Someday You'll Laugh Read Online Free Page A

standing for the audition.” I scrambled to get up. My legs shook and for a brief second, I thought I was going to fall right on top of him.
    “Whatever you say.” Paul turned to the music and his hands slid over the keyboard with smooth grace. He was the best pianist I’d ever heard, and I became mesmerized as I watched his strong fingers play over the keys like a caress.
    I botched my entrance and Paul stopped and swiveled around to me. “You missed your cue.”
    “I know, sorry. Can you start again?” A shudder passed through me. Why was I so flustered? I’d already sung in front of him. I was being ridiculous.
    “After practice, do you want to run over to McDonald’s for french fries?” he asked.
    I blinked at him, my mind trying to switch gears. “French fries?”
    “Do you want to go to McDonald’s?”
    “With you?”
    “Of course with me. What did you think?”
    “Sure,” I answered, and then I moved right into scolding mode. Whatever this was with Paul had to stop; it was getting out of hand.
    He patted the bench again. “Come, sit back down.”
    My mind raced ahead. Greg had said we should see other people. Yet eating french fries with someone hardly classified as seeing other people. After all, a person had to eat; it was a simple necessity.
    I was fine. Nothing to worry about at all.

 
    Chapter Three
     
    But I did worry — all the way to McDonald’s. The restaurant was located fairly close to the Fine Arts Building so we walked. The air was crisp and I pulled my sweater closer around my neck. Walking so near to Paul, I felt stupid with my hands hanging like limp fish at my sides so I grabbed each shoulder strap of my backpack and held on. Paul glanced over at me.
    “Too heavy? You want me to take it?”
    “No, it’s fine.”
    We kept walking, both of us quiet and avoiding each other’s eyes. Being in close proximity in a music room and being in close proximity in the open air were two different things. I felt anxious and awkward. It was a relief to enter McDonald’s and be in the middle of the afternoon crowd. Paul paid for two orders of french fries and two sodas.
    I slid into a booth and he joined me with our food.
    “You’re flying to California?” he asked.
    “It’s too far for me to drive alone.”
    “I’ll drive with you,” he offered, and I almost dropped my soda. When I looked into his eyes again, I saw he was joking.
    “In your dreams, mister,” I said, knowing how stupid I sounded and how stupid I felt. Did he realize I’d believed him for a nano-second?
    “I’ve never flown,” he said.
    “Me neither. I’m kind of nervous.”
    He took a long french fry out of the cardboard container and dipped it into his mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise. “You’ll do fine. It’ll probably only take a couple hours to get there.”
    “Amazing, isn’t it?”
    “How long will you be gone?” His eyes were down, and he made a big production of squeezing another ketchup package into his glob of dip.
    I saw the tension in his jaw.
    “A week. Not long.”
    His blue eyes flashed up at me, and the intensity there made me squirm. “You going to write?”
    “To you?”
    “Of course to me. I might disintegrate if I don’t hear from you.” His tone was joking, but his face was serious.
    “Wouldn’t be appropriate now, would it?” I crammed a handful of fries into my mouth nearly choking myself. The wad of salty potatoes stuck in my throat, and I took a gulp of soda. I wasn’t prepared for this conversation and every inch of my being told me to get up and flee.
    Paul remained silent. I kept my eyes on my food, but I could feel him staring at me. I ate the rest of my fries like I was in an eating competition. The sooner I finished, the sooner I could excuse myself and get out of there. Within three minutes, I was done. Most of Paul’s fries still lay on the tray.
    “I’m ready to go.” I scooted off the bench and stood.
    He studied my face for a minute, picked up the tray,