The Low Notes (16 page)

Jeff leaned in closer to Kevin, trying to avoid having to scream over the noise.

“
I guess they got replaced. Jen’s freaking out though ‘cause that chick up there is her student,” Jeff said.

Kevin’s heart stopped. How could he have missed it? Why didn’t she mention it? Her voice was different. Nina sang with a ferociousness he would’ve never recognized. He looked at Jennifer staring wide-eyed with a beaming smile as she watched the stage closely. Then he saw her. The regular Black Jewel stage had traded in the piano for guitar, bass and drums.

She gripped the long-corded microphone and writhed on the stage as she sang out rock lyrics. Her hair was messy and wild with artificial pieces of blue streaked throughout. She wore a tight fitting black corset with thin black straps, electric blue colored slim fitting pants and stiletto black patent leather heels. Her wrists were stacked high with black and silver bangles that slid up and down each time she shot her arm into the air, letting out another forceful belt. He watched carefully as her hips swayed to the pounding beat. Even after months of the strange relationship they shared, she was still such a mystery to him. A constant surprise.

“
She's so talented. What a force. Hard to believe she’s only seventeen, right?” Jennifer said, still watching her student in awe to which Kevin thought to himself,
yes, incredibly hard to believe.
He downed his drink quickly, trying to calm his nerves. As soon as he felt the burn trickle down his chest, he reminded himself to take his time. He didn’t want a repeat of the last time he heard her perform. He wondered if that was the reason she hadn’t told him she'd be singing tonight.

He glanced back up at Nina and realized she’d spotted him, too. The audience clapped before the drums hit quickly, then the guitar and finally her voice ripped into her singing “I Want You To Want Me.”

She sang out, looking right at him, before bouncing around the stage. Her eyes kept coming back to him, even as she went back to back with the guitarist as he shredded through the classic beat. Kevin's heart filled with a sense of pride for her and he felt a surge of happiness that she was standing singing, out from behind the piano, where the world could really take note of her.

Kevin looked over to Jennifer who gave Nina a booming applause when the song ended. His head was reeling at the oddity of the situation. If only Jeff and Jennifer knew Nina was the singer he’d been out on a date with after their failed attempt at setting him up. Kevin shook the thought away and stood up to get another drink. He pushed his way through the mob of people to get to the swarming bar.

He let his eyes drift back to Nina and he clumsily bumped into the back of the person in front of him. The man turned around and Kevin saw it was not a man at all, but a boy. James. He grinned ear to ear looking at Kevin.

“
Mr. Reed. Happy Halloween,” James said gleefully.

Kevin nodded and absentmindedly glanced back at Nina and the band as they started the next song. His curiosity peaked as he saw her pick up a guitar, strapping it to her before starting to play.

“
Isn’t she fabulous? She never ceases to amaze me. She hasn’t played guitar in years but she was determined to play one tonight. Been practicing for weeks,” Kevin heard James’ voice but it sounded a million miles away.

He saw Nina searching the crowd as she started playing the electric guitar. Was she searching for him? As she caught a glimpse of him, the male guitarist on stage with her took over lead vocals for a fitting song, a cover of Winger’s “Seventeen.” His heart stopped at the song he knew so well. He had the album sitting on his shelf at home. Finally Nina’s voice came in to mix for the chorus. The drums hit and the smile on Nina’s face grew, her lips stretching across her white teeth.

“
Yeah. She‘s fabulous alright,” Kevin said with a chuckle before clapping James on the shoulder and breezing past him to the bar. He ordered his drink and watched Nina as she let out her inner rocker, making him grin. A constant surprise.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Kevin watched intensely as Nina’s mouth moved but her microphone pointed out at the crowd, letting the masses sing for her. She pushed the microphone back into the grip on the stand grinning wickedly as she played the last rift on her guitar. The crowd went wild for her at the song’s ending.

