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“I’m coming, woman. Young man, drive carefully out there. And remember what I said about that History Channel documentary coming up next month. It’s going to be a good one,” Allen said, giving Dru a firm handshake and a hearty slap on the back.
Raven watched her parents retire to their bedroom at the back of the apartment, shutting the door behind them. She plopped down on the smaller of the two sofas and Dru joined her.
“That was nice,” she said.
“Mmm-hmm. Your parents are cool. So, how about you fill me in on all the stuff you told them about me,” Dru teased.
“Oh, quit it, you. You win. Yes, I’ve talked about you to my parents…a little bit. No big deal,” Raven snapped.
“No big deal, huh? Come here.”
Raven shook her head. “No.”
“Come here,” he said again.
Raven followed Dru’s command, leaning close to him.
“You think you’ve got me right where you want me, don’t you?” she said softly against his mouth.
“No. I hope I’ve got you,” he answered before closing his full lips over hers.
He had her all right, and there was no way that she could deny it. Between Dru and the show, Raven had begun to feel like she had all that she needed and more. Almost. Despite the fact that things in her life were good, really, really good, there was still the gnawing little questions at the back of her mind, tugging at her and keeping from being entirely free to enjoy all that was happening. The little voice that screamed Who am I? over and over again would not be silenced. She’d fought to block it out, fought to keep those feelings of curiosity at bay. She’d focused her energy on the show and on Dru, telling herself that right now, nothing else mattered.
Raven opened her eyes slowly, allowing the room to come into focus. Opening-night jitters were gone, and in their place was a feeling of supreme confidence. She would do her thing tonight and every night that the show ran. She would show the directors, the audience and her fellow cast members that she was a star. She would shine brighter than the Big Dipper and light the whole world with her brilliance. As she rose from the carpet, her cell phone began to ring, its sound causing a smile to spread across Raven’s already beaming face. Without looking at the phone’s display, she flipped it open.
“Hey there, Mr. Producer. Are you all set for Broadway?”
“Indeed I am, baby. How about you?”
“I couldn’t be more ready.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come and pick you up?”
“Yes, Dru, I’m sure. You’ve got things to do. Right now, I want you to concentrate on being the producer, running things and all that jazz. Okay?”
“I hear you. I’m trying to stay focused, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t wait to see you up on that stage, under the lights. All those people are going to be watching you and enjoying you just as much as I do,” he said.
“Boy, are you trying to make me nervous?” Raven asked.
“Nah, baby. Don’t worry, you’re going to be great. Your parents have the tickets I sent them, right? Do they need a ride?”
Raven giggled at the apparent nervousness in his voice.
“Dru, baby, relax. Nobody needs a ride, and everything is on schedule. Your dad is going to love the show and he’s going to be so proud to see his son’s business skills at play. Promise,” Raven said, reassuring him.
They chatted for a while longer before a call came in on Dru’s line. Raven sent a sweet kiss through the phone to him before hanging up. A short while later she headed out the door, wanting to get to the theater 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 trust me enough, I think we’ll create some real magic here.”
The tension in the room eased ever so slightly, as each person dared to take a breath.
“Raven,” Barkley said, turning to face her.
Raven started at the sound of her name and immediately the tension returned to her body.
“Raven, I’d like to try you out in the role of Selma.”
“Me? But…but—”
“Didn’t you initially audition for that role?” Barkley said, his piercing gray eyes trained on Raven’s stunned face.
“Yes, yes I did. From the moment I heard about the part, I wanted to play Selma so badly it gave me chills just thinking about it,” Raven admitted.
She was oblivious to everyone in the room with the exception of Barkley. She could not believe that after all these weeks had passed, she could still feel not only the burning desire she’d experienced for the role of Selma, but the sting of rejection she’d felt when she hadn’t made it.
“Has that changed?” Barkley asked.
Raven shook her head, not trusting her voice to utter the word. She held her breath, scarcely daring to even consider the possibility that what was happening was actually real.
Barkley leaned closer to Raven, reaching out to take both of her hands in his. He squeezed them firmly.
“And you know the lines, don’t you?”
Raven stared into Barkley’s expectant face.
“Every word,” she admitted.
“Hello, Selma,” he said.
Raven let the air escape her lungs until she was empty of it and of all the doubt she’d been holding on to. She returned Barkley’s squeeze.
“Why, hello, Mr. Groove Man. How ’bout you and I show these lead limbs how it’s done down here?” Raven replied in a slow Southern drawl. Her Selma was right on point. The room burst into applause as Barkley pulled Raven to her feet.
“All right, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s do it,” Barkley said.
The crew assembled onstage and for the next three hours they reworked The Salon with Raven as the lead.
“He’s a very nice young man,” Lorraine said.
She pulled another piece from the china cabinet and slid it between two squares of plastic bubble wrap.
“Huh? I’m sorry, Mom, what did you say?”
Raven was distracted and had been all afternoon. It was Tuesday and she was using her day off from the show to help her mother pack for the move. The majority of her parents’ belongings would be picked up by a moving truck the following week. They would fly down to Florida with just a few suitcases. It was hard for Raven to believe that this was actually happening. But the closer the day came, she found herself wrought with conflicting emotions. She was happy that her parents were getting the chance to live out their dreams and to enjoy their retirement together in a beautiful, warm climate.
Her father had put thirty years in with the City and at sixty years old, he was still a healthy, active man. It was her father’s dream to leave the cold, crowded City of New York and spend the rest of his days fishing, swimming and wearing plaid pants and polo shirts; it was her mother’s dream to grow old with her husband, wherever he resided. Raven could just imagine the two of them having the time of their lives in the sunshine state. However, she could not help but feel abandoned at the thought of them leaving her behind. Ironically, that feeling also came with a sense of déjà vu. Even though she was far too young to remember her birth mother, she’d always carried with her a sense of being a castoff. The knowledge that she had been adopted into a loving home did not erase the conflicting understanding of the fact that she had been discarded by her biological parents.
For a fleeting moment, Raven considered making the move with them. As quickly as that thought entered her mind, she dismissed it. Even if she were serious about moving to Florida, there was no way her parents would allow it. They knew how much a career in dance meant to her and New York City was the best place to launch that career. Raven comforted herself with the knowledge that they’d already promised to keep a room ready for her whenever she wanted to visit.
“I was just saying that I think Dru Davis is a very nice young man. He’s well-mannered…just an extremely likeable person. Is he treating you well?”
“Yes, Mom…he is. Dru’s great.”
“He’s a couple of years older than you, isn’t he?”
“Four. But trust me, he acts like a big kid sometimes,” Raven said, amused.
“But your father says he’s a smart businessman, working with his dad. Seems like he’s got a great career and future ahead of him.”
“Yeah, he knows a lot about show business. I’m learning from him, but sometimes I’ve got to reign him back in. The other day he was hinting at me doing some studio work. Telling me about some music producers he knows—”
“Studio work?” Lorraine asked, confusion ringing clear in her voice.
“Yeah, like cutting an album or a demo or whatever. I don’t know.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told him that I was absolutely not interested in become a pop singer. I mean, come on now, Mom. I’ve got a great voice for what I do, but I am not the next Beyoncé. And I have no desire to do that.”
“Sounds like Dru thinks differently.”
