Flesh & Bone - a contemporary romance: The Minstrel Series #2 (12 page)

Annette sat on the floor by Eva’s feet while Eva tested out a messy, medieval-style braid Annette had found on Pinterest.

“You have gorgeous hair,” Eva said. “I can totally picture you as an ancient queen.”

Annette hummed. “I don’t know if what you’re doing looks good, but it sure feels nice. You have to let me try one on you.”

“No thanks.” Eva preferred to let her hair hang unhampered.

“Why not?”

“Have you forgotten about the disastrous bang affair?” Eva had succumbed to Annette’s assurance that bangs on her would look cute. She hated them and it took five months for them to grow out.

“Eva, that was three years ago.” Annette shook her head.

“Keep still,” Eva admonished.

Annette froze everything but her lips. “Besides braiding doesn’t involve a set of scissors.”

“Done,” Eva said, hoping that would end the discussion. Annette scurried to the dresser mirror.

“Where’s the handheld one?”

“Near the corner of the dresser. Under one of Gabi’s textbooks.”

Annette lifted the book in question and retrieved the mirror. She turned so she could view the back of her head and examine Eva’s handy work. “I like it.”

Eva wasn’t paying attention. She checked the messages on her phone, and stared at the name above the text.

“What is it?” Annette asked.

“A text.” Eva looked up. “From Sebastian.”

“Sebastian Weiss?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my goodness. Does he want to write with you again?”

Eva hadn’t heard from him for three days. She was sure that he had found her to be childish and immature and probably boring, and that he had moved on to a more mature, sophisticated writing partner.

“Eva?”

“No. I don’t know. That’s not what he’s asking.”

“What’s he asking?”

She handed Annette the phone.

Annette arched a brow. “He left three messages?”

Eva nodded, feeling stunned.

Sebastian Weiss

Can I take you out for lunch tomorrow?

Sebastian Weiss

I thought it might help if we got to know each other better. For writing.

Sebastian Weiss

Not a date or anything. Just friends. In case you’re worried.

Annette squealed. “Sebastian Weiss wants to take you out!”

“It’s not a date.”

“So. You’d still be out. With him.”

“I can’t do it.” Eva rubbed her forehead trying to erase the headache coming on. “My parents would never agree.”

“Don’t tell them.”

“Annette!”

“Eva, you’re an adult.” Annette sat on the bed beside Eva, a serious expression crossing her freckled face. “If you want to go out with a guy, you should go. Hey, I’ll cover for you. Tell your parents you’re coming to visit me.”

“I never visit you.”

“I know. And it’s time you changed that.” She shrieked. “Oh gosh. He just messaged you again.” She handed the phone back.

Sebastian Weiss

Eva?

“Not the patient sort, is he?” Annette giggled. “I guess when you’re a rock star, you don’t have to wait for what you want.”

Eva fought a growing panic. She’d never been on a date before. Even if this wasn’t a date. “What should I say?”

“Say yes, silly.”

Showing up at Sebastian’s place was nerve-racking enough, but at least she was free to leave when she wanted. They had two guitars between them and a song to discuss. Without the song and the guitars, what would they talk about? Her throat felt like it was closing up. “I can’t,” she muttered.

Annette snatched the phone from Eva’s hand, and her thumbs raced across the keyboard.

“Annette!”

“There.” Annette returned her phone. “You can’t back out now.”

Eva stared at the text her friend had written.

Eva Baumann

Okay.

The phone buzzed again and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Sebastian Weiss

Great. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at noon.

“Oh no,” Eva stood and almost fell over. “He’s coming here.”

“Text him back. Tell him to meet you at Luther Square.”

Eva’s sweaty thumbs moved quickly across the keyboard. Moments later.

Sebastian Weiss

See you there.

Eva collapsed back onto the bed and covered her face with her hands. She couldn’t believe it. She was going on a non-date with Sebastian Weiss. She couldn’t resist a tiny squeal.

Eva waited at Luther Square the next day at noon. She’d told her parents she was going to Annette’s and they believed her because Annette actually came over that morning and walked her out. “Just in case you’re tempted to ditch him,” she’d said.

Annette helped her select a summer dress, yellow with lace trim around a boat-cut neckline and a narrow belt that tied into a loopy bow at the back. “It’s feminine and not as frumpy as your other ones. The belt shows off your narrow waist.”

Eva drew the line when it came to putting pins in her hair, but she had showered and shampooed. Annette spritzed her with some of Gabriele’s perfume when she wasn’t looking.

“Stop it,” she said. “I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard.”

“You don’t want to look like you’re not trying at all, either.” Annette draped an arm over Eva’s shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. “No worries. You look wonderful.”

Just then a Hollow Fellows’ song came on the satellite radio pumping through Eva’s laptop and Sebastian’s voice filled her bedroom.

Eva dropped her cane and sat on the chair by her guitar. “Oh my heart. What am I doing, Annette?”

Annette giggled. “You’re going on a date with a rock star!”

“A non-date.”

Her friend smirked. “It may be a non-date, but he’s still a rock star.”

Annette walked Eva to the square where Eva playfully shooed her away. “I don’t want him to think I came with my babysitter.”

So now here she was on a warm summer day, waiting for the one and only Sebastian Weiss. She looked around and wondered what he would be driving. She pressed her sunglasses against her face and leaned on her cane. She was about to head for the bench facing the rolling ball fountain when she heard a car horn beep.

Sebastian waved her over to an open taxi door.

