Limitless: The Second Edition

Oliver

When you actually have a reason to be excited for Monday, the weekend can seem like forever. Sure, it's only been a three-day wait, but it feels like an eternity. And while I'm beyond thrilled that today I will be hanging out with Derek Anderson after rehearsal, I can't help but feel a bit sad that Hannah's not going to be there.

And that gets me thinking. Why don't I just invite her over? I literally have her number. She lives in the same school district, so she probably doesn't live that far away. All I have to do is send her a text or calling her asking her to come over. Or I could just jump the gun and straight up ask her out. What's holding me back?

That's right.

I'm a coward.

It doesn't matter now. I don't want to force her into a relationship with me. I want her to be the free bird she's meant to be. I don't want to trap her with someone like me. I want her to be free to pursue Derek if she wants to. The last thing I want to do is trap her between a rock and a hard place. There. It's settled. I'm going to let her make the first move if it comes down to it. If she likes me, I'll let her come to me.

Today's rehearsal went by in a blur. We worked on blocking the first half of the first act. Everything went smoothly, except for the few fangirls who kept going out of their way to flirt with Derek. He's taking it in stride, not fazed at all. He's probably used to it.

Props to you, buddy.

Before Hannah leaves, I go up to her to say goodbye. "You did good today," I tell her. "I just can't get over how pretty your voice is. It's so beautiful. I could listen to you sing for hours."

"Thanks," she replies, her cheeks turning pink. "You have an amazing voice too. And you can dance. By the way, if you ever want to dance again, just ask me. I'll be more than willing to help you."

I resist the urge to hug her. But I don't want to make her uncomfortable, so I settle for just thanking her and, as usual, longingly looking after her as she walks away. I'm so lost in my daydream of dancing with her that I don't notice Derek approaching from behind.

"You okay, buddy?" he asks me. "You zoned out there for a second."

I turn around and sigh. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just want something I can't have."

"We can talk about that over dinner," he replies. "Come on. Where are we headed?"

"You okay with a buffet and grille?"

He grins. "Do they serve good stuff?"

"Oh yeah," I answer. "Definitely."

"Then that's where we're headed. Just give me the name of the place and I'll put it in my GPS."

I follow Derek out to his car and get settled in the passenger's seat. He climbs in the driver's side, then turns on the radio to a boy band CD. "Hope you don't mind Timeless," he says. "I can change it if you want."

I shake my head. "No, you're fine. I haven't listened to them much, but the one girl in our cast is obsessed with them."

Derek laughs as he pulls out of the school parking lot. "Yeah, I'm probably one of their very few male fans. I am a firm believer that you don't have to be a girl to simply enjoy good music."

I can't help but smile as he says that. "At least someone believes that."

We talk about random stuff until we pull into the parking lot of Albert's. Wait until Albert sees me walk in with the star of Chain Breaker, also known as his granddaughter's obsession.