Chapter Nine #2
“The community center performance,” Julian said, nodding.
“Someone recorded the choir and uploaded it online. It only had a couple thousand views when I looked at it this morning. Now it’s already climbing through the tens of thousands.
If this continues, I wouldn’t be surprised if it hit a hundred thousand by the end of the week. ”
“But…why would anyone want to watch that?”
“What are you talking about?” Julian exclaimed. “Look at you guys! You’re adorable. You sound amazing.”
“Pretty sure Harriet is attempting to twerk,” Charlie said, laughing as she pointed it out on screen.
“Which the comment section is loving,” Julian said, shaking his head. He started the video from the beginning. He’d never seen the residents so enthusiastic. They beamed, clearly having fun, and best of all, so was Charlie as she directed them through the song.
Charlie knuckled a spot on her chest. Julian caught the motion from the corner of his eye, and he wondered if she was thinking about Tom.
Charlie cleared her throat. “They do sound great.”
He scrolled to some of the comments, trying to distract her. “Look at this. People really seem to love them. ‘Oh my God! How adorable. Reminds me of my grandparents.’ And this one… ‘Does anyone know who this choir is? I’d love to show them my support.’”
“You were right,” Charlie said.
“About what?”
Charlie scrolled up and paused the video.
“That I needed to lighten up. Look how big those smiles are when I’m not ordering them around.
This is how happy people always looked when working with Tom,” she said softly, growing quiet and thoughtful for a moment.
“He expected greatness but never at the expense of loving the music. Maybe I was trying too hard to emulate him and asking for the wrong things.” Her finger brushed over Doris’s face on screen, caught in a moment of joy.
“They should be enjoying themselves like this all the time. Or else what’s the point of any of it? ”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Julian said. “Because I think we’ve found our audition tape.”
Charlie’s eyes widened. “You don’t think we can do better? I mean, maybe if we—”
“Charlie,” he said, halting her before she could overthink it. “I think this perfectly captures the Glendale Shakers. A little imperfect but with a lot of heart. And!” He pulled the keyboard closer so he could open up his inbox.
“There’s more?”
He stood aside to show Charlie an email. “The local news station got a hold of me,” he explained. “They want to do a story on the choir.”
“No way!” Charlie said, scanning the email. “All because of the video?”
“I don’t know where else they would have heard of us. I’ll have to run it by Diane first, to make sure they’re cleared to film in Glendale, but this could be great press. Might even bolster our application to the Arts Council if we’ve got public support behind us.”
Charlie chuckled.
“What?”
“Who’d have thought that little performance would spark all of this?”
“I don’t think anyone really expects when things go viral. But this was all you.”
Charlie flushed. “Pretty sure you’re the one who had the impromptu performance idea.”
“Yeah, but the choir never would have been ready for that if I was running this solo. We’d still be trying to get that lip buzzing thing right.
” He reached out and brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.
Danger zone. Retreat! “And I’m serious. None of this would be possible without you, Charlie. ”
“We’ll agree it was a team effort. Because without your encouragement and support, none of us would have gotten up there,” she said. Her eyes bored into his.
Julian’s gaze flickered to her lips. He didn’t know what was happening between them. All he knew was that he wanted to hold her again.
That was foolish. Don’t dive too deep too fast. Don’t get whisked away into the danger zone. This wasn’t a sunny summer fling, no matter how warm his chest felt. Retreat… Pull back…
Oh, to hell with the danger!
He surged forward and pressed his lips to hers. Heat spread through him, consumed him, and he wanted to drown in her. Charlie met him, nudging at his chest until he stumbled against the desk. He sat down, shorter like this, and Charlie took advantage, standing between his legs to deepen the kiss.
“We shouldn’t,” she said, even as she tilted her head, fitting her lips to his more snugly. “Not here.”
“I agree.”
“Not like this.”
“Anyone could see.”
The open door. Julian could have laughed at how little he cared. Sparks went off in his mind and all he could think about was how he wanted to sink into the softness of Charlie.
She moaned against him as his lips found her neck, sucking gently. “Fuck, Julian,” she hissed.
He hummed in agreement. “Yes, I think you should.”