“Hey,” he said. Even though Sebastian wore sunglasses, Eva could tell he was checking her out, his eyes scanning her from head to toe. She was glad she’d taken the extra trouble with her appearance and promised herself she’d thank Annette later. Sebastian looked pretty good, too. He leaned against the open door, waiting for her, all suave and cool. He was every bit the celebrity. She saw a group of girls point and knew he’d been recognized.

He placed a hand on her elbow to guide her in, and his touch sent shivers throughout her body. Eva was Cinderella being helped into the pumpkin carriage by the handsome prince. Somehow her life had turned into a fairytale. She pulled in her legs and her cane and smiled, hoping she looked graceful and collected, and not like the unraveling wreck she actually felt she was.

Sebastian got in the other side. He slipped off his sunglasses and grinned. “You look nice.”

“Thanks.” She hoped he couldn’t see her face flush. “Where are we going?”

“Königstein Fortress.”

It was her turn to remove her sunglasses. “I thought we were going for lunch.”

“We are.”

“But that’s at least a half an hour away.” The taxi fare would be outrageous.

Sebastian shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t have any other plans. Do you?”

She shook her head. “I’m surprised you didn’t pick me up in a fancy car. I imagined you with a garage full.”

“Nah. Some guys might do that, but I’m not really into cars.”

“Guitars are more your thing.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” He cocked his head and grinned. “You can’t have too many guitars.”

“So, why are we going to the fortress? There were plenty of places to eat close by.”

“I wanted to take you somewhere different. Have you been there?”

“No.” Eva’s class once did a field trip to the fortress, but she had missed it because she was still in heavy physiotherapy. Her family stuck to home for the most part. They didn’t even own a car. You didn’t really need one once you mastered the transit system, and the railway lines across Germany were vast and efficient.

Sebastian rubbed his chin. “You’re in for a treat then.”

Music pumped in from the stereo in the dash, and Eva and Sebastian engaged in music talk: bands they liked, who’s on top, who’s on the bottom, their favorite songs and why they were great.

“Best song of all time?” Eva asked.

“‘The Boxer’, hands down.”

“By Simon and Garfunkel?” She was surprised. She thought he’d pick a rock song. “Why?”

“First of all, the song is an example of a perfect match between music and lyric. The music arrangement captures the emotion of the stark pictures the lyric creates. It makes you feel like you are on the streets with the narrator, cold and alone.”

Eva nodded in agreement.

“Secondly, the lyrics are very vivid and poetic. ‘
Seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go, looking for the places only they would know
.’ Words like ragged and quarters are not words normally used by street people, so it gives the feeling that the narrator is not from that world but he is consigned to it. It adds to the feeling of loneliness.”

Eva loved how passionate Sebastian was when he spoke. His brows furrowed and he motioned with his hands for emphasis. She worked to keep from smiling inappropriately.

Sebastian continued, “The ‘
ly la ly’
tag makes it more of a folk song, which means it's a song for the common man. The last verse is unexpected because it breaks away from the narrator's voice. It’s a vivid allegory of the narrator's predicament. It again paints a very clear picture and says things the narrator would not say himself but the listener hears it and gets a deeper picture. It’s a perfectly written story song.”

Sebastian eyed Eva with a smug expression like he knew he’d impressed her.

And he had.

“What about you?” he asked in return.

Eva had to think. She had a lot of favorites, but had never placed a single one on the top of the pile.

Sebastian patted her knee, startling her with his touch. He smirked at her reaction. “It doesn’t have to be one of mine.”

“I’m a Bob Dylan fan.”

Sebastian’s eyebrows jumped, but he waited for her to continue.

“I love how he paints pictures with words and doesn’t care if the message is clear on first listen. He writes songs you have to pay attention to.”

“So, which one is your favorite?”

Eva hummed. “I’m going to say ‘Chimes of Freedom.’”

Sebastian nodded like he approved. “Why that one?”

She stared at her hands. “It’s about the underdog. I can relate.”

“Everyone’s the underdog at some point,” Sebastian said.

“Which is why I love this song. Its themes are universal.”

Eva barely noticed when they left the autobahn and drove down a road through thick forest. She was shocked when Sebastian announced they had arrived.

It looked like a giant hand had wielded a sword and sliced off the top of a mountain before placing the Fortress on top. Eva gaped at the massive stone structure high above them. It was far more intimidating in real life than in pictures.

“Impressive,” Eva said. And it was a good thing there was a train to pull them to the top from the parking lot below. Though many people opted to hike, it would never be an option for her.

The train was actually a tractor that pulled several carts with forward-facing benches, much like Eva had seen on TV ads promoting theme parks. Sebastian paid the driver, an older man with a scowl and a big belly. He gladly took Sebastian’s money.

The sheer height of the fortress wall could only be appreciated while standing at the base of it. Eva craned her neck up as she exited the train at the top.

“Those walls are made of sandstone,” Sebastian said. “They’re as high as forty-two meters in some places, and yes,” his hazel eyes glistened, “ I did my homework.”

Eva spotted the small outlines of people walking about high above. “How do you get to the top?”

Sebastian pointed to a lift. They walked toward it, Sebastian slowing his pace considerably to match hers.

“Oh,” he said.

“What?”

He pointed to a sign. “Out of service. They’re providing rides up on ATVs every hour for those who can’t walk up.” Sebastian checked the time. “Looks like we just missed the last one.”

Eva swallowed her disappointment. Sebastian brought her to eat lunch and he must be starving. “I’m sorry.”

“You might not be able to walk it, but I can.”

She tilted her head in confusion. Was he seriously suggesting she wait for him?

He chuckled and bent low. “Get on.”

“What?”

“Get on. I’ll piggyback you up.”