Change in Harmony (A Silver Script Novel Book 4) (7 page)

She grinned. “Watch closely. This one is a little trickier.”

Instead of holding hands to dance like they did before, they did the Irish jig in a line. Well, Allison and everyone else did. Nate tripped over his own feet more than once. At first, he was frustrated, but when everyone continued to encourage him, he relaxed and laughed along with everyone as he kept going. When the song ended, everyone cheered and Allison threw her arms around his neck.

“You did it.” She pulled back but didn’t let go as they stared into each other’s eyes.

Nate swallowed hard before going back to the table to take a break. He wanted to keep holding her. He loved how she felt in his arms, and how her eyes sparkled when she looked up at him. The smell of her shampoo, and the way her hair framed her face. But he couldn’t do that right now. Not with her. She was a good friend, and relationships always messed that up.

Allison joined him at the table, but the energy that usually burst from her was gone. She played with the straw in her drink. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, I have work that needs to get done, and I think I have a good idea for this commercial.” Nate pulled out some cash and dropped it on the table.

The smile on Allison’s lips didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s great.”

They left the pub and walked in silence for a block before Nate couldn’t handle it. “Thank you for helping me out today. I had a lot of fun.”

“I did too. I’d been wanting to visit the memorial ever since I heard about it.” Allison stared off into the distance.

“This is my stop here.” Nate took a few dollar bills from his wallet and held it out to Allison, then flagged down a cab. “The next subway to your place isn’t for another few blocks, and I’d feel bad having you walk on your own.”

Allison smiled weakly. “I can pay for myself. But thank you.”

Nate watched as she climbed in, the crisp bills still in his hand. He’d only wanted to protect their friendship, but he was pretty sure that he’d messed it up even more.

Allison wiped a tear from her eye as she climbed out of the cab and hurried up to her apartment. Things had been going so well, and she’d thought that Nate was having fun too. And the way he’d looked at her . . . she was sure he’d felt something.

Until he pulled away.

The door slammed harder than she’d tried, but she didn’t care. It was her fault for trusting him. She should have known better than to believe he would share her feelings. Thoughts of the blonde girl from the bar flashed through her mind. Sure, he’d walked her home that night instead of going home with the girl, but that’s because he’d been rejected by her.

Sam came home soon after and set groceries on the counter. “Hey, how’d it go today?”

“Don’t ask.”

“That good, huh?” Sam put the milk in the fridge. “Eddie told me Nate’s a good guy, but so far he’s ditched you and then did whatever he did tonight. I think Eddie’s blind.”

Allison took the small tub of rocky road ice cream from Sam and opened the lid. “He’s a good guy. I saw that today. He’s just not into me. Which is fine. I have to concentrate on my dance anyway.”

“How was class?” Sam stole a spoonful of ice cream from the tub.

“Better. We’re getting it, but I’m still worried about a couple of things. I just wish Darren would agree to a few extra practices.”

“Since you have nothing else on your plate.” Sam leaned back on the couch. “Eddie asked me to dinner tomorrow night.”

Allison squealed. “That’s great.”

“Maybe. What if he turns out like Nate?”

“They might be good friends, but I really don’t think he’s anything like Nate. But then, I only know him through business so I could be completely wrong. My point is, he’s obviously head over heels for you and deserves a chance to prove it.” Allison took another bite of ice cream and then put the lid on. “I’m off to bed. I have to tutor a few students, and they signed up for early slots.”

“Bummer. Good night.” Sam turned on the TV and grabbed her afghan.

Allison chuckled as she went to get ready for bed. It didn’t matter how long Sam had worked for the day. She still had to get in her favorite shows before she could sleep.

Allison yawned as soon as her last student left the practice room. She’d fought the exhaustion for the full hour, hoping to make it until the end of the lesson. Her dreams last night had gone between her parents fighting and being left by Nate over and over in different settings. When she was left stranded in the middle of an island with no way to get home, she’d given up trying to sleep and gotten up to shower.

If she hurried, she could get home and sleep for a few hours before work that night. The snow that had threatened the night before had given way to the sun. Allison stood outside the building for a moment to enjoy the warmth on her face. It had been an awful winter, and she was ready for spring to come. She hurried past a group of students and took the subway back to her apartment.

As she made her way out of the subway, she froze. Nate was only a few feet away, looking at his phone. If she could just get past him … she ducked her head and pulled her collar up higher, then took the steps two at a time. She heard her name called, but she continued down the sidewalk, her face burning. Every ounce of her wanted to turn around and walk back, but she forced herself to keep going. She’d been burned three times, and she wasn't about to let it happen again.

Sam looked up in surprise when Allison threw open the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I need sleep.” Allison dropped her bag and shoes inside her room and flopped on her bed. She had four hours until she had to go to work. Four hours of sleep—if only her brain would allow her to drift off.

The thought of calling in and canceling was tempting after waking up with a sore throat. But with Eddie going out, the last thing he needed was an angry crowd. She’d just have to leave early if her throat got worse.

