Chapter 1 #2
The bar was as eclectic as the upstairs.
No single set of tables and chairs was the same.
Some regular table height, some counter or bar height, most of them painted bright colors.
The small U-shaped bar was made out of old surfboards, with fake potted palm trees on each end.
The stage in the rear was painted to resemble an open clamshell that reminded him of that famous painting of Venus.
For all the tourist-trap features, nothing about Off Beat felt faked or overdone. It was comfortable.
“Trey! You picking up an extra shift?” Dina bumped his hip with hers, all while balancing a tray full of food meant for one of her tables.
“Nah, here for the open mike.”
“I think we’re full up on tables, but there’s probably a spot at the bar for you.”
“Thanks.”
She sashayed off to the deliver the food. Dina, like most of the staff, had been there since Off Beat opened twelve years ago, which meant she knew everyone.
He found a seat at the bar facing the stage.
Sasha was creating something in a metal shaker.
She nodded in his direction, acknowledging his arrival like the pro she was.
He admired Sasha because she was an out and proud lesbian, while he still hid behind untrue gossip about himself and Danielle in order to maintain their band’s growing image.
Sasha usually worked the weekends with him, so she mixed him up a virgin strawberry daiquiri without him asking. He was only twenty for a few more weeks. She plunked the drink down with two extra strawberry garnishes.
“Anything from the kitchen?” she asked.
As much as he worshipped their crab dip with soft pretzels, he was stuffed from dinner. “Maybe later, thanks.”
“Anything you need, Coop.”
She chased down another drink order. He sipped his daiquiri, and the sharp flavor of rum made him do a double take.
Classic Sasha, sneaking a little in for him.
The a cappella group wound down. Beatrice Westmore, the manager of the place and the woman who’d helped give Fading Daze their first real platform, stepped up to the microphone. “How about another round of applause for the boys of Pipe Dreams?”
Trey groaned at the awful name, but dutifully clapped for the departing quintet.
“Okay, folks,” Beatrice continued once the scattered applause ended.
Open mike could be a tough crowd. One of the tech crew moved behind her, setting up a Yamaha keyboard.
“We have someone new to Off Beat tonight. He’s got a little something different, and I think you’re going to like it.
How about a warm Beat welcome for Dominic B? ”
The gentle applause rose in tempo as a lean, copper-skinned figure walked onstage with a violin case in one hand.
Trey paid attention, his breath catching at the sight of the Latin god standing behind the Yamaha.
Dark eyes, black hair tousled up with product, a hint of scruff on his chin.
Fit body poured into tight black jeans and a skintight white sleeveless tee that showed hints of tattoos on that coppery skin.
Somewhere in Trey’s age bracket, for sure, and goddamn but he was pretty.
“Careful, Coop, you’re drooling,” Sasha said as she reached near him for a lime wedge.
He snapped his mouth shut but couldn’t stop staring, totally uncaring of the comment because Sasha wasn’t a gossip.
Dominic didn’t go up to the mike. He produced a shiny violin from the case.
Trey wasn’t familiar with violin makers but it looked expensive.
And the Yamaha did not belong to the bar.
Dominic fiddled with the strings, then set the violin to rest on his shoulder.
He touched a button on the Yamaha, and an onboard rock beat began to play.
He took a step to the side, into a more open area of the stage, touched bow to strings, and began to play.
The bow danced over the strings, creating a beautiful melody that Trey had trouble placing at first. Then it hit him.
Dominic was re-creating “Single Ladies” in a unique way that had musical notes dancing in front of Trey’s eyes, mapping the arrangement Dominic had chosen to stand out from the basic percussion beat from the keyboard.
Dominic seduced his audience with a violin, of all fucking instruments.
Trey knew his way around a piano and various kinds of guitars, no problem.
He had little use for other strings, including something as tiny as a violin.
He associated them with classical music or bluegrass.
Not songs like “Single Ladies,” which was melting into something else. . . .
Trey closed his eyes and allowed the music to flow through him.
“Shake It Off.”
He snapped his eyes open, hand jerking hard enough to slosh his drink.
