A Slip of the Hand

Chapter 3

Compose, compose, compose, I silently tell my reflection. I only have a couple of moments to pull myself together.

I scrutinize my appearance. My mid-length brown hair is a tad frizzy and disheveled from dancing in the tight crowd, but it's held its waves, and it smooths down easily enough. My makeup has also stayed remarkably well, and I'll have to thank Ellie for bringing primer and setting spray into my life.

It's not like he'll look twice at me, anyway—he meets stupid fans all the time, and I'm sure he's surrounded by women already—but this might be my only chance to meet Oliver Rose, so I might as well do what I can.

I blot my face with a paper towel and throw on a bit of fresh concealer. I retouch my crimson lipstick before I stare myself straight in the eye.

If I fucking blow this...

"Be normal," I murmur aloud. "Do not lose your shit. Be normal."

When I exit the bathroom, I'm relieved to see Daniel at the end of the hall where I left him.

***

Ellie sighs in relief when she sees me, but a deep crease remains in her forehead. "I was getting worried!" Then she notices Daniel behind me.

"Ellie, Daniel. Daniel, Ellie."

"Hi," she says with a snap, but she smiles sweetly enough. "So... you took your time getting out here."

I'm sure I have a dozen missed calls and messages from her. I didn't even think to l check my phone in the madness of it all!

My head spins as I try to figure out how to explain the situation without getting overly excited. How do I tell my best friend that our wildest dream is about to come true?

I glance at Daniel, silently asking him for help.

"I'll go grab some passes," he says, not quite getting my telepathic message, and heads back toward the venue entrance.

Ellie's eyes grow wide. "Passes?"

Perhaps that's enough for me to finally focus my thoughts.

I link arms with her to pull her close. I take a deep breath, and the story gushes out in a quick stream: "Okay, so I grabbed that guy's hand by mistake at the start of the show and it turns out he knows the band and he invited us to come to their afterparty and I'm trying not to lose my shit right now."

"Oh my god!" Ellie exclaims as she clasps her hand over her mouth.

I nod.

"Is this for real?" Her hand remains in front of her face, ready to silence another shriek.

"It better be! I guess we'll find out shortly. I saw his all-access pass, and it looked pretty legit."

Ellie leans against the chain-link fence, her legs threatening to fold under her.

"I'm trying to pull myself together," I say. "I just hope that I can act like a normal human."

Ellie nods in agreement, still trying to find her breath.

"And we have to stay together, okay? I mean, not glued together, but let's not lose each other."

She nods again.

We stay on silent, high alert as we wait for Daniel. My heart threatens to tear itself from my chest, and my pulse echoes in my temples. I'm too full of nervous excitement to speak; Ellie is similarly silent. She smooths her fiery red hair for what must be the tenth time, but it already couldn't be any sleeker. It's probably been mere minutes since Daniel left us, but it feels like an eternity.