by Z. Allora
The band tripped around in the dark, and when the lights came on before they signaled, the small crowd laughed. How humiliating.
One drunken patron shouted, “Come on, already. We’re waiting. Start!”
“Yeah, hurry and play something,” another man slurred.
“‘Country Roads.’ Do ‘Country Roads’!”
Indigo snorted. “They want John Denver?” he asked to no one in particular. Even though Jin tried to convince Indigo “Country Roads” was a local favorite, along with “Hotel California,” Indigo didn’t quite believe him. Maybe in Shanghai the audiences liked more of a variety, but here in Suzhou, locals and expats alike preferred familiarity. Those two songs were played at least twice a night in the popular clubs, mixed in with a lot of ABBA, some Chinese favorites, and rounded out by American top forty and popular country songs.
The band members took their places. Styx inhaled deeply and held his breath as he gave them a stick count. They started to play, but Jin’s guitar was plugged in wrong.
Feedback shrieked. The patrons covered their ears.
Jin fixed the problem quickly, but the false start shook Styx, and the rest of the band looked rattled.
Styx exhaled and gave the stick count again.
Within a minute, it was clear one of the restaurant’s speakers wasn’t working properly. The speakers threw out an inconsistent sound, making the beat off. One speaker made a high ear-piercing whine, another hummed, and the microphone hissed. Indigo jiggled and crossed wires to eliminate the sounds. Li and Jin adjusted the input to their instruments. Everyone tried to fix each problem as it arose, but another problem always seemed to take its place. It was frustrating. Styx was glad his drums weren’t hooked into the sound system.
The audience started calling out their displeasure. “You suck” was shouted a number of times, draining any confidence Styx might have gained from problem-solving on the fly. Consuming large qualities of alcohol, the crowd seemed of the opinion the band did all this on purpose. As if these humiliations would be courted by anyone in their right mind.
The first set was an uphill battle they kept losing. Li’s and Indigo’s vocals were not bad for backup singing, but neither was good enough for lead, and the crowd picked them apart.
When the set ended, Styx had never been as relieved to stop playing. Hell, he was even eager to serve food. Although providing food and more drinks to the complaining assholes wasn’t going to be any easier than playing for them. Each time he brought them something, another member of the table he waited on would toss an insult about the band at him.
“Where did you guys learn to play? You should go back and study harder.” The heckler would glance at his friends for the reinforcing laughter a witty slam deserved.
It was disheartening. Maybe Styx needed to accept that he’d never make it as a musician. Visions of him and Jin in the limelight were all a sweet dream. His hopes allowed him to keep the possibility, however slight, that he might not have to marry to take care of his family. If only there was a way to secure their future while not giving away his own. But tonight was making his dreams crumble.
Before the next set, the boss came into the kitchen to see them, wringing his hands. “Hey, guys, can you actually do this?”
Li nodded. “It was a rough start.”
The owner pushed, “You didn’t seem very professional out there.”
Styx watched Indigo’s right eye twitch. The rest of the band understood to back off, Indigo would handle matters.
Indigo’s voice had a quiet edge to it as he stared at the big German. “Of course we can handle it. The question is can this venue handle us? Having to set up in almost complete darkness and having the lights up before the signal suggests maybe the bartender handling the lights while he tends bar might be cost-effective but doesn’t allow professional musicians to perform.” Indigo was much shorter than the towering German expatriate, but he seemed to grow and got right into the other man’s face. “You have faulty equipment and the speaker on the left is blown. I pieced together the one in the back and on the right with tape and bubble gum. They need to be replaced. How are we supposed to perform like this?”
The guy opened his mouth and snapped it shut. When he opened it, again, he shouted through clenched teeth, “Sebe! Sebe!”
Within a minute, a miniature version of the boss man stood next to him. He pulled the cute kid in front of him. “Meet my son. He’ll work the lights and order new speakers.”
The angelic teenager tilted his head to meet his dad’s eyes with his own sparkling blue ones. “Really?”
“Yes,” the owner snarled.
Sebe was clearly thrilled with the grown-up responsibility. “Cool. I got this, Dad.” Without a backward glance, his father walked away in a huff. The kid studied each of the band members as if weighing their worth.
“I’m Sebe.” He grinned with his shiny, blue-braced smile. “And you guys blew… and not in a good way.”
Indigo growled and stepped toward the teenager, but Li stopped Indigo’s forward movement. He whispered something in Indigo’s ear, probably how it wouldn’t help us if he beat the snot out of the boss’s kid. Whatever was said caused Indigo to stay put.
Sebe held his hands palms out. “Hey, I want to help. I’ll order the speakers tomorrow so they’ll be here after the holiday. I know how to work the lights. I’m going to be a director, and I’m learning all the jobs from the ground up.”
Indigo scoffed, “Director?”
Sebe shrugged and proudly stated, “I’ve been running plays at my school forever.”
The band caught each other’s eyes in disbelief. Was this supposed to comfort them? The kid’s “forever” probably amounted to two weeks.
But the grimaces didn’t cause Sebe to skip a beat before adding, “Yo, take my feedback. I’m good at this.”
This time Styx stepped forward. What the hell was with the little punk?
