Fifteen Minutes: A Novel (6 page)

I always want to see me there

Under a Kentucky sky

There in her blue eyes.

Lost in her blue eyes.

When it ended they didn’t move or speak. Finally he slipped the guitar back in its case and took it to his car. When he returned, his eyes locked on hers.

“After this you’ll have your answers.” She reminded herself to smile. “Maybe we both will.”

He took half a step back. “Both?” He searched her eyes. “What are your questions?”

“Come on, Zack.” She willed him to understand. “If God gives you answers, He’ll give them to me, too.”

“Like . . . ?”

“Not about you.” This was a slippery slope. She chose her words with great care. “About the future . . . London. That sort of thing.”

“I thought we were finished with London.” He took her hands in his, clearly troubled. “Please, Reese. I want to marry you. Don’t decide anything until I get back.” Fear flickered in his expression. “Okay?”

She searched his eyes. He didn’t understand. Once he was on the show he’d be busy. Too busy to come back to Danville until the ride ended. Whenever that might be. Of course she had questions. About London . . . about the two of them. About all of it. Again, she didn’t want to send him off worried or troubled. They’d have their answers soon enough.

She closed the distance between them, letting his body warm hers again. “Go audition. You have to. You’re the best.” She memorized the feel of his arms around her. “Go find your answers, Zack. Do it for your family and for God.”

Her words seemed to ease his anxieties. She felt him relax against her. “Remember what I told you?”

“It’s going to be okay.” She felt the compassion in her eyes.

“Exactly.” He released her hands and brought his lips to hers. And for the sweetest seconds they forgot everything except what it felt like to be together, to be in love. The kiss led to another, and the desperation built.

Finally he pulled himself away. “I’ll call you when I get there.”

She pressed her head to his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. “Make me a deal?”

“The pre-dawn horseback ride?”

She giggled despite her sadness. “That, too.”

“Mmm, baby, I mean it. That’ll be us the first morning I’m back.”

She smiled, and hope waved a flag in her heart. If only she could hold on to that picture. “I like that.”

He chuckled. “What was your deal?”

She felt her eyes grow watery. When she was sure she wouldn’t cry, she looked up at him. “Prove them wrong, okay? Please . . .”

“Who?” He held her face in his hands and searched her heart, her soul.

“The world says fame changes everyone.” She found her smile. “Prove them wrong.”

Strength gathered in his eyes. “I will.” He kissed her again. “If I get that far, I absolutely will.”

She nodded and felt her heart fall in line. “I believe you.” No matter what lay ahead nothing could change Zack Dylan.

His lips met hers and the kiss lingered. “See you soon.”

“I love you.” She willed herself to remember the look in his eyes, the kindness and humility that set him apart. “I always will.”

“Whatever tomorrow holds, you’re a part of it. God made us for each other.”

She wanted to believe it. With all her heart she wanted to. She held his gaze, lost in his soul. “Go win it.”

“I’ll call you.”

He kissed her one final time, seeing to the places in her heart that belonged to him alone. He held his hand up in a frozen sort of wave. Then he turned and jogged to his pickup truck. He looked back at her as he drove away, as she stood there, watching until his taillights faded into the distance.

By then the morning sun had splashed light onto the day and Reese felt a peace that hadn’t been there before. Zack would survive
the weekend auditions. His voice would catch the attention of the judges and the nation. He would win their hearts with a single song.

The way he had won hers four years ago.

He really could win it all, but even then she knew Zack. He wouldn’t change. Nothing could sway the feelings he had for God, who had given him the gift of song. He would make this competition about glorifying the Lord and helping his family.

And then he’d come back for her.

D
owntown Atlanta was bedlam.

Cars with license plates representing half the U.S. jammed the streets around the Georgia Dome. Everywhere Zack looked, streams of people headed for the stadium. There were groups of teens and whole families with handmade signs and scattered through the mix, too many bearded, bespectacled hipsters to count. There was the occasional soccer or basketball team come to support one of its own. And of course the random person dressed in a chicken or cow costume. Three guys had their shirts off and the words “Anything for
Fifteen Minutes
” painted on their chests. Some had guitars slung over their backs; most carried duffel bags and overfilled backpacks.

The electricity in the summer air was palpable. According to the news,
Fifteen Minutes
producers had seen nearly forty thousand singers at the earlier auditions. This was the last one. The
last chance for season ten. They were expecting a far bigger turnout than in any of the previous cities.

Zack tried not to think about it. He needed a parking place. That was all that mattered for now. Cars were gridlocked all around him. Five minutes passed, then ten. No movement. Zack looked in his rearview mirror. How hard would it be to turn around? Find his way to the freeway and never look back?

He meant what he’d told Reese. He probably wouldn’t make it past a few rounds at best—too many people, too much confusion for a single voice to stand out. Everything he’d read told him that at this level the producers scanned the crowds for a certain look, something different—red hair or a unique body type or ethnicity. Getting through the first round was as random as it was difficult.

The mirror still had his attention. Why bother? He could spend the weekend with Reese, write a few songs and work with the horses. Take his girl for that early-morning ride tomorrow. Maybe go to the mall and look at wedding rings. Come Sunday he could sing for half an hour at church and life would be good.

Except for one thing. He wouldn’t have the answers.

A trio of police officers strode into sight and began directing traffic. Another joined them and another. Someone must’ve opened additional lots, and with the help of the officers, the traffic began to inch forward. By the time Zack found parking and pushed into the river of people heading for the stadium, it was nearly nine-thirty. The back of the line was ten blocks out. Ten long blocks.

Zack hadn’t brought a guitar. Most of the people who made it through did so without an instrument. Less to carry. Less to
worry about if he wound up sleeping on the sidewalk. His backpack held a camping pillow and blanket, protein bars and a six-pack of water. Cough drops and garlic pills. So he could keep his immune system strong if he had to wait till early tomorrow morning to audition.

