Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set

by Lashell Collins

  “Well, the truth is, I have this … friend who seems to think I need to broaden my musical horizons,” I say, smiling sweetly. “I think he believes my playlists are too full of female pop.”

  “Hmm. A lot of Madonna and Britney and such on your playlists?” he asks with a serious scowl on his beautiful face.

  “You know, I personally don’t understand what my friend is complaining about,” I say with a shrug. “I think he’s just uncomfortable with all that powerful feminine energy.”

  He laughs out loud at that comment and I can’t help but smile ear to ear. “Mmm. Feminine energy,” he muses, composing himself. “Well you may be right, Miss Colby. I don’t know, he sounds like a jerk to me,” he says with a smile. “You should probably dump him.”

  I sigh heavily. “Yeah, probably. But he has this smile,” I say quietly as I gaze at him. And suddenly, all the noise fades and everyone else in the bar disappears and Josh and I are alone, in our own enchanted bubble. “It does me in every time. And his eyes … oh, my God, his eyes.” He says nothing as he watches me closely, his impossibly blue eyes bulldozing into mine. “And his hands. I turn to putty every time he touches me.”

  “It sounds like you’ve got it bad,” he says, his eyes never leaving mine.

  I nod silently. “I know. I know I’m in trouble,” I shrug. “But what can I do? I’m like a moth to a flame.” We stare at each other in silence for several seconds, lost in one another’s eyes. Is there anyone else in this crowded bar? And then I continue. “You know the worst part of it?” I ask, breaking our eye contact as I look away, nervously.

  “What’s that?”

  “I don’t even know how he feels,” I say, glancing back up at him. I’m chewing nervously on my bottom lip. How did this fun little pretend chance meeting become such a serious conversation? It’s not exactly the time or the place.

  “Don’t you?” he asks, frowning at me. And his voice laced with … surprise, I think.

  I shake my head slowly. “No. Not really.”

  “But how could you not know?” he asks, still frowning. “What has he told you?”

  “Not much,” I reply, shrugging again.

  He hesitates a beat, looking shocked, and shakes his head slightly, his eyebrows raised as if he just doesn’t understand what I’m saying. “You know, maybe you’re just not listening closely enough,” he says quietly, and there’s an edge of intensity to his voice. His eyes are boring into mine like blue fire and I can’t look away. His words are so earnest but, he’s being so cryptic. What does he mean?

  Suddenly, one of the buddies he was talking to when I arrived – the one with the redheaded girlfriend – slaps him on the shoulder, forcing his way into our enchanted bubble and breaking the spell. The crowd is back. We are not alone. “You know, Guy, the best way to impress the pretty girl, is to play the guitar,” he says impatiently, and Josh smiles at him. “We gonna do this thing, or what?” He motions toward the stage, where I can see the rest of the band is setting up and Josh nods at him.

  Josh turns back to me. “Good luck with your … friend, Miss Colby.” Then they both turn and head toward the stage, leaving me standing by the bar feeling very confused. What did he mean I’m not listening closely enough?

  I turn and pick up our drinks, taking the two spritzers in one hand and the beer in the other, and head back to our table. As I’m sitting down, the friend of Josh’s who interrupted us takes the mic and introduces himself and the band and I deduce that he must be the lead singer. He’s not a bad looking guy – tall, spiky dark blonde hair, nice physique. He’s hot. In fact, looking over the entire band I can see that most of them are quite attractive. The others are nowhere near as gorgeous as my Joshua, of course, but I can see why the ladies flock here every other Saturday night.

  The house lights dim and the stage lights go on and, when the first song begins I am floored to see Josh and his guitar starting the show with an ear-catching solo that kicks off the song. The tune is one that I recognize but, I can’t immediately call the name of it, although I know I’ve heard it before. The crowd cheers in recognition. Obviously it’s a house favorite. The other instruments join in and the singer unleashes his unexpectedly sweet, mellow voice and the band is soon rocking to “Sweet Child of Mine.” Josh’s guitar solo in the middle of the song is impressive and I notice more cheers from the crowd – and swoons from the ladies in the audience.