“Look, you have to go back out there. May I make a suggestion?” the little blond brat asked, as if they had a chance of stopping him.
Li was the first to respond. “Of course, Sebe. We’d appreciate your advice. After all, this is your family’s business.”
Indigo rolled his eyes at the not-so-vague hint.
Well, Li’s vote of confidence puffed the little bastard up further.
The kid clasped his hands behind his back and paced in front of them. “You have to win them back. Get one of the drunken a-holes to sing. Their friends will be supportive, but wouldn’t want to be outdone. They’ll want to sing too. It will get through tonight. But you need a fucking singer.” The kid spoke fluent Chinese with a slight guttural accent, but swore in English.
“It makes sense.” Li nodded.
He gestured his tiny, careless hand toward Indigo and Li. “No offense, guys, but you’re musicians, not lead singers. It’s a different skill set.”
“We know,” Indigo admitted with a sigh.
“Well, why don’t you have a singer?” the kid asked, like it was any of his business.
“Not a big pool of singers in Suzhou,” Indigo answered as a defense. “Li and I have been searching since we got here.”
The haughty brat waved Indigo off. “Whatever. Can’t be helped now. But use the audience. It’ll take the pressure off you and lower your suck factor tonight.” He pointed out onto the stage and darted back through the restaurant to the light control panel.
The kid’s high-pitched voice, more soprano than bass, cracked twice when it boomed over the house microphone. “The Biergarten Restaurant is proud to present….” There was a clear hesitation but the boy was quick on his feet when he said, “The Band to be Named Later.”
The lights danced around the stage in a fancy pattern before drenching each member in their own light. Jin and Li started the long intro to “Hotel California” as Li called out to the audience, “We hear there are several amazing singers in the audience. Who among you will help us break in this stage?”
He stumbled a bit, much to the amusement of his friends, but the band didn’t even crack a smile. Li handed him the microphone, which he placed dramatically in the mic stand. He lowered it, and almost on cue, he belted out the first line of “Hotel California” in a key Styx was sure would have the dogs in the area howling in pain. The band dropped their tempo to follow his slurred, slow words.
But his buddies were on their feet in anticipation and clapped as their friend screamed out the lyrics, sometimes incorrectly, but each word sung with total devotion.
Indigo smirked over at Styx, and with wide eyes, indicated exactly what he thought of the overly theatrical performance.
Styx knew Jin loved this song, because it was all about the guitar. He tried not to watch Jin, but when the man lost himself in his strings, he was a sight—blond hair standing out at odd angles and fingers flying with the song. Styx tore his eyes off the man during the guitar solos because he was afraid the drunken singer might tumble off the stage, teetering precariously close to the edge with his dance moves and air guitar.
The drunken man remained standing and continued to sing in a way the Eagles never intended, but he had the audience with him, therefore the crowd was with the band. The audience’s lit cigarettes swayed to the music in one hand while beers sloshed around in the other. They drank, sang, and cheered each other on.
It didn’t matter that the band took the advice of a fifteen-year-old or were hiding behind drunken guys who couldn’t sing one damned note. They had the approval they needed to survive their first night. Before tripping off the stage, the singer turned to them to give a happy thumbs-up for backing his performance.
Li didn’t even get a chance to suggest someone take the singer’s place before another man wove up onto the stage. He grinned at them before demanding his song choice. “Country Roads.” It was like he ordered off a menu, but the band swallowed any protests they might have had, and Styx counted them in.
The guy tried too hard to put a cowboy twang in his voice as he begged tearfully to be taken home. One of his friends raced to the stage and dropped a cowboy hat on his head. Everyone whooped and hollered.
Jin turned toward Styx to give him a wink.
He returned it with a nod. Hope surged through him and he focused on the beat of the music.
During the third and final set, the men at the table were mostly content to listen as Li and Indigo each took turns singing some ABBA and a few heartfelt traditional Chinese ballads. The audience took to shouting out their desired songs, and as long as the band played them, all was right in their inebriated world.
When the band failed to know a particular song, Li simply begged for forgiveness. Styx wondered if Indigo would need a dentist due to how hard he grit his teeth in a tight smile as Li told the crowd his band would learn the tune for next time. Then he’d ask them for assistance singing the next song.
Toward the end of the set, Styx couldn’t keep his eyes off Jin. The man was stunning as he soared with the music. He glanced back to return the look with heat. The freedom of the rhythm made his gray eyes sparkle. Jin acknowledged their small success—or maybe tonight’s show could only be considered their lack of failure—with a quick grin.
The band would live to play another night.
ONCE THEY were back in the apartment, Indigo started laughing. “Hey, I’m from LA. It’s a rarity when anything surprises me, but when the guy tried to impersonate Lady Gaga… those hip movements. What was up with that?”
Jin tried to mimic the gyrations, but he simply had too much coordination to accomplish the man’s beer-adjusted dance moves. “I thought he hurt himself.”
Li started laughing but pointed out, “Bottom line—we did it.”
“And without a lead singer. Quite a feat,” Indigo stated.
“How are we going to get a lead singer?” Styx wanted to understand the plan, since the future he desperately wanted dangled precariously by a thread that was tied directly to the band’s success.
