Heart Shaped Spotlight

by Haley Travis

  I honestly wasn't sure whether he was asking me or telling me. But I was incredibly excited to set up a new system, no matter where it was. That was the kind of nerdery that I absolutely adored.

  "I was thinking that maybe we could send you there tomorrow morning. Then you could set it up on Thursday, fine-tune it on Friday, then spend the weekend in Vancouver and come back Sunday night." He looked a little sheepish. "You know, as sort of a thank you gift for having to send you there last minute."

  "Oh. Thanks." My mind was already swirling with all of the things I'd have to do. Gary always did things at the last minute, so that barely surprised me.

  "I'll tell Curtis to do his best with all of the regular stuff here for the next few days. You just focus on this new project until Monday. Kim or Karen will be sending you airline tickets."

  My lips pursed as I gave him a flat look.

  He nodded with a chuckle. "Karen will be sending you airline tickets, hotel reservations and any other information you need. Warren says that his tech people are pretty good, but since you have the system running so smoothly, you might as well help them fast track it."

  "Okay. I'll get on it."

  He shuffled back to his office, and I hurried back to my desk to start making do lists. I immediately got in touch with the Vancouver station’s head tech person, to review the gear list. Within an hour he had assured me that they had absolutely everything I would need.

  It was a relief that he seemed to know what he was talking about. It was one thing to put a system together in a hurry, it was another thing to have to train people. Doing both would be extremely slow. Just doing the set up should be a breeze, since I'd already done it once.

  I found myself grinning at my laptop. This was an exciting assignment, and I would be able to bring both stations up to the level of the larger broadcasters.

  Plus, I really loved Vancouver. I hadn't lived there long, and was under the crushing pressure of my father, but it's a beautiful city. Having the weekend off there would be amazing, even if all I did was walk around and visit as many restaurants as possible.

  My phone beeped, and I saw it was a text from Carrie.

  Carrie: Haven't seen you in a week. Wine after work tomorrow?

  Me: I'll be out of town tomorrow. How about tonight? Five-thirty at Duncan’s?

  Carrie: Sure. See you there.

  By the time I arrived, Carrie was already in our favorite booth with a carafe of wine in the center of the table. The second I sat down, she motioned to my glass, then fluffed her light hair, before sitting primly with her hands clasped on the table.

  "This meeting has come to order. I request complete notes and all information on why you have been missing in action for a few days." She looked so hopeful that I was up to something.

  After three large sips of wine, I took a breath. "Keep your voice low, and don't freak out."

  She nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Tell me."

  "Nate came to do an interview at the station”

  "Holy shit!" she squealed. "You finally met him? What happened?"

  “He saw me hiding in the corner."

  "Oh, come on,” she said, exasperated. "You didn't march up to him and say, ‘Hey, how have you been?’"

  "No, of course not," I hissed. "I couldn't take a chance on anyone finding out that I was the Trisha he had been singing about."

  “Why not? You should be totally proud that a hot guy is completely infatuated with you."

  "You know me. There's no way in hell I want a bunch of people taking my photo and talking about me behind my back."

  She cocked her head from side to side, staring at the ceiling. "Okay, yeah. That would be obnoxious even for regular people, but it would really drive you nuts."

  Carrie took a sip of wine, then motioned for me to keep talking. When I paused, she reached out and tried to pinch my arm.

  Jumping away from her, I laughed. "Alright. He was actually really cool about it. He came over and chatted to me as if he were just thanking me for running the live stream. But then he slipped me his phone number and hotel address."

  Carrie's eyes flew wide. "You went to his hotel. Tell me you slept with him." She clutched her heart dramatically. "Oh God, tell me that the long lost lovers reunited and consummated their relationship."

  "Lower your voice," I smirked. "If you stay quiet, I'll tell you that yes, there was some kissing."

  "Well, it's a start. So, are you together again?"

  My personal life was already becoming a drama. "He doesn't know what city his new band is going to end up staying in. He has an album to record, and then a probable tour coming up. There's a lot going on. So I think we're just going to sort of feel it out for now."

  She shot me a look. "Girl, you better feel him out. And quick." Her hand gestured up and down my body. "You know this is going to rust if you don't use it, right?"

  “Hush up,” I said quickly. “Come on now.”

  Carrie was always pretty open with her sex life, but it couldn’t surprise her that I certainly wasn’t. “At least tell me that it was super dreamy and romantic,” she said more quietly. “Tell me that he’s everything you remembered, and treats you like a goddess.”

  “You watch too many movies,” I said. “And yes.”

  “Help,” she chirped, clutching her heart again.

  "Settle down." A girlish part of me bubbled up, needing to tell her about the cutest thing of all. "He sent me a present today."

