And God, that kiss. It felt like I left my body. That’s going down as the greatest thing I’ve ever done. I start tuning my guitar and get to work, never feeling so alive.
10
Mayzie
I should’ve brewed decaf this morning. I’m more nervous and excited to see Jack than I was the night before we saw each other the second time. Things are different this time. It’s only hours since our first kiss, but it isn’t just that. We overcame our first speedbump last night, bringing this relationship to a new level and giving us a more solid understanding of each other and what we’re doing. I’m freshly showered and dressed in my worn-out jeans and a flowy black flowery tank top, and I’m trying to keep my hand from shaking as I apply bright red nail polish to my toes. I power through with no smudges, and from then on, I alternate between pacing, cleaning, meditating, sitting down to work on a writing assignment, pacing some more, until finally, there’s the knock on the door I’ve been waiting for. I skip over and open the door to find Jack on the other side, standing on my porch. He’s in a pair of blue jeans and the black short-sleeved button down I like so much. There’s a paper bag in one of his hands and in the other… a guitar case.
“Hi, come in,” I say, trying not to be too obvious about how nervous I am as I step aside to let him walk through, closing the door behind him.
He sets the guitar case down and holds up the bag. “Have you eaten breakfast yet? I brought us some croissants and other stuff.” Oh yeah, eat. That’s what I forgot to do because I was strung out on nerves.
“Baked goods? You truly are my prince,” I say. “And you brought your guitar?”
“One of them, yes,” he says. “I think I still have some making up to you to do, so I’m going to give you your own private show.” I want to faint, and I’m smiling so big it hurts my cheeks. I’m going to hear him play. I’m going to hear his voice singing words that he wrote. I can’t believe it, and I have the hardest time being patient as we make coffee and enjoy one or two of the pastries he brought. Finally, we both take a seat in my living room, me on the couch, and he in the chair that’s kitty-corner to it. The sun is shining through the window on us, making the vibe all the happier and more peaceful. I eagerly wait as he takes his guitar out of its case and lets it rest on his knee while he tunes it. It’s a beautiful, shiny black acoustic.
“Ready?” he asks, when he’s done. I have been ready for this, for so long it seems, and I can’t believe it’s happening right now.
“Yeah, go ahead,” I say. He starts strumming his pick across the strings while I take him in. The set of his shoulders, the way his fingers move up and down, the way his hair falls in his face as he looks down at what he’s doing, and how he gently nods his head with the melody he’s producing. It’s so beautiful. Then he starts to sing, the words floating out of him, filling the short distance between us. And then there’s his voice. It immediately ruins all other male singers out there for me. It’s low and raspy, and you can hear the passion and emotion in it. I can feel it in my chest even, and it makes me feel like we’re somewhere else and not in my living room.
Come over here now darlin’
Let me hold you for a while
Put your lovin’ arms around me
Keep me company with your smile
The song carries on, every note making my heart want to burst. I’m overjoyed and feeling nothing but love. Love for this song, for this moment… and unbelievable love for him. He seems to be approaching the bridge of the song as the momentum of his strumming is picking up, and he keeps switching his eyes from his guitar to mine and back again. He’s tapping his foot in a one-two time and his upper body is slightly twisting back and forth with the words and the melody. He starts to sing a little louder, projecting the emotion for the climatic part of the song.
I don’t know who sent you,
Some kind of higher power
Doesn’t matter ‘cause you’re here with me
And this love is only ours
I didn’t know I was waiting for you
That I was waiting for so long
And oh…
Baby, this is your song
He finishes the song with one last strum and looks at me with a loving smile.
“You wrote that?”
“Yeah, last night. After I kissed you.”
“What about your writer’s block?” I ask.
“It’s been gone since I met you,” he answers. I let out a noise that’s part gasp, part scoff, but I don’t lose my smile. I can’t believe it. It’s just now that I realize two tears have escaped down my cheeks. I quickly wipe them away and get on the floor to crawl over to him. “I’m serious,” he says as I kneel straight up between his legs so that we’re almost eye level with each other, resting my hands on his knees. He drapes his elbow over his guitar and reaches out to me with his other hand, threading it into my hair. “I’ve been writing songs like crazy since the day we met.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe it,” I say. I feel like light feathers of joy are running up and down the skin of my back.
“Yeah, I think my life was just missing a little something,” he says. “And in case the song didn’t get the message across… I love you.” I smile into his eyes for a moment. My heart gives a loud pound in my ears before gradually going back down to its regular volume. The words are unexpected, but they don’t scare me. I’ve been falling in love with him slowly for weeks, and between last night and that song, it’s now unquestionable.
