“What the hell, Jas?”
“I missed my flight.” His heart was racing as he found his jeans draped over a chair and tugged them on. “I need to get to my room, grab my stuff, and go to the airport. I need to get back to New Orleans to do the show tonight.”
Kenzie frowned. “Jas, that’s sweet of you to want to help out the group and all, but what’s the point? You got the part.”
He found his phone in the pocket of his jeans and started typing, trying to get to the airline’s website. “The point is I promised I would be there.”
I promised I wouldn’t let Hollyn be onstage alone. I promised my group I’d help land these investors.
Legitimate panic was making his fingers tremble as he tried to search for a new flight. Full. Full. “Dammit!”
“I think you’re going to be too late anyway. New Orleans is two hours ahead of us. And the traffic to get to the airport…”
“Screw my stuff. You can send it to me. Get me to the airport. There’s got to be something. Standby or something.”
“Jasper.”
“Fine. I’ll call a fucking Uber.”
She threw the covers off. “Don’t do that. I’ll bring you. Damn. I just think you’re being ridiculous. What’s the worst that could happen? The girlfriend you have to leave behind anyway is going to get mad and break up with you?”
Jasper couldn’t answer. That was by far not the worst thing that could happen. Hollyn was going to have to go onstage with or without him because of all the Miz Poppy promotion she’d done. He’d sworn to her that he’d be there to back her up and support the group, that he wouldn’t leave her up there on her own. He’d already let her down by going out to California. He couldn’t do this to her, too.
But as they pulled into LA traffic a half an hour later, home had never felt so far out of reach.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Hollyn stared down at her phone again, the words on the screen sending a chill straight down to her bone marrow.
Jasper: Missed my flight. Phone running out of charge and no charger. I don’t know if I’m going to make it there in time. Trying everything I can. I’m
Hollyn had gotten the incomplete message a couple of hours ago. She’d read it again and again, hoping she’d read the words wrong, but they were the same on the second and third and hundredth time. Missed my flight? How the hell had he let that happen? He knew she was counting on him, knew his group needed him there. But maybe after his big audition, that didn’t seem so important anymore. Oops. Sorry. Can’t make it. Irritation had flooded her. She’d tried to text Jasper back and call him, but his phone had apparently died mid-message.
He might not make it on time. I might have to go onstage without him. Those realities were flying around her head like belfry bats, setting off all her deepest anxieties.
Hollyn sat on a box in the storage room of the Shifty Lizard, trying not to have a meltdown. The show was supposed to start in thirty minutes. The bar was already packed, the sound of the crowd rumbling through the walls. The rest of the Hail Yes group had already come into the storage room to change and were outside getting some air before the show. Everyone seemed excited. But no one had realized yet that Jasper being late wasn’t “normal last-minute Jasper” and was possibly a “Jasper’s not coming” disaster. The rest of the group was under the impression that he hadn’t been able to be at rehearsal for the last few days because he had to take care of something for his family.
Hollyn breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to calm herself. Fitz poked his head into the room. He smiled when he saw her. “Hey, there. Ready for your big debut, Miz Poppy?”
“If feeling like I’m going to throw up and pass out is ready, then yes?”
He chuckled and stepped inside, letting the door shut behind him “We’ve got a packed house and all three investors are here, looking impressed with the crowd so far. You need anything?”
“Jasper would be nice,” she blurted out, immediately regretting the slip.
Fitz frowned. “He’s not here yet? That dude needs to learn the concept of cushion time.”
She looked up, pulling her knees up onto the box with her and hugging them. Her nose scrunched a few times. “No, he’s not here. Like in the state.”
“What?” Fitz looked back toward the door as if he was expecting Jasper to appear. “He was supposed to have an early flight in.”
Jasper had confided what was happening to Fitz, though not how likely it was that he was going to get the part. Fitz had just spun it as another opportunity. If Jasper got the part, he could use his fame from the new show to promote the theater they’d all invest in. Fitz wasn’t successful for no reason. The guy always had an angle.
“He sent me a text earlier that he missed his original flight,” she said, sharing the confession with someone else making her feel a little less alone. “He wasn’t sure if he was going to make it. I haven’t heard from his since.”
“Shit, Jasper.” Fitz ran a hand over his head and then squatted down to her level. “Hey, you know you’ve got this either way, right?”
She shook her head, her cheek tic going crazy. “I don’t know. I’ve never been onstage live. I’ve had nightmares that start like this. I’m about three seconds from bolting out the back door if you really want to know.”
“Don’t do that. Not to put more pressure on you, but you being here is what’s brought this crowd. This is going to help your career, but it’s also going to help the group and Jasper. You’re part of this team.”
She inhaled a shaky breath. “I’m going to blow it for everybody—including myself. I can feel the panic attack coming. I can’t do this. Jasper was supposed to back me up if I froze. That was the only reason I agreed to this.”
Fitz gave her a football coach look. The I-don’t-want-your-excuses look. “Hey, I want Jasper here, too. Believe me. That’s who the investors want to see most, but this entire group is talented as hell. They’ll back you up. And they all want this theater thing to happen so they’re going to be on top of their game. Y’all are on a team together, and you’re the Miz Poppy. People just want to meet you.” He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, grounding her.
“There’s no need to panic. You’re not here to impress the crowd with your improv skills. You’ve already impressed them with your writing. You don’t need Jasper to carry you through this. He has nothing to do with Miz Poppy. You’ve created that business. Now you get to own it. Grab on to that shit and be proud of it. Don’t let the nerves steal that from you.”