Daylight

My Weakness Part Two

As Dani ran through her vocal warm-ups she couldn’t keep the butterflies in her stomach away. She was usually nervous for shows because she always wanted to put on a good performance for her fans, but today was different. Her voice faltering on a note brought her out of her thoughts. “Ugh,” she groaned out loud frustrated with how she was letting her mind get the best of her.

“What’s wrong over here blondie?” Samantha had crept up behind her.

Dani glanced up to meet the woman’s eyes then dropped her head again. “I-I,” she hesitated contemplating telling her manager, “I saw Santana this morning. She works at the coffee shop John and I went to earlier on the way here.” She took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves.

“I thought we were past this, Dani. I thought you had moved on. Does she know about your concert tonight?” Sam nodded towards the girl willing her to lift her head.

“I don’t think I ever moved on,” the shorter girl mumbled under her breath.

“What was that?”

Dani’s gaze rose to look her manager in the eyes. “I said, yes she does. I invited her.” She corrected herself not wanting the woman to know what she actually said.

“Why’s seeing her causing you to not hit your notes in warm-ups? She’s not even here yet girl. What’re you gonna do if she does show up and you’re on stage?” The brunette stepped closer resting her hand on the girl’s shoulder trying to comfort her.

Again Dani’s eyes locked on the ground in front of her. “I don’t know Sam. I’m so nervous to see her not because I want to impress her necessarily,” she paused, “she’s already heard me sing. I just can’t shake what I’m feeling from talking to her. I don’t know what—”

“You’re gonna do when you perform the songs about her?” The manager interrupted. She knew Dani well enough and after having countless conversations about her relationship with Santana, she caught onto the fact that the certain Latina was the muse for most of her songs. Although Dani had short flings here and there, it had always come back to her. This was a silent understanding between the singer and Sam and neither pushed the subject often.

Dani’s eyes widened and her head snapped up in shock. “How’d you—um…yeah.” The girl decided not to question it. “Like what if I forget the words because she’s there? It’s been four years, what the hell is wrong with me?”

Samantha simply shook her head and gave the girl a brief but warm hug. “You need to get back to warming up that voice of yours. The concert starts in 30 minutes and you need to go get your hair done still. You’re gonna be late…as usual.”

“I can sing while they do my hair stop worrying so much.” Her smile shone through as she pushed her worries to the back of her mind.

“That’s what you pay me to do, sweetheart.” The brunette laughed with Dani at the last comment before walking away to leave her alone.

Dani walked in the direction of her room backstage and sung the entire way. When she sat down in the chair the woman started to brush through her blonde hair. She knew not to talk to the singer during warm-ups or this close to before the show in general. The sounds coming from Dani were a mixture of words and vowels and sounds she couldn’t make into any recognizable letter. As Dani sat there, she ran through her routine thoughtlessly. She had it down which allowed her mind to wander without missing a beat. She wanted Santana to see how much fun she was having being a singer. Where did all her confidence from earlier go? I can do this. Just pretend she’s not here. She probably won’t be anyway she’s busy tonight. Stop worrying over nothing, Dani thought. She wanted to show her she had a good reason for leaving her all those years ago. It was worth it…wasn’t it?