The band played on, with the lead guitarist taking over vocals. Nina jumped off the front of the stage and her excitement shone as she took a moment to dance with strangers in the crowd. Her smile was infectious. She spun, her arms reaching to the sky, her hips hitting the beat of the drums rhythmically. She only danced for a moment then she was heading right for him.

“
Hey, Mrs. Benson...Mr. Reed,” she said, her breath heaving, her voice hoarse.

“
Nina, you're amazing! Why did it take four years for you to sing for me? I can’t believe you never told me you play guitar,” Jennifer gushed, pulling out a chair for Nina, gesturing for her to sit and join them.

Nina took a seat and bit her lip, smiling through it shyly.

“
Just one of those hidden talents I suppose,” Nina joked.

She looked at Kevin and smiled innocently. His heart was swelling, his stomach jumping. Sitting so close to her with his family completely oblivious to the tension thick between them made his palms sweat.

“
What about the Basement Snakes?” Jeff asked dimly.

“
Excuse my husband. He means to say you were great,” Jennifer chided.

Nina shrugged. “They bailed. That’s actually the Saturday night Jazz band. I’ve only performed with them a few times and they asked me for tonight. It’s definitely different from my usual set,” she said with a laugh.

“
Who knew you had rock and roll in you,” Kevin said, catching her eye for just a moment too long. Nina smirked and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. He hoped she was just as nervous as he was given the peculiar circumstances. He saw her eyes flit around the table looking at everyone’s drink.

“
Do you want a drink?” Kevin asked.

“
Kevin!” Jennifer snipped.

He rolled his eyes at her. “I’m not going to buy her alcohol, Jennifer. I‘m not an idiot,” he said.

Kevin stood up and looked at Nina. “You want water or a soda or something?”

Nina’s eyes widened and she stood up, too. “I’ll go with you. I‘ll get you my discount,” her voice trailed off.

Kevin nodded before they walked off to the bar together. Kevin felt Nina’s hand slip into his and she was dragging him through the swarm of people. They passed the bar and before he could object, Nina was glancing around suspiciously and opening a door he’d never noticed. She pulled him inside and Kevin looked at their surroundings.

The walls were grey stone and the stairs led to some sort of basement. There was a dark hall that led in the direction of where the stage was on the other side of the door that now separated them from the crowd.

“
That hall leads backstage but everyone always uses the other side. I thought we could be alone for a minute,” Nina said, her voice low.

Kevin’s back was to the door they’d come in through leaving Nina in front of him. His hand came toward her, picking out a tendril of the bright blue that was somehow hooked in her hair, examining it with a grin.

“
What are you supposed to be?” he asked.

“
I’m a rock star,” she said plainly.

“
You certainly are.” He let his fingertips brush her cheek lightly. “I didn’t know you were singing tonight. You didn’t tell me. You’ve been so...quiet lately.”

“
I guess I just needed some time,” she replied, nuzzling her face closer to his hand.

He squinted at her. “Okay.”

Nina pursed her lips before letting them curl into a sweet smile. Her face all of a sudden fell and her tone became serious and bold.

“
You realize every time I‘m up there I’m signing to you, right?”

A moan seized from Kevin’s throat and he nodded to her, unable to speak.

Nina let her fingertips press lightly against his chest. She felt the heat from him even through her clothes. Kevin’s head dipped down and she could feel his hot breath on her face.

“
You can tell me to stop,” Kevin whispered, taking her face in his hands. Nina’s breath caught. She knew what was coming. It was the moment she'd been waiting for.

“
Don’t,” she croaked.

His mouth grazed her cheek, first just below her eyes then at the corner of her mouth, teasing her with the anticipation of it. Her breath was ragged as she waited what seemed like a lifetime for the kiss she'd been dreaming of. His lips pressed against hers slow and tender at first. As the sensuous feeling took them over, the sweet kiss quickly turned into a something neither of them had felt so intensely before. Nina’s hands slid into Kevin’s thick hair and gripped him tightly. His hands found her waist, cinched small by the corset, and her pulled her as close as he could, their mouths never unlocking from the kiss.

