Misunderstood: In Love with the Nerd (The Miss Series Book 2) by Peggy Ann Craig Page A

stage and the band as they prepared to set up.  They exchanged a few necessary details, tested the microphone, and then broke immediately into her first song.
    Except for her singing and the band’s music, there was no other sound to be heard in the bar.  The crowd was thin as she predicted, with the odd table occupied, but most of the clientele in attendance were lounging at the bar, absorbed in their drinks and solitary company oblivious to the live band playing for them.  Even the bartender seemed more engrossed in getting a perfect shine from his countertop than the performance on stage.
    After she sang a few more songs Sonya stopped watching for Tristan.  He didn’t make an appearance as she had hoped.  It would have been nice.  She was finally doing what she had always dreamed about doing, and she was getting there on her own merits.  Still, a scrap of support wouldn’t have hurt.
    Her mind began to drift and she wondered what Daniel would think if he were there.  Would he compliment her on her singing vocals?  Would he praise her ability to achieve her dreams?  Would he tell her she had the talent to go as far as she wanted?
    That was the thing about Daniel.  He never chastised her dreams.  No matter how ludicrous or different they appeared from his perception of success.  He had the ability to make her believe in herself without having to say a word.
    A tiny spark of sorrow caught her off guard when she realized that she wished Daniel could have been there.
     
    * * *
     
    Life appeared to be falling into a predetermined destiny.  Sonya continued to play Monday nights to a meager crowd while Daniel’s personal life began to pick up.  He seemed to be spending more and more time with Jamie and little time with Sonya.  This was probably for the best, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of testiness whenever he had to hurry off in fear of being late with Jamie.
    Happily, she still had Saturday morning.  They jogged side by side in the wooded park on the dirt trail they followed every Saturday.  Daniel was a good jogger.  They picked up the sport together almost from the first Saturday after he moved in.  It was a mutual activity they both enjoyed; therefore, it was understandable they would meet routinely from that point on.
    They had just started down the narrow path on their way back, when she told him slightly out of breath, “The house band has asked me to be lead vocal on some of their songs.”
    He smiled over at her.  “That’s great.”
    “I’ll get to perform every night with them.”  She told him between heavy pants.
    “What about waitressing?”  His voice, on the other hand, did not sound in the least bit breathless.
    “I’ll have to split my shifts so that I can sing one or two songs per night.”  Holding her hand to her chest, she slowed to a walking pace and took deep breaths of air.
    Daniel stopped jogging to walk beside her.  More out of courtesy than fatigue as he hardly looked like he broke a sweat.
    “I’ll be performing tonight.”  She informed him and rubbed the back of her hand against a sweaty brow where she felt a vein pulsating rapidly.  “My first real audience.”
    “I’m sure you’ll do great.”  He walked with his hands on his hips, causing Sonya to wonder idly if maybe he got cramps after all from jogging.  His face, on the contrary, looked far from painful.  The jagged dirt path they were using became slightly narrow and forced them to walk in a single line.
    Sonya watched his back, then asked as casual as she could, “So what’s on your schedule tonight?”
    “Jamie and I have to adjust a system glitch and then retest the entire network—”
    “Daniel, do you never take time off!”  Exasperated, Sonya drew to a stop.
    He stopped and looked back at her.  “It needs to be done this weekend when no one is there to activate one of the many channels—”
    She shook her head angrily at his alien jargon and covered her throbbing head