See Her (Turn it Up Book 1)

by Natalie Parker

  I shake my head and turn to Mayzie, talking low so Tyler doesn’t overhear. “He’s a good friend but he can be a total hound sometimes.”

  “Ah. Thanks for the warning,” she says taking a sip of her beer, just as her friend ambles up beside her and takes a seat. Mayzie introduces us, and while she plays it cool, I instantly get a protective vibe from Annie. She’s being friendly and funny, but it’s clear she will morph from best friend to bulldog if she has to.

  “So, this is who you’ve been cheating on me with.” She gestures between Mayzie and me as she jokes, making the atmosphere light. “It’s over!”

  “No, baby, don’t go,” Mayzie says sarcastically with a smile. I can see by this dynamic that they’re close. I ask if I can get her a drink, and she orders what Mayzie has. And cue Tyler in three…two…

  “Oooh, another pretty patron arrives,” he says, leaning forward on the bar, totally invading Annie’s space. She deadpans and raises an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. He’s undeterred. “Jack, isn’t it time to switch sections?”

  “Forget it man,” I say, trying to look busy, but still keeping my attention on Mayzie. He ignores me and continues to chat up Annie between serving drinks in his section. I see her softening slightly as their conversation flows, and I talk to Mayzie as much as I can. After about forty minutes or so, more customers flood in and we get busy. Mayzie takes that as her cue to get going, saying she doesn’t want to be in the way, distracting me while I’m busy. I don’t want her to go, but she’s right. I can easily see myself falling behind the rush while she’s here. I refuse to let her and Annie pay for their beers.

  “You’re going to go broke paying for things all the time,” she says, chiding me as she slides off her stool.

  “No I won’t. Besides, you’ll never stop me from being a gentleman so you might as well give up now.” She shakes her head at me, smiling, then gives me a little wave as she and Annie turn to go. I return it, and tell her I’ll call her tomorrow as she disappears into the crowd.

  8

  Mayzie

  Jack and I carry on for the next week or so, still talking every day. I usually get a text from him mid-morning, around the time he wakes up after having worked at the bar, pretty much just to say good morning and see what I’ve got going on. It’s nice, having someone that checks in daily like this, knowing I’m on his mind. I’ve come to look forward to it. I usually get a phone call in the late afternoon or in the evening as well, which I love. If it weren’t for the fact he hasn’t laid a hand on me, I’d think we’re dating. He hasn’t mentioned anyone else, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone. I’d like to think there isn’t with how much time we spend either together or talking on the phone, but you never know. And my coward-ass doesn’t want to find out. I want to keep being naïve and ignorant.

  It’s now early June, and a Friday afternoon. I’ve got the doors and windows open, airing out the house while I clean, an ever so gentle breeze blowing the fresh scent of the candle around that I have lit. There probably aren’t many days left before the weather turns from balmy to humid and sticky, so I’m enjoying the fresh air passing through the house.

  I’m just putting the cleaning supplies away when the phone rings. It’s been over three weeks since Jack and I met, and yet squirrels still chase each other in my stomach when I see his name on the screen.

  “Hey,” I say, after snatching the phone up off my clean countertop.

  “Hey yourself. What are you up to?” he returns.

  “Just finished cleaning my house.”

  “Not working on anything?”

  “Nope, not today. I have to take a break sometime.”

  “Good for you. So, it’s my weekend off.”

  “You don’t say.” Actually, I already figured that out. I’ve noticed that he works a weekend and then has the next off.

  “I do say. And I was wondering if you want to come over and I’ll grill us some steaks?”

  “Ooh, that sounds good. And that’s your favorite food so I’m going to go ahead and guess that you’re something of a master at those?”

  “Hey, if there is one thing I do right…” Oh, I bet he does a lot of things right… Sorry, where were we?

  “Okay. What can I bring?”

  “I’ve got the steaks and potatoes, but if you want to bring one more side, you can.”

  “I can manage that. What time? And I’ll need your address this time.”

