1st Chance Read Online Free Page B

same moment I’d met Anna. They were friends with our stand-in drummer when Mikey was sick, and were backstage for a few shows. I noticed Becky immediately—she was a head turner with her long legs, blond hair and big blue eyes—but my memory of Anna was more fuzzy. She had seemed shy, even after I’d gotten together with Becks and had been hanging around for a while. She never warmed to me, or so I’d thought. She was always serious, a bit jumpy and quiet. A million miles away from the girl who had been in this room with me. It was as though she had emerged from her chrysalis; a beautiful, vivacious breath of fresh air.
     
    I considered the evolution of Anna, and then tried to move on to other things. But I picked up her glass and found myself running my thumb along the faint smear of lip gloss imprinted on the side. Oh good God. I couldn’t get her out of my head. From the moment I saw her, before we’d even gone on stage, I’d felt something. I hadn’t wanted to let go when we hugged backstage. I could have stayed there longer, but I’d seen the peculiar looks we had attracted. How was I falling for a girl I had known for almost two years without a single drop of desire?
     
    I picked up my phone. My mind would not let it go and I didn’t want to live in regret. I had to check how she felt. Connections like this were rare—I had met enough females to know that—and I didn’t want it to simply pass by. It could have just been that single minute, it could have been the wine, it could have been the dancing. But I had to know. For I was sure, more than I was sure about my feelings, that for one second, she had kissed me back. How can two people create that sort of spark if just one person is giving it off?
     
    I gave in and stabbed her a message from my cell. I had the next day off and there was no question as to who I wanted to spend it with. I jiggled my leg nervously as I tried not to look at my phone. Within five minutes, there was a vibration and I snatched up the device to read her reply. It was perfunctory, to say the least, and not terribly polite, but there was something almost too defensive about it. Maybe I was being overly optimistic but I could sense. . .something. As I lay back onto my bed I thought only of her face. Her smile. For the first time in a year, I slept soundly through the entire night.
     
    When Mikey knocked the next day, I was already up and showered. He didn’t try to hide the surprise when he saw my freshness.
     
    “Had a good night, did we?” he asked, accusation in his tone. I was bright enough to know not to reveal anything.
     
    “Yeah, it was fun. Good to see Anna. She left early and I had a decent sleep, for once.”
     
    Satisfied that I had covered all bases for any further questioning, we headed down to the hotel restaurant for lunch.
     
    “Okay. What’s going on?” Mikey put down his fork and crossed his arms on the table.
     
    “What are you talking about?” I shrugged.
     
    “You have not stopped checking your phone. You must’ve looked at it a thousand times. You’re picking at your food like an anorexic. So I’ll ask you again. What’s going on? Who’s the girl?”
     
    I snatched my phone from next to me and slipped it into my pocket out of the way. I hadn’t heard a thing Mikey had said until then—Anna was on my mind every other second, I just couldn’t concentrate.
     
    “Sorry. I’m being rude. Nothing’s going on. I swear. I don’t know why I’m checking my phone. Habit?” I said feebly, knowing it was a poor reason.
     
    “You better not be hooking back up with Becky. That girl screwed you over and doesn’t deserve a second chance.”
     
    I shook my head vigorously, grateful for not having to lie.
     
    “I can assure you Mikey, me and Becky are never getting back together.” He raised his eyebrows at me, skeptical and bemused at my odd behavior, but was easily distracted by questions about his own escapades from the previous