Who Am I (A Jai Courtney Fanfic) Book 2

Chapter 58-Meg

Meg

Jai and I are sitting down for breakfast and his phone rings. He answers and gives it to me.
"It's for you, love," he says.
"Hello?" I question.
"Megan? This is Joel," he replies.
I laugh in surprise, "What can I do for you?"
"Well, the truth is Moriah isn't at her best today. She's a little congested. She has allergies... and we were wondering if you could sing tonight?" he asks me.
I laugh awkwardly, "You're joking, right?"
"I'm serious," he replies.
"Um..." I say looking completely lost at Jai. "What would I even sing?"
"Whatever you want. Worship would be fine," he suggests.
"I'm honestly not so good with crowds," I admit.
"When you get on stage, the spotlight completely drowns most people out. You generally can't see past the second row," he tells me.
That kind of eases my nervousness. "Alright. Do you need me to send you the songs?" I ask.
"That would be helpful. Let us know what instruments you'll be playing and what kind of backup you might need," he responds.
"Okay," I agree. "When do you need me?" I ask.
"You could come to the hall whenever you're ready and we could practice a bit," he suggests.
"Okay," I agree. "It's a few hour drive from here so we ought to leave soon."
"Alright. We'll see you soon," he replies.
We say our goodbyes and I hang up.
"So...?" Jai asks grinning.
"Joel just asked me if I could fill in for his wife at the concert tonight," I tell him still in shock.
"We're leaving soon, then?" he questions.
"Yeah," I nod.
"I'll call Gale and get everything handled," he replies.
"Thank you," I say.
He smiles and starts calling her while I go upstairs to get my guitar ready. I thumb through my worship music and a few stand out to me. I also grab sheet music to the first song I learned on the guitar.  I really feel like I should sing this one.  I print out a couple copies quickly from my computer and Jai steps into my room.
"What are you working on?" he asks me.
"A couple songs I feel like God is putting on my heart," I shrug.
He smiles at that.
"What did Gale say about us bailing on them?" I ask worriedly.
"She's excited for you and said that Valentina and Izaak wanted to come anyway," he grins.
"She got it covered that fast?" I ask in surprise.
He nods. "It's all taken care of. No worries," he tells me soothingly.
"Alright," I nod happily that this is all handled.
I look to my instruments and realize that their concerts are usually all over the stage, moving from instrument to instrument. I decide to bring most of mine just in case. Jai helps me load up and I wonder if I should wear something different.
"Whatever you're comfortable in, love," he shrugs.
I decide to grab something else instead—a comfortable outfit but a little nicer looking. He grins at me when I come downstairs.
"You're wearing the bracelet I got you," he notices straight away.
"Yeah," I smile.
"I'm going to wear mine, too," he says and my heart flutters at that.
I hadn't even realized he has it on him here. He comes down and I notice he looks good, too, but I honestly don't know if that's what he was wearing earlier.
I send my parents a text letting them know that we're leaving early for the concert. My mom responds for us to drive safely. I smile and tell her we will.
We get on the expressway and head north. We follow the guidance on Jai's phone. I notice a Cullver's sign and have Jai pull over for lunch. I'm normally not hungry when I'm nervous but for some reason I am today. I get a grilled chicken sandwich and the small cheese curds. I order a small root beer and a small scoop of vanilla custard.
"You're not going to get sick are you?" Jai teases.
"No, this is like comfort food," I say dismissively.
I see he got one of their burgers. We share my cheese curds and ice cream. I see he got his own root beer, though.
We get back on the road and drive for a while. We pull into the arena a couple hours later. We're let in and security tells us where to park. Jai follows the directions and we pull into the back loading area.
We step out and I stop short when I realize who is at the opened door meeting us. I forgot Dante Bowe was on the list of performers tonight. He chuckles and comes out to meet us. He shakes Jai's hand first then mine.
"It... it's nice... to meet you," I stutter.
He laughs. "I've heard a lot of good things about you."
"Thank you," I say surprised.
He actually helps us to carry some of my gear inside.
"So, I noticed you picked a couple of my songs. You must know I have connections," Dante grins.
I smile at that. "I chose what God put on my heart. I don't know what I was thinking but until I saw you standing there, it had completely slipped my mind that you'd be here," I apologize.
"Not the big name, huh?" he jokes.
"No, you're just as popular, if not more so in my area," I tell him.
He laughs in surprise, "Now she's got the flattery going."
I laugh lightly, too, but I was being genuine.
"I got backstage passes for the youth," Jai admits. "He'll see."
"You did?" I question touched. He grins and nods. I kiss his cheek in thanks. That's so sweet.
We step into what appears to be a large dressing room.  I see Joel, Luke, and Courtney.  I notice Moriah is seated off to the side.  She has a tissue in hand and it looks like her eyes are watering. 
I frown, "I'm so sorry you're not feeling well."
"It's alright.  It's just seasonal allergies," she waves it off.  She sounds really congested. 
"My dad takes medication daily for his.  Have you tried that?" I ask her concerned. 
"Maybe I should today," she nods looking to Joel. 
"I'll grab you something, love," Joel replies. 
She smiles at him. 
"Welcome," Luke says.  He hugs Jai and then me.  I hug Courtney, then Joel and Moriah. 
"So... I see you've met Dante," Joel comments. 
"We have," I smile.  "He's been very kind and welcoming."
"I'm glad.  So, let's see what you've got," Joel says. 
We take my gear out and I set up.  I whisper to Joel that I want to sing I Belong To You for both God and Jai—as a surprise.  He grins and nods in understanding. 
I practice None Like You first.  Dante compliments me and actually joins in with me.  I'm shocked initially, shaking out of it and singing with him.  I sing Holy And Anointed One next—a Vineyard song that may not be as well known and it's a little older but it's simple and beautiful.  I play the acoustic guitar by myself for I Belong To You and they tell me they'll crank the mic for the guitar and me.  I sing the first lines and then hum the rest.  Jai looks confused but we move on.  Dante already says he's getting in on this.  I start to play I Thank God on the guitar and someone plays keyboards and drums for me.  The guys come in, too, and I notice Luke is the one playing the drums.  I start out and Dante sings his normal part.  I laugh and sing with him.  We finish that and I'm all smiles.  I move onto the keyboards and thank the man who was playing.  He smiles at me and tells me if I want to dance, he'll jump in at any time.  I laugh lightly at that.  I start to play Shackles (Praise You) and think of the youth group dance I made up.  Gale told me they still do it, that she's taught it to them.  I mention it after I finish.  Joel and Luke laugh and look to each other.  Jai mentions that they have backstage passes so we can ask them when they get here. 
Dante practices after me but he's going on first, then Joel and Luke play.  Courtney sings background for some and they have me out there for some others.  I offer to play the xylophone at any point if they want and I'm given sheet music.  I jump in on any songs that seem appropriate and I'm having so much fun.  They sing Unity and I know this is a song Dante sings with them... but Jai comes out and sings.  I'm in awe listening to him.  He finishes and gets off the stage.  He kind of shrugs it off at me when I look to him in surprise and I focus on what's in front of me.  We complete the practice and we all gather to pray over the set tonight.  Joel leads us and I agree with him in prayer.  We break apart and I see Jai behind me. 
"So, you're joining us, too?" I ask happily. 
He shrugs, "Joel asked me if I'd sing."
I laugh lightly.  "You were wonderful," I tell him genuinely. 
He grins and reaches out for me.  He kisses me gently.  "I love you," he whispers. 
"I love you, too," I smile in reply.