Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Layla
T he jukebox was still blasting tinny-sounding music through the crowded building, and the patrons were talking loudly over the discordant noise. I’d been to Comstock Bar plenty of times, but I’d never seen it this packed. It seemed Emily wasn’t the only major Moonstone fan in the crowd. I found her exactly where I’d left her when I raced out the door on a shot of adrenaline. I’d managed to push the stressful breakup out of my head, so I could enjoy a night out, but seeing Dustin had fired up all the cylinders again. He’d left the bar, but now I was on high alert for his return.
Emily had been staring dreamily up at the stage as if she could conjure the singer with her mind. The equipment was set up, and from the energy bursting from the audience, I was sure they’d be coming on stage soon.
Emily tried to feign a look of concern as I reached her.
“Don’t bother, pal. I was clearly distressed, but you wouldn’t walk out with me,” I said.
“I didn’t want to give up this prime spot.” She pointed up at the microphone stand. “In a few minutes, he’ll be standing right there, mere feet from me, and I will put my plan in motion.”
I laughed. “What kind of plan? You’re not thinking of jumping on stage and throwing yourself at him?”
Emily rolled her eyes. “I’m not a lunatic. I’ll just catch his attention as often as I can and send him brainwaves that tell him I’m crazy about him and that we belong together.”
“Yes, clearly you’re not a lunatic.”
Emily shot a cursory glance around the tightly packed room. “Speaking of lunatic—where is Dustin?”
“I saw his car leave the parking lot. Thank goodness. I tried to sneak outside, but he spotted me and followed.” Then the last few minutes came back to me. I’d been so distraught about running into Dustin that I nearly forgot the handsome stranger in the parking lot. I laughed.
Emily looked over. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s nothing really. When I spotted Dustin coming out of the bar, I improvised. This guy was standing at the corner of the building, so I pulled him around to hide me.”
Emily raised a brow. “And what if that guy you used as a human shield was even crazier than Dustin?”
I shrugged. “I hadn’t thought of that. I was so freaked out about seeing Dustin, most of my sense and reason, something Aria says I lack naturally, flew out of my head. All I knew was that I didn’t want Dustin to see me. Besides, the guy had a nice smile. He was good-looking, actually, in that rugged, intense sort of way.” I got up on tiptoes and looked around the room for the short black hair. He was at least six feet tall and would be easy to spot, but I couldn’t find him.
“Do you see him?” Emily asked.
I shook my head. “Maybe he decided it was too crowded to bother. I’ve never seen this place so packed. It’s positively vibrating with enthusiasm.”
“I told you; Moonstone has a big following.”
“Well, I’m going to order a glass of wine. Do you want one?”
“Sure. I can’t leave the spot. There are all sorts of vultures waiting to move in.”
I glanced around, and she wasn’t wrong. We were getting dirty looks and conspiratorial whispers were taking place between friends. It seemed they were all waiting for Emily to break her determination and step away from her spot at the stage.
“Maybe you shouldn’t drink anything,” I said. “I don’t think you’ll be able to use the restroom tonight.”
“I don’t plan on leaving this spot at all, so I’ll sip slowly. Go fast. I plan on widening my stance, so I can take up enough room on the floor to hold your spot. Don’t be long though. Not sure how long I’ll be able to hold people off.”
“Right.” I saluted her. “Permission to leave my post.”
Emily waved her hand at me. “Stop making fun. This is serious stuff. I’m not messing around here.”
“Right. Serious stuff. Off I go and wish me luck.” I elbowed my way up to the bar. Betty Comstock’s older brother, Tommy, was behind the bar filling glasses with foamy beer. “What can I get you, Miss Lovely?”
“Hey, Tommy, I see she has you working tonight. Never seen it so crowded.”
Tommy shook his head. “Just hope we don’t run out of beer.”
“Well then, to help with that, I’ll take two glasses of white wine.”
“Coming right up.” I turned to look at the barroom as I waited for the drinks. I held my breath as I surveyed the room. No sign of Dustin. I relaxed. It seemed seeing me had made the prospect of a night out so unpleasant, he took off. It would certainly make my evening more pleasant knowing he wasn’t standing somewhere in the room watching me. I convinced myself that him leaving instead of pursuing a conversation with me was a good sign that this was really over and done.
“Here you go, two white wines.”
I paid for the drinks and then with some strategic planning and movements, I got back to Emily without spilling more than a few drops. Getting to her exact location took some fortitude. It seemed that a few of the earlier vultures had moved into my section of floor.
Emily looked sharply at the woman standing next to her. “Excuse me but you’re standing in my friend’s spot.” She motioned toward me.
