early to stretch and practice. Because all she could feel was excitement and adrenaline pumping throughout her body, she had to remind herself to eat, stay hydrated and use the restroom for the remainder of the day.
That night, the show opened and received a standing ovation. Raven poured her heart out into every number, and the sound of the audience’s applause told her that it was all worth it. After the cast had taken its final bows and the curtain had come down for the last time, Raven ran from the stage and straight into the waiting arms of Dru. She held his face in her hands for a moment, seeing reflected in his eyes everything that she was feeling.
“I told you it was going to be great,” she said.
“No, you were great,” he answered before kissing her.
She met the elder Davis before he left the theater. He had an early flight to L.A. to catch the next morning. Like father, like son was all she could think as she stood around backstage talking with Dru’s father. They had the same laugh and the same sense of humor. After saying good-night, Dru and Raven had dinner with her folks at a small restaurant uptown. Afterward, Dru asked her to come back to his place and she nodded, settling against his shoulder as he drove. They were quiet during the short ride, each lost in their own thoughts and basking in the glow of the fabulous night they’d just experienced.
Dru showed Raven around his neat and spacious duplex in Westchester. It was very masculine, with a mixture of solid patterns and neutral and dark colors throughout. It was a two-bedroom home, with the larger of the bedrooms serving as an office and gym. Dru poured a couple of glasses of merlot and they settled on his leather sofa, listening to music and talking.
“Can I ask you a question without you getting upset with me?” Dru asked.
“Of course you can. How can I get upset with you for asking a question?”
“I guess it would depend on the question,” he said. “All right, here goes, and you can feel free to tell me to mind my business.”
“Fair enough,” Raven said.
“And I don’t want you to think I’m insinuating anything or trying to—”
“Dru, would you just ask the freaking question already?” Raven said impatiently.
Dru chuckled at his silliness.
“Okay. Are you a virgin?”
His face brightened with embarrassment even as he asked the question. He’d already come to his own conclusion, but he didn’t want to go solely on what he believed. Doing so could lead him to end up looking foolish.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Well, because, I mean, we’ve talked about our pasts and you’ve basically told me that you haven’t dated much and, well…I don’t want to assume, but…”
Dru realized that he was doing a whole lot of talking without saying much of anything that made any sense whatsoever. He took Raven’s glass from her hand and sat it down on the coffee table in front of them. He moved closer to her, turning his body so that he faced her completely.
“Raven, I really like you. A lot. Like…like I wake up thinking about you, and I go to sleep thinking about you. I love talking to you and laughing with you. Hanging out with you, anywhere, is what I look forward to every day.”
“But?”
“But, nothing. That’s just it. I mean, other women…by now, I would be trying to get some.”
“But not with me? Wow,” Raven said, suddenly feeling let down by where this conversation was headed.
She turned away from him.
“No, no, wait,” he said, placing his thumb and forefinger on either side of her jaw and turning her face back toward his.
“Look, this is not coming out right. What I’m trying to say is that with other women, by now, if sex wasn’t part of the package, then I would have moved on. But with you, it’s different. I’m not saying that I don’t want to make love to you or that I haven’t thought about it, because that would be a bald-faced lie. Man, that would be a lie,” Dru said.
Raven blushed.
“It’s just that it’s not the only thing I think about with you. I just want to be around you. To hold your hand, to listen to you talk or to watch you dance. Like tonight. Watching you, I told myself that you were dancing just for me. It was all I could do not to run on that stage and take you in my arms right then and there,” he said.
“Dru, what if I told you that I was dancing just for you? What if I told you that I feel the same way as you do?” Raven asked.
“That would make me the happiest man in the world.”
Dru kissed her softly.
“Listen, Dru. I want you to know where I’m coming from. I really enjoy spending time with you, too. It’s just that I grew up believing that sex should be something shared with someone you love. Someone who is special and when the time is right and the people are right, with themselves and each other, it’ll happen and it’ll be beautiful. Does that change anything between us?”
“No, it doesn’t. I just wanted you to know how I feel. And I just want you to know that I won’t rush you or push you into doing anything that you’re not ready for. Okay?”
“Okay, but I do understand that you have needs.”
“Let me worry about my needs. My shower has plenty of cold water.” He laughed. “Seriously, though, I want you to know that to me, you are already someone special. And when we…if we…well, it’ll be special. I promise.”
Chapter 7
The Show Must Go On
“All right people, here’s the story. The doctors say that Parker’s stable right now, but it’ll be a while before they figure out what condition her heart is in. She’s out—indefinitely.”
A collective gasp spread around the stage. The cast had been riding high for the past couple of weeks. The show was a complete success and for many of the young cast, this was a first-time experience that defied all of their expectations. It was the stuff dreams are made of and none of them had any intentions of waking up anytime soon.
“So, here’s the thing. Marcella and Vivian, I know you’ve both been working with Parker, studying her lines and dance numbers with her. However, I’ve decided to try someone else out in lead for the next show.”
A hush fell over the cast. The performers glanced from one to another, wondering if anyone knew what was going on. Barkley was a man who bore a reputation of being a master at casting and directing. He’d been known to take apart and reassemble show casts hours before the curtain rose if he deemed it necessary, all in the name of creating the best musicals to ever play on any stage, anywhere in the world.
“Now, I don’t want anyone to get nervous or concerned. You are a marvelously talented cast…each and every one of you. I’ve watched some of you really come into your own on that stage over the past few weeks, and I’d like to think that I’ve had something to do with that. So if you’ll
