Free Learn to Fly by Heidi Hutchinson Page B

sleepy eyes and looked back and forth between
Luke and Lenny.
    “ That's
not where I left you.” He winked at Lenny and she felt her
face flush as she remembered where she had awoken only a short time
ago.
    Mike chuckled at her
discomfort and got a bottle of water out of the fridge.
    “ Hey,
throw me one of those,” Luke called to him and Mike tossed a
bottle his direction.
    “ You
joining us for movie's and popcorn tonight?” Mike directed at
Lenny.
    “ I,
uh,” Lenny stammered. She had no idea what she was going to
be doing that night. She hadn't discussed it with Carl. But more
than that, she was still reeling from the complex emotions that Luke
had stirred in her.
    “ When
we park we're going over to the Red Bus, you're coming with us.”
Mike held up his hand to stop her weak protest. “We're the
ones who asked you to come on this crazy adventure, it would rude to
ditch you.”
    Lenny sighed in mock
disgust but she gave him a smile. “If you say so.”
    She locked eyes with
Luke momentarily. It was enough to cause her heart to stall. He was
beautiful. And not only on the outside.

    ***

    They arrived in
Virginia Beach around eight that night, the buses parked and everyone
disembarked. It had been a long two weeks. Crew and personnel
scattered almost immediately.
    They weren’t
staying in hotels for a lot of the tour because they were trying to
cut costs. The band had to prove themselves as a big draw again.
They had decided to buy their own tour buses which helped keep the
crew comfortable during their crazy, sometimes back-to-back
performances. The schedule they were on was hairy, but they were
more than prepared for it. The investment of the transportation and
skipping hotel accommodations for the majority of the trip, had been
an easy and efficient way of getting the label's backing for such a
date-heavy tour.
    The band would all
go separate ways tomorrow for the day. But for the night before,
they all gathered in the Red Bus to go over music Sway was working on
and watch movies. Having Lenny tag along was a natural addition to
their close knit family.
    Mike could see her
apprehension and decided to give her free rein of the remote control.
He understood the complex idea of an outsider trying to fit into a
dynamic that was already tight and bonded. It couldn't be easy.
    Lenny smiled
gratefully as Sway placed the popcorn bowl in her lap. That was
something concrete Mike had picked up on, Lenny liked to eat.
    Blake was already
popping more for everyone else. Lenny started to flip through
channels; she paused on ESPN sports network for a moment. She
casually glanced around, not noticing Mike lounging in the back,
watching though half lidded eyes. She turned her attention back to
the sports update.
    He watched as her
body noticeably shifted closer to the screen. Her eyes lit up while
the channel showed images of snowboarders practicing in anticipation
of the Winter X games coming up in a couple months. Mike caught
Luke’s eye and raised his chin in Lenny’s direction.
    “ Find
anything good yet?” Blake asked abruptly and she quickly
changed the channel.
    “ Not
yet.” Lenny replied, scrolling through the list again. She
eventually settled on an old classic movie. An American in Paris with Gene Kelly. Mike was a sucker for old movies and it distracted
him from asking Lenny about the snowboarding.
    “ You
don't really like this, do you?” Blake made a face at Lenny.
    “ Well,
it's no Brigadoon ...”
Lenny smiled.
    “ Brigadoon !”
Mike heard himself shout. He knew he had just gotten more excited
than his usual. Everyone turned to stare at him. “You like Brigadoon too?” He asked Lenny, getting up and moving onto the couch so
he could be closer to her.
    “ Holy
crap, yes.” Lenny giggled.
    “ You've
got to be kidding me!” Blake grumbled. “There's two of them?”
    “ I
always wanted to be Cyd Charisse when I grew up,” Lenny
confessed.
    Mike didn't know the
last time he had been this