  “Yeah, I’ll text it to you. And is six okay?” It’s four now.

  “Yeah, perfect. I’ll see you soon.”

  We hang up and I know exactly what I want to do with part of the two hours I have left before we meet up. I pull some mixing bowls out of the bottom cupboards and pre-heat the oven.

  At six o’clock, I pull up to a very large, Tudor-style… mansion? Does this qualify as a mansion, or just a really huge house? In past conversations, Jack told me he lives in his sister’s pool house. He had an apartment of his own before, but was only making enough to get by and wasn’t able to put anything away. His sister invited him to stay there so that he could save up and eventually live more comfortably when he accumulated enough to get a house. I haven’t met her yet, but she’s okay in my book. His dad’s a contractor, and Jack apparently really likes home projects, so he helps to fix things around this enormous house of his sister’s. I try not to envision him working hard and sweating over a buzz saw as I park in the driveway and walk around my car to retrieve the items I brought from the passenger seat. As I’m shutting the car door, Jack appears from the side of the garage. He’s in ripped jeans and a very soft-looking greyish-blue t-shirt that begs to be sniffed. I hope I look okay, and still not like I’m not trying too hard in my boot cut dark jeans, white flip-flops and stressed, vintage grey t-shirt. My hair is just in a low knot, but I did put on some dangly earrings and a little makeup.

  “Hey.” He greets me with a smile, hair hanging partially in his eyes, as always. “You look great.” My eyes widen but I quickly try to hide my surprise. I don’t think he’s ever told me that before.

  “Thank you,” I say, hoping my cheeks aren’t turning pink. My heart definitely let off a few hard thuds at his unexpected compliment. He surprises me again by putting his hand on my back as he leads me to the path that winds behind the garage, and I feel a zing shoot up my spine and the back of my neck. He keeps it there for only a few seconds, dropping it as we walk the narrow cement path that leads through a canopy of shrubbery and opens to the pool area. The rest of the house seems to wrap around the blue rectangle in an ‘L’ shape, with what I’m assuming is the pool house on the far right. We walk around the pool, and I notice the pool house has a small patio area of its own, complete with a medium sized gas grill, of course. There is a wooden table with matching chairs nearby, and I set the salad down, along with dessert.

  “Oh, no way. You made brownies?” Jack says when he sees the plate of fudgy squares I set down.

  “Yup. They’re my favorite. And while I don’t really cook, I love to bake so…” I smile and shrug. “Figured I’d bring something besides just salad.” I adopt a casual pose, leaning on the table.

  “Oh my God,” he says, clutching his chest and laying on the theatrics by leaning one hand on the table like he needs to steady himself. “One day, I’m going to marry you, woman.”

  What…the…FUCK?! I’m frozen, like an idiot, staring at him with my eyes wide as dinner plates, my eyebrows as high as they go, and a crazy grin on my face while I bite the side of my bottom lip. I’m still leaning one hand on the table with my ankles crossed, and I cannot for the life of me seem to change my expression to anything else, let alone come up with a response. Did he really just say that? While that doesn’t sound unappealing to me, I don’t know what kind of response to give. If I seem excited about that prospect, will it freak him out? He was probably joking after all. I don’t want to look like I hate the idea either. I don’t know what to do. Excuse me, I’ll just be drowning myself in that poo
l over there. Enjoy the brownies.

  Jack

  Did I really just fucking say that?!

  I can’t believe that slipped out of my mouth. I haven’t even kissed her, and here I am talking marriage after I see that she bakes. Brownies. What the fuck is wrong with me? And I’ve made this irrevocably awkward. I can tell by looking at her. She’s freaked. Pull up, pull up!

  “Do you want a beer?” I ask, straitening up. Wow. Nice save Krasinski.

  “Yes.” She nods, vigorously, eyes still wide.

  “Great. Be right back,” I say. I open the sliding screen door that leads into the dining and kitchen area of the pool house, and Trooper comes bounding out, making a beeline towards Mayzie. She squats down to give him some attention. Thankful for the distraction, I curse myself all the way to the fridge.