  When the song ends and the crowd is cheering – and the females in the audience are screaming – I am sitting thoroughly surprised and watching Josh with a small smile on my face. He looks out over the crowd nonchalantly and I don’t think he knows where I’m sitting. But suddenly his eyes dart to mine and he stares at me for several seconds. For a moment I’m not sure that he’s actually looking at me, but then he discreetly winks at me and gives me a small smile. I smile back at him, biting my lower lip nervously.

  “Wow, I’m impressed,” Megan says to me. “Have you ever heard him play before?”

  “Oh, my God, Megan,” I gush, “I’ve never heard him play with his band before but, this afternoon … I heard him playing Beethoven on an acoustic guitar.”

  “Beethoven?” she asks surprised.

  “The ‘Moonlight Sonata.’ It was beautiful,” I tell her.

  “Wow,” she repeats.

  As the cheering dies down, his bandmate announces the next song. This one is much darker in feeling than the first song and it’s one that I have never heard before but, I think I like it. The repeated refrain at the chorus talks about a man with secrets, and it reminds me of Josh. He seems to have a lot of secrets: about his childhood and about his dad. And most importantly at the moment, about how he feels about me. Will I ever get him to truly open up to me?

  Again, he gives an impressive solo in the middle of the song and, as I watch him, I can’t help but notice how good he looks. My eyes travel over his gorgeous six foot, two inch frame in those tight blue jeans and the even tighter sleeveless t-shirt with his broad, athletic chest and his deliciously muscular arms. He looks every inch the rock star he’s pretending to be. If all of these girls in attendance are here to ogle him, I can’t very well blame them. He looks good enough to eat.

  The band performs about eight songs, I think. Maybe ten. Somewhere along the way I lose count but, what I do take note of is the fact that they are indeed very good. Every song is tight and sounds really great. And the band members appear to have a lot of fun together. They obviously enjoy what they’re doing, and there seems to be a lot of mutual respect up on the stage.

  About halfway through their set they play a song from Josh’s favorite band, Aerosmith. “Walk This Way.” It’s one that I know well and I can tell easily that it must be one of Josh’s favorites because he seems to shine on it. His solo at the end of the song appears to transport him somewhere else and I watch as he loses himself in it, playing his heart out. It’s a great joy to witness and I know that I’m sitting at the table with the goofiest grin on my face as I watch him become enraptured with the music. Incredible!

  The rest of the audience seems to think so too because the applause at the end of the song is thunderous. I am so impressed at his level of expertise; I had no idea. And I think back to that night when he first told me that he played the guitar “a little.” Wow. Talk about humble!

  At the end of their set, the lead singer thanks everyone for coming out. And then he says something that makes my jaw drop.

  “For our last song of the night,” he begins, “we want to make a dedication. Sunshine!” He says the word as if he’s calling out to someone and it stops me in my tracks. He pauses and slowly looks out over the crowd, his eyes scanning from one side of the audience to the other. “You know who you are,” he says, still surveying the crowd with a playful smile. My heart is pounding in my chest as he continues. “Well, Sunshine … whoever you are out there … you asked one of the band members up here this morning, why he watches you sleep. Well this is why, sweetheart. And this on
e is for you.”

  I am blushing beet red as they launch into the song and I glance up at Josh and he is staring at me intently. And as I listen to the words I am speechless and I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. They are the sweetest lyrics I think I’ve ever heard and, if I didn’t know any better, I might think it was a declaration of love. Or, at the very least, some sort of clue as to how Josh might feel about me.

  Is that what this is, I wonder? His way of telling me how he feels. He very cryptically stated tonight that I wasn’t listening closely enough. Is that why he made the dedication? So that I would be sure to pay attention this time? Is music the key to understanding Josh’s feelings? Oh, I have so many questions and not nearly enough answers! All I know right now is that he has dedicated this very beautiful song to me and, although it makes me wonder even more about his feelings for me, it also makes me feel very special. Am I special to him?

  I can’t take my eyes off of him throughout the entire song, and I notice that he watches me too whenever he looks up from his instrument. What is he thinking? And what is he trying to tell me? And I can’t help but wonder what he may have told his bandmates about me. How did he explain the dedication if we’re supposed to be downplaying tonight’s chance meeting?

