by Robyn Nyx
“The ladies are going to love you.”
“It’s my words and music I want them to love,” Louie replied, slightly self-conscious at being caught acting so blatantly vain. Then she smiled as she realized she and Gabe hadn’t had to have the usual obligatory and terribly awkward coming out/gender talk: Yes, I like girls. Yes, I’m comfortable with the way I look. No, I don’t want to be a guy.
“Whatever you need.” He held up his bottle. “Want one?”
Louie shook her head. “I try not to drink and drive.” Her grandmother had delighted in telling her all about her father’s drinking habits. Louie didn’t want to follow in those footsteps. She tapped her watch. “Time to show me your town.”
Gabe chuckled. “Oh, it’s not my town yet.”
“Then we take it together.” She picked up her keys and headed out to enjoy the beckoning beauty of her dream.
***
Just the walk from her truck toward the Bluebird Café took Louie’s breath. The scarlet red neon lighting made it feel dream-like as she and Gabe wandered past the long line of patiently waiting walk-ins, and she silently celebrated their fortuitous meeting.
Gabe spoke to a guy at the door, and he navigated them to a table fifteen feet from the stage. He scooped up the reservation sign and stuffed it in his back pocket.
“Are you eating or just drinking?”
“Both.” Louie was starving. She hadn’t eaten anything other than some chips and a pumpkin cereal bar since brunch at Gabe’s café. All Gabe had in his fridge were day-old pizza, beer, and water, and when Louie ventured briefly outside, there was no sign of a convenience store. On the drive in, she’d seen a Kroger around two miles away and had decided that would be her first stop in the morning. After that, she’d find a mattress store. Fresh food and satisfying sleep were lifestyle necessities; Louie’s level of grumpiness was directly correlated to a lack of either.
The server put two menus on the table. “Can I get you some drinks?”
“I’ll have a Coke.”
He looked at Gabe. “And for you?”
“Whatever you have on tap will be great, thanks.”
“Sure thing.”
Louie opened her menu and scanned it quickly for chicken fingers. Fancy food had never been her thing. Growing up with a bowl of peas and black pepper served as a main course made it hard to appreciate nouveau cuisine. She spotted her desired dish and dropped the card to the table. Gabe didn’t seem to have looked at his menu. “You’re such a regular that you already know what you’re having?”
He scratched at the stubble on his face and shook his head. “I wasn’t going to have anything.”
“Is the food not as good as the music?”
“It’s not that…”
The comic book light bulb flicked on over Louie’s head. “You’re strapped for cash?”
He shrugged and looked away. “Like I said, I couldn’t afford my house until you came along this morning.”
Louie reached over and lightly punched Gabe’s shoulder. “This is my treat.” It’d be the only one for a while. The few hundred she’d have left after buying a bed wouldn’t last long, and she wouldn’t get her first pay check for a month.
“You’re sure?”
“Dude, if it wasn’t for you, I’d be sleeping in my truck with only my guitar for company. It’s the least I can do. Let’s celebrate finding each other—together we’re going to…” Louie didn’t finish the corny sentiment. She’d been handed a serious case of slack jaw by the beautiful woman who’d just entered through the back door, her hair made angelically luminescent as it bounced in the glow of the stage lighting. Louie searched her memory banks of Nash Country magazine to place her. If she was performing tonight, the evening had ramped up to perfection already. Louie shamelessly followed her every move as she glided elegantly past them, circled around the center tables, and stopped at the soundboard.
“I’d call dibs, but that woman might hold the key to my future.”
“She can be my future right now.” It sounded soppy, but she didn’t mean it seriously. The burn of Mia still tingled painfully in her heart, and now that she was finally in the city to work toward her dream, a relationship was the last thing on her mind. But boy, that woman had something special. The way she held herself, how her hair moved as if caressing her shoulders as she walked. She had an air of arrow-like focus. She was a woman to write a song about.
The lady finished her conversation with the sound engineer and began to walk back toward the stage door. Louie remained content to simply enjoy the floor show and barely registered Gabe’s movement to stand and block her vision.