The woman turned around, snorted in disgust and inched out of the way. She moved behind us, and I was sure she wasn’t smiling politely at our backs.
“Well, now I’m extra curious about this band and their lead singer. The crush of people in here is almost too much.”
“Yep, we don’t get bands like this coming through here often. I knew it was going to be a packed house.”
I sipped the wine and glanced around the room. This time I wasn’t looking for Dustin. I was looking for my tall, handsome human shield. He must have decided against stepping inside. I couldn’t blame him. Something told me the bar was past fire capacity.
Emily must have spotted my disappointment from not seeing Mr. Nash.
“What’s wrong? Is he back?” she asked with some effort to show concern. She was just too far gone in Moonstone groupie land to care much about her friend tonight.
“No, I don’t see Dustin. I was looking for that cute guy who hid me from view.”
Betty came out on stage to let everyone know we were at capacity, and if we left, we wouldn’t get back in. There was another lecture about leaving the bathrooms the way we found them and not leaving drinks unattended. People chatted animatedly through her admonishments.
“What did he look like?” Emily asked as she half-listened for the words she was waiting for.
I opened my mouth to answer just as Betty welcomed the band to the stage.
A woman with fiery red hair came out first, twirling her drumsticks. She climbed behind the set of drums. A short, stocky man wearing a black beanie, even though it was hot in the club, waved to the crowd and stood behind the keyboard. A tall, thin guy with a bass guitar hanging around his shoulder came out next. His wave got a round of cheers, and a few people yelled out “Bosco!” so I assumed that was his name. And then I could literally hear women sucking in their breaths and holding them as they waited for the singer. The room erupted like a volcano when he walked on stage holding a guitar and flashing a big white smile.
I stared up at him in shock. “That’s him,” I said under my breath.
Emily didn’t hear me. She’d moved a few inches closer to the stage. She clapped so hard; I thought she might break some fingernails. “Isn’t he dreamy?” she asked without looking away from the stage.
I nodded. There was no sense in bringing up my story again. Emily would have forgotten all about it after tonight. She would probably have a hard time remembering her own name after standing so close to her crush.
I leaned in. “What did you say his name was?”
“Nash, Nash Ledger. He’s even more gorgeous in person.”
The stage lights made his gray eyes an ethereal color, and Emily was right. He was gorgeous, dreamy and all the other adjectives she’d be spilling out the rest of the night. I laughed to myself. For a second, I thought I might run into my friend from outside and get better acquainted. I guess I was joining the long list of groupies who had to admire Nash Ledger from afar.
Nash picked up the microphone. “Hello, everyone, we’re Moonstone.” There was another round of cheers loud enough to shake the light fixtures and slosh some beer foam over the rims of glasses. Nash turned around. He was wearing faded jeans and a gray T-shirt. “We’ve got Seth on keyboard.” Seth played a few bars to applause. “The unsinkable Ronnie Brown on drums.” She played a few beats to applause. “And, of course, Bosco on bass.” Bosco strummed some impressive notes on his bass guitar. I realized then that we were deafeningly close to the speakers, but Emily didn’t seem to notice. She hadn’t pulled her gaze away from Nash. “And I’m Nash Ledger.” His last name was drowned out by the screams.
It was like being at a Beatles concert in the 60s. I wondered if we’d even be able to hear the music. Fortunately, the rambunctious crowd quieted down. Nash’s gray eyes swept around the room. With the stage lights in front of him and the dim lights at the back of the bar, I was sure he couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of him, so Emily’s plan wasn’t too bad. She would definitely be one of the admiring faces he saw staring up at him all night.
“I’m going to dedicate this first song to a young lady I met earlier tonight. I’m happy to be your human shield anytime.” His eyes swept down, and our gazes clashed. He winked before singing a rock classic, Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” It didn’t take more than a few seconds for me to see what all the hype was about. His voice, slightly gritty, yet smooth like cream, filled the room. The sound, coupled with the way he looked, the way he moved on stage, created a spellbinding magic that took my breath away.
Emily grabbed my hand, startling me from the trance. “Did you see?” she asked excitedly. “Did you see that? He winked at me. I’m sure of it.” She gripped my hand. Her wine sloshed over the other hand. “I might faint. My plan is working. I’m telling you, La-la, by the time we leave here tonight, I’m going to be Nash Ledger’s girlfriend.” Then her smile faded some. “I wonder what he meant about the human shield.” She was in such a tizzy about the wink, she’d forgotten my story about the parking lot encounter. It was just as well. There was no way I was going to spoil the moment for her. She was on top of the world—certain that he’d dropped that wink her way, and heck, maybe she was right. After all, she’d been right about Nash Ledger. He really was something.