  "Jewelry? Flowers? A token of his undying love?"

  "Actually, he proved how well he knows me. It was a pack of four cans of compressed air."

  Carrie's face fell. "Gosh," she said flatly. "The boy goes all out, doesn't he?"

  There is no way I could contain my grin. "He must have someone in town that delivered it for him, because there was a note. He said that everyone he had to deal with in California was full of hot air, so I might as well use it to make my systems run."

  "That's completely stupid."

  "I know. When we first dated, he couldn't buy me any gifts that my parents would find. So he bought me school supplies, pretty notebooks, and things that didn't look romantic at all."

  "Okay, that's adorable." Carrie looked genuinely touched. "Wait – didn't you say you couldn't meet me tomorrow because you were going out of town? Are you going to meet him?

  "No. I'm going to the Vancouver station to set up their live streaming video system. Gary wants both places to match."

  "Oh. Cool. Good for you," Carrie said. “Just be sure to send Nate sexy photos of you in lingerie at least every other day."

  I had been trying to take a small sip of wine, and nearly choked. "That will never be happening."

  "Come on," she insisted. “Give him a sneak preview."

  "Knock it off. Now tell me how it's going with the guy you're seeing again. Brad, right?"

  Her eyes flew wide. "We just started up again this past Saturday. How did you know?"

  "Because you turn into a mouthy horn dog when you're dating a hot guy. Now dish."

  It took another round of wine to get through the sordid tales of Carrie’s dating life. For once, I was actually taking mental notes for any tricks or moves I could use with Nate someday. I would never dare to ask about his sexual history. Yet he was obviously more experienced than I was. I didn't want to completely embarrass myself with my accidental innocence.

  Hearing my phone buzz, I saw that my airplane tickets had been sent, along with an email from Karen that read, “Sorry about the early time, but we got a great deal.”

  “Is it Nate?” Carrie asked, trying to read over my shoulder.

  “It’s my flight. Five am. I’m not packed.”

  Carrie poured the last of the wine for us both and waved for the bill. “I’ll get this, then I’ll come over and help you pack.”

  “Thanks, that’s really sweet of you.”

  “It’ll also give me a chance to tell you about how tricky it is to suck Brad. See, it bends a bit to the l
eft–”

  Clapping my hands over my ears, I muttered, “Lord, save me.”

  Chapter Fourteen ~ Nate

  * Different Page *

  Dave had suggested that I go to at least one of the dozen or so parties I was invited to tonight. The whole "see and be seen" concept.

  LA parties were a completely different flavor than I was used to. It was more about taking photos for social media then truly connecting with anyone. People yattered on about their numbers as if their online status really meant something. Who was I to say? Maybe it did. I've just always focused more on what a person did rather than how many abstract digital connections they had accumulated.

  Maybe I was already an old codger at twenty-five. I really would have preferred to leave around eleven pm after just two drinks.

  As I shuffled through the hotel lobby, nodding to the late night concierge, I didn't feel old, just a bit tired. A long night of speaking with strangers was exhausting.

  The second I got into my room, I stripped and went into the shower. Many people had teased me about my two-minute night time showers, but I didn't give a damn. I didn't even use soap, just turned around in the hot water without getting my hair wet. To me, it was a symbol of getting people's energy off me. But it also put me to sleep much faster.

  When I was touring, I had to train myself to fall asleep anywhere, at any time. Sometimes in the back of a car, or in a tiny bed next to one of my smelly, snoring bandmates. We all just did what we could to survive.

  Turning around once more in the luxurious piping hot rain shower in this expensive hotel bathroom, I laughed at myself. I could see how some musicians would start to think they deserved all this after what we had to get through to get anywhere.

  Shutting off the water, I grabbed a fluffy hotel robe, pulling it on as I walked toward the bed. Flopping across the entire surface like a giant starfish, I grabbed my phone. It was one thirty in the morning.

  I tried to do the mental math to figure out what time it was in Toronto but wasn't quite sure. Taking a chance, I called Trisha anyway. I knew she would probably have the sense to set her phone to silent if she were sleeping.

  As soon as I heard the call connect, I murmured, "I miss you I miss you I miss you."

  Her bright little laugh gave me an instant shot of energy. “Sorry I can’t talk for more than a minute – I’m at the airport.”

  “What? Where are you going?” I sat up straight. It was odd how tension instantly filled my limbs at the thought of Trisha traveling. I knew that this time I had her number, but still.

  Her giggle sounded thin through the phone, but she seemed relaxed. “My boss Gary decided that his idiotic feud with his brother wasn’t worth either of them losing money. They’re sending me to Vancouver to set up the live stream feed at Warren’s offices so that the sister stations have the same capabilities. There was some last-minute deal on the flight if I left stupidly early this morning.”