  At the song’s end, the audience cheers generously. Off Duty Blue is obviously beloved by this crowd full of cops, and rightly so. But they are also very deserving of the accolades they receive. I don’t know how long they’ve been playing together but, they really are very impressive, from their awesome lead guitarist to their charismatic front man and everyone in between. I’m astonished.

  I watch as the band leaves the stage and I wonder what will happen now. Will Josh come talk to me or should we continue to pretend that we barely know one another? I look around the bar and I wonder if his superiors are among the throng. Perhaps now that I’ve heard him play, Megan and Scott and I should just go? But as I’m pondering all of this I see Josh look over at me as he talks briefly with one of his bandmates. I recognize him as the drummer, a really good looking African American man. Butler. I think that’s what Josh said his name was. Josh pats him on the arm and laughs at something his friend has said as he turns and walks away from him. And I feel a ripple of butterflies when I realize that he’s walking straight toward our table. His eyes are locked on mine and he’s smiling slightly.

  But on his journey across the crowded room, he is stopped repeatedly by people wanting to tell him how great the band sounded. A few of them are what look to be fellow off duty police officers and Josh seems to know them personally. He stops and jokes with them for brief seconds as he slowly makes his way over to me. But most of the admirers wanting his attention are women. I sit and watch helplessly as one girl after another steps into his path and introduces herself or tells him how great he was on stage or offers to buy him a drink. When he’s almost to our table, a very pretty blonde walks right up to him and puts a napkin into his hand and walks away. He watches after her for a second with a curious frown and then looks down at the napkin. He gives a disgusted sigh and balls it up as he reaches our table.

  “Hi,” he says nervously, looking down at me.

  “Hi.” My response is short and equally nervous. I think I’m blushing slightly.

  “May I join you?” he asks hesitantly. Why is he so anxious?

  “Sure,” I shrug, motioning to the chair beside me. He sits next to me and he’s eyeing me speculatively. I wonder what he’s thinking, and I want to ask him but, my intrinsic good manners kick in. “You remember my cousin Megan, Detective?”

  “Yes, of course,” Josh smiles at her and shakes her hand. “Nice to see you again.”

  “And this is my fiancé, Scott,” Megan says.

  “Hello,” Josh says, shaking his hand.

  “You sounded really good up there,” Scott tells him.

  “Oh, thanks,” Josh smiles bashfully.

  “I used to play a long time ago,” Scott offers.

  “Really? Why’d you give it up?” Josh asks him.

  “Life got in the way,” Scott shrugs. “You know how it is. Just got so busy working for my dad’s company.”

  Josh nods politely, saying nothing.

  “That was awesome though,” Scott gushes, “you guys sound great!”

  “Thanks,” he repeats. “Oh, I uh … I understand you’re getting married soon. Congratulations.”

  “Yes, thank you! One week from today,” Megan gushes, and her blonde curls bounce delightfully around her shoulders. “You’re coming with Sam, right?” she asks, looking from Josh to me questioningly. And Josh seems a little stunned at the question. He looks at me in surprise and I blush.

  “Oh. Well, I … wanted to ask you but … I didn’t know if I should. I mean, with my case and everything.” I hope I don’t sound as nervous as I feel.

  He smiles slightly at me, and then he turns back to Megan. “Well, thank you for the invitation but, if we haven’t caught Sam’s stalker by then I’m afraid that might be a little tricky.”

  “Well, the invitation stands. It’s going to be a great party and we would love to have you,” Megan assures him. “Right, hon?”

  “Yes, absolutely,” Scott chimes in. “Any friend of Sam’s.”

  “Thank you,” he smiles politely at them. He looks anxiously over at me then, and I think he wants to say something but, he doesn’t. His fingers absentmindedly fidget with the balled up napkin he’s still holding.

  “Hey, honey,” Megan says, looking at Scott. “I think I need a refill. Why don’t we go to the bar?” Scott frowns at her for a second and then catches on to her not-so-subtle maneuver. He nods and they stand and venture over to the small bar on the left side of the room.

