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She was the prettiest girl I’d ever laid eyes on. I flubbed more than the usual chords looking at her and trying to get her attention. I threw her a guitar pick, which hit her nose. She and her friends just laughed, probably at me. I’m sure she could have any guy she wanted, why would she pick the most unpopular Hanson brother?

“Why don’t you just ask her out?”

“What?” Taylor must have noticed me staring from backstage during Zac’s solo.

“Ask her out.”

I looked at my younger brother. He was the heartthrob, the talent, the lead singer even when we tried to deny we had a lead singer. He’d never been called the ugly one. Girls fought over him. Girls went out with me just to get close to him.

“Hey, Rick!” Taylor motioned our security guard over.

“Taylor, don’t . . .” I said.

“See that girl? The gorgeous one in black?”

“Long hair? Stacked?”

“That’s the one. Think you can bring her backstage after the show for Isaac?”

Rick looked at me for a second, the “High five, my man! I’ll do what I can.”

“Give her this,” I handed him a backstage pass. “Tell her complements of the guitarist.”

He winked at me and we stepped out of the way just as Zac finished “Broken Angel” and stepped off the stage, trying to brush his now shorter hair in his face to hide his blush. He always felt a little uncomfortable singing without us. My solo was often my favorite part of our concerts. If I nailed it, no one could say my brothers carried me along. If I flubbed it, I only let myself down.

Taylor brushed past me so he could do his solo song. I really hoped he dragged out “Never Let Go.” It would give me more time to go over the lyrics to “Being Me.” I certainly didn’t want to mess up in front of her. I was ready to build a life with someone. Taylor had Natalie, Zac had Kate and I had one night stands. The morning always came, though, and the loneliness set in as we made our way to the next tour stop.

Even though Natalie and Kate were fans first, they were both trustworthy and I believe they truly loved my brothers. I didn’t trust either of them for a while, they just seemed like the typical fan girls that wanted to a date a musician just for the thrill of it. I guess it was their southern heritage, but they were able to handle all the ins and outs of our crazy lives just beautifully. I wanted that. I wanted someone I could talk to, someone that would understand me, someone to come home to.

The crowd burst into applause as Taylor finished his solo.

“Thank you all so much for coming out tonight and for supporting our new album. If you don’t mind, I’d like to sing a song that didn’t make the album.” That always got them. Even if I wasn’t the favorite brother, the fans always wanted to hear ‘rare’ songs. If I didn’t keep a surprise or two up my sleeve, my solo song would end up being bar or bathroom run time.

Despite being distracted, I managed to hit all the chords and every note. I was quite proud of myself, and absolutely giddy when I saw “my” girl smile. I was almost Zac level hyper when we launched into “Crazy Beautiful,” and stayed on that high through the rest of the show.

After the show I waited for her to come backstage. I made sure to stay near the entrance so that we wouldn’t miss each other. It took her almost 30 minutes and I was about to give up when I heard the sweetest voice say, “I hope I’m in the right place. One of the other guards gave me a pass.”

The security guard waved her through.

“Hi.” I said.

“Hello, I’m Nicole. Most of my friends call me Nikki.”

“Well, Nikki, I certainly hope we can be friends. I’m Isaac.”

“I enjoyed the show. Thank you for inviting me back. It’s . . . interesting.” I followed her gaze to the strange artwork and then to the peeling paint. Backstage wasn’t the most glamorous place.

She jumped out of the way of a roadie pushing a trunk.

“Good reflexes. Would you like to go somewhere else for a bit? Are you hungry?”

“I could eat something.”

“I know a nice little place that’s open late, if you like creole.”

“Well, when in New Orleans, right?”

I led her out a side door away from the bus and our waiting fans. I’d sign a few autographs if they were still there when I got back. I mean, Taylor blew fans off for Natalie all the time. I was allowed an after show date or two.

“I was starting to wonder if you’d decided not to come.”

“Oh no, I very much wanted to. One of my friends had too much to drink and I wanted to make sure she got back to our hotel and found the right room.”

“So you aren’t from around here?”

“No, a few of us drove up from Florida for a girls weekend. I’m glad I came.”

“Me too.”

****

Later that night.
(Actually, early the next morning)

“Well, good morning, sunshine,” Taylor said. I had tried to sneak onto the bus quietly.

“It is a good morning, isn’t it?”

“You tell me,” He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Nothing happened, really. We just had a little dinner. And talked, and talked.”

“Well, party animal, we were about to leave for Little Rock without you. Good thing we are only four hours away.”

“Sorry, but I believe you were the instigator.”

“You were about to stare a hole in the poor girl’s head. I had to do something.”

“Thank you for that. I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Good night, Romeo.”

“See you in Little Rock, Juliet.”

“Hey,” I heard Zac from his bunk, “That’s not a bad name for a song.”

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