by Twyla Turner
“Then I suggest you stop playing that elitist, racist, superficial or whatever bullshit you were trying to pull, and serve every single person who has money to spend here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now,” Gage turned to Lyris, “What would you like?”
Lyris’ ears were on fire. She was so angry she could barely see straight.
“Rosé,” she gritted out.
Gage turned back to the bartender, “And a whiskey for me.”
“Sir,” the bartender nodded before rushing off to fix their drinks.
“Are you fucking serious?” Lyris hissed and Gage turned to look at her in confusion.
“What? He was being a dick.”
“I don’t need you to fight my battles for me. In fact, your comments embarrassed me more than him ignoring me.”
“Lyris, I was just trying to help.” Gage reached out to lay a hand on her arm.
“I don’t need your help.” Lyris jerked away before he could touch her.
The bartender placed their drinks on the concrete bar in front of them.
“Put it on my tab,” Gage said absentmindedly.
“Of course, sir.”
Lyris had grabbed her drink and was already moving away from him. Gage reached out and grasped her wrist just as a group of women began to surround him. Lyris jerked to a stop and turned.
“Look, I don’t need some arrogant rock star to come and save me. And please stop touching me as if you own me. I’m not interested.” She stopped for a moment to pointedly look at all the women who were eager to take her place. “Besides, I don’t do community dick.”
Gage dropped her wrist. She quickly turned and stormed towards the bathroom.
~~~
Gage watched her run off with a clenched jaw. He’d loved that she wasn’t star-struck by him. She looked at him like he was before the fame. He loved that. Well, when she wasn’t looking at him with disdain and damn near hatred.
Those rare moments, when he’d catch her looking at him or their eyes would connect, before she remembered that she was supposed to hate him for some reason, he’d see her honest feelings. Gage had spent the majority of his life on the fringe. Watching and observing how people behaved. He realized you could learn a lot about people when they treated you like you don’t matter or exist. He’d seen the way women who yearned for a man would look at him. He recognized the look when it briefly crossed Lyris’ face.
She wanted him.
She just refused to admit it. Gage couldn’t figure out what it was that convinced her to hate him. Or pretend to hate him.
This time her contempt was completely out of hand. He’d done nothing but come to her defense. It had pissed him off at the treatment she’d been receiving from the bartender. He’d watched him purposefully keep his eyes from her direction. In what she was wearing, her luminous mahogany skin, and commanding presence, there was no way in hell that man hadn’t seen her. But she’d treated him like he’d spit in her face instead of standing up for her.
It was a punch to the gut. And a hit to his ego, if he were being honest. His bruised ego made him want to hurt her back. She wanted to pretend as if she didn’t want him. That was just fine.
“Oh my God! Gage, will you take a pic with us?”
“My friend will never believe I met you. She’ll be so mad she didn’t come out.”
“How are you even hotter in person? Is that even possible?”
“Will you sign my breast?”
“You’re single now. I’d gladly take you home with me.”
All the women spoke at once. It was chaos. Their camera phone flashes blinded him as he smiled brightly. Phone screens were shoved in his face as they went live in their social media stories to document having met him. He only smiled and waved into the camera.
The thing that always helped Gage focus when overzealous fans surrounded him, was to concentrate on the girls who were society’s idea of unattractive. He’d focus on the cute, bubbly chubby girl. The awkward girl. The plain girl with the kickass personality. In the first year of his stardom, those were the women he’d take home more than any other. To the dismay and utter horror of the other girls in the group.
The other girls. The “pretty” girls. The slender girls. They often pushed the fringe dwellers to the back of the crowd as they shoved forward. Gage recognized them. The same girls who’d ignored him his entire life. That is, until he lost weight, gained some muscle, and then became famous.
Gage had been the fat guy. The awkward guy. The quiet guy. The one that hid in the shadows for years. He knew what it was like to be overlooked. And those who were overlooked were usually the most interesting. He’d had some incredible nights with those women. They were the most attractive to him anyway. Inside and out.
So, Gage scanned the group of women. He searched for the one he knew would be there. Sure enough, his eyes eventually landed on a short, plump Asian girl with glasses and a quirky style. Gage held out his hand to her through the throng of ravenous women.
“Alright, ladies. Let everyone get a chance.” He pulled the woman forward. “Would you like a pic?”
“Um…sure.” She said without making eye contact.
“I love your glasses. They’re cute on you.”
Her eyes snapped up and she pushed said glasses up higher on her nose to stare at him better.
“Thanks!”
“Here, let me take it. My arms are longer.” Gage reached for her phone and held it up for them to take a pic together. “Check it first to make sure you like it.”
She tapped the photo to pull it up. Gage had become the master at selfies. He knew how to make himself look good as well as his fans.
“It’s perfect! It takes me at least twenty tries before I get even one decent selfie. How did you do that?” She looked up at him in awe.
“It’s my one superpower,” he winked at her.
“I’m impressed. If this music thing doesn’t work out, you always have a career in selfie taking,” she teased.
Gage smiled. She was cute and quirky. And now that she was getting more comfortable, funny as well. She was exactly the type of woman he’d take home in the beginning.