“Excuse me, miss, but I saw you record my session at the Douglas a few nights ago. Can I ask why?”
Heather recognized Gabe Duke. This was exactly the reason why Heather made sure she stayed hidden at gigs. She was here to support Emma, who was performing in the Spotlight session for the first time. This one meager hour was her downtime before she watched the Writers Night at Donny’s behest, though she was sure there was no new talent to mine. Worse yet, Mia and Diane were performing, and Emma had told Heather they thought she was here to see them, certain they were on the verge of being signed by Rocky Top.
“Sorry, miss, did you hear me?”
Heather gave her best public smile. This guy was a special talent, but that didn’t make it any less inconvenient that he was impeding her path back to Emma. “Sorry, I was focused on getting backstage to my friend.” She extended her hand. “I’m Heather King. I work for RTCM.” When Gabe looked puzzled, she added, “Rocky Top.”
He shook her hand with enthusiasm.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve known that.”
There were a lot of labels to remember, and she’d heard Gabe was relatively new in town. Added to the fact that Heather had no ego or personal investment in the label meant Gabe hadn’t caused offense. She smiled to help put him at ease since he was almost vibrating on the spot. “It’s fine. Honestly.”
Gabe stepped to the side to make way for the sound engineer. Heather glanced at the other occupant of Gabe’s table, and undiluted desire came over her like a cloak. The person stood and smiled knowingly, as if acutely aware of their universal appeal. Their eyes promised an explosive encounter, but there was a clear non-physical barrier that guarded their heart and would offer nothing more. Perhaps precisely what Heather needed after five years of career-controlled celibacy. The cool night breeze slipped through the open door and traversed her spine with the feather-like touch of a familiar lover. Please, God, be a woman.
“I’m Louie.”
The moniker was inconclusive, but the soft tone of her voice made it clear Louie was a woman. The lack of an Adam’s apple as Louie lifted her chin to reveal a faintly tanned and slender neck was additional proof. Heather found herself wanting to trace her tongue along it and taste Louie’s skin. She reluctantly pulled herself from her absorbing fantasy to acquiesce to social etiquette and held out her hand. Louie took it, far gentler than Gabe, and kissed her knuckles. Heather was struck by the chivalrous nature of the gesture and had to stop herself from giggling. Was this what she’d been missing out on by just dating high femmes?
Heather felt Gabe’s presence as he moved back to her side when the sound engineer had passed by.
“Sorry about that, Ms. King.”
He smiled and Heather could see an army of sixteen- to thirty-year-old women and men falling at his feet to worship him. Not classically attractive, but square-jawed, muscular, and handsome enough for posters, dolls, and T-shirts to fly from his tour shelves. If only Donny could see past his color. “I have to go.” Louie was still standing and her eyes were fixed on Heather. She looked like she would’ve been happy to push Heather against the wall and devour her. Heather was seriously inclined to let her, but Emma was waiting backstage after sending her to speak to the sound tech.
“Could I just ask if Rocky Top is interested in me?”
Heather bit her lip, agai
n acutely aware of why she stayed in the shadows when scoping for new talent. The hopeful look in his eyes made her wish she could give him the news he craved, but Donny was still undecided on whether or not to offer him an audition. “You’re being considered for an audience with the label head, Gabe, but it’s by no means a certainty.” She should offer some advice. It’s what she needed when she hit the town, expecting to burn brighter than the Dog Star. “Do you have any original material?” Her heart sank when he hesitated and his hungry fire seemed to extinguish. There was no way he’d get through the doors if all he did were Johnny Cash covers, no matter how amazing they were.
“He will.”
Louie draped her arm over Gabe’s shoulder, and Heather saw his spark reignite. Had she misread the situation and they were…together? They certainly made an interesting combination and subverted so many stereotypes they probably put a bug up the ass of right-wing die-hard country fans on a whole raft of counts.
“You’ll write for me?”
