the local college’s performance program, he’d gotten to know quite a few of the students.
Funny thing was, he was a student too, even if it had taken him a few extra years to get his degree. But he’d finally done it. His BS in business administration was ready to be framed and hung on his wall.
Although it had been a gamble, he’d gone ahead and quit his job at the theater. He worked nights, and since he hoped to have a few interviews lined up soon, he didn’t want to be sleep-deprived while trying to answer the same questions over and over again. He’d likely yawn his way through the process and never get a job.
Besides, after the last few years of working full-time while also going to school full-time, he could use a few weeks off. Even if those weeks were going to be spent in his crappy apartment with books and movies checked out from the local library as his entertainment.
He’d love to afford an actual vacation one day. His only childhood vacations had been to his grandparents’ farm. And they always ended up being working vacations, because even the kids had to help pick vegetables and get them ready for the massive canning projects they undertook every year.
He was the oldest of his four siblings, and the older he’d grown, the more he’d realized how much his family depended on that food. It sucked, realizing how poor your family was. He’d paid for every college class on his own, with the help of a few scholarships and grants. There’d been no dance classes or voice lessons for him. Heck, he’d not even had time to participate in sports. After school, he’d gone to his part-time job; then he’d gone straight home to help his siblings with dinner and their homework.
It meant he had a really hard time fitting in and finding friends. And funnily enough, it was why he knew it was time to move on. He liked the theater crowd. He did. But they weren’t his group. They’d started depending on him a lot, and it wouldn’t be good for any of them.
He hadn’t found where he belonged yet, and now that he finally had the shiny degree in his hand, he wanted to stretch his wings and fly.
Bailey took a deep breath and shook off the encroaching blues. He refused to feel sorry for himself, not when he was ready to get his life started. He always felt this way when he needed to make a change. He was going to miss the hell out of them, though.
“Where’s Heather?” Bailey suddenly realized she’d never returned from her trip to the bathroom.
Ashley shrugged. “She probably found someone to dance with, and speaking of, will you watch my bag so I can go dance too?” She waved the empty protein wrapper in front of his face, as if she needed to prove she’d actually eaten. If he didn’t know she appreciated the effort he made to make sure she had food, he’d be annoyed. That was the problem with having sassy friends. They were always sassy.
“Sure. See if you can find Heather first, though, okay?”
Ashley nodded. “I’ll wave if I find her.”
She dashed to the other side of the bar, where a small dance floor had been set up. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t exactly a dimly lit club, but there never seemed a shortage of dancers. Of course, this wasn’t the kind of bar where they started belting out slow songs or where couples hooked up in the back room either.
In fact, the street was lined with bars, and a couple of those dark ones with back rooms were at the other end of the block. Their group preferred this one. They spent enough time in a darkened theater. They liked light for the after-party.
“I got you a water,” Will said, sliding into the booth across from Bailey and interrupting his random train of thought. Will pushed the bottle across the table with a hangdog expression on his face.
Bailey honestly hadn’t even noticed he’d walked away. Will currently sat at the very bottom of his friends list, having lost quite a few friend points earlier in the day.
“Thanks.” Bailey waited, unwilling to accept a bottle of water as an apology.
Will did the very manly head-tilt thing that said, “Don’t mention it,” but the gesture was really a thank-you to Bailey for not saying anything about Will’s tantrum earlier in the evening before the show started.