“What’s your name?” He asked.
“May.”
“Well May, how would you like to hang out with my band in the VIP area?”
“Are you shitting me?!?” She jumped up once and then caught herself and tried to play it cool. “I mean… Sure!”
Gage grinned at her and he could literally see her melt before his eyes. He also saw the other women shoot daggers at May or hang their mouths in shock that he didn’t choose the aspiring supermodels in the group.
“It was nice meeting you all,” Gage waved at them and then put an arm around May and guided her over to their private area.
They sat and Gage kept his fan close. It wasn’t a hardship. She was a sweet woman and very funny. But his mind couldn’t get off the one woman he couldn’t have.
The woman in question walked back to the VIP section. Lyris’ eyes landed on Gage and May. For a split second a look of hurt crossed her face. But she masked it a second later. She lifted her chin, gave him a look of barely banked disgust, and then walked over to her friend.
“I’m gonna get outta here,” she said when Serena stopped her conversation with Jesse. “You coming or are you gonna stay?”
“I was thinking about staying.” Gage heard Serena say.
Jesse tightened his arm around Serena’s slender waist. Gage frowned. Jesse was married. To a really lovely woman too. And he had two kids.
Gage wasn’t a fan of Jesse’s infidelity. But this may have officially crossed the line. Starting up something with one of the band member’s friends was asking for drama. If things went sideways, and they always did, they could lose Lyris and they desperately needed her. Gage needed her. He refused to lose her over his manager being a raging philanderer.
“Alright, I’ll see you at home.” Lyris said as they hugged.
“Be safe.”
“I will.”
Lyris waved to the other band members and then walked out without a backwards glance at Gage. He ground his teeth.
“Well, it’s getting late. I better head out.” May said next to him, pulling Gage back to his companion.
“Oh, alright. Let me drive you.”
“You’ve been drinking.”
“That’s why I have a driver on the nights I drink.”
“Oh, awesome! Sure. I’d appreciate that. It’ll save me Uber money.”
Gage stood up and held out a hand to May. She took it and he helped her up. He said quick goodbyes to his band and walked her outside. The women he’d rejected in favor of May watched with mouths still hanging open as he escorted the chubby woman from the club.
They got inside the town car, and May gave his driver her address. Still attempting to erase Lyris from his mind, Gage placed his hand under May’s chin and lifted her face up as he leaned in for a kiss. Kissing her was nice. He’d hoped for a little fire. But his body was unresponsive. All he could do was wish he was kissing someone else.
Gage pulled away, “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I get it. I know you picked me to be nice. Those other girls were way hotter.”
“No, no, no! That’s not it at all. I prefer realness. You know, down to earth people.” Gage scrubbed a hand down his face. “No, it’s just that there’s someone else. Someone I’m interested in. Someone I wanted to forget for a moment. But it’s not right to use you like that.”
“It’s okay. I’ll probably remember this moment for the rest of my life. Something I’ll tell my grandkids when I’m an old lady. About the time I was kissed by a rock star,” May grinned slyly.
Gage chuckled.
“I assume the girl you’re talking about is the one in the two-piece red dress tonight,” May said.
Gage’s head whipped around and his mouth gaped open, “How did you know that?”
“The way you looked at her. And the way she tried to ignore you.”
“That obvious, huh?”
“I mean, only if you’re paying attention,” May shrugged.
The car came to a stop in front of a nice apartment building.
“Either way, I don’t think you should give up.”
“No?”
“Nope,” May said as she opened the door. She stepped out and then leaned down to look at him. “Don’t give up. She likes you. She’s probably just protecting her heart. I’m observant. I can tell these things.”
Gage smiled and nodded, “Thanks, May. It was a pleasure meeting you.”
“Same. And good luck.” She winked and then closed the door.
Gage sank back into the car seat as the driver pulled away from the curb. He blew out a burst of air.
Well, that was a bust. If anything, I’m worse off with Lyris than I was before inviting everyone out.
Gage ran his fingers roughly through his hair. He knew he was going to have to come at it from a different angle. Boss, mentor…friend. He was her boss and he needed to act like it. She needed an in into the music industry, so he could be her mentor to help her get started. And he could be a friend to her in a place that feels like genuine friendships were impossible to find.
Instead of forcing her to be what he wanted. What he needed. It was time for him to be what she needed.
“I can do that,” he said softly to himself.
Steam from her coffee mug wafted up and dampened Lyris’ face the next morning. She inhaled the fragrant scent. She gently blew on the surface, creating ripples. Then she took a calming sip. Sebastian wasn’t home. He’d stayed the night at a new man friend’s house. And Serena had yet to wake up from her apparent long night out with Jesse.
Lyris soaked in the quiet Sunday morning, her only day off, as much needed alone time. She was only halfway through her coffee when Serena stumbled into the kitchen.
“Caffeine,” she groaned. “I need caffeine.”
“There’s a pot already made. Have at it.” Lyris raised an eyebrow.
Serena poured herself a mug and then sat next to Lyris on the couch. She drank a few sips of black, unsweetened coffee. Lyris cringed. She loved coffee, but not enough to drink it black. And definitely not enough to forego sugar. She liked her coffee creamy and sweet.
