Steal Your Heart Away (2 page)

Chapter 4

When she finished her last number she returned to our table and took a seat. She smiled at me and all of a sudden everything felt very uncomfortable. Steve gave me the “go away” look and I retreated to the bar. I sat down and watched from a distance.

Steve was very animated in his conversation, I hoped he wasn’t talking about his comic book collection or his obsession with old horror films. He tended to resort back to those two topics when he got nervous. She would respond politely and smile but when he wasn’t looking, she’d peek over his shoulder and smile at me. I was so confused.

“Is that your friend over there?” the man at the bar asked.

“Steve? Yeah, he’s a really good friend of mine.”

“Poor sucker comes in here every Friday to watch Lexi sing. I told him she’s not ready to date but he just can’t seem to take a hint,” the bartender shook his head.

I felt sorry for Steve. This girl clearly was not interested and I knew he thought he had a good chance. Hell, I thought I might have had a chance too before the bartender confirmed everything Steve had told me earlier.

No matter how good of a chance, though, I would never go after my best friend’s girl. That was just wrong. I tried to shake the thought of me and her. Even if she was interested I wouldn’t even consider it.

Steve got up suddenly, and quickly made his way towards me.

“I just got called in on an emergency,” he said quickly, but clearly disappointed. “Keep her company for me?” I wanted to say no, to go directly home and get her out of my head. But instead I agreed and returned to the table where she sat.

“Hey there,” I said with a smile, careful not to make too much eye contact.

“Well hello,” she responded. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“It was wonderful. Your voice is incredible. How did you learn to sing like that?”

“I grew up in this place. Brandon, the bar manager is my oldest brother and my mom sang here all growing up. I’ve been performing since I was six.”

“Have you ever thought of singing for a talent agency or trying to get signed with a label?” I asked, amazed that she wasn’t professionally trained.

“No, none of that. Once something you love becomes work it’s no longer love. It’s work. Besides, I may have only a handful of fans but I adore them and wouldn’t dream of leaving this place”

“A handful of fans,” I scoffed. “This place was packed.”

“Well, it’s only a handful in comparison to the big artists who are performing in front of thousands of people a night.”

“That could be you,” I pressed on.

“Maybe someday,” she switched topics. We talked about childhood memories, college stories and future goals.

I loved watching her talk. She made a little crinkle at the top of her nose when she was concerned or frightened. Her eyebrows danced across her forehead when she would get excited or angry. Watching her talk was like watching a play, each little gesture playing a very important role.

Chapter 5

One drink turned into four and before we knew it the club was starting to close down. I glanced at my watch in shock to see that it was already well past midnight. I had a decent buzz going on and I knew she did too.

I thought about walking her home but I didn’t want to take the risk of getting invited in. Even though I was tipsy I still had Steve in the back of my mind. Damnit, I tried to kick him out but I just couldn’t.

So at the end of the night I called each of us a cab and we drove home separately, only after first exchanging numbers. I knew it was dangerous the moment I dialed my number into her phone but I justified it by saying that it would be rude to tell her no after the night we had just had.

It wasn’t thirty minutes after parting ways that she texted me. “Had a great time tonight. Goodnight!” butterflies roared in my stomach like I was in middle school.

Why did I feel so strongly towards her? It had only been one night and I already couldn’t shake her. I had to pause for a moment to remember the fact that she might not even be gay.

What would I do then? Was this going to be payback for all the women I had hurt in the past? No, she had to be gay.

Something about the look in her eyes told me she wanted me. Or was my ego getting in the way of the truth?

I didn’t know if she was gay. I didn’t know if Steve would be angry. All I knew was I had to see her again.

Chapter 6

I awoke the next morning with a violent headache and cursed myself for staying out so late on a work night. My alarm clock read 5:00 AM and I knew it was going to be a long day.

It wasn’t until I got out of the shower and my phone vibrated that I remembered everything that had happened the night before. I quickly ran out of the bathroom to my bed where my phone sat. Picking it up hastily, I searched the screen for Lexi’s name. Nope, it was just a text from Steve.

“Hey I’m picking up breakfast burritos for work. Come hungry
.
J
” Steve was such a great guy. I absolutely adored our friendship. Was a girl really worth putting everything on the line for? Internal combat struck again and I groaned with annoyance at my own self.

When I arrived at work Steve stood outside of the locker room with two grease-stained bags and some coffee. I had never been so excited for anything. As we chowed down in the cafeteria he asked me over and over again what I thought about Lexi.

I tried to keep my mouth preoccupied with food as to avoid saying too much. Yes, she was cute; yes, he had a chance; yes, she was a good singer. I nodded in agreement to everything he said but didn’t know how to answer his next question.

“How late were you guys out last night? Did you two have fun?” he asked.

“Oh we left about thirty minutes after you did,” I lied. “We had a good time but it just wasn’t a lot of fun without you. I could tell she was bummed when you left.”

“She was?” His eyes lit up. Maybe I had pushed it a little too far with that last line.

“Mmhmm,” I decided that no words were better than any words and proceeded to stuff my face with more breakfast burrito.

“You seem tense,” he looked at me with concern.

“Just tired,” I got up from the table before he could press on and we headed out the door.