She laughed against him, the vibrations echoing through his chest.
His hands traveled down her back, pulling her closer. How had this not worked eight years ago?
They broke apart to breathe, and Charlie blinked dazedly, her lashes fluttering. “I need to get to the music room,” she said. It sounded like she wanted to do anything but that.
“Okay.” Julian’s eyes skittered to the open door, then back to her. When he slackened his grip, she stepped away, and his head finally started to clear. “I’ll run the news visit by Diane and let you know how that goes.”
“Good,” Charlie said. Her fingers brushed over her neck where his lips had been moments ago. “If she agrees, I can get started on a song selection in case they want a performance.”
“I’ll keep you posted.”
Charlie nodded and headed for the door.
Julian sank back against his desk. Fuck. What the hell was he doing?
Julian spent the rest of the morning putting together an email proposal, including the link to the viral video that had prompted his entire conversation with Charlie. When he was satisfied with it, he sent it off to Diane, requesting a short meeting.
To his surprise, she responded almost immediately and told him to come down to her office.
As he made his way there, a bout of nerves rocketed through him.
What if Diane didn’t like the idea? He didn’t know why she wouldn’t, but if she shot down his proposal, then there went a great opportunity to get the choir noticed.
And sure, it might not harm their application in the end, but it couldn’t possibly hurt to have a little good press.
“Hey,” he said, knocking on Diane’s door.
“Hey.” She removed a pair of earbuds from her ears. “I hear the gingerbread contest is going to be fierce this year.”
“Warren’s convinced your admin staff are full of cheaters.”
“No comment. Also, this is the most adorable thing ever, right?” She referenced her computer screen which had the community center video pulled up.
“It’ll definitely put Glendale on the map,” Julian joked. “If that’s cool?”
Diane leaned back in her chair. “I have no issues with you running with this.”
“So, you’re okay with me touching base with the news to make arrangements?”
“Absolutely. Can’t wait to see them on the local channel.”
“And they can film the choir?”
“As long as they promise not to interrupt business as usual elsewhere in the building, I don’t see any problems.”
“Great,” Julian said, excitement bubbling up inside him. “That’s really… I think the residents will be thrilled. And Charlie’s already on board.”
Diane nodded. “I might not have the funds to give you right now, but I want this program to succeed, Julian. You’ve done amazing work getting them this far. Of course I’m going to support you in whatever way I can.”
“Well, that video was all Charlie. If she hadn’t been there to direct them, it might never have happened.”
“I don’t know where you found her,” Diane said. “But she’s a keeper. Maybe try to hold onto her for a while.”
“Yeah, sure,” Julian said, a tight smile stretching across face. He hadn’t known how to hold onto her last time. What made this time any different?
He’d never been good at keeping people in his life. For one reason or another, they all seemed to drift away. His mom. His dad. His grandmother. The old Charlie. Maybe he was the real problem here. And if he wasn’t careful, he’d drive Charlie away again sooner than expected.
Julian headed back upstairs, feeling slightly overwhelmed. For the first time in a long time, he was actually making progress with the music program.
But having Charlie back in town, getting reacquainted with her, was complicated.
At times it felt like they were picking up where they’d left off, and he didn’t know how to feel about that.
His grandmother had been moved into a nursing home the year before they met, and though Julian wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, he was lonely, watching the dementia take her.
When he found Charlie, she’d made him feel excited about the world again.
She’d made him feel less alone. Now here she was, taking up space in his life once more, filling the lonely parts, and he knew it was a bad idea to let her in.
Because if he did, he had to be prepared to tear her out again when she left. And that was terrifying.
He wished it could be as easy as having some fun. He wished he could call it casual. But starting over with Charlie wasn’t as simple as just starting up again. This time Julian knew how much he had to lose.
By the time he reached his office, he’d determined to set those thoughts aside as he typed up his response to the news station.
Maybe it was a bit of Christmas cheer or the fact that he’d sneaked too many gingerbread samples this morning, but he sort of thought they had a genuine shot at winning this competition. Charlie had changed the odds.
She’d changed everything.
And he had no idea where that left his heart.