Gabe grinned at Louie, who’d nodded but focused only on Heather. Struggling to get a handle on the two of them, Heather scuttled for a new angle of conversation. They seemed so naturally familiar and yet Gabe’s surprise at Louie’s offer indicated a new relationship. Perhaps they were just friends. Heather could hope. Instead, she decided Emma could wait a few more minutes to give her time to push for confirmation. “You’re a writer?”
Louie nodded. “I am. Is your label looking for fresh talent there too?”
Louie was confident, bordering on cocky, and Heather tried hard to push away the kernel of unprofessional behavior that was pressing for her to trade on her position with Rocky Top to score a horizontal position with Louie. She scolded herself, pushed her hair over her ears, and smiled as blandly as she could manage given the impure thoughts tearing around her mind. “Rocky Top is always looking for the…” She repressed the obvious sexual metaphor. “Looking for the very best of writers and performers. Do you sing?” Heather wasn’t sure why she asked that particular question. It was hard enough to get away from the bewildering blandness of a whitewashed country scene; she’d wager that convincing it to love a short-haired woman who could easily pass as a handsome man was some years away.
Louie laughed. “I can hold a tune, but I’m no Savana Hayes. I’m just a wordsmith.”
A hint of cockiness mixed with humility. Louie’s appeal was increasing with every sentence. “So you write and your boyfriend sings?” Subtle. Sledgehammer subtle. Louie’s mouth curled into that exceptionally sexy knowing smile again. It was clear she knew Heather was fishing for their relationship status, and Heather cursed her lack of flirting finesse. She’d been out of the game too long, and she had no idea how to hook someone like this. Someone so different than her usual pool. Like she was any kind of Casanova with her two long-term lovers.
“We’re friends and housemates.”
It was time to get back to Emma and out of this wildly unfamiliar situation. Heather pulled herself from Louie’s gaze and checked her watch. “I’m sorry. I have to see my friend before she goes on stage.” Don’t say it. “Perhaps we could have a drink after the show?” Heather began to move away, already too embarrassed with her candid come-on that she didn’t want to wait for a refusal, or worse, an acceptance. Louie’s hand wrapped around her wrist and paused her flight.
“I’d love to.”
Heather pressed her lips together in a tight smile, willing herself to say nothing else stupid. “Later, then.” She felt Louie’s firm grip fall away and thought of Louie holding her in the same way while they had sex. In her rush to escape, she almost tripped over an errant chair. Jesus, get a grip.
Chapter Ten
Louie bit her bottom lip as she watched Heather swoosh from their presence in that oh-so-seductive way only a femme could carry off, then she broke into a grin when she appeared to have a falling out with a chair that jumped into her path. Heather didn’t look back, and Louie sighed, disappointed that she hadn’t made a good enough impact on her. She returned to her seat at the same time as their server brought drinks to the table and took their order.
“You’re pretty smooth. You’ll make a good wingwoman for me.”
She thought she’d forgotten how to be that smooth. Heather seemed reluctant to bite at first, but her questions around Louie and Gabe’s relationship indicated at least a passing interest. Louie knew she should’ve backed off when it became apparent that Heather might be able to help her career, but she’d been unable to resist. She wanted to make a better second impression on Heather. She didn’t know if she was being overly optimistic or believing too much in the run of good luck she was having, but it felt like Heather could be influential for her future. And Gabe’s. “Man, I’m sorry. I totally messed that up. I should’ve stayed in my seat.”
“What’re you talking about? I’d lost her, but you rescued me with your songwriting. Speaking of which…” He thumbed the condensation on his beer glass and looked up at her.
“Yeah?”
“How will that work? You writing me a song, I mean.”
“What kind of song are you looking for? True love? Lost love? Unrequited love? Do you want to sing about your truck or patriotism? Or maybe your mom?”
“Funny. I want something deeper than that. Something that hits hard and stays with you for years.”
Louie scoffed. “You’re not asking for much, then.” Gabe shrugged and didn’t respond. She’d only known him a few hours, but he was so open and unguarded that reading him was relatively easy. He went quiet when he was unsure of himself. “I’m just kidding. I love deep and hard-hitting.” She blinked away the nanosecond flash of going deep with Heather and refocused. “I’m happy to go down that road, Gabe, but for it to ring true, it’s got to be your truth. Your experience. Something dark you’ve never shared.” It wasn’t like Louie had read the A-to-Z of writing country songs, but this was always how she’d felt it should be.