“So…how was last night? You didn’t get in until late.” Lyris asked curiously.
“It was incredible. Jesse is so damn sweet and sexy.”
Lyris thought of the blond, gray-eyed man. He was handsome, but he gave off asshole vibes to Lyris. And considering he was married, him spending time with another woman, even if the woman was her best friend, kind of solidified the asshole vibes.
“I know you’re grown and I’m not trying to judge you like the church ladies, but he is married, Se.”
“Don’t start.”
“I’m not judging you. I’m worried for you. I don’t want to see your heart get broken.”
“I know. But it won’t. He had his lawyer draw up divorce papers before we actually met. He’s just been trying to find the right time to serve her with them.” Serena said hopefully.
Lyris looked at her friend as if she’d lost a few marbles over the course of 24 hours. She can’t be serious!
“Don’t give me that look. I believe him.”
“It just sounds awfully convenient. Don’t fall for the okie doke, Se.”
“Just because you choose not to take risks in your love life doesn’t mean I have to be like you.”
“No one is saying you have to be like me. I don’t recommend it. But you have to think of more than just yourself. This man has a whole family, doesn’t he?”
Serena didn’t answer.
“This isn’t your style.”
“His wife treats him like shit. Is it wrong that maybe I’d like to bring him some happiness?”
“Se, he’ll tell you anything to make you think he’s this miserable person. You’re only hearing his side. I’m sure his wife’s side sounds a whole lot different.”
“Whatever, Lyris. Again, it’s my choice. I like him. I think he’s telling the truth. So, I’m going to keep seeing him.”
“It’s your life. Just be careful.”
“I will,” Serena said before get up.
She bent over and kissed Lyris on the cheek before heading back to her bedroom.
“I guess that’s that.” Lyris whispered to herself.
Gage’s fingers caressed the strings of his guitar as he waited for everyone to arrive Monday morning. He played a new melody he’d been working on for a new song. He’d been feeling inspired lately.
That inspiration appeared through the doorway in a long, black cotton dress with slits up to the knee on either side, and red and white athletic stripes down the sides. Her hair was tied up in a bun and she wore her favorite white tennis shoes. And as far as he could tell, very little makeup graced her face.
That same punch to the gut that happened every time he saw her, hit him and the chords on the guitar faltered. How she managed to look just as beautiful dressed down as she did dressed up, was beyond Gage. He thought she was beautiful both ways, but found her dressed down appearance appealed to him the most. She was naturally gorgeous.
Gage shook his head. This is not how you’re supposed to be thinking going forward. Boss. Mentor. Friend. Boss. Mentor. Friend…
“Morning,” Gage said.
“Morning,” she responded without looking at him.
Neal, Riley, and Brandi walked through the door and he greeted them with handshakes and chest bumps.
He needed to focus on something else. That something walked in a few moments later. Rainey and Mack walked in hand in hand. Gage’s face lit up. They looked at him bashfully. A bright grin spread across his face.
Gage looked around to see if anyone else was seeing what he was seeing. His other bandmates were grinning too. Lyris was staring at him in a funny way as he grinned happily. He didn’t have time t
o focus on it.
“What is this?” He asked the two new lovebirds.
“We promise it won’t get in the way of our work with you.” Mack quickly clarified.
“Did I mention anything about work?” Gage walked up to them.
“Well, no. But we talked it over. If things don’t work out between us, we won’t let it get in the way of this.” Mack gestured around the room.
“No one ever really knows how they’ll act when they break up with someone. But we’ve been waiting years for you two to finally realize you loved each other. I highly doubt it wouldn’t work out. You’re perfect for each other.” Gage patted Mack on the back and cupped Rainey’s shoulder.
He stepped back and looked at the two of them for a few beats.
“Yeah, you two look good together.”
“Aww, thanks, Gage.” Rainey flushed deeply.
“So…how did you finally realize it was time to stop pretending?”
“We owe it all to Lyris.”
Lyris glanced up. Her eyes were wide. “Huh?”
“What did you say to get these two to finally get together?” Gage asked.
“Umm…I just told them that it was obvious they were in love with each other.” Lyris looked around awkwardly.
“Well, shit! That was all it took? If I would’ve known that, I would’ve said something two years ago.” Gage chuckled.
Lyris shrugged. Gage could tell she seemed to be in an extra foul mood today. He didn’t know what was up with her, but he figured it would be best to leave her alone.
“Well, anyway. I’m glad you two finally came to your senses.” Gage smiled at them before walking back to his mic. “Alright, everyone. Let’s start with Bedroom Beats and go through all the songs we perfected last week. Then we’ll move on to the ones we’ve yet to go over.”
Everyone nodded. Took their positions. And waited for Riley to start the rhythmic beat.
Gage pricked his ears to pick up on anything that needed correcting. Each person was spot on. All except one. Lyris. Her passion wasn’t there. Her pitch was off. And even though the backup vocalists were to his right and slightly behind him out of view, he could still sense the negative energy radiating from her. That’s how in tune he was to every person in the band. How in tune he was to her.