“I love you too,” I say back to him. I barely get the words out before his mouth is on mine, taking me in a long and soft kiss. I bring my hands to his face and kiss him back, our lips staying locked for several moments before we finally gently break apart. Our faces stay close together as we continue to look at each other, like we’re saying those sacred words to each other over again with our eyes. I don’t know where my breath went. I finally break the silence anyway.
“Sing another one,” I say.
“What kind of song do you want to hear?” he asks, returning his hands to his guitar.
“I don’t care,” I say smiling.
“Okay, here we go…” he smiles as he starts to play again.
11
Jack
I stand between Mayzie’s knees as she sits on a high stool at The Cedar. The guys and I will be going up on the stage shortly, and she and Annie are settled in at one of our high tables. She looks so fucking cute tonight in her jeans and a white tank top. Her hair is up and she’s wearing some dangly earrings that make me just want to kiss her neck. The last two weeks have been incredible with her visiting me at work, me surprising her at the studio, more mid-day phone calls, and more movie nights. Not to mention, all of the making out. While I went several weeks with hardly touching her, now I have a hard time keeping my hands off her. I try to sometimes anyway, just because it makes the feeling so magnified when I do finally touch her again.
“I’m so excited!” she says, bouncing in her seat a little.
“I’m just sorry it took so long to get you here,” I say loudly so she can hear me over the bar crowd. She just smiles and shakes her head. “Behind us,” she says. “I’m here now and I can’t wait to watch you guys.” We went out for drinks one night and I invited Matt, Chris and Josh all out to meet her. She got along with all of them so great, especially Matt. Speak of the devil, he walks past me, and slaps me on the back.
“Let’s go buddy,” he says, as he continues towards the stage.
“Alright, show time,” I say, before placing my hands on Mayzie’s hips and leaning in close so only she can hear me. “Try not to flash me your boobs while I’m up there.” She smiles and scoffs at me, as I sneak a kiss on her cheek. “Or do…whichever,” I give her a mischievous smile, backing away.
Mayzie
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
I am so pumped and blown away by what I’m seeing. Hearing Jack sing to me in my living room with nothing but his own voice and his acou
stic guitar was one thing, that will forever be one of my most beautiful memories that I hope repeats itself time and again, but now, I’m mesmerized as I watch him go back and forth between working the hell out of an electric guitar and slinging the acoustic back on for a different sound. Turn it Up has so much energy and they’re so charismatic with the crowd. You can tell how much fun they’re having up there and it’s contagious. Chris bangs on his drum set with such self-confidence and vigor. Josh is multitalented, playing back-up guitar and pausing once in a while to play a hook on the keyboard. Matt maintains his reserved demeanor as he plucks out a backbone to all the songs on his bass, but there’s something different about him. You can almost see an air of intensity residing just beneath the surface, and he doesn’t hesitate to go head to head with Jack as they shred their guitars and bang their heads along with the music they’re making. Jack moves his hips to each side, as he sings with such passion into the mic, and I find myself getting turned on anytime he sings something that’s nonverbal, like the “ahhs” and the “mmm’s.” And oh shit, the way he swings his guitar around so that it dangles behind him before grabbing the mic with both hands, singing into it like he’s desperate to get the feeling in his words across the room… kill me. The crowd enjoys their original songs, as well as covers of old favorites by people like Tom Petty, Train, and the Chili Peppers. I fucking love it.
Annie and I are having a blast at our table. I don’t feel the need to join the mob up near the stage. Jack knows I’m crazy about him and the band. Besides, I feel like I have the better view back here. Jack occasionally shoots me a wink and it turns me to goo. I’m a little mad at him for keeping this from me all these weeks, but like I told him, we’re moving forward now.
Jack
I sit on a stool having a post-show beer, holding Mayzie’s hand as she and Annie are making to leave. As always, we’ve got a while of tear-down before we can go, and the crowd is making a steady stream out the door. I’m just telling her that I’ll call her tomorrow when some dude several feet behind her calls out.
