The Winner Takes It All (Love in L.A. Book 3) (8 page)

Oh God.
Annie smiled and waved back. She’d wait until later to tell Erin she’d seen Mike outside. She knew telling her right then would be disastrous to her concentration and could cost her the competition, so she mentioned nothing about him and only asked how Erin and Keri and slept. They were just responding when an attractive man with sandy blonde hair, dressed in a nice suit walked to the center of the stage and started speaking into a microphone.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first season of
The Next American Superstar
. I am your host, Kyle Atkinson. I know many of you have traveled a long ways to get here, and we are very happy to have you here with us in the Big Apple. Now we have a lot of acts to get through today, so I’m just going to give everyone a brief run-down of today’s schedule and then we’ll get started. When you checked into your hotel, you were given a badge with a number. Does everybody have their badge? Great. Okay, we are now going to pass out a schedule for today. Look for your badge number on the schedule. That is the approximate time you are performing today. Please make sure you are ready to go half an hour prior to that. If you do not see your badge number on the schedule, congratulations. Your previous audition has guaranteed you a pass into the next round tomorrow. You may, however, choose to stick around… and I’d recommend it. Check out your competition. All of this is being recorded, and per the waivers you signed, any and all film can be used, so please remember that this is a family show, people. Keep it clean. Okay, that’s about it. I don’t know about you, everybody, but I know I’m excited. Are you excited?”

The contestants all cheered loudly, filling the auditorium with applause. When the noise died down, Kyle said, “Alright then, we will start in half an hour. Thank you,” and walked off the stage.

Everyone applauded again as ushers moved about the auditorium passing out schedules. As each contestant checked the schedule for their badge number, some people started getting up to do their last minute preparations. Those who were performing went to change into costumes and do last minute warm-ups. Those who were safe until the next round elected to stay and watch. So far, nobody was stupid enough to leave and not see the competition they would face. There were five million dollars on the line, and everybody seemed to be taking that fact very seriously. It made Annie want to throw up. To her, the money meant freedom and the chance to do something she loved for a living, but not at the cost of her sanity.

As she scanned the schedule nervously, her breath caught in her throat when she saw her badge number listed in the ten o’clock slot. That meant she had to be ready to go by nine-thirty. Glancing at Keri, she asked, “Are you safe?”

Keri shook her head as she stared down at the paper and sighed. “Nope, I’m down for two p.m.”

Erin said she was down for nine forty-five. Annie wasn’t sure whether or not she should feel nervous that Erin was going right before her. She’d never heard her sing before, so she had no idea how much a threat she was.

“I heard that there are a lot of vocalists and they’re making all of them sing today, and they are only going to keep four girls and four guys,” Keri said as she picked up her bag and stood up, then turned and waited for Annie and Erin to do the same. “So girls, let’s get ready and warm up those voices.”

Annie turned to lead the way out of the auditorium. She was already wearing what she was going to audition in, but she did want to touch up her make-up and do some vocal exercises. She focused on getting ready and tried not to think about walking out on that stage and facing all those people and singing. To her it felt a lot like having to strip naked in front of strangers. She was afraid she would mess up or be too boring and get booed off the stage.

As she stood in the ladies’ room, staring at herself in the mirror, she could hear Alex in her head, telling her to give it two hundred percent—all she had and more. Without a doubt, Annie knew that she was capable of giving a great performance… but was that going to be good enough? Swallowing hard, her hand trembled slightly as she tried to apply her mascara.
Just breathe,
she told herself.
You can do this.

Belatedly, she wondered how Casey and his dance crew had fared. She checked her cell phone, and sure enough, there was a text from Casey.

Casey:
Hey, we don’t have to perform until the next round tomorrow, but I am sitting in the center of the third row, ready to cheer you on. You can do it, princess!

Annie smiled with relief, knowing that she didn’t have to worry about him this round and could just focus on herself. She followed the signs that led her to the backstage area where she was supposed to wait until it was her turn to perform. First she was put in a greenroom with some other contestants for the first half hour, then she and Erin were both called to line up and wait “on deck” for their turn. Before Erin’s turn came up, Annie gave her a quick hug and wished her the best of luck. Erin hugged her hard and wished her the same, then turned to walk out on the stage.

