Jason snapped me out of it. "Go on out there!" He gave me a little push, and I took my first step. Then, to the accompaniment of their insistent call, I kept walking right out onto the stage.
As I crossed from the darkness of the wing into the bright stage lights, the audience switched from chant to cheer. Their applause stopped me again, and I looked around nervously. Buck ran over and took my hand, leading me to the front of the stage. He held me tightly, one hand holding mine, the other around my waist. I felt strangely safe in his embrace, even in front of this unpredictable crowd. And since I still found Buck to be stunningly handsome, having him escort me onto the stage was pure fantasy gold.
Chuck came over to stand on the other side of me, his arm wrapped around my shoulder. To my delight, the crowd only cheered harder.
"Crazy, isn't it? Say 'hi' to Minneapolis." Buck pointed the microphone at my mouth and gave my waist a little squeeze.
Oh my God! A huge crowd of Fiery Boys fans was waiting for me to speak, so I kept it simple. "Hey there, Minneapolis. You rock!" The city howled its agreement.
"Very nice." Buck smiled and released me from these suspiciously happy people. "Go on back there, and we'll play your favorite song." I turned to walk back offstage. It seemed to take ten times as long as it had to walk out there. Why wouldn't the lights go away? Why wouldn't the crowd stop clapping for me? Forget the longest mile-this was the longest fifty feet.
As soon as I made it back to the wing, the band broke into "Fiery Life." Jason gave me a big hug and we stood together while we watched them play. Still buzzing from my first positive brush with Fiery Boys fans, I thought the song was more beautiful and meaningful than ever before.