  Mayzie

  Ten minutes later, the grill is preheated, with two steaks waiting on a plate nearby to be thrown on. Jack and I each have a beer in hand, and Tom Petty is playing from the speakers inside. Jack has quite the vinyl collection and he told me to pick something out, and I couldn’t resist. The music has helped to lighten the atmosphere, and what’s amazing is how easily we seem to have recovered after a moment of record-setting awkwardness. Jack’s declaration of a future matrimonial bond seems to already be forgotten as we fall back into our usual easy and comfortable companionship. We laugh while he seasons the steaks and puts them on the grill, I throw the salad together, and when dinner is ready, we start our second beer.

  “Oh my God,” I say, as I take my first bite of steak.

  “Good?” he asks.

  “Oh yeah. I have to agree, you’re amazing with steaks,” I say. Seriously, this melts in my mouth.

  Our conversation resumes, light and easy, but I can’t help but go somewhere else for just a second when the song ‘The Waiting’ comes on. Oh Tom, if you only knew. I’m almost to the point where I can’t possibly put another piece of steak in my mouth when I hear a woman’s voice call out.

  “Jack?” I look around for the source of the voice.

  “Your sister?” I ask.

  “Yeah,” he says, standing up. “Back here!” he calls to her. From under the shrubbery arc we walked through earlier, I see a slender woman, taller than I am, with dark hair that just comes to rest on her collar bone. I also notice she’s in scrubs.

  “Hey,” she says approaching. “I could smell steak all the way from the driveway.”

  “Do you want me to throw one on for you?” he asks.

  “Nah, that’s okay. I can see you have company.” She turns to me with a welcoming smile. “Hi, I’m sorry, my brother’s rude. I’m Sarah.”

  “Come on, you didn’t even give me a chance,” Jack says, shaking his head as she steps towards me, extending her hand. I quickly wipe my mouth on a napkin and stand to meet her.

  “I’m Mayzie. It’s really nice to meet you. Your home is amazing,” I say gesturing around the place.

  “Aww. Thanks.”

  “Well, if not a steak, would you like a brownie?”

  “Oh, I can’t say no to one of those!”

  “Careful, they’re laced,” Jack says.

  “Shut up,” we both say back to him, laughing.

  “He’s just saying that because he wants them all to himself. They’re his favorite,” Sarah says, grabbing one off of the plate I’m offering her.

  “I’ve gathered that,” I say, smiling over at Jack who’s got his arms crossed and has his eyes fixed on the brownie in his sister’s hand.

  “Thank you for this,” she says taking a bite and looking at Jack. “Mmmm, it’s good,” she says mockingly to him. “I’m going to let you guys get back to your thing. I hope I see more of you, Mayzie,” she says, turning and heading towards her gorgeous house.

  “You too, Sarah.”

  Jack and I sit back down and push our plates to the side as I place the brownies down between us. We each grab one, and then he slides the plate over so that they’re closer to him and out of my reach.

  “Excuse me? What do you think you’re doing?” I say around a mouthful of brownie. “We are sharing these.” I reach across the table to grab the plate back, but he wraps his arm around it protectively and leans down and snaps his teeth like he’s going to bite my hand.

  “You know what? Fine. I’ll just make more at home, and keep them to myself.”

  “You will do no such thing. Ever again,” he growls, his mouth full of brownie.

  “Aw, I found the hardcore rock star’s weakness. Or should I say sweet spot?” This love he has of brownies is kind of adorable.

  “Your sister’s great,” I say a little while later, as I help him carry dishes into the kitchenette.

  “Yeah. I’m lucky to have her,” he says.

  “Do you hear from Melanie often?” I ask, referring to his other sister.

  “Not much, once a month if we’re lucky. Last we heard she was in Vietnam, or maybe it’s Thailand now. She picks up a job wherever for a couple months, has her fun, and then moves on.”

  “All the traveling and seeing new places sounds amazing, but I don’t think I could do it. Cut myself off like that, I mean, having such little contact from my family. Well, from Ian… maybe,” I joke, as I set dishes in the sink and start running the water.

