I made it to the front of Pier 39 with my guitar about twenty minutes after I left Michael with my mom. I considered several times on the walk here that I should just go back and let Luke go on alone. I would make up for it later. But once I actually arrived at the spot of our performance, I realized the reason he really needed me to show up.
Everything was already set up. Well, what there was to set up. There was a poster with the band name and a list of the upcoming gigs with their dates. Everything was there. Everything except Luke.
"Luke!" I hissed on the phone as I watched a couple people stop and look at the poster board and then sit down nearby. "Where are you?"
"Um, did I mention I would be running a little late?" Luke chuckled sheepishly on the other side of the line.
"No!"
"Oh. Well, um, I kinda am."
"Where are you?" I said anxiously, bouncing on the balls of my feet.
"Um, the 101..." Luke mumbled.
"The freeway?" I shouted, earning a few odd glances.
"Jeez! No need to blast my hearing," Luke muttered. As he spoke, his voice went from its normal tone, to distant, to normal again, meaning he moved his phone to the other ear since I practically yelled in the other. "And yeah, the freeway."
"Why the hell are you on the freeway?"
"I was in San Jose?" I could feel Luke wince on the other side.
"For?" I wedged my phone between my shoulder and cheek as I sat on the stool and started to tune my guitar.
"Uh, I had something to do." Luke murmured distractedly and I finally realized he was driving.
"I'm not gonna ask," I sighed. "You better hurry. You owe me big time, Hemmo."
"Thank you so much Lana!" He said, relief clear in his voice. "I promise I'll make up for it and be sure to stay away from the spot in Michael's apartment that's above your bedroom when he's at your place!" The last part came out in a big rush and my face was suddenly on fire.
"Wait, what?" I nearly choked on my own spit.
"Nothing, nothing!"
"Luke..."
"It's nothing!" Luke chuckled lightly.
"Lucifer Hemmings, I swear-"
"Oops, sorry! I gotta go! Did you know you aren't supposed to really be on your phone when your driving? I'll see you later, thank you so much, bye!"
And then the line went dead.
I sat there for a little while longer, glaring at my phone screen until it eventually dimmed and locked. I groaned and shoved my phone in my back pocket. I let my head rest on my guitar. Luke heard! I thought with embarassment, imagining him walking around Michael's apartment, looking for him and then hearing...things.
After a few minutes, my red cheeks had dulled and my face had only the heat of a forest fire instead of the sun. I lifted my head, looking out at the area around me, trying to keep my nerves calm. I'd never performed in front of people other than Luke and Michael alone.
Forcing the jitters down, I reached up and tapped the mic, grabbing the attention of some people nearby before I took a deep breath and introduced myself.
***
Fifteen minutes into the mini show, Luke was just barely getting onto the bridge to cross the bay into San Francisco. Luckily, by then I had adjusted to playing in front of people, although I was still nervous as hell. But after my first song, the crowd's applause gave me a little ground.
