Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 3

lesson he had been taught many times throughout his life. "What about the contract though? Aren't I legally bound to do what they want me to do?"
    "Five minutes, Cam," says a stage hand with a knock on the door.
    "I should get back to my seat," his mother says. "It's up to you Cameron. This is your life, now. You make the decision." And with that she was gone.
    With a sigh, Cameron stood and rolled his shoulders back. Taking a deep breath in a vain attempt to clear his head, he crossed the dressing room and opened the door only to find himself face to face with Morgan Delatoni.
    "Hi," Morgan said with a hopeful expression.
    After a few unsuccessful tries, Cameron finally managed to say, "Hi."
    "Here," Morgan said holding out a small bouquet of half wilted flowers. "These are for you."
    Looking down at the flowers between them, Cameron took them in his hands like they were the most precious things in the world.
    "I'm sorry, I should have gotten you nicer ones," Morgan said.
    "They're beautiful," Cameron said pulling a tissue from his pocket to dry his eyes. Looking at Morgan, Cameron asked, "Where have you been?"
    "At first," Morgan said hesitantly. "I was ignoring you. Then Suzie told me how you only got on stage because you had a huge crush on me."
    "She didn't say anything about that to me," Cameron said in a small voice.
    "Because I blew her off at first," Morgan admitted sadly. "But, I've liked you since I met you. That's why I always practiced in the room where your clarinet locker was."
    "That's why I took my clarinet home every night. To see you," Cameron admitted blotting his eyes with the tissue again.
    "And that night you got on stage with me," Morgan said taking Cameron's hand in his, "was the night I fell in love with you."
    "It was?" Cameron asked as the tears fell from his eyes. "Why haven't you answered any of my calls or texts?"
    "I broke my phone," Morgan said softly.
    "How did you know about the concert? How did you even get here?"
    "I heard about it on the radio and I... I sold a few things to get here."
    "Why?"
    "So that I could come out here and tell you this in person."
    Stepping closer to Cameron, Morgan said it again with a kiss. Warm and strong, it felt right and Cameron gave himself over completely to it. He was in his own world with Morgan until the two were pushed into the dressing room and the door slammed shut.
    "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" a red faced Hardning asked. "Are you trying to ruin your career before it even begins?"
    "Dude, what's your problem?" Morgan asked stepping up to Hardning daringly.
    "You're needed on stage Mr. Boresky," a stage hand called through the door.
    "We don't have time for this," Hardning said grabbing Cameron by the arm. "Get on stage. We'll sort this out later."
    "Let go of him," Morgan demanded.
    "Morgan, it's fine. Hardning, let go of me. I'm going," Cameron said wrenching his arm out of Hardning's painful grip. Crossing to the door, Cameron glanced over his shoulder. "Let's go," he demanded.
    With Hardning and Morgan behind him, Cameron made his way to the wings and as the announcer finished his introduction, he took the stage. The crowd gave a modest round of applause as Cameron made his way down stage to the microphone.
    "Hello everyone," he stated. "As you just heard, my name is Cameron Boresky and I want to thank you for coming tonight. This first song is one of my favorites off of the album which will be coming out next month. I hope you enjoy it. Here's From Afar ."
    Closing his eyes, Cameron listened to the opening chords of the song before he began to sing.
    I see you there
    You don't see me stare
    In my mind
    We're two of a kind
    But that's where we are
    As I gaze from afar
    As the song ended, Cameron was taken aback as the crowd applauded exuberantly. "Thank you," Cameron said before glancing off into the wings and catching Morgan's eye. "This next one is a really fun one called Light Up Your Life and I hope you enjoy it."
    Swaying to the beat, Cameron sang, pouring all of the joy that came with seeing Morgan again, into the music. As the song ended, the crowd cheered loudly.
    "Thank you so much," Cameron said with a smile. "Thank you." Looking into the wings, he saw Morgan clapping with a huge smile on his face and in that moment, he made a choice. "Now," he began as the crowd settled. "These next two songs are the two on the album that I co-wrote and I would like to dedicate them to someone very special to me," Cameron said