Sarah to add, “So he can spy on you.”
“Shut up.” Derek elbows Blake in the ribs. “I’ve always loved that piece. We did it in chamber. And the way you do it—so much feeling. That needs to go on Bliss’s next CD.”
“CD?” I am so lost. Meadow and her mom forgot one thing when they remade me. I’d give anything for a personality transplant right now. I am so out of my depth.
Derek tips his head, talks low, like it’s just the two of us. “Our conductor makes us listen to our numbers at night when we go to bed. Some flighty hypnosis trash. Sometimes I cheat—slip in something soothing.” His deep brown eyes capture mine. “You sing me to sleep.”
Blushing, sweating—what a mess. At least I keep my lunch down. Who could possibly answer that? He must be doing this on purpose, take perverse delight in reducing tall, awkward girls to puddles.
Meadow comes to my rescue. “Now you’ve met Beth.” She maneuvers me to the side. “Here’s Sarah, Leah, and I’m—” She pauses and smiles at him like he’s won the lottery. “Meadow.”
Blake and Derek mumble polite stuff.
Meadow keeps after Derek. “I’ve got your CD.”
Blake says, “The new one or the old one?”
Sarah laughs at his elbow, catches his eye again. “All three. I even got the new Primus recording.” Primus is the name of their special group for the older guys.
Meadow picks up a postcard. “We all do.”
Derek turns to where I’m pretending to look at fuzzy gloves with “Top of Europe” and mountain peaks embroidered on them. “How about you, Beth. Do you listen to us?”
I nod. “I have all the AYS CDs, too.” My tongue seems to function better if I don’t look at him. “They, um, set the standard.”
He shrugs. “None of them has your voice.”
Meadow maneuvers to a spot on Derek’s other side. “Are you guys singing up here?”
Blake puts a postcard with a guy blowing an alphorn back in the rack. “Uh-huh. We just checked the schedule.” He pronounces “schedule” as “shedule.” Sarah smiles at that. Blake raises his eyebrows at her. “Thirty minutes.”
Sarah picks out a card I can’t see and shows it to him. “You must be right after us.”
“Cool.” Blake looks around the rack at all of us. “We should do a piece together—in the name of international harmony.”
Derek turns back to me, picks up a black velour beanie. “Are you singing your solo? I’d love to hear it live.”
“No.” I croak, swallow, manage to find a voice that doesn’t wobble too much. “That’s our competition piece. We’re saving it.”
“Secret weapon?” That grin again.
Dang. I’m going to die right here and now. And then they’ll win for sure. A guy with his cuteness factor blended with little-boy sweet shouldn’t be allowed to roam free and unprotected. He’s infectious. Crap. He’s an epidemic.
I can’t help smiling back at him. “Maybe not as secret as we thought.”
“Do you girls want to get a drink with us?” He says “girls” but he looks at me. “They’ve got this hot apple stuff that really clears out your throat. Great for the pipes.”
Leah looks at her watch. “I don’t think we have time. We’re supposed to warm up in five minutes.”
Blake leans over Sarah and whispers, “Your loss,” in her ear—loud enough so we all hear. She keeps her cool, does this almost imperceptible cat-wriggle response.
Meadow tugs at the beanie in Derek’s hand. “How about after.”
Derek drops the beanie and turns back to me. “Only if you promise to sing the test piece with us.”
Sing with them? Oh . . . my . . . gosh. “But we sing the treble arrangement.” I’m gross sweaty again. I can even feel perspiration breaking out in the small of my back.
Derek doesn’t seem to notice. “The bass piece is in the same key. It works. We sing it in our chamber choir with the AYS all the time.”
Meadow shakes her sexy straight hair back out of her face. That gets Derek’s
“Shut up.” Derek elbows Blake in the ribs. “I’ve always loved that piece. We did it in chamber. And the way you do it—so much feeling. That needs to go on Bliss’s next CD.”
“CD?” I am so lost. Meadow and her mom forgot one thing when they remade me. I’d give anything for a personality transplant right now. I am so out of my depth.
Derek tips his head, talks low, like it’s just the two of us. “Our conductor makes us listen to our numbers at night when we go to bed. Some flighty hypnosis trash. Sometimes I cheat—slip in something soothing.” His deep brown eyes capture mine. “You sing me to sleep.”
Blushing, sweating—what a mess. At least I keep my lunch down. Who could possibly answer that? He must be doing this on purpose, take perverse delight in reducing tall, awkward girls to puddles.
Meadow comes to my rescue. “Now you’ve met Beth.” She maneuvers me to the side. “Here’s Sarah, Leah, and I’m—” She pauses and smiles at him like he’s won the lottery. “Meadow.”
Blake and Derek mumble polite stuff.
Meadow keeps after Derek. “I’ve got your CD.”
Blake says, “The new one or the old one?”
Sarah laughs at his elbow, catches his eye again. “All three. I even got the new Primus recording.” Primus is the name of their special group for the older guys.
Meadow picks up a postcard. “We all do.”
Derek turns to where I’m pretending to look at fuzzy gloves with “Top of Europe” and mountain peaks embroidered on them. “How about you, Beth. Do you listen to us?”
I nod. “I have all the AYS CDs, too.” My tongue seems to function better if I don’t look at him. “They, um, set the standard.”
He shrugs. “None of them has your voice.”
Meadow maneuvers to a spot on Derek’s other side. “Are you guys singing up here?”
Blake puts a postcard with a guy blowing an alphorn back in the rack. “Uh-huh. We just checked the schedule.” He pronounces “schedule” as “shedule.” Sarah smiles at that. Blake raises his eyebrows at her. “Thirty minutes.”
Sarah picks out a card I can’t see and shows it to him. “You must be right after us.”
“Cool.” Blake looks around the rack at all of us. “We should do a piece together—in the name of international harmony.”
Derek turns back to me, picks up a black velour beanie. “Are you singing your solo? I’d love to hear it live.”
“No.” I croak, swallow, manage to find a voice that doesn’t wobble too much. “That’s our competition piece. We’re saving it.”
“Secret weapon?” That grin again.
Dang. I’m going to die right here and now. And then they’ll win for sure. A guy with his cuteness factor blended with little-boy sweet shouldn’t be allowed to roam free and unprotected. He’s infectious. Crap. He’s an epidemic.
I can’t help smiling back at him. “Maybe not as secret as we thought.”
“Do you girls want to get a drink with us?” He says “girls” but he looks at me. “They’ve got this hot apple stuff that really clears out your throat. Great for the pipes.”
Leah looks at her watch. “I don’t think we have time. We’re supposed to warm up in five minutes.”
Blake leans over Sarah and whispers, “Your loss,” in her ear—loud enough so we all hear. She keeps her cool, does this almost imperceptible cat-wriggle response.
Meadow tugs at the beanie in Derek’s hand. “How about after.”
Derek drops the beanie and turns back to me. “Only if you promise to sing the test piece with us.”
Sing with them? Oh . . . my . . . gosh. “But we sing the treble arrangement.” I’m gross sweaty again. I can even feel perspiration breaking out in the small of my back.
Derek doesn’t seem to notice. “The bass piece is in the same key. It works. We sing it in our chamber choir with the AYS all the time.”
Meadow shakes her sexy straight hair back out of her face. That gets Derek’s
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