Li sat down hard on the loveseat and groaned at finally being off his feet. Indigo followed him and pulled Li’s slippered feet into his lap.
Jin sat on the long black sofa and patted the cushion next to him to invite Styx to sit down. Watching Li’s head fall back against the headrest to enjoy the foot rub Indigo gave him was the push Styx needed.
Li grinned at him in approval when he realized Styx sat close enough to Jin that their thighs were touching. “I say we go to KTVs and check out the talent. Because the singers we’ve met….” He shook his head in despair.
Indigo chuckled as he disagreed. “Oh come on. That one guy had potential.”
“Yeah, as a cocksucker.” Hearing the gasp from Jin made Li apologize. “Sorry.” Turning back to Indigo he said, “You know, he was only trying to get into your pants.”
Indigo rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I think we could have made him work.”
“We need someone talented. Really amazing. We can’t settle.” Styx might have put too much feeling into his words, but this was a big deal.
Li nodded and put his hand in front of him. “Agree.” His eyes popped open wider. “Hey, why don’t you guys come with us tomorrow? We can practice a little on our singing, and we can scout for a decent singer.”
“Yeah, there’s always young guys there singing with their friends.” His grin was stopped. He shrugged sheepishly. “Come on, time for me to show you why you love me.”
Li growled. “That’s not why.”
Indigo pushed Li’s feet off his lap and pulled his lover into his arms. “No, but it’s a bonus.”
Li wasn’t easily mollified.
Indigo seemed to up the ante. “Come on, Li. You can teach your bad boy a lesson.”
A flash of lust crossed both their faces at the suggestion. Styx didn’t quite understand, but the two of them said quick good-nights before fleeing to the privacy of their room.
It was as if Jin had waited for their door to shut. Immediately he rested his head on Styx’s shoulder.
Styx relished the connection. He didn’t resist putting his arms around him to hug him close.
“Thank you,” Jin murmured, nearly too low for Styx to hear.
“For what?”
Jin was quiet for long enough that Styx wondered if he wasn’t going to answer. “For this.”
“Oh.” His heart squeezed at the thought that Jin wanted the same things he did.
Their tranquil moment was broken by Indigo’s cry of pleasure drifting through the closed door.
Jin stood and yanked Styx off the couch. “Come on. We should go to our side of the apartment.”
Styx hurried with him.
Jin didn’t let go of his hand as he led him into the bedroom with a promise. “I’m going to make you scream.”
And Jin kept his promise like he always did.
Chapter 10
STYX WAS relieved Li had picked the KTV they went to and not Indigo. This KTV had a family-friendly, cool, space theme. It wasn’t sleazy at all. There was no line of aggressive girls whose sole purpose was to get the customers to buy them drinks while they pretended each singer was the best she’d ever heard. The KTV girls usually harbored hopes of giving the men a completely satisfying experience, either right in their private karaoke room or at the nearby hotel, for tips. In contrast, this establishment allowed wannabe singers to croon in peace without pressure.
The band got there early. Styx enjoyed the beginnings of his first-ever vacation from work. Li and Indigo purchased a room with the minimum time to get them on the right floor with the other singers.
Not to waste the money and to kill some time, everyone sang a song. They cheered each other on as they lazily flipped through the automated playlist and watched the bad videos accompanying each song on the roo
m TV.
When Jin’s turn came, he stood and faced the group. Into his second beer, Styx relaxed as he admired how Jin’s golden hair shone and sparkled in the dancing lights that Indigo had figured out how to operate.
Jin surprised him by singing a very sweet love song. His soft voice trembled with emotion as he sang the words while staring directly at Styx.
Styx had heard the lyrics a thousand times before, but they were never meant for him. Could Styx dare to hope Jin meant the words and that they were directed at him?
Staring into Styx’s eyes, Jin sang to him, pouring love and hope into the song.
Styx’s heart expanded with even more affection for Jin. He tried in vain not to blush, though he felt his face heat up.
When the song ended, Jin bit his lower lip and glanced away. He scurried back to the couch and took a huge gulp from his bottle of beer.
Styx needed to let Jin know he returned the affection, but he couldn’t respond in words. He took his cue from Jin and stole Li’s turn.
The relaxation alcohol had given him allowed the luxury of expression. No one said anything, but his friends—somehow in the last few months, Indigo and Li had become good friends—watched him closely as he chose a simple but heartfelt song to sing back. His voice cracked a few times with all the emotion he tried to keep reined in.
Jin’s eyes were brimming with unshed tears by the time Styx finished the song. Styx stood frozen with the microphone still gripped in his hands as he stared at the man he adored, hoping the song conveyed all he might never be able to say.
The moment was broken by Indigo’s low whistle. “Is my Mandarin fucked, or did Styx proclaim he loves Jin more than a mouse loves rice?”
Indigo’s bewildered seriousness made everyone laugh.
“What? Mice love cheese not rice,” Indigo proclaimed.
Li wrapped an arm around Indigo’s neck and pulled him down into a quick kiss, probably trying to shut him up. Then he said, “Think about it. There’s much more rice than cheese here, Indigo.”
