Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood(27)
Author: Abby McDonald

“I can check out a couple of songs.” Brandon jammed his hands into the pockets of his bulky khaki jacket. His Unabomber jacket, Hallie had secretly christened it. “Anyway, won’t you need a ride home after?”

“Dakota will take me,” Hallie told him, smoothing back her hair. “He would have given me the ride here too, but he had to be here early to do the sound check, and set up with the guys.”

“Oh.” Brandon paused. “I mean, sure, that makes sense. Listen”— he paused again —“I was thinking . . .”

“Uh-huh?” Hallie was already distracted, scanning the crowd. The club was tucked away between a neon-fronted hotel and a grimy liquor store, the lights glowing all the way down the block.

“You were talking earlier about trying to be an actress —”

“I am an actress,” Hallie corrected.

“Right, anyway, I was thinking you’ll need new headshots, and all of that stuff, and, well, I’ve been doing some photography . . .” Brandon trailed off. “I could help you out. If you want.”

Hallie turned and assessed him quickly. He didn’t look like a star photographer, but who knew — perhaps there was a visual genius lurking beneath that scraggly beard. “Maybe. Drop by with a portfolio or something, and I’ll take a look.”

“Great, I could come by tomorrow, or —”

“Ana Lucia!” Hallie called, spotting a familiar cascade of dark hair. She turned to Brandon. “See you later!” she told him quickly, then hurried over to where Ana Lucia was waiting with Meredith and Brie, the trio outfitted in an array of skinny denim and perfectly draped tank tops. “Hey!” she cried, excited to see familiar faces. “How are you guys?”

“Don’t even ask.” Ana Lucia scowled. She crossed her arms, metallic bracelets jangling against her chest.

“They’re saying the show’s sold out,” Meredith added, giving Hallie air-kisses on each cheek. Brie looked up from her phone, flickered a wave in Hallie’s direction, then resumed her tapping.

“The idiot on the door won’t even call the manager to get me in!” Ana Lucia exclaimed. “And I promised Reed I’d come. He’ll think I blew him off!” She craned her neck to see ahead of them in line, standing on the tiptoes of her dangerous-looking studded boots.

“Why don’t you guys just come in with me?” Hallie suggested. “I’m on the list.”

Three heads whipped around in unison. “What? You? How?” Ana Lucia exclaimed. “Sorry, I mean, I thought you just got into town?”

“I met Dakota at that party last week,” Hallie replied. “And, well . . .” She couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across her face. Ana Lucia gasped.

“No!”

“Yes.” Hallie gave a shrug, the perfect kind of nonchalant “sure, I’m dating the gorgeous rock star, no big deal” shrug that she figured this kind of situation demanded.

“You don’t wait around!” Meredith grinned, and even Brie looked up from her phone again to offer Hallie a nod of approval.

“This is perfect!” Ana Lucia linked arms with Hallie and marched them toward the head of the line. “I was going to call you to hang out anyway, but now we can get to know each other some more. You with Dakota, and me with Reed!” Ana Lucia’s face suddenly brightened with a new thought. “You can get us backstage, right?”

The band was great, but with Dakota up there, how could they not be? Jagged chords, wild, infectious melodies — the crowd adored them, yelling along to the lyrics as the guys attacked their instruments and struck their rock-star poses. They were ramshackle, sure, but all the more irresistible for it — an unpolished, wild fervor behind every song.

“Aren’t they beyond?” Ana Lucia yelled as the audience whooped and hollered. Hallie nodded, wordless. There was no “they” to her, only him, because as far as she was concerned, Dakota was alone on that stage.

“We’re going to take it down a moment,” he said, gesturing for quiet. His shirt was wet through with sweat, hair plastered against his scalp, but there was an undeniable energy radiating from him; a shimmering aura of confidence in the way he swaggered across the tiny stage. “This one is new. We hope you like it.”

Reed strummed out a few chords, and then the beat kicked in — slower, seductive. Dakota stepped back to the microphone, and began.

“I saw you in my dreams, so many years before . . .”

Hallie forgot how to breathe.

It was a ballad, plaintive and heartfelt. Dakota stood, lit by a single spotlight; guitar slung across his chest. He seemed larger-than-life, somehow; not entirely real. To Hallie, it was as if there were a great distance between them, a huge divide between him — up there — and her, lost in the mass of people below.

And then his eyes caught hers in the crowd.

“It was you, only you, everything I waited for . . .”

The distance disappeared; it was only her, and him, and nobody else. She could have sworn he sang the rest of the song to her, and her alone. She was so lost in the sight of him that she barely even noticed when the song was done, and the band sauntered offstage to the plaintive cries of every girl in the audience.

“Oh, my God.” Ana Lucia clutched Hallie’s arm, wide-eyed. “He totally sang that to you.”

Hallie tried to maintain her nonchalance, but failed. She let out an excited squeal. “Wasn’t he amazing?”

“And did you see how hot Reed looks?” Ana Lucia matched her glee. “Come on, let’s go say hi!”

They headed for the grimy back hallway, fighting through the crowd of adoring teen girls already clustered by the dressing room door.

“Sorry, off-limits.” A burly guy blocked their way.

“We’re with the band,” Ana Lucia insisted. The man didn’t move. “Hallie?” she turned.

“Just a second.” Hallie quickly texted Dakota, and, moments later, he appeared.

“They’re good, Al,” he told the bouncer, who stood aside to let them through. The girls sashayed past with a chorus of greeting, heading back to the dressing room, but Hallie held back, suddenly shy.

“That was incredible,” she told Dakota softly.

“You think?” Dakota was still sweaty and glowing, practically vibrating with energy. He grinned at her, pushing back a swoop of hair. “I can’t tell. It’s like, I come offstage, and get instant amnesia. It’s all a blank to me.”