Taylor’s lyrics popped into his head along with the melody Dominic expertly created with an instrument that Trey was slowly starting to adore.
Whoever Dominic B was, and wherever he was from, the boy possessed an incredible gift.
He played that violin like they were one being, urging out chords that made Trey want to weep for their perfection.
Why the hell was a guy this good playing open-mike nights in southern Maryland?
Trey was transfixed, not only by the amazing music but by the performer himself. He played with eyes closed, both hands a blur as they expertly created the music. The violin sang the lyrics to the audience. Dominic smiled throughout, so into the music that the crowd might as well not be there.
Taylor merged into “Just the Way You Are” so perfectly that Trey didn’t notice until he was humming along with Bruno’s lyrics. A table of girls nearby actually started singing out loud, and Trey nearly told them to shut up. Dominic didn’t need any backup.
Dominic finished the song with a flourish, then turned off the Yamaha. Trey leapt to his feet, applauding so hard his palms ached. The noise was thunderous, everyone standing. The bashful smile Dominic gave the audience made Trey’s heart flip.
Beatrice appeared onstage next to him, clapping, cheeks stained red. Trey knew that look—the look that said “We’ve got something special here.” She’d had that look the first time Fading Daze played for her.
“Now that was something special, wasn’t it?” she said into the mike. “Dominic B, ladies and gentlemen.”
More applause was joined by various shouts of “Encore!” “Play more!” “Don’t stop!”
“I think they like you, honey,” Beatrice said.
Dominic leaned forward, his expression so adorkably awkward. “I, ah, only practiced those three with that baseline. I haven’t done this in a long time.” His voice was smooth and deep, rolling over Trey like a gentle tide.
Her face went hawkish. “What if I found you an accompanist? Care to do a little freestyling?”
He glanced out into the audience, but likely couldn’t see many faces thanks to the lights. “Um, maybe.”
She shielded her eyes with her hand and scanned the crowd. “Earlier I spied with my little eyes a house favorite in the audience. Coop? Get your perky little ass up onstage.”
On the rare occasions when Beatrice called for one of her regular musicians to come up and help someone out, and when it was Trey he usually grumbled his way to the stage. Tonight he bolted, stomach twisting into nervous knots.
“There he is,” she said. “Mr. Trey Cooper.”
Trey strolled to the center of the ten-foot stage, waving at the audience. Someone even shouted out, “Go Coop!”
“Coop here is an excellent pianist,” Beatrice said. “And we all know Dominic is wicked with that violin. I think they’ll make some beautiful music, don’t you all?”
Cheers erupted. Trey soaked them in, taking the energy they gave him and amping himself up for an impromptu performance.
He shook Dominic’s offered hand. The first brush of skin on skin was electric, buzzing up his arm like static.
Dominic’s eyebrows arched. He met Trey’s eyes, and oh yeah, this was going to be fun.
Beatrice exited stage left.
“So what do you know?” Dominic asked, his voice caught by the mike even though he wasn’t speaking directly into it.
Trey grinned. “What do you know?” A better idea struck him, and he leaned toward the mike. “What do you guys want to hear?”
Everything from Beyoncé to Lil’ Nat X barraged them.
“Man crush!” Dominic said suddenly. “Who said Adam Lambert? You’re my hero.”
“Heroine!” someone in the audience shouted.
“My girl.” He looked at Trey. “‘Whataya Want from Me’?”
Trey grinned. “Oh yeah. You gonna start?”
“Definitely.”
This was going to be fun. Trey got behind the keyboard.
Piaggero series. He was familiar enough with those to bring up the guitar voice.
That would sound way cooler with Dominic’s violin than basic piano.
He warmed up with a few chords from one of his own songs, “Familiar at Last,” and that got a wolf whistle from a fan.
“You ready, Coop?” Dominic asked.
Trey glanced up into playful brown eyes, so dark they were almost black. “Ready. You lead.”
Dominic shouldered his violin, pulled a few notes, then paused.
He closed his eyes and drew the bow across the strings, ripping out the opening chords.
Trey matched his tempo and joined in, fingers dancing across the keys, hitting all of the right notes.
