Plan B Read Online Free PDF Page B

still another. I shook off the weird feeling that had ignited in me, and flowed with the crowd around me as we all congratulated each other, moving away from the stage together and back toward the dressing area.
    Thirty minutes later, I emerged from the “cast only” area dressed in chinos, a dress shirt, tie, and a merino wool Ralph Lauren V-neck pullover vest. I was rocking the preppy look. This wasn’t something I normally wore—Granny bought the vest last Christmas—but my parents had plans to take me for a quiet dinner to celebrate before I headed to the cast party. However, I did spend a little extra time teasing and tousling the ugly brown strands of my hair—at least the style was cool. I also added smoky-gray eye makeup, heavy eyeliner, and lip gloss, but I told myself it didn’t have anything to do with the possibility that Lance might be in the hall waiting or with the fact that he liked this look.
    The first person I spotted was Bo. “Here comes the star of the show now.” He was so loud, his voice bellowed over the roar of the crowded hallway.
    I rolled my eyes at him. I then spotted my parents standing to his right and Katie to his left. I raised my hand to wave to the group, my motion halting as I swallowed hard and my hand shook a little when I noticed Lance standing next to Katie, his arm draped around the shoulders of some blonde girl I didn’t recognize. Was that a friend of his, a girlfriend? To my chagrin, the possibility of the latter bothered the hell out of me. Thankfully, he wasn’t looking in my direction, and I turned my attention back toward my parents. I didn’t want him to catch me staring at him—those damn gray eyes made me weak—and I sure as shit didn’t want to look at the bimbo curled up against his side with her blood-red-clawed hand pressed against his stomach.
    I made my way through the crowd; as soon as I was close enough, my mom rushed me and wrapped me in an embrace. “You were so wonderful,” she said. I hugged her tight, feeling a swell of pride rippling through me, which only grew in intensity when my dad patted me on the back and hugged us both. He didn’t say anything—he didn’t need to. The hug and the look in his eyes told me just how proud he was of me.
    Bo was the next to congratulate me with a manly knock of his knuckles against mine, followed by a squeal and a brief hug from Katie. For a second, I entertained the idea of grabbing my mom’s hand and rushing to the door, but knew it would be rude to ignore Lance. He’d come to watch the show, even waited afterward to see me. The strange feelings I had about him doing crazy things to me were not his fault, but my own scattered brain creating these problems. I manned up and forced myself to look at him. Lance had a wide smile as he extended his hand to me, thankfully using the arm he’d had draped over… ah, who cares? “Awesome show, Danny.”
    I shook his hand. “Thank you.”
    That was it, just a handshake and a compliment. No introductions, thank God. What had I been expecting? Better question, what was I dreading? Why hadn’t I thought to consider that his girlfriend wanted to come to the show and it had nothing to do with Lance wanting to see me or maybe he just liked the theater? Hadn’t he thought the fact that I was a theater major was cool ? Damn, I was vain, no big surprise there. I had to laugh at myself as I turned back to my parents. I was beginning to think I had a screw loose.
     
     
    M Y PARENTS had reservations at a small restaurant close to the theater, but it seemed everyone else had the same idea. It was standing room only; the noise of several different conversations going on around us made it nearly impossible to chat without screaming. My parents each had one glass of wine, and I settled for a soda with dinner. Damn minimum twenty-one-year-old drinking age law! I could have used a glass of wine to settle the way I still felt, all jittery from seeing Lance. It was nice