The day was fairly slow which normally I would have appreciated if I hadn’t been looking for something to distract my mind with. Lexi texted me three times and it took everything in my willpower not to text her back.

I also tried to make as little interaction with Steve as possible. I knew he knew something was up but I couldn’t find any excuse other than “I’m Tired”.

By the end of the day I was emotionally drained and ready for bed. I said goodbye to Steve and headed home. The 3 unread text messages glowing on my phone seemed to be mocking me. Every time I lit up my phone to see what time it was there they were.

Finally at home, alone and on my couch I decided to read the messages.

9:03 AM “Good Morning!”

10:42 AM “Are you as hungover as me?”

2:56 PM “Helloooo?”

I hit reply and stared at the blank screen for ten minutes. Before I could even think of what I was saying I hit send.

“Sorry, I was slammed all day at work. Yes I was hungover as hell. Let’s hang out again soon.”

I read my sent message over and over again before throwing my phone down into the carpet. What was I thinking? My best friend would be devastated. But she was so perfect I just couldn’t get her out of my head.

I guess I never thought that this would happen to me again, seeing as my best friend was a straight man. Back in college, it happened a lot. The lesbian circle was only so big, and we had all dated each other. Ever since I graduated I have steered clear of all lesbian cliques to avoid that drama. This should not be happening. Not now, not at 39 years old.

We were mature adults not teenagers. I wasn’t a “girlfriend stealer”. To be fair to myself, though, she wasn’t Steve’s girlfriend. And she didn’t seem interested. So was that free game?

I should just man up and call him, I thought. I should ask him if it was okay and this whole thing would be put to bed. I picked up the phone but found myself distracted by another message from Lexi.

“Netflix and takeout at your place tonight? You host, I’ll pay.”

“OK,” I responded.

I did a quick run through of my house to make sure it was fairly clean. I hadn’t had company over in months and had kind of let the place go. I knew I still needed to call Steve but my better judgment subsided and I pretended that Steve didn’t exist.

Chapter 7

When the doorbell rang I lingered for a few minutes so she wouldn’t think I was too eager. When I finally answered the door she stood there smiling, hair up in a messy bun wearing leggings and a hoodie. Perfect movie watching gear. I, on the other hand was much too overdressed. I was in black jeans and a gray button up. I suddenly felt ridiculous. I was trying too hard.

“Hi!” she walked right in like she had been there a million times. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” I guided her to the living room and helped her set up the Thai food on the coffee table.

“I feel like I should have put a little more effort into my look.” Her eyes gave the look of concern. I laughed to myself at thinking I was overdressed just a few minutes before.

“I think you look great! In fact, I might go change.” I hated to make her feel bad.

“Really? Yeah, do it!” The excitement returned to her eyes.

I retreated upstairs to my bedroom and changed into some comfy sweats. I made sure they were nice, no holes or stains. It was so odd, I had never been dressed like that in front of a woman.

When I got back down stairs Lexi had already found herself a blanket in a nearby closet and was all snuggled up on the couch. I was a little disappointed to see that there was a second blanket on the other side of the couch for me.

“Are you a documentary or a sci-fi kind of girl?” she asked.

“You choose.”

“Chick flick it is,” she winked.

“Hey, that wasn’t on your list of options!”

“That’s what you get for letting me choose.”

How could I argue with that cute face? I still didn’t know how old she was. She couldn’t be more than 30, my guess was 28. She had a little splash of freckles on her little turned up nose that I hadn’t noticed the night at the club.

“What are you looking at?” she asked, clearly self-conscious.

“You.”

She looked at me confused at first but then blushed and smiled, turning her attention to the TV as if to avoid any awkwardness.

The movie started and I stayed on my side of the couch. Towards the middle of the movie I noticed Lexi’s eyes beginning to flutter. I could tell she was tired. It was so hard to watch the movie when all I wanted was her to curl up in my arms.

She caught me staring at her more than once and I hoped I hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable.

When the credits started playing and the movie was over, Lexi let out a big yawn and stretched out her arms. Her head came down in to my lap and she laid there looking up at me. My heart jumped.

“Do you believe in true love?” she caught me off guard.

“Yeah, I suppose so. Why do you ask?” I noticed a tear that had dried on her cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a sad movie, don’t you think?”

“Very sad.” My fingers made their way to her hair and I carefully pushed a strand back behind her ear. She frowned for only a second before smiling at me.

“You’re nice,” she said.

“Thank you?” I couldn’t tell what she meant by that. She stared up at the ceiling blankly and I wondered what she could have been thinking about. Her eyebrows said she was concerned but then the corners of her mouth would curve up almost towards a smile. Was she just as confused about things as I was?

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” I said.

“I told you, I think you’re nice.”

“A lot of people are nice,” I replied.

“Steve is nice.” That hit me out of the blue. Again, he had forced his way in to my thoughts and I was instantly jealous of his name on her lips.

“You like Steve, don’t you?” I asked, half curious but mostly hoping she’d say no.

“You like me, don’t you?” I couldn’t believe how bold she was.

“I haven’t decided yet.” Two could play this game.

“Good, don’t decide yet.” She sat up and kissed me on the cheek before gathering her things and heading for the door. Again, I found myself disappointed that the night hadn’t progressed more. I closed the door behind her with a smile that remained on my face well in to my sleep.