As Erin introduced herself, saying she was originally from Hawaii and now lived in Los Angeles, Annie stopped breathing for a moment. From her spot backstage, she could only see part of the auditorium, but there were plenty enough people sitting out there to make her want to leave without saying a word. As the music started, she immediately recognized the song. Erin had chosen
Back to Black
by Amy Winehouse, and although she had only just started singing, so far she was killing it. Annie nodded with respect as her nervous level went up a notch and continued to grow as Erin sang on. The thundering applause that broke out when Erin finished her performance was intimidating.

After that, she didn’t have another moment left to think. A producer beckoned for her to come right up to the side of the curtain and wait for his signal to go onstage. As Annie stood there, all she could hear was her pounding heartbeat.
Just breathe. Just breathe.

Then it was her turn and she was walking out to the center of the stage to where a microphone stand had been placed. The lights were blinding, and she could already feel the sweat beading on her forehead. As she pulled the mic from the stand to introduce herself, she told them her name and said she from Los Angeles. She saw and heard Casey’s crew at the same time as they jumped up and cheered with a loud roar for her. Delighted and mortified at the same time, Annie plastered a smile on her face and waved to them. To her relief the audience laughed, and she nodded slightly to the sound technician, indicating that she was ready for them to start her music.

It was a gutsy move, choosing a Mariah Casey song, but her instincts had told her that she needed to take a risk, and she felt that if she could pull this off and make the judges and fans love her, she was golden.

As the familiar beginning chords played, the auditorium went wild.
Always Be My Baby
was a classic and an almost guaranteed crowd pleaser, yet she thought it had enough range to satisfy the judges as well. The excitement from everyone sitting in the audience was palpable, and it flicked a switch in Annie. Gone were the nerves. Gone was the self-doubt. All that was left was a girl who loved to sing.

But she didn’t sing. She soared. Her voice skillfully maneuvered through the notes, flawlessly transitioning all the way up into Mariah’s famous high range with incredible ease. Annie forgot that she felt like throwing up only moments earlier. She forgot that she had never performed in front of an audience this large before. She forgot that she was just a karaoke amateur, and she sang her heart out like it was what she had been born to do. Anyone there could hear it and feel it. At one point, she started clapping in time with the music with her hands over her head. The audience joined in and clapped with her to the beat.

By the time she finished singing, the entire room was on their feet cheering and applauding. Tears streamed unchecked down her cheeks as Annie got caught up in the raw emotion of the moment. This was everything she had ever dreamed of. Only months earlier, she hadn’t believed it was possible. She felt like she was never going to go anywhere and that she would be stuck working an office job for the rest of her life. But no… she
was
going somewhere, and she
did
have something special. And for the first time, she was beginning to believe it.

As she looked out into the audience, her eyes locked with Casey’s as he stood there with a puffed out chest, beaming at her as he applauded along with the rest of the crowd. He looked so proud, and she realized how happy she was that he could be there, sharing this experience. He was her rock, and he knew exactly how to encourage and uplift her.

She joined Erin backstage, and they hugged and cried happy tears for each other, then made their way to the ladies’ room to freshen up before joining the audience back in the auditorium. When it was Keri’s turn, they cheered her on. She’d chosen a song by Pink,
Fuckin’ Perfect
, of course editing out the profanity since it was a family show. She did great and didn’t miss any of her notes, but somehow it seemed like the audience didn’t respond quite as enthusiastically as they had to both Erin and Annie.

When the results were hung in the hallways at the end of the day, everyone swarmed around the lists to look for their badge numbers. Erin found her number first and shrieked, jumping up and down. Annie saw her number immediately below where Erin had her finger on the paper and started jumping up and down as well. Keri was not on the list, though, and she was an emotional, sobbing mess as the other two girls stood there awkwardly hugging her and patting her back. It could have so easily been one of them.

