He stayed where he was.
After the break, the live show started up again without Jax, with one bubble-gum pop standard, an alt-rock classic from the ’90s, and “Friends in Low Places.” Eventually Jax returned to the stage and nudged Rosa off to the bass guitar. He flexed his hands a few times, cracked his knuckles, then flashed the audience a smile. “Bear with me on this one. I’ve never gotten this request before, but I like it too much not to give it a shot.”
He nodded at Naomi, then at Kayla, who rapped out a quick, almost militaristic beat on the snare. Jax matched it with staccato chords, picking out a familiar tune Ari couldn’t quite place. He sat forward anyway, enraptured, and when Naomi played the guitar riff on violin instead, he shivered.
Hedidknow this song.
Up until now, he’d only seen Jax perform silly, irreverent things—enjoyable songs, but not particularly challenging ones, lyrically or musically. This, though—“White Rabbit”—was challenging even for Grace Slick to sing live, and Jax was giving it everything he had. It was far from perfect, but when he sang about the men on the chessboard getting up, the hair on Ari’s arms rose. He couldn’t have torn his eyes away for anything.
The song was short, but for two or three minutes, Ari was enraptured. As the last notes faded away and the crowd cheered, another set of notes filled Ari’s mind and some lyrics danced tantalizingly out of reach.
Ari had a complex relationship with lyrics. Usually he figured the music could stand on its own, carry the emotion without an artist having to explain it. Additionally, he didn’t think much of his own singing voice, so he had to bring in someone else on tours to sing for him. But sometimes he wanted to fill pages with poetry. It would be another late night tonight.
At least Noella would be happy. Pop stations were happy enough to pick up his work if it had lyrics, but otherwise he was relegated to XM and AM radio.
On the stage, Naomi and Jax bantered, and then Naomi belted out a goose-bump-inducing version of “Feeling Good” that had the whole crowd swooning. After the applause died, she reached into the request jar, read the slip, snorted, crumpled it, and tossed it at Jax’s head.
“This one’s all you,” she said, leaning into the mic.
“Oh?” Jax uncrumpled the paper and laughed. “But it doesn’t have any piano in it,” he said, mock innocent.
Naomi snorted again. “As if you’ll be sitting still.”
“Touché,” Jax said with a flirty grin. He stood and passed the paper to Kayla and pulled the microphone out of the stand.
The ladies began to play. The crowd cheered as they recognized the song, and Jax all but glowed under the approval. He swished his hips and winked.
Of course Jax knew all the dance moves to “Single Ladies.” He moved with an ease and grace of long practice. Ari was assailed by a sudden mental image of a gangly young Jax hiding in a bedroom and watching the video on repeat on YouTube for the purpose of mastering the moves. The thought was unbearably charming.
After the song, Naomi called for a break, claiming Jax needed a cool-down from that, and Jax didn’t argue.
A moment later, water bottle in hand, Jax slid into the seat opposite Ari and leaned on the table. “Enjoying the show?”
Ari hummed. “I’m wondering just how many hours of practice went into that routine.”
Jax laughed his no-holds-barred laugh. “More than you’re guessing, I’m sure. I was obsessed with the song at sixteen.”
“Of course. Beyoncé is a cultural icon.”
“Definitely. And my idol. Part of me will always want to be her when I grow up.” His teasing smile made his eyes crinkle, and Ari’s lips twitched with an answering smile.
“While you may not be able tobeher, I’m sure she would be honored by the… tribute your performance paid this evening.”
“Aw, Ari, is that your way of telling me you like the way I swing my hips?” He licked his lips, and Ari followed the movement with his gaze and then lifted it to catch Jax’s eyes.
“Perhaps,” he conceded, and Jax’s eyes sparkled with clear delight.
Ari was definitely in trouble.
Chapter Five
NOT LONGafter Jax’s break, someone he didn’t recognize filled Ari’s seat, and Ari didn’t come back. He suspected crowded bars weren’t really Ari’s scene, and the fact that he came and stuck around just to talk to Jax—well, that said a lot.
Jax sighed as he remembered the look of approval and appreciation in Ari’s eyes when Jax explained about the drink. He was reasonably sure that if he played his cards right, he could get more than one date out of Ari. Hopefully more than a few orgasms as well.
“Stop mooning and help me with these chairs,” Kayla said. They were the last two left in the bar, except for Murph in the back room.
“I,” Jax said with overacted dignity, “am not mooning.”
