Free Hotbox by Delia Delaney

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                  She smiled and looked into my eyes. “That sounds easy enough. I’ve been dreaming about it all day.”

 
    Chapter Six
     
     
     
                  At ten o’clock, Jayden’s friend and his band took the stage. I was thinking that he was going to be a little start-up act or something, but I was really surprised at how good they were. Jayden’s other friends were pretty rowdy and they supported him like crazy. Shawn was funny and he said a few things to them from the stage, and the rest of the crowd had fun with him as well . I recognized the drummer from the night before at the movies—J osh was the one that came with Silvia.
    Once Chris stopped being concerned with what Jayden was doing, he actually seemed to be a normal guy with his other friends. I was glad he had moved further away, even sitting at the other table with Stacie and Matt.
    After about the fifth or sixth song, I noticed Jayden becoming a little restless. She said something to Cali and I heard Cali reply, “Take deep breaths.” Jayden whispered something back to her and Cali patted her on the back and said, “Think about something happy.”
    “Jayden, are you okay?” I asked her.
    She looked at me and smiled. “I’m not sure. Uh…”
    With a huge smile, Cali said, “Picture Ty naked.”
    “Oh, my gosh!” Jayden groaned, dropping her head in to her hands.
    I was speechless.
    “Okay, okay,” Cali said. “H ow about just thinking about how cute you think he is? Huh? How much you like his butt—”
    “ Cali ! ” she hissed. She looked at me, completely mortified. “I’m sorry. She gets very…”
    “You like my butt?” I asked her with a smile.
    She covered her face again and shook her head out of pure embarrassment. I had no idea what was going on, but I liked kn owing that bit of information. But b efore I could find out what was wrong , the band finished a song and Shawn said the best part of the show was up next.
    “Jayden, you ready, darlin ’ ?” he said our way.
    Cali screamed a response and the rest of her friends joined in with cheers .
    Jayden turned to me and said, “If I don’t die on stage, I’ll be back in a little bit.” She gave me a quick kiss and stood up.
    Shawn was introducing Jayden, but I was busy watching her . As she rounded the table, Chris stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. He said something to her and she nodded her head with a smile. He gave her a kiss on the fore head and then she made her way to the stage. If I hadn’t been completely shocked that she was going to play with the band, I may have had time to be a little jealous of the interaction . Chris even glanced my way as he sat down, but his face held no expression, so I couldn’t tell if it was suppose to mean anything or not.
    “She has such bad stage fright,” Cali informed me. “It’s so crazy because she’s totally awesome .”
    “Does she do this a lot?” I asked.
    “Well, not tons , but enough. I t’s the whole crowd-thing. There’re too many people for her tonight. But more than half these people know her and Shawn; it’s not anything new to her. She’s been doing this for a few years now, but she still can’t get over the stage fright.”
    Shawn was describing the song they were going to perform . I watched Jayden grab a guitar and sit on the stool next to him. Stage fright or not, she looked completely relaxed. She talked to Shawn and they laughed about a couple of things. Finally they began a song and I was entranced. Jayden really coul d play, but she could also sing and it was amazing. I carefully listened to the entire song and I don’t think I ever took my eyes off of her.
    When they were done with that one, they played another. It was a little more upbeat and only Shawn sang, but again, I was so hung up on how tal ented Jayden was, all I could do was stare at her.
    They both swit ched their guitars and I heard Cali laugh. When I looked at her, she was looking at