But it didn’t matter.
Nobody would say a thing about it.
Nobody would tell the truth.
I looked at Uly and nodded.
He walked by Mookey and made a fist and put it to Mookey’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself, man. We’ll get together and chat soon.”
We walked away from the scene, not bothering to look back once.
“That was shit,” Uly said.
“Of course it was,” I said. “But Mookey knows he’s fucked.”
“We’ll get whatever names we need,” Ash said.
“You know what?” Uly asked. “Why bother? Fuck it. They’ve got nothing on us. Why the fuck are we doing the leg work here? Werthwood won’t do shit. He knows what he’s up against. Calypso would eat him for dinner.”
“I’d like to eat her for dinner,” I said.
“Fuck, Hil,” Ash said.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m making a fucking point,” Uly said. “And that’s… fuck this. Let everyone talk. We never stepped in before. Why now?”
Uly had a good point.
We rattled Owen and Mookey. Maybe they’d do the work now to tell everyone to shut up about Werthwood’s car. Or maybe someone would come forward to tell the truth.
“You know, the more I think about it,” Ash said, “I wish we did take his car.”
“Let Werthwood think it then,” Uly said. “It’ll fuck with his head really bad.”
“I like beating people up though,” I said.
I stopped walking at my motorcycle and looked between Uly and Ash.
“I’ll get my guitar and meet you soon?” Uly asked.
“That’s the plan,” I said.
“Don’t fuck up this show,” Uly said.
He walked away before I could make the decision to break his jaw.
Ash didn’t move though.
“You don’t give a shit about Uly’s feelings,” Ash said. “You’re not playing this show to make up for the other one.”
“Oh, yeah? So now you’re talking to me like a stepbrother? Like we’re cool at home and shit? Right?”
“I’m just saying it like I see it, Hil,” Ash said.
“Why don’t you go see Belle? Before someone else swoops in and does.”
“You’d never touch her,” Ash said.
“That’s what you think,” I said with a wink.
Ash curled his lip and didn’t move an inch.
I got on my motorcycle and rode out of the BFH parking lot.
I had time to kill.
Which was never a good thing.
I had the memories of Penelope.
What happened with Belle.
And now whatever this bullshit was with Vera.
I thought about her note and shook my head. I mentally wrote one back to her.
I’ll C U soon, beauty…
* * *
I opened the door to the cafe and it was already half full.
Everyone that looked at me just nodded and looked away.
Again, it was amazing to see the difference between Uly on stage and Uly not on stage. That when I stood on stage, they all looked at me, sang to me, and had no fear of me. And that lingered for a little while after the show.
But right then… as I walked through the cafe with my guitar case, nobody said a word to me.
Aya rushed from behind the counter and stopped me.
She put a finger to my nose.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Probably, why?” I asked.
“Another show?”
“I forget how much you hate money,” I said.
“It’s not about money, Hil. It’s about having stuff to sell.”
“You’re all out of hippy iced tea?”
“Listen, smart ass, don’t mess with me right now,” Aya said. “Thanks to you, I’m going to be jam packed again tonight and I spent all of last night drinking coffee, drawing up plans for expanding this place.”
“Look at that,” I said. “You listened to me. Wow. That’s a first. You’re a pioneer.”
“I don’t know what I am,” Aya said. “Other than tired, pissed, and I’ve had too much caffeine.”
“Just think of how much it’ll be worth it,” I said.
Aya growled. “Sometimes I can’t stand you punks hanging around here.”
“I know. Us punks are the worst.”
Aya walked back behind the counter, a smile on her face as she greeted customers in line.
I put my guitar on a table in the back and then went outside for a cigarette.
I saw Uly and Mara standing together.
“Didn’t realize you were here,” I said.
“Here I am,” he said. “It’s like magic.”
He took a drag of his cigarette.
Mara stood with a mustard bottle in her hand.
That shit made me roll my eyes.
That was their little stupid lovey dovey thing.
She hated cigarettes. He hated mustard. So when he smoked, she ate mustard or some kind of dumb shit like that.
“Where’s Ash?” I asked.
“On his way,” Uly said.
“Aya is pissed we’re playing another show,” I said with a grin.
“Well, we never do this,” Uly said.
“This is your fault,” I said. “You wanted this.”
“I never said I wanted this.”
“You weren’t going to live it down what happened. So I have to make it up to you.”
“Fucking hero,” Uly said.
“Or maybe he just wants that girl to come back,” Mara said.
“What girl?” I asked.
“Oh, come on, Hil,” Uly said. “That one chick was driving you fucking crazy. She shut you up. And then you followed her out of here with your tongue wagging. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Liar. You saw me like that once before. Before you stepped in and fucked that up.
Great, now I was pissed at Uly again.
