Chapter 18 #2
That got her to lift her head. As she did, her scent wafted into the air in our shared space, filling my nose. I moved her soft locks behind her ear, enjoying seeing her hair down, and she leaned into my touch.
“Well, I’m glad I was here to experience that, it was beautiful.”
Her gaze met mine, and it was as if the room fell away from us and we were alone. But it didn’t last. The shouts from the crowd behind us increased as the next song started, and we were knocked back into reality.
“I’m so glad you were here for it, too.” I kissed her on the forehead and wrapped my arm around her neck, bringing her in for a hug. Keeping her in my hold, I started the walk back to our table, knowing she’d get too nervous to be away any longer.
Imagine my surprise when, as we walked back, she grabbed my hand. My insides melted as we continued our walk back to our table, to our friends.
Then the unthinkable happened.
“Hi, Chase!”
She stepped in front of me, basically throwing herself onto me. Her arms went around my neck with her mouth against my ear for her greeting. She had no idea I wasn’t alone. Maryellen was hidden behind me.
I knew the moment she saw Maryellen. Her body stiffened against mine and pulled away.
By then, Maryellen had pulled her hand from mine as she stood behind me. And even though we were no longer touching, I felt the tension.
No. It wasn’t tension. It was something much stronger than that.
It was animosity.
“Hey, Amanda, how are you? You remember Maryellen, don’t you?” I tried to make being out together as casual as possible.
Until now, I wasn’t sure Amanda knew I took Maryellen home with me the night of The Plaza party. But with the laser eyes she was giving Mare, it was obvious she did.
It was a dick move, but I had my chance with Maryellen, and I took it.
“Of course I do,” Amanda said with venom in her voice.
“Hi,” Maryellen said with a small wave. She turned toward me. “I’m gonna head back to the table with the others.”
Amanda stared her down as she walked away. And I didn’t like that, but there was also not much I could do about it. Once Amanda glanced back at me, her smile returned to flirtatious.
“So, Chase, are you two together now?”
Shit. I wish Maryellen had stayed for this question, because I was so tempted to answer it my way. I couldn’t do that to Mare, yet by not telling Amanda the truth, I was going to have her on my ass here tonight, and maybe beyond.
Fuck.
“No, Amanda, we work together. You know that. Night out with work friends, that’s all.”
The words tasted disgusting on my tongue as I said them.
I hated her response, the shimmer in her eyes as she reached out and touched my chest.
“Great! I’m gonna go find my friend and we’ll come hang for a bit. Where’s your table?”
I gestured with my hand in the general direction where we were, hoping in this crowd she never found us. The place wasn’t that big, so I knew she could.
Once I made it back to our table, I noticed Maryellen was sitting alone.
“Where are Mitch and Evie?” I asked.
Her head turned toward the bar, and I noticed them waiting for drinks. Sitting, I pulled my chair closer to hers, hoping we could talk. But as I did, Maryellen made sure to keep her attention on the stage, not on me.
This was getting harder to navigate.
“What’s bothering you most right now, Mare?” I leaned in as close as I could without touching her.
She kept her gaze on the singer as she answered me. “Nothing should be bothering me.” Then she turned and gave me a sideways glance. “But I hate that it is.”
I wanted to reach out and take her hand in mine, but I knew she wouldn’t want that. Instead, I focused on her eyes, letting her know as best I could that I was there for her.
“Talk to me, Mare.”
“Hey you two, a little help?” Evie’s loud request tore us from each other.
We turned to see her and Mitch balancing multiple bottles and drinks in their hands. I ran to their side, taking a few of the beers from Evie’s hands to lighten her load. Mitch handed me one of the bourbons he held. Tipping it toward my buddy, I took a sip.
“Thanks,” I said.
Maryellen grabbed a bottle and chugged the entire thing. I guess she was getting drunk. She slammed the bottle down, which got our group’s attention.
“Alright, you two.” She pointed at Mitch and Evie. “Get yourselves ready, because we’re heading up there soon, all of us. We owe it to this guy.” Her thumb pointed my way.
She was trying to move on from what had happened, and I gave her credit. As she rallied the troops, I searched the bar to see if Amanda was making her ascent any time soon. There was no sign of her, thank God. Maybe she wouldn’t find us. After we sang on stage, we could head out of here.
Turning back to our crew, I noticed Maryellen got Evie on board. She was jumping with excitement.
“Oh my God, I can’t wait,” Evie cried. “What are we singing? The group songs look like so much fun.”
I turned toward Mitch. He was still sitting comfortably in his seat as he waved us off and chugged from his beer.
I knew he’d be the wildcard, which was fine.
I’d have fun with the girls. But Evie pulled on his arm, forcing him to his feet.
She threw her arms around his neck and whispered something in his ear.
He blushed at whatever she said to him, nodding against the side of her head.
“What have we done?” Maryellen mumbled in my ear.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” I said.
We both watched as Evie worked some magic on him and got him to agree. Our group wasn’t up for a few more songs, so we sat back and finished our drinks. Maryellen was relaxing the more beers she drank, but I think she was already on number four.
I leaned close to her, my mouth next to her ear.
“You OK?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. We can talk about it later. I’m fine.” Her smile was tight, but it was a smile.
“Oh my God, we’re next!” Evie screamed. She pulled Maryellen from her seat, away from me, and they weaved through the crowd to the host.
