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"And I’ht at the bar"

"When was the last tio"

"Wow It’s been a while Have you tried before tonight?"

"No" I chuckle, knowing how ridiculous I e"

I expect hih at my admission, but he doesn’t "Did you always have a fear, or did so happen that scared you?"

"A little of both" It’s the truth Well, sort of I was always nervous when I got on stage, but then…one day…everything changed

"When you used to go on stage, what calot the best of you?"

I don’t have to think about the answer, yet I take a minute to steady myself before I speak "My dad" It’s ironic how thepart of my fear

Flynn takesabout the way he looks at me, waits for me to continue It makes me feel like he really wants to hear whatever I have to say--like each conversation is a layer he peels back, yet his goal isn’t to stripblanketed

"The first tie, other than at school, was here at Lucky’s I was nervous The croas pretty ing my first note--my friends, h crowd But I got up there and froze anyway I looked around the roo face my eyes landed on made my heart thump louder inproudly It helped to take the edge off, although I still wasn’t sure I could go through with it But then I looked down and saas barefoot"

"Barefoot in the bar?"

I s down at his wiggling toes, the spirit of who h all of ht me relief "My dad always played barefoot He liked the feel of the druht on the floorboards and seeped up into his legs But it was more than that He said the earth under his feet et everything else and give everything over to the sound" My voice breaks as I finish

Flynn wraps his ar, I closeMy dad was everything to h he keeps ives me the mental space I need for a few ht With a big smile and bare feet He may not be in the audience anymore, but that doesn’t mean he can’t see you You just need to close your eyes and see him"

I look up into Flynn’s beautiful blue eyes "He’d want "

"So that’s what you need to do, then," he declares with unerring confidence "You want to know et nervous?"

"Sure" He shrugs "Soure out what makes it easier for one show than the next You’d think it was the venue or size of the audience…but it’s just random for me"

"Well, tell ets out, it ht tarnish my rockstar status So you have to keep it to yourself"

I make an X acrossin e"

"That doesn’t sound so bad"

"The song is ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’"