  When we’re alone at the table we stare at one another in silence for a long moment and I wonder again what he might be thinking. Finally, I break the silence. “I loved the dedication,” I say softly.

  He nods slightly but says nothing as he continues to watch me intently. His fingers are still playing with the tattered napkin and I reach over and gently take it from his hands. And he watches me closely as I open it up and examine it. Apparently the blonde’s name is Darla, and she wants him to call her, anytime.

  “It’s too bad you lost this number,” I say timidly as I begin tearing up the napkin. “She was pretty.”

  “She?” Josh asks sincerely, a slight frown on his face. “I didn’t think there were any other women here tonight besides you.”

  Holy cow. What a great line! I smile shyly at him with a small shake of my head. “I really want to kiss you right now,” I say quietly and he chuckles at me. “So, does that happen often, Detective?” I ask with an attitude. “That adoring throng of female fans throwing themselves at you?”

  He laughs out loud this time and I can’t help but smile broadly. When he calms down, he nods his head slowly. “Yeah, well … chicks dig the guitar I guess,” he shrugs smugly, still smiling.

  “Hmm, and the guns obviously,” I reply, raising an eyebrow at him.

  “Yeah, that too,” he says glancing around the joint. “Probably about half the women in here are cop groupies.”

  “Cop groupies?” I say incredulously, and he nods. “I didn’t know there was such a thing. I wasn’t talking about those guns. I was talking about these guns,” I say, lightly squeezing his bicep, and he chuckles again.

  He looks at me silently for a long moment, and then asks somewhat bashfully, “So what did you think?” I know he’s referring to the band and I’m a little surprised at the level of anxiety I can hear in his voice. He is so adorable.

  “I think I’ve discovered a new appreciation for rock music,” I say quietly, and he smiles. “I thought you were amazing, Josh! The band sounded wonderful but … you were just incredible. You really are a very talented musician.” He gives me that heartbreakingly shy smile of his and I melt.

  We sit talking then about the bar and about nothing in particular and I can see that Megan and Scott hav
e hit the crowded dance floor and they seem to be enjoying themselves. As we talk, I notice that Josh is very careful not to touch me in an overly familiar way. In fact, he barely touches me at all and I have to make myself remember that his colleagues are probably watching. And, at one point, I see him glance over near the small bar on the left and he lets out an agitated sigh, rolling his eyes. Looking over that way, I see what looks like Josh’s partner sitting with an attractive young brunette with a short pixie haircut. She’s very pretty, and I remember Josh telling me that his partner has been married for about a year. That must be his wife. And I can tell that Josh and I are the topic of conversation for the two of them.

  I don’t get to think about it for too long though because someone suddenly slaps Josh on the shoulder and he looks up and smiles broadly. The gentleman is older but, very distinguished looking, tall and rugged with salt-n-pepper hair and soft blue eyes. He shakes Josh’s hand, smiling warmly, and then he pulls out a chair and sits down next to him.

  “Great set tonight, Guy,” the gentleman says with a smile.

  “Thanks, Lee,” Josh smiles back at him.

  He looks over at me and eyes me with a curious expression. “Who’s your friend?” he asks bluntly.

  Josh hesitates slightly and … oh, my gosh! Did he just blush? I think he did! “Um, Lee this is … Samantha Colby.” Josh seems reluctant to tell him my name, and from his friend’s reaction I think I understand why. He’s obviously aware of the fact that Josh is working on my assault/stalking case and he’s wondering what we’re doing here together. He looks stunned for a few seconds as he stares pointedly at Josh. But he recovers quickly and looks back at me with a warm smile, extending his hand to me.

  “How do you do?” he asks kindly, and I smile and take his hand.

  “Sam,” Josh says turning to me, “this is Lee Parson.”

  “Oh!” The recognition in my voice is audible. “Hello. It’s so nice to meet you,” I smile at him. This is the man that Josh said was like a father to him. His mentor. Well that explains Josh’s embarrassment a moment ago. And I notice that he is visibly self-conscious all of a sudden. Is he afraid that his mentor won’t approve of our relationship?