Mitch and I made our way there a bit slower.
“So, she got you to say yes,” I said, jabbing him with my elbow and bellowing a laugh at him.
“Shut up,” he said. “She can be a bit persuasive, and I’m drunk.”
We made it to the host stand, and the girls were busy talking to Jerry. He’d been doing this at Iggy’s for years now, and we’ve gotten to know each other with the number of times I’ve come to sing.
“You guys ready?” Jerry asked.
“Yes!” both Evie and Maryellen yelled simultaneously as they jumped on stage.
Mitch and I moved to the steps, but Jerry stopped me and pulled me to the side.
“Can you hang out later, once this is done tonight? I’ve got something to ask you.”
He looked serious. And I had no idea what it could be about.
“Of course, Jerry. No problem.”
He nodded, then went to the karaoke screen.
“OK, get up there, I’m pulling up your song, kid.”
I joined the gang, and we gathered on stage. They were acting shy, no one stepping up to the microphone. But we needed to get ready.
“OK, guys, let’s go, the words start quick with this one,” I told them. Plus, the first line is so recognizable.
Jerry started the countdown.
3…2…1…
The opening lines of “Bohemian Rhapsody” flashed on the screen, and we sang along.
The crowd went crazy and was singing along within seconds.
The entire place was alive, almost explosive, with the level of energy this song created.
The girls were inspired by the crowd, dancing with each other as they fought for the mic.
Once Mitch realized no one could hear us, he even got into it.
As long as that song was, and it was a long one, our time on stage flew. We were all sweating once the song ended, tired from our antics. The crowd was still rowdy as we walked back to our table. It was always a crowd-pleaser.
I hated that our night was coming to an end. Since it was a weeknight, everyone had that look of wanting to head out. Once we got back to the table, no one even sat down. It was for the best. I might be able to get out of here without seeing her again.
“Should I call Ben?” I asked Maryellen. I pulled out my phone, ready to text him to bring the car around.
“Sure,” she said.
“Hey,” Evie called out to Maryellen from across the table, “I won’t be heading back in the car with you.”
Both our heads swiveled toward Evie and saw her standing next to Mitch, his arm draped around her neck.
“It’s not what you think,” Evie said. “He offered to take me home, to give us a chance to talk more, that’s all.”
Maryellen and I didn’t know how to respond. So, we didn’t. The girls hugged goodbye, and I offered a wave to them both as they left the bar.
“Did we just play matchmaker?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but you’re known to do it, aren’t you?
You must have the magic touch. Looks like I’ll be the one making sure you get home tonight.
” I wasn’t upset about that one bit. I helped her with her coat, and we started for the door.
“Mare, head to the car, I almost forgot that Jerry wanted to see me before we left. I’ll be right out. ”
Weaving my way through the sea of people was like an Olympic sport. The crowd was shoulder to shoulder, and I bounced between them like a pinball. As I approached Jerry, I found him talking with one of the bartenders.
“Chase, you leaving?” he asked.
“Yeah, work tomorrow, you know how it is. What did you need to talk about?” It was loud where we were, a new group had started on stage.
“Come with me to the kitchen,” he said.
The swinging doors into the kitchen almost hit our backsides as we went through them. The space was hot and busy. Servers and chefs called out to one another as they ran around the place. It wasn’t much quieter back here.
“So, listen,” Jerry said. “Did you know we have live music nights here, too?”
“Yeah, of course, I’ve been to a few. You guys get some great talent in here.” There were some nights I would pop in alone and sit at the bar simply to enjoy the music. They did live music a couple nights during the week and Saturdays.
“Do you play any instruments?” he asked.
My heart started racing. Where was he going with this?
“Yeah, I play the guitar.”
Jerry pulled out a small notebook from his back pocket with a tiny pencil, like the minigolf kind, stuck through the metal coil. He thumbed through a few pages of chicken scratch notes before looking at me.
“I’d like you to play. I have a cancellation next Wednesday.
It would only give you about twenty-five minutes of playing time, but it’ll get your feet wet.
” He was back to his notebook before I could say anything in return.
“Be here about twenty minutes before you go on, your time slot is 10:30. Got it?”
I was shaking and frozen all at the same time. No words would come out of my mouth. My brain couldn’t process what he’d proposed to me.
“Chase?” Jerry asked. “Can you make it? If not, I’ve got to fill it with someone else.”
“I’ll be here.”
Jerry nodded, like this was the most unimportant moment in his life. It probably was.
But for me…this was monumental.
I rushed out to the car.
Pushing through the swinging doors back into the main room, I walked directly into a body. A body who had been waiting for me. Who knew I’d been on the other side of those doors.
“Christ, Chase, why are you in such a rush?” Amanda said.
The door behind me hit me in my ass, pushing me against her yet again. She grabbed me by my arms, steadying me.
“I’m heading out,” I said as I shrugged out of her hold. The distance I put between us she effectively eliminated. Each step I took toward the door, she took with me. “I have a car waiting. It was good seeing you. We need to catch up.”
I didn’t wait around to hear her response. All I wanted to do was get to Maryellen as I became lost in the throng of people.
Not being able to be honest with Amanda was another example of what was problematic with what Maryellen and I were doing.
A secret relationship was never something I thought I’d be involved in.
And I really didn’t like it.