by my scars.”
“Who cares? As long as you’re comfortable, they can get over it.” Knowing that he needed to decide what to do on his own, I fell silent, squeezing his hand gently.
“You know what, you’re right,” he said after a few minutes. “I’m going to do it. This was my dream. I’m a few years behind, but why shouldn’t I do it now?”
“Really?” Excitedly, I hugged him, catching a glimpse of the burned ruins behind us. “I’m so happy, Eric! This is so wonderful!”
“It is,” he agreed, pulling away and looking back at the house with me. “It’s time to start brushing off the ashes and get back to work.”
Epilogue
“There!” Stepping down off the chair in triumph, I looked at my handiwork, tipping my head to each side as I tried to decide if the picture was sitting straight.
“Looks nice.” Eric chuckled from beside the table, newly placed in front of the windows. He was washing it, a vase full of roses waiting to be moved from the counter.
“I told you it would. I’ll never understand why guys never decorate their houses. It’s always either blank walls or wallpapered in video game posters.” Dragging the chair across the floor, I put it back in its spot and sat in it, looking around his—our—little apartment.
“I didn’t really have much I wanted to look at. I mean, mirrors were the devil, basically. No pictures to speak of. There’s not even any curtains in the windows.” Moving around the seat, he bent down and kissed me fully, his mouth lingering just a little too long for the touch to be deemed chaste.
“I have plans to remedy that as well. The neighbors have probably been watching us have sex for months now.” Watching as he went into the kitchen to rinse the rag out, I allowed myself a momentary look at his butt, smiling as I pictured it naked beneath his tight jeans.
“Lucky neighbors,” he said over his shoulder. “And I see what you’re doing.”
“What?” I asked innocently, smiling my sweetest smile. Moving my shoulder ever so slightly, I let the strap of my shirt slide down my arm.
“You’re trying to seduce me. It’s not going to work, no matter how many times you check me out and let your clothes fall off.” His white t-shirt clung to him gently, accentuating the muscles of his back and arms, sending a chill through me as I did indeed watch him hungrily again.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rising from the table, I crossed the room and sat on the bed, stretching across it slowly, my eyes locked on his.
“Sure you don’t,” he muttered.
It didn’t matter that he said it wouldn’t work; I could all ready plainly see that it was. Licking his lips, Eric moved slowly toward me, glancing at the frame I’d just hung as he passed. It was a photo from the opening night of our first official performance with United Dance Company. Our arms were wrapped around each other, a huge bouquet of flowers in the crook of one of my arms, our faces pressed together in what could only be described as pure happiness. It was one of my favorite memories of the two of us together. Meg had taken the photo, right after we’d taken one of her to celebrate her first show as well.
“If you’re going to insist we do this now, I have conditions,” Eric said, bringing my attention back to him and his pretend annoyance. Slowly, he pulled a long strip of black cloth out of his front pocket, grinning as he stared at me like something he would like very much to devour. “Put on this blindfold.”
Smiling widely, I sat up and licked my lips slowly, eyes never leaving his.
“Yes, Sir.”
Acknowledgments
Whew! We’ve made it through another book! I don’t even hardly know where to start, there are so many people that brought this together for me, some who don’t even know it.
As you’ve just read, Eric is not your typical book hero, and I wanted him to be that way one hundred percent. I should probably thank my mom and dad for that; they always taught me that how a person looked wasn’t the most important thing about them. I really wanted to portray that in a book, so thank you Mom and Dad for being awesome parents!
As usual, thank you to my wonderful husband, Jake, who not only encouraged me in my writing and plotting, but watched our kids, cooked food, took care of the house, and basically did all of the things that I normally do on top of his own job and responsibilities. Thank you, babe! I love you!
My beta readers, who are fantastic as always—you rock! Thank you for sticking with me and giving your honest opinions. Your help means so much to me! Annie Angelich, Julie Engle, Holly Cooper, Lisa Markson, Heather Garrison, Kassidy Carter, Raquel Aruiemma, Kayla Hyden, and Tyanne Romney
To those who inspire me and give me dreams to follow; thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Without you, I would have no stars to reach for and no visions to entertain.
Thank you all!
~Kamery~
About The Author
Kamery is not the person who grew up dreaming of the day that she would clutch her very own novel to her chest, tears brimming over the rims of her eyes as she thought about how she'd written it herself, finally! In fact, anything remotely like that didn't even happen until she was actually holding her first book in her hand
, amazed that she'd written it and wondering how on Earth she'd managed to do it when it hadn't ever occurred to her to write one until months before. Surprisingly, though, it was just what she never realized she loved doing.
When starting out in life, Kamery had (and still has) big dreams to perform on Broadway. She loves music and acting very much, while she and dance have a love/hate relationship; she would love to do it and every form of dance decides it hates that about her, haha! The one constant she always had between the performing world and the book world were the stories, tales that transported her to other worlds and made her feel like she really could do anything. Finally, she decided she wanted to do that for someone else and sat down to write.
It's been a few years since she held that first book, realizing that she really liked writing and wanted to do more, but the love that blossomed in that moment has only grown. Currently, Kamery works from home in the White Mountains of Arizona, while taking care of her two adorable kids, a girl and a boy, and talking her sweet husband Jake's ear off about the insane amount of characters in her head who are ready to fight to the death for a chance at their own novels. She also gets together with other authors in the family and they all gab together, making up The Royal Court of the Queens of Romance. It truly is a wonderful life!
Where To Find Me:
Website: http://kamerysolomonbooks.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KamerySolomon
Twitter: http://twitter.com/KamerySolomon
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/kamerykae
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Watching Over Me: A Dreams Novel Page 19