The warmth of their tongues dancing upon one another sent Kevin into a frenzy. He held onto Nina tightly and pushed himself off of the wall and turned her against the door. They finally separated and stared into each other's eyes eagerly. Nina took her hands from Kevin’s hair and let them fall to her sides, leaving her open to him, vulnerable.

He let a finger trace her jawbone and slide down the curve of her neck ever so slowly. Nina flashed back to every moment between them before this. The sweet kiss of their first date, his intoxicated hands touching her in his bed, the shadows of room B100.

She heard his uneven breaths and it only thrilled her more. Again his head bent low, only this time he turned her head to the side with a lightly dominating hand and let his lips and tongue pursue the white skin of her throat. She sighed at the feeling and he continued down her neck to her collarbone. When neither could take any more, he came quickly back up to her craving lips.

Though they were lost in the moment, it was Nina who broke their lips apart when she heard the band playing the song she knew was her cue. She was panting, staring up at his brown eyes that begged for more. Her lips were full and had exchanged their natural subtle pink for a feverish red.

“
I have to get back on stage,” she exhaled. Kevin’s brows shot up worriedly as he thought about how long they must have been missing from Jeff and Jennifer’s table. He nodded vehemently, straightening out his slightly rumpled clothes.

“
What about me? Do I look...disheveled?” she asked naively.

Kevin smiled at her and smoothed a hand over her hair.

“
You look beautiful.”

Her body eased even more than it had in his embrace. She wanted to say the words.

“
Kevin...I-I want to tell you something,” her words were choppy and she berated herself for the faintest tremble in her voice.

“
My place later?”

She nodded and awkwardly waited, for what she didn’t know. He smiled at her and this time she beamed back at him, enjoying his handsome face for a moment before making her way down the backstage hallway alone.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“
Welcome back to the stage, Nina Jordan!” the guitarist yelled out at the crowd, moving back to his spot on the side. The thunderous applause coaxed Nina to the microphone, her lips still cherry red. Kevin was almost back to the table when he heard her voice from the stage singing “I Put A Spell On You.” He grabbed his seat next to Jeff with a beer in his hand watching with a silly grin on his face as he and Nina shared a knowing glance from across the room. His heart was getting the better of him now and each time his thoughts turned condemnatory, he squashed them with another sip of beer and a glance at Nina.

“
That took a while,” Jeff hollered at Kevin over the music.

Kevin leaned in towards Jeff’s ear. “The bar was packed. She’s really good, huh?” he asked. Jeff nodded and glanced back at the stage where Nina was back into her roaring performance.

“
She’s hot,” Jeff said to Kevin. Kevin pulled back from Jeff and shot him a look. Jeff shrugged innocently and they turned their attention back to Nina and the band.

The night wore on with Nina continuing her blazing show and Kevin, Jeff and Jennifer taking in more and more drinks. Jennifer was ready to leave, feeling a bit sleepy after all of the amaretto sours. Kevin wanted to say goodbye to Nina but he had no idea how to be secretive about it. Instead, he waved goodbye to her on the stage as he got up to which Nina tilted up her chin.

****

She couldn’t leave fast enough. Her car didn’t start fast enough, didn’t drive fast enough. It felt like it had taken an hour to get to Kevin’s house.

Nina waited, letting her thoughts continue to race as her heart started to pound. How would she tell him? Would she blurt the three little words or would she try to prepare him in some way? She wanted to write it across the sky in stars and simply point up. She worried she wouldn’t have the courage when the time came. She glanced back at the house then back at the steering wheel, contemplating going home and avoiding the conversation all together.

She looked up once more and saw Kevin’s silhouette standing in the window next to the door. He moved when she looked at him and he opened the door. When the noise from her cell phone vibrating in her purse nearly scared her to death, she realized how ridiculous she must look.