In front of him a group of teenage girls bounced and squealed and waved at cars still searching for a parking spot. “I’m gonna win!” one of the girls shouted. She waved her hands and rallied her friends. “Let’s do a cheer.” And like that the girls burst into a chant. “Bang bang, choo choo train, wind us up and we’ll do our thing!”

A few nearby cars honked their approval. One of the girls, a lanky blonde, spun around and batted her eyes at Zack. “Hey! You’re new!” She waved her girls closer. “We’re from South Carolina. Medford High cheer squad.” Without waiting for his response, she pointed at him. “Who are you?”

“Zack Dylan. Danville, Kentucky.”

The blonde gasped. “Zack Dylan.” She looked at her fellow cheerleaders and then quickly back at him. “That’s like a famous name.” A hurried clap of her hands. “Sing for us, Zack.”

Instantly the other girls chimed in. “Yes, sing for us, Zack. Come on!”

“It’s too crazy out here.” Zack had to yell to be heard. All around them, people were singing and playing guitars, shouting at passing cars.

“It’s perfect, come on!” The blonde pointed to herself amid a series of giggles. “I’m Zoey. I’m the captain, so what I say goes. Right, girls?”

“Right!” Their singsong voices were in perfect pitch. “Sing for us, Zack! Come on!”

“Plus your names are cute together, right?” One of the brunettes
put her arm around the blonde. “Zoey and Zack. It has a ring.”

“Yeah, you’re way cuter than her boyfriend.” The shortest in the group covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. The other girls nodded along. “Yes, way cuter. Totally cuter.”

“I don’t know. He looks young but . . .” Zoey put her hands on her hips. “How old are you, Zack?”

“Twenty-three.” Zack enjoyed their enthusiasm. He wasn’t crossing lines, just soaking in the experience. The show he’d watched all these years had come to life and he was smack in the midst of it. “What about you?”

“Eighteen.” She lowered her chin and gave him a look that defined flirty. “Old enough for twenty-three.”

Coming up the line Zack spotted a
Fifteen Minutes
camera crew. They had explained on the show’s website that they’d be shooting B-roll all day, looking for footage to capture the circuslike atmosphere and excitement of the contestants.

“So you have to sing for us.” Zoey clapped her hands again and bounced back in line. “Please!”

Zack saw an opportunity. The cheerleaders wore the same T-shirts and shorts, all of them bubbly and beautiful. If Zack sang now, the cameras were sure to catch the moment. Which meant maybe they’d tell the producers about him and maybe he’d be through to the next round.

Just like that.

He cleared his voice and started in with an old classic. “My eyes adored you . . . though I never laid a hand on you, my eyes adored you . . .”

Sure enough the camera crew moved in close. Zack hammed up the song, stretching his hand out toward the girls as they formed a tight cluster of what looked like starstruck fans. The
Fifteen Minutes
crew loved it. Zack could feel them grinning and nodding their approval.

Zoey apparently wasn’t about to miss the opportunity. She stretched her hand toward Zack and responded with another classic. “The first time . . . ever I saw your face . . .”

After a few lines, the cameraman made a cut sign and called Zack and the girls over. “I need names and cities. That was perfect.”

The girls squealed and stopped long enough to give the information and wait while Zack did the same. “Hey.” Zoey bounced a few times. “We should do a cheer.”

“Can you cheer, Zack?” The guy with the clipboard raised his brows. “That would make the show for sure.”

“I can try.” Zack fell into the middle of their group and the girls filled in around him, their arms around his shoulders, patting his head and showering him with attention. “Way to go, Zack! Way to go!”

They formed two lines with Zack front and center and did the cheer the girls had performed earlier. “Bang bang, choo choo train, wind me up and I’ll do my thing . . .” When the cheer ended, the girls pumped their fists in the air and kicked one foot high over their heads, the way cheerleaders do. Then they gathered around Zack and started another chant. “Zack, Zack, he’s our man. If he can’t do it, no one can!” The group of them high-fived Zack and hugged him, hamming it up for the cameras.

It wasn’t until the production crew had moved on that Zack felt sick. What had he just done? He hadn’t come here to get camera time. Being here was about singing for God and helping his family. He’d pictured himself standing alone, taking in the craziness around him. Now he hadn’t been in line
half an hour and already he’d fallen in with an entire cheer squad.

All so the cameras might feature him on the show.

He stepped away from the girls, and most of them picked up a conversation with a man in full Native American headdress. But Zoey hung back, standing with Zack and catching her breath. He could feel her shaking off the high-energy silliness as she exhaled. “That was wild.”

“Yeah. The camera guys loved it.” Zack leaned against a stop sign. The line hadn’t moved in a few minutes.

“I’m only like that around them.” She smiled. “I guess it’s good to act crazy once in a while.”

“Pretty harmless.” They were talking like old friends. It was a strange sensation. Zack didn’t have time to think about what to say next.

“So Zack, you’re too cute to be single.” She flipped her long hair over her shoulder, looking straight at him. “You have a girlfriend?”

“I do.” Zack could feel his ship righting itself. These were waters he could navigate. “We’ve been together four years.”

“Hmmm.” She looked unfazed. “I have a boyfriend. Four months.” She grinned and held up her left hand. “No ring, though. I can do what I want.”

Her meaning was unmistakable. Zack took a step away from her and looked back at the line of contestants winding along the sidewalk as far as he could see. Behind him were six black gospel singers, and behind them was a trio of kids dressed as vampires. The gospel singers might be interesting. He’d have time to get to know them in the next few hours. But he had no way to escape the girl beside him. Their places in line were set.