  At the end of a seriously fun evening, Jack walks me out to my car, ever the gentleman.

  “Thanks a lot for dinner,” I say, opening my car door.

  “Thanks a lot for coming,” he says, then catches me by surprise by wrapping me in a hug. And it’s not just a ‘oh gee, we’re buddies’ kind of a hug. His arms are fully enveloping me around my shoulders, and I have no choice but to breathe in that clean, leathery musk of his scent. It’s intimate and even a little protective. It lasts for three seconds, and in that time, I’m surprised I don’t melt out of his arms to form a puddle on the ground. I bring my hands up and hug him back, and before I know it, he’s releasing me so that I can get in my car.

  Once I’m home and inside my front door, I immediately call Annie.

  “He hugged me!” I squeal into the phone when she picks up.

  “Um……wow?”

  9

  Jack

  It’s been five weeks since I met Mayzie in the cafe, and when I’m not with her, I’m thinking about her. I call her when I’m on a break at the bar, sometimes she drops by to see me, I text her when I wake up…

  “When’s your friend coming to a show?” Matt asks me while we’re setting up our equipment on the stage.

  “Soon,” I say, noncommittally.

  “You’ve been hanging out with her for over a month now.”

  “And?”

  “I just find it a little off that she hasn’t come to see us play. Does she not want to?” He says, positioning a speaker.

  “No, she does. And like I said, she will come to a show soon,” I say, plugging in an amp before standing to adjust a mic stand. I keep thinking, any day now, I’ll be ready to invite Mayzie out for one of our shows so she can see what it’s all about for me. And then she’ll really see me… all of me. It’s whenever I come to that realization that I seem to puss out.

  Matt shakes his head at me, but goes back to what he’s doing, silently letting me know he’s letting this go for now but that he thinks I’m messed up in the head. For some reason, I feel like Mayzie seeing me play will be a make-or-break point for us. I don’t know why.

  I also don’t know how long I can let us go on the way we are, in this state of limbo. I want to kiss her, and I’m going to. I’m just afraid that once I do, I won’t be able to stop. And then, I’m going to miss out on all the things I’m enjoying about getting to know her. Being with her is so easy, and I feel like I’m getting to know her so much better than I would if there was the pressure of a label. For all intents and purposes, I’m dating her. I’m using this time to get to know her and I’m not spending time with anyone else. And with anyone else, I feel I would have made a move by now. Believe
me, I want to. But I want to know her even more.

  When I do kiss her, I’m going to make sure it’s nothing short of amazing. I’m not talking about when and where, because it will happen when it’s right and it doesn’t matter where we are in that moment. What matters to me is the ‘how.’ The same thing goes for when we take things farther than kissing. I’ve had sex. I had my awkward encounters in high school and I’ve had a few girlfriends since. And as much as I hate to admit it, there’s been an occasion or two where I’ve gone home with a ‘groupie.’ I’m not proud of it, and I definitely wouldn’t go back and do it again. It’s not what it’s cracked up to be. The first time I thought was maybe a fluke. I woke up the next morning, feeling shitty on a number of levels. The second time I had a one-nighter and I got that feeling again, sealed it for me. I’m not cut out for one-night stands with girls that were swooning over the show and wanted to go home with the lead singer.

  I already know how great sex with Mayzie is going to be. I know it by the way I already feel about her. I just know her touch is going to feel insane and will set me on fire. And I’m willing to wait however long I have to for the moment to be just right so it rocks both our worlds.

  With the path that our relationship is on now, a crossroads is visible in the distance. Its approach is imminent, and something will have to give.

  That night as we play our show, I’m thankful my hands have enough muscle memory with all the songs that I sail right through them while my mind is a million miles away. I keep wondering what it would be like to look down and see Mayzie in the crowd; what her face would look like as she listened to the music, how she’d react to the way I am on stage. I can’t come up with anything, and that’s the wall I’m hitting.