Gabe leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his thumb hard into the palm of his hand, and Louie wondered if it was a coping mechanism he’d learned much the same as hers. He clearly had the something she was talking about, but if he’d never told anyone about it, opening up for inspection here might not be such a great idea.
“I didn’t mean to talk about it now, Gabe.” She wanted to reach over to comfort him, but he was too far away, and he might not react kindly to such an overt show of emotion. Louie had to remind herself they’d only met that morning. Everything had been buddy-buddy so far, but whatever it was Gabe had been through probably wasn’t up for disclosure yet.
Gabe moved closer again and drank half his glass of beer. They sat in silence for a while, leaving Louie to think she’d overstepped the mark and should’ve kept her smart mouth shut. Their server brought their food, and they both tucked in with neither speaking.
The MC welcomed Emma Eagan to the stage so Louie turned her chair to the wall to get a good view. Heather came out of the stage door holding hands with another good-looking woman. They parted at the steps up to the platform, confirming the other woman as tonight’s first performer, and Heather joined three other people at the table maybe ten feet from her. Louie’s confusion heightened. Heather had invited her for a drink after the show, but her familiarity with Emma gave her pause. Were they together? Talk about a lesbian power couple. Heather glanced over somewhat sheepishly, making Louie think she must be right. Then again, they could just be friends like her and Gabe. If Heather was out with her significant other, surely she wouldn’t have been so interested in their relationship? It didn’t matter anyway. Louie wasn’t about to have a fling on her first night in Nashville.
Gabe’s touch on her arm pulled her from her reverie.
“Do you think they’re together?”
“It looks like it,” Louie replied, grateful that Gabe had chosen to speak again even if he had completely changed the subject. She couldn’t judge. Sharing her darkest secrets wasn’t high on the agenda with a new friend desp
ite having hit it off so well. Hell, she hadn’t shared herself with anyone since Mia. She spun the spare coaster around to distract from the unwanted thoughts of her ex. Maybe a new relationship would be the only way to rid her of these constant invasions. She picked up a chicken finger, dipped it in the honey mustard dressing, and munched it with gusto. “How’s your food?”
Gabe nodded around a mouthful of the biggest burger Louie had ever seen. Drips of cheese, pickle, and mustard were escaping at every opening, squeezing through Gabe’s fingers and dropping onto the plate. Perfect timing for their server to return to ask the same question.
“It’s great, thanks. We’ll take another beer and Coke though, please.”
“Coming up.”
Gabe managed to put his thumbs up in response. Louie returned her attention back to the stage and tried to keep Heather in her peripheral vision. Emma was a great singer with a big and gritty voice that would have easily filled the room without electronic assistance. Louie thought about being surprised she hadn’t heard of Emma before reality hit her and she grasped where she was. The Bluebird Café. Nashville. She’d actually made it. She shifted forward in her seat to concentrate purely on Emma. She listened intently to the lyrics and the way Emma’s voice told the story of each one. When her set ended after just three songs, Louie got on her feet to show her appreciation. She became aware that everyone else was merely applauding, albeit enthusiastically, and a flush shot across her chest and up to her neck.
Gabe pulled her back down to her seat. “Steady, tiger.”
But Louie didn’t want to contain her excitement. She’d waited years for this. Sitting here, listening to great musicians perform amazing music and working on her chance to write music for them had been her dream from the moment she understood what a dream was. She tipped her head back and focused on the ceiling as the emotion of the moment became too much for her face to contain and her eyes threatened to leak some of it. She tried to keep her eyes wide open, knowing that if she blinked, the tears would track down her face. No one but her mom had seen her cry, and she didn’t want to break that habit tonight. Even Mia hadn’t managed to do that. Thinking about Mia dried everything up. She looked back to Gabe, who looked faintly amused at her reaction.