They didn’t blend perfectly—no one did their first time performing together cold—but it was pretty damned great.
Instead of Dominic keeping his eyes closed like he had when playing solo, his attention was firmly on Trey whenever Trey glanced up from the keys.
The intense focus stirred something deep inside of Trey.
Whatever it was he liked it, and he put it into his performance.
He even found himself singing along. He’d performed this a number of times with Fading Daze, doing both vocals and acoustic guitar.
He liked this better.
And he didn’t notice when exactly the mike appeared in front of him, or when his voice joined the jam for real, but the audience went kind of nuts. They kept going nuts for a few minutes after the song actually ended.
Dominic gave a little half bow that was all kinds of adorable, that shy smile back now that he wasn’t lost in the music.
Trey didn’t want it to end. “You up for one more?” he asked into the mike.
“Whatcha got in mind?” The shy smile went all kinds of devilish once it turned on Trey. “You know All-American Rejects?”
Trey nearly laughed, thrilled at Coop’s musical knowledge. So many guys only seemed to know what was hot five minutes ago and ignored the greats. His brain spun through the dozen or so songs of theirs he knew somewhat well. Working the violin in would be the challenge. “‘Mona Lisa’?”
Dominic winked. “Sounds good. Never done it on the strings but I can figure it out.”
And figure it out he did. Trey kept the guitar voice on the keyboard, because that really was a guitar kind of song and he could make it work. He made it through the first verse and into the chorus before Dominic joined in, pulling smooth notes from his strings and bow and fingering.
More than the music this time, the words echoed in Trey’s mind.
“You can sit beside me when the world comes down.”
He wouldn’t mind having Dominic with him for a while longer, and he was absolutely stealing his attention once they were done performing. He needed to know where this musical genius had been hiding all of his life.
At the end of that song, Trey came out from behind the keyboard to match Dominic’s half bow. Beatrice came up and gave them both big hugs before stealing the mike. Trey shook himself all over, his adrenaline up, not ready for this to be over.
“Well, that was certainly a memorable duet,” Beatrice said. “And as much as I hate to break up this brand-new partnership, we still have some folks waiting to get their chance in the spotlight. So how about another hand for Coop and Dominic B?”
Dominic waved one more time, then started packing his violin away in its case.
Tech guy Danny came up and took down the keyboard.
Trey hung off to the side so he could snatch the keyboard case from Danny.
He needed a way to start a conversation, because that was so not his strong suit.
Dominic joined him at the bottom of the stage steps, violin case tucked close to his chest.
“That was a lot of fun,” Dominic said.
“Yeah it was.” Trey searched hard for a compliment that wouldn’t make him sound like a dork. “You’re really good onstage. You know how to play to a crowd.”
“I would hope so. I’ve been performing since I was six.”
“Wow, really?” A tiny bit of jealousy prickled over his skin. “It shows.”
“Thanks.” That cute shyness stole over Dominic again. “You were pretty amazing yourself. I don’t do a lot of improv performance, especially with guys I don’t know.”
“So get to know me.” Trey silently prayed he was reading the guy right.
“Yeah?” Dominic’s dark eyes roamed up and down, taking stock, and yes, Trey had read him right. “You don’t have any place to be?”
“Only place I have to be is wherever you’re going.”
That sharp, feral grin from onstage returned. “I need to take my instruments back to the hotel first.”
“Hotel room?”
Dominic laughed, a deep, velvet sound that rippled over Trey. “Don’t get any ideas. I’m sharing it with three other guys who may or may not be there.”
“Bummer. I’d invite you to my place, but I live with, like, eight other people. Technically my apartment is with two, but the whole rental is like a frat house, and there’s no real privacy.”
Something flickered in Dominic’s eyes. “Then let’s drop off my stuff, and we’ll go from there. It’s not like the city’s shutting down anytime soon. I’m sure we can get into some kind of trouble.”
“Count on it.”
As they made their way through the club, Trey made a mental note to thank Danielle for insisting he go out. He had a good feeling that this impromptu visit to Off Beat was going to have a very, very happy ending.