“I’m all about the music,” I said. “Nothing more.”
“Tough guy,” Mara said.
“Yeah?” I asked.
I took out a cigarette and lit it. Then I walked toward her.
Uly got tense and defensive.
I wasn’t making a move on Mara.
She was cute as hell but way too fucking dorky for me. She and Uly were perfect for each other. Just like the way Belle and Ash were for each other.
I stood in front of Mara with my cigarette between my lips.
I took a drag and blew the smoke above our heads.
Then I reached down and grabbed the mustard bottle from her hand.
She gasped as I squirted some into my mouth.
It tasted sour and gross. I wasn’t a mustard fan but I wasn’t creeped out by it the way Uly was.
“Now what, beauty?” I asked Mara.
Uly stepped in front of her and put his hand to my chest. “Point made.”
“You run and tell her everything, huh?”
“Just caught my attention that you were swayed by some girl,” Uly said.
“Worry about your own girl,” I said.
I stepped to the door and finished smoking my cigarette before going back inside.
Ash and Belle were there, nestled together in their same favorite spot in the cafe.
Before I could say a word to either, something caught my eye.
My guitar case.
One of the latches was undone.
Which wasn’t my doing.
Especially at the top.
The case would have opened a little and let the guitar bounce around.
“Did you touch my guitar?” I asked Belle.
“No,” she said. “We just got here.”
I flipped open the other latches and lifted the lid of the guitar case.
My guitar was dark toned wood color. And right there on the body was a kiss.
Red lips perfectly placed on the guitar for me to find.
/> I nodded.
That meant she…
I looked at the strings.
I was missing a string on the guitar.
“What’s wrong, Hil?” Ash asked as he stepped up next to me.
“I’m missing my g string,” I said.
“That sounds personal,” Belle said, attaching herself to Ash’s hip.
I looked at her and curled my lip. “The string on my guitar. It’s missing.”
“Oh, that g string,” Belle said as though she knew something about guitars or music.
I reached down to my guitar and flicked at the other five strings.
“What are we looking at?” Uly asked as he came back inside with Mara.
“Hil is missing his underwear,” Ash said.
“What?” Uly asked.
“Someone took a string off my guitar,” I said.
“Did you bring extras?” Uly asked.
“Of course I did,” I said.
In reality it would take me a minute to string it back up.
But the lips on the guitar…
I turned my head and saw the cafe was getting packed again.
Vera was here again.
And fuck me did that excite me.
Chapter 6
We played an entire set and there was no sign of Vera.
Each song was played flawlessly, which meant Uly wouldn’t have his undies all bunched up in a knot and be pissed off at me.
It was a good show.
Everyone was involved in the music. It seemed like more people were singing the songs back to us.
Truthfully it had a very interesting feel to it.
There were a few times I looked at Uly and both of us nodded with that sense of oh shit… meaning this could become something again. It could actually become bigger than what it was before.
And the entire show was supposed to be my excuse to find Vera again.
To make up for a little lost time and to give me a chance to show her who I was.
Right up to the last strum of a chord, my eyes searched the cafe and there wasn’t a single sign of her. She wasn’t hiding in a corner. She wasn’t kissing some dude who had a girlfriend. She wasn’t outside smoking. Or at least outside where I could see her from the stage.
I walked off the stage pissed at myself.
Pissed that I let her get to me to where I demanded another show. And pissed that I felt a little let down that she had been there but left.
Almost like she was a mirage. Or a part of my imagination.
I heard a few people call my name but I kept my head down as I walked to the back of the cafe.
When I saw the black skater shoes, I froze.
I lifted my eyes to see ripped jeans.
Legs dangling from a table, playfully kicking.
Hands gripping the edge of the table.
A black shirt that matched her black hair.
She had been sitting at the back of the cafe the entire time.
I stared at her.
She smiled at me.
Her eyes made the rest of the world disappear and I didn’t know why.
She reached behind her and pulled out the string from my guitar.
I nodded as I got closer to her.
I moved to her left and reached for my guitar case without saying a word to her.
After I flipped the lid and slammed the guitar down inside, I shut the case.
“Sounded good from back here,” she said. “I didn’t want to distract you again like I did last night.”
I turned my head. “Who said you distracted me?”
“Well you played another show the next night,” she said. “You never do that.”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Vera,” she said.
She jumped off the table and handed me the guitar string.
Then she moved to her toes and kissed my cheek.
She took one step and I put my hand out.
“Not so fast, beauty,” I said. “This isn’t last night.”
“It’s not?”
“You’re not getting away that easily.”
“Ut-oh. That sounds like trouble, Hil.”
“You held my g string, Vera,” I said.
“Is that your favorite one on a guitar?”