Allison reapplied her lipstick and straightened her hair one more time before she was satisfied. She could hear Sam humming to herself in the other room, which meant she was ready and wanted to leave, but didn’t want to bug Allison. She grabbed her coat and a few cough drops before going out to the living room.

“Oh, there you are. I was just about to come and get you.” Sam wore a formfitting red dress that accented her curves.

“Sorry. You look amazing. I’m glad I made you get that dress.” Allison grabbed her keys off the counter.

“So am I. You don’t think it’s too much?” Sam followed behind. She’d meet Eddie at the bar before heading out.

Allison laughed. “No, and Eddie won’t know what hit him.”

They arrived at the bar just a few minutes before Allison had to go onstage. She waved at Sam as she went back to drop off her stuff. Her throat had only gotten worse on the way to the bar, and she was pretty sure she was getting a cough. Maybe walking all over outside the day before hadn’t been such a great idea.

The crowd was large that night, but it was clear after only a few songs that Allison wouldn’t be able to do much more. Her muscles ached, and her voice had a raspiness to it that wasn’t normally there. She forced out one more song before bowing.

There were a few protests as she left the stage, but she didn’t care. She was freezing, and her eyes felt puffy. It was definitely time to go home. The call for an encore made Allison cringe, but she crept out the back way, hoping she wouldn’t lose her job over this.

Allison’s phone buzzed as she stumbled down the sidewalk. She pulled it out of her pocket and almost dropped it. “Hello?”

“Hey, this is Darren. I got your message, and I have some free time right now. Want to practice? I could grab a classroom.”

Allison groaned. “I’d love to, but I’m really not feeling well. I must have caught something. Are you free tomorrow?”

“No, I have meetings all day. This is really the only time I can until class next week. How sick are you?”

I’m ready to die
. “I think it’s a cold, but I’m not sure. I just know I need to sleep.”

There was silence for a moment. “Can we just run through it a couple of times? Then you can go home.”

Allison bit her lip. They really needed the practice, but she wasn’t sure how well she’d dance when she was this sick. And she’d just skipped out early from work.

“Listen, I have my car. I’ll come and pick you up so you don’t have to take the train. I’m not too far away anyway.”

“Fine. But if you get sick, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Meet me at the apartment so I can grab my shoes.”

“Got it.”

Allison stared at her phone for a moment before continuing home. She collapsed on the couch and wrapped herself up in a blanket, hoping she could sleep for just a little bit before he got there.

The knocking on the door was muffled, but it was enough to pull Allison off the couch. She stumbled over to the door, shivering.

Darren stood in the doorway smiling and holding a bag. “Hey, sorry I was late, but I wanted to stop by and grab this for you.”

Allison took the bag and pulled out a container of chicken noodle soup from the diner just down the road.
Their
diner. “You remembered.”

“Of course I did.” He slid past her and went into the kitchen for a spoon. “Now, go lie down on the couch and I’ll bring you some.”

There was no way she was going to argue with that. She grabbed a couple ibuprofen for the achiness, and then curled back up in her blankets. Darren brought her a bowl of soup and then sat next to her with his own bowl.

The heat from the chicken broth soothed her throat while the ginger burned. It was Darren who had introduced her to the soup when she’d first moved to New York.

“Is it helping?” Darren set his bowl on the coffee table.

“Yes, thank you. It was exactly what I needed.” Allison drank the last bit of the broth and leaned back on the couch, closing her eyes.

Darren stood, and Allison could hear the rattle of dishes in the kitchen. She knew she should get up to change into her shoes, but she didn’t want to move. A moment later, she felt Darren sit next to her and he brushed a strand of hair from her face.

“Oh, wow. You’re burning up.” Darren jumped up and came back with a damp washcloth that he set on her forehead. “Where’s Sam?”

“On a date.” Allison kept her eyes closed, willing her forming headache to go away. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to dance tonight. I’m sorry.”

Darren pulled her close to him so her head rested on his shoulder. “Just rest.”

The sound of the TV murmured in her ears as she drifted in and out of sleep. Allison vaguely heard Sam come in, along with a few voices talking to each other before the door slammed shut. Darren stood, and Allison rested her head on the pillow next to where he’d been sitting. The door opened and closed again before Sam came and sat next to Allison.

“What happened to you?” she asked.

“I don’t even know, but I’m not sure I’ll survive it.” Allison coughed and sat up. “What was that all about?”

“Um, well, Nate came to say hi, and kinda flipped out when he saw Darren with his arm around you. I tried to explain that you two were just partners, but he didn’t seem to care.” Sam’s eyes narrowed. “That’s all it was, right?”

Allison coughed again, trying to remember what had happened. The medicine had kicked in, so the aches were gone, but her head was still cloudy. “He came over to pick me up so we could practice our dance, but he brought soup instead.”

“Right, I’m sending you to bed. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were sick before.”

“I’m not about to argue. Night.” Allison stood and shuffled to her room where she dropped into her bed. Nate had come by? What in the world for? She rolled over and closed her eyes. It was something she could deal with later.