After saying their goodbyes, the remaining contestants were informed that they would need to report at seven the next morning. Annie texted Casey to see what he wanted to do for dinner, but he said he was going with the guys if she didn’t mind. She texted him back and said she would see him later. Then she turned to Erin and asked if she wanted to venture out and find something to eat, asking if she knew of any places she’d encountered on her previous trips to NYC. Erin’s face brightened immediately as she nodded.

“I totally do. Let’s go to Times Square. You ready for your first subway experience?”

Annie grinned nervously. “Um, yeah sure. Why not? I’ll have you there to protect me.”

Erin laughed. “It’s really not as bad as you think. Don’t worry. I was terrified my first time, but by the third, I felt like a pro. And New Yorkers really aren’t as rude as the movies make them out to be.”

“Really? That’s cool. Yeah, I’ve always thought the people in New York are supposed to be really rude. Especially the cab drivers.”

“Every single person I asked for help when I got lost a couple of times was really nice. I asked my friend who lives here about that, and he said, ‘Yeah, just don’t get in our way when we’re in a hurry to get somewhere, and we’re actually very nice.’ Now cab drivers, I can’t say. I use Uber, and all the drivers were great.”

“Oh my God, don’t you freaking love Uber?”

“I do. They are the best! Did you want to just Uber it instead?”

“Nah, fuck it. When in Rome, right? Let’s take the subway.”

“Haha, okay.

As they walked the short distance to the nearest subway station, Annie hesitantly brought up the subject she’d been avoiding all day.

“Okay, now I hope you won’t get angry with me for what I’m about to tell you, but please know I only had your best interests at heart.”

Erin gave her a confused smile. “Okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Annie launched into a replay of what happened that morning when she went outside to get some air and ran into Mike. Erin’s eyes grew wider as Annie continued on, but she didn’t say a word until Annie finished.

As the next train arrived, Erin boarded and Annie followed her. There was no room to sit, so they both grabbed a hold of the overhead bar and got cozy with each other. As the train lurched forward again, Erin continued their conversation.

“I’m still in shock that he came. I just told him where I was going to be today and asked if he wanted to grab dinner after he got off work. I didn’t think he’d actually come to the theater.”

“Well, girl, now I understand why you’re so gah gah over this guy.”

“Right? I don’t know what it is about him. He’s just… yummy.”

“He definitely has a certain charm about him. And those green eyes of his are fuckin’ sexy as hell.”

Erin nodded. “I know. They’re pretty boy eyes, but he’s so masculine. Like he just knows what he wants in bed and takes it. It’s so—yeah. I have no words. It’s a huge turn on. He just makes me go ‘rawr’ big-time. But I don’t think he wants to try the long distance thing.”

“Long distance relationships are the worst. I mean, technically I’ve never had a long distance relationship, but my high school boyfriend wouldn’t even try it. He broke up with me before he left for college in Boston. And Casey lives in L.A., but he’s touring around the country right now, so I only see him every few weeks or so.”

“So I should text him now, right?”

“Sure. See if he can do dinner tomorrow instead.”

“It might be my last supper here in NYC if I don’t do well with tomorrow’s audition.”

“Girl, you killed it today! What makes you think you can’t do it again tomorrow?”

“Oh we’re talking about who killed what now, Miss ‘I make Mariah Carey sound like a karaoke singer’?”

Annie turned bright red and gave Erin the biggest smile. “That is the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“I only speak the truth, lady. Your voice is ridic. Fair warning—I’m thinking about putting Ex-lax in your coffee tomorrow morning.”

Laughing, Annie shook her head as the train came to a stop. “I don’t think you have anything to be worried about. Your song was amazing. I adore Amy Winehouse.”

“She was one of the best for sure,” Erin agreed as they exited the train and walked up the stairs, coming out right by Times Square. “Too bad she had to go and die of alcohol poisoning. My little sister is an artist—a ridiculously talented one—and for my birthday one year, I asked her to paint a trio of portraits for me. I wanted Audrey Hepburn, Adele and Amy Winehouse. My three ‘A’ ladies.”