“No,” I said. “I hate the g string. Pain in the ass to keep in tune sometimes. Point being… you took my g string. It’s only fair I get yours.”
Vera grinned instead of blushing.
That pissed me off even more.
She grabbed my shoulder with both of her hands and pulled herself up and put her lips to my ear.
“Sorry, Hil… I’m not wearing… anything…”
She let me go and backed away, smiling, knowing she had me cornered once again.
That was my cue to grab my guitar case and get the fuck out of there.
Leave Vera in the dust to find another dude to fuck with.
I didn’t move though.
I looked at her again.
“You know what, beauty? I think you’re fake as fuck. Everything you do is for attention. That’s why you kissed that dude. And then when his girlfriend came after you, you threw your drink at her. Then you mess with me knowing you have a car waiting. And I’m dumb enough to want to see you again. Just so you could show up and kiss my guitar and steal a string. You knew it was the g string too. Because you wanted it to be funny and sexy. So here’s the deal, Vera, you’ve got my attention. But now you need to work to keep it.”
I pushed from the table and grabbed my guitar case.
I started to walk toward the back door, knowing I had the power now.
Because nobody probably ever stood up to her before.
I grabbed the door handle and Vera put her hand to the door.
She reached down and forced her hand to the handle on my guitar case.
I looked at her and I opened my hand, giving her my guitar case.
“My turn,” she whispered.
“For what?” I asked.
“To sing you a song, Hil.”
* * *
I didn’t believe her for a second.
She walked away with my guitar case and I slowly followed, giving her space, fully expecting her to blast out the front door of the cafe and be gone with my guitar.
That would have annoyed me but guitars were easy to replace.
Vera paused at the side of the stage and looked back at me.
I shrugged my shoulders.
Now what, beauty?
Vera turned and put my guitar case on the side of the stage.
She opened the guitar case.
Then lifted the guitar out of the case.
“Shit,” I whispered.
“What the hell is this about?” Uly asked me.
He, Mara, Ash, and Belle were close by.
I lifted my left eyebrow in amazement as Vera put the guitar strap around her neck. Of course the guitar hung way too far down her body.
But like a pro, she adjusted the strap and wrestled with it to make it fit her body.
“No way,” I said.
“Is she going to play?” Ash asked.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on right now,” I said.
“She just stole your guitar, Hil,” Belle said. “And you’re just standing here, letting her. This might be the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”
I looked at Belle and saw the smirk on her face.
Poking at my nerves.
I moved forward toward the crowd and then side stepped to go behind the counter.
Aya stood there, hands on her hips.
“Who is that?” she asked me.
“That’s Vera,” I said.
“Do you know her?”
“Kind of.”
“I didn’t say she could play.”
“I know,” I said.
“Hey there,” Vera’s voice said in the mic.
Her voice carried through the speakers and got everyone’s attention.
A few
people clapped, but they did so sarcastically.
My eyes looked for who did it.
Within three seconds I had the dude memorized for later.
“I’m not supposed to be here,” Vera said. “So don’t say anything, okay?”
Vera laughed.
Nobody else did.
They started to look at each other.
She’s going to bomb up there…
I caught myself starting to smile.
It wasn’t easy to just get up on stage and make it happen like what Uly and I did.
Vera looked at the neck of the guitar and strummed a chord.
Then another.
Then a third one.
“Is this a joke?” Aya whispered to me.
“Play something!” a voice yelled.
It was the same dude who clapped like an asshole at Vera.
“I’m going to play something, fuck face,” Vera said.
“That’s not going to work for me,” Aya said to me.
“She’s not mine,” I said. “Go up there and pull the plug.”
“Okay, no problem,” Aya said.
She walked around me and I put my hand out. “Give her a chance.”
“Not yours, huh?” Aya asked.
“Not at all,” I said.
Vera strummed a couple more chords and then cleared her throat.
Then out of nowhere she slid her hand up the guitar and started plucking the strings, creating a sound that shocked the hell out of me.
She put her mouth to the mic and I felt my mouth opening as my jaw felt like it weighed more than an elephant.
All Vera did was make an oohhh sound, but she carried it with a perfect note that went along with what she was playing on the guitar.
Her eyes slowly shut and when she moved back from the mic, she added more power to her voice. That single note she sang for at least twenty seconds.
When she stopped, she turned her head and looked at me.
She winked.
And she kept playing.
Aya burst into laughter next to me.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Your jaw is on the floor and she’s winking at you,” Aya said. “It’s like the universe flipped the roles here.”
She patted my shoulder.
“Just go sell some more hippy teas,” I said, my eyes not leaving Vera.
She’s a beautiful, crazy girl who could play guitar, sing, and wasn’t afraid of herself or me.
HIL: a bay falls high novel Page 5