  “I love hearing you in work mode.”

  “Hey, thanks for the canned air. I meant to text you about that. It was totally adorable.”

  “That’s me, baby. Trying to be sweet in weird ways,” I said. “How long are you in Vancouver?”

  “I’ll be working today and tomorrow, then have the weekend off.”

  “Can I see you on Saturday?”

  She paused. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. I was going to Vancouver Saturday night, but I think I could switch it to the morning. We’re planning a band meeting and I’d love for you to meet them.”

  Trisha paused again. This time it likely wasn’t disbelief that our lives were lining up, but nervousness at meeting several people at once.

  “We’ll figure it out,” I said quickly. “You might be tired and not even in the mood for socializing. Text me so that I know you’re there safe, okay?”

  “Sure. Sleep well.”

  “Have a boring flight.”

  Her little snicker before she disconnected made my heart lurch in my chest.

  I sent Dave an email since he was more likely to have those notifications on silent while he was sleeping. It hopefully wouldn’t be a big deal to switch my Saturday interviews and cram them all in on Friday. Then I could see Trisha for two whole days.

  Sprawling back across the bed, I should have felt happy and relaxed, but a sliver of doubt was creeping around the edges of my mind. She was likely going to tell me about her trip soon, but she hadn’t told me the second she heard about it.

  For her to be awake so early, she must have known last night. But she didn’t text me. Was that odd? She certainly didn’t owe me anything, and wasn’t obligated to tell me her whereabouts at all times. But if we were a couple, she would have been excited to tell me the news. Wouldn’t she?

  I fell asleep in an uncomfortable blur of uncertainty. In my mind, we were already a couple, and just working out the details of how our lives were going to fit together.

  Trisha might be on a different page. Hell, she might be in an entirely different book. As much as I wanted to believe that I knew her through and through, I really didn’t.

  Chapter Fifteen ~ Trisha

  * The Wine is Rarely Wrong *

  There was nothing like the feeling of being bone-tired from an incredibly hard day of work. I loved the satisfaction seeping into my body. It was an emotion that I always felt physically.

  Although the station had all of the gear ready for me, they had been instructed not to start setting anything up until I had arrived. In a way, that was good because I was able to do everything precisely the way I wanted. Yet I had to wait for them to arrange the lighting, set up the control center area, and run a whack of cables through the ceiling tiles so they wouldn't be seen.

  Thursday was an incredibly long day, but it was exciting to be leading a team. When I was in full work mode, I was much less shy. Sure, I didn't raise my voice very much, but I didn't have to. Since I obviously knew what I was talking about, people listened.

  Friday we got everything running smoothly, and even did a couple of test interviews. It was a blast watching the staff trying to embarrass each other with personal questions, or act like problematic guests.

  Warren was incredibly grateful, and gave me a business card for his friend's restaurant, saying that he had made an arrangement that myself and any guests could have dinner there for free tonight.

  When I got back to my hotel room, my back hit the bed as my limbs sprawled out, taking up as much space as possible as if I were a huge starfish. Breathing deeply, I took a moment to stretch outward, feeling the pull in my shoulders from being hunched over equipment for hours.

  The feeling of smiling to myself wasn’t new, but the emotion behind it was rare. I was really, truly proud of myself. I’d taken on a big project, and wasn’t that nervous about it. Sure, I’d already done it once before, and it was all stuff that I knew very well. To be fair, I hadn’t had time to overthink and worry myself into a tizzy. Still, feeling my chest puffed with pride was a neat little thrill.

  I didn't know whether I should go to dinner alone, or just have some food sent up to my room. Grabbing my phone, I sent Nate a text.

  Me: It's a shame you're not in Vancouver tonight. The station manager set me up with a free dinner. We could have dined like kings.

  Nate: You should go anyway. Free food always tastes better.

  Me: No, going alone would just be uncomfortable.

  Nate: Hold on a sec.

  I went to stand by the window, looking out over the ocean. Maybe I could go on a boat tour tomorrow, or at least a walk down by the water. Having a weekend being unable to run errands or do housework was going to be incredible. I hadn’t allowed myself to take a real break in ages.

  Nate: Lora, my bass player, is in Vancouver now. She is an absolutely amazing person. If you wanted company tonight, I'm sure she would love to be your date.

  I had to think about that for a moment. I really did want to become part of Nate's world again. That would certainl
y involve meeting his band at some point. Maybe if I were to become friendly with Lora, it would help me relax around the group of them.

  Plus, I didn't have very many friends. If she was in a band with Nate, she must be an interesting person that values hard work. Someone with a head on their shoulders. I’d been speaking with strangers all day. Keeping that energy rolling would likely be the best thing for me.