“I don’t even care,” Skye said, still drooling over the sight of Bel’s broad back. “He can never call me again all he wants if it means I get a taste of that.”
“Ugh.” Eva snatched up their drinks. “I’m going to find Ash.”
“Tell his brother to come talk to me!”
Eva grumbled as she wound her way through the crowd and found her date sitting at their table. She passed him his drink, and they sipped them in silence while she tried to shake off her irrational anger.
“Eva, don’t worry about it,” Ash said, accurately reading her mood. “I get it all the time.”
“How? I mean, I’m not blind. I know you’re not ugly or boring. Why did your brothers think that?”
He shifted on his seat. “I guess I kind of... blend in.”
“You don’tblendin!” How could anyone ever say that about him?
“I really don’t care, Eva. Trust me, I’m used to it. I came here to play music with you. You spent all week talking me into it, remember?”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m making such a big deal out of this. I don’t even know what I’m making a big dealof.” Catching sight of the guitarist on stage, Tim, who was in charge of the rotating lineup, she took a final gulp of her drink and stood. “Let’s see if I can get us up to jam for the next set.”
A few minutes later, she returned to the table, grabbed her flute from her bag, and yanked Ash up by the hand. “Come on, we’re up!”
They went together onto the stage, poor Ash looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. The other people in the band were friends of Eva’s and welcomed him with friendly handshakes. She had vouched for him as a musician, so they had no concerns about letting him come up.
The band members were mostly Francophone, and she experienced a moment of amazement when Ash switched to flawless French to communicate. He’d said he wasn’t from here, so she’d assumed he didn’t speak French at all. How had he learned to speak so fluently? And wherewashe from, anyway? She realized now that she’d never actually gotten a straight answer when she’d asked last time.
A moment later, however, she quickly forgot all that when Tim started the jam, firing off a few tasty chords on his guitar before the rest of the band joined in.
Unsurprisingly, Ash was amazing. He knew just what to add to complement the other players, accentuating his parts when it was his turn and never overshadowing anyone else in the band. The others made room for him to take a solo, and with some hesitancy, he did, and of course, it blew her mind. It blew everyone’s mind, judging by the reaction of the crowd.
Eva’s anger was quickly replaced with satisfaction. The crowd was riveted, watching his every move, cheering at all the right times. He wasn’t boring or invisible to them anymore. And the band loved him too. They jammed together on another two tracks before it was time to switch the lineup.
As Eva climbed off stage, she overheard Tim asking Ash if he wanted to stay up for the next jam as well. He started to decline, but she could tell by the glint in his eye he was riding the high from the music and would keep his butt glued to that piano bench all night if he could.
She raced back up on stage and jumped between him and Tim, effectively cutting him off. “He’d love to stay up for as long as you want him,” she interrupted, grinning at Ash when he glared at her.
“What about you?” he asked, melting her heart a little bit.
“Eva, stay up too if you want,” Tim offered.
“No, that’s okay.” She smiled at Ash. “This is your time to shine, baby. Knock ’em dead.”
She wanted him to get comfortable with the others without her there. It was all part of her little scheme to loosen him up and build his musical confidence.
Before he could protest, she darted back off the stage, waving at him from the audience. He shot her a look, but she could tell he was secretly dying to keep playing.
“My work here is done,” she said proudly to herself, and then she weaved her way back through the crowd to find Skye.
That was when shit got weird.
Eva hadn’t reached the bar yet when Skye started waving frantically at her. “Oh my god,whois that piano player?” she exclaimed when Eva reached her.
Eva frowned. “That’s Ash. I introduced you earlier, remember?”
Skye laughed. “Yeah right, I’m pretty sure I’d remember if you had introduced me to him. Eva, that guy is a freakin’ god. Look at that hair!”
“I know that! You were the one who didn’t notice him before!”
“What? You’ve gotta lock that one down tight, girl.”