“Whoooo! Awesome show dudes!” He’s in blue jeans a white polo, and his black hair is in some short and spiky frat haircut. He’s so tanked, his brown eyes look like they’re floating. But what catches my attention, is the way Mayzie’s eyes widen at the sound of his voice, and she looks over her shoulder as if on reflex. Once she sees who’s behind her, her head snaps back around to me, her face all kinds of uncomfortable. This puts me on high alert so I set my focus on him. While I can tell Mayzie is hoping he didn’t see her, I can see by the recognition on his face that he did, and he only confirms this when he speaks up. “Heyyy…” he slurs, as he puts on what he probably thinks is a charming smile, but in his condition, he looks more like a stroke victim. “Mayzie!” he calls out to her. Mayzie turns to look at him and then rolls her eyes in disgust. “Fuck,” she mutters, as she refuses to turn and acknowledge him, but also looking everywhere but at me. Whoever this is, she’s embarrassed to know him. This is interesting.
“Mayzie!” he shouts again.
“Hey,” she says, sharp and curt, still not turning to face him. My hand closes around hers a little tighter. She’s on edge, and I silently let her know I’ve got her.
“What are you up to the rest of the night?” he says, taking a step closer while his buddies hang back.
“Wanna take a stroll down memory lane?” Oh hell no. It’s easy to see how he knows her and what he wants and I’m itching to get in his face and lay it out for him, but I look to Mayzie first, to see if I even need to. Her expression is one of disgust as she finally glances over her shoulder.
“Fucking get lost, Eric.” That’s my girl. Eric’s cocky smile drops for a second or two before he quickly recovers, putting it back in place. He looks past Mayzie at me, down to our joined hands, then back to me, puffing his chest out.
“Hey man, you can dial it back,” he says before jutting his chin at Mayzie. “Easiest lay you’ll ever have.”
Fuck.
So much happens in the next two seconds. Mayzie turns her whole body in his direction and shouts, “You’re such an asshole!” while Annie shouts, “Fuck off, you’re pathetic!” all while I jump off my stool, and step in front of Mayzie, tucking her behind me.
“You and I have got a problem now,” I say to the dipshit. The guy is taller than Mayzie but I’ve got a few inches on him. “I think you need to apologize to my lady.”
The abrupt reaction of the three of us is enough to make him step back a little, but he once again tries to redeem himself as he holds his hands out like he’s shrugging. “Just telling the truth, man.” I take two steps towards him and he recoils towards his friends like a pussy. One of them places a hand on his shoulder, trying to corral him into the crowd of people headed to the door. He shakes the hand off and tries to act like a tough guy, holding his ground. Too late, I’ve already seen how weak he is. I lower my voice to an ominous and threatening tone.
“Well let me do the same for you, you piece of shit. I work here, and you will not be showing your face in here again. You made a mistake talking to a woman like that, but you made an even bigger one by talking like that about mine.” Eric’s resolve is weakening with every word I say, I can see it all over his face. He is completely relenting when brute strength in the form of Tyler shows up beside me.
“We got a problem here, Jack?”
“Oh, no. I was just explaining to Eric here, that we don’t allow a certain element in this place. You know, the kind that think they need to degrade women to make them feel like they’ve got something going for them?”
“Ah,” Tyler says, reacting like I just told him what time it is. He turns to Eric. “Think you got the message, Country Club? If not, we’re more than happy to spell it out with physical extraction.” Eric is done. He’s not even trying to act like he’s got a set of balls anymore, and when his clone of a buddy pulls on his shoulder again, he follows like a partially deflated balloon, right out the door.
Tyler goes back to the bar and I turn back to Mayzie. She has one arm wrapped around herself, propping her other elbow as she runs a hand through her hair, while Annie rubs her arm. Her eyes are blazing, and I can tell she’s a combo of embarrassed and pissed off.
“I’ll go hang with Tyler a minute,” Annie says as I approach.
“You okay?” I ask Mayzie, when I make my way to stand in front of her.
“Yeah… just...” She waves her hand in the direction of the door. “That was so embarrassing.”
“You don’t need to feel that way. He was embarrassing himself and it was pathetic.” She takes a deep breath, letting it out before she speaks again.
“Look, when I was younger, I didn’t have a lot of confidence, and I, uh…” she’s flustered, and I can tell she is freaking out about what I might be thinking of her right now. I have to immediately squash that.
“Hey,” I say, sitting back down on the stool and pulling her towards me so she’s between my knees. “I don’t care.” I clasp my hands together at the small of her back.
“I just want to…” She holds her hands out like she wants to explain. She doesn’t have to; I don’t care about her past. I have my own, for fuck’s sake. All I care about is who she is now, the person that’s with me, that I’m just beginning something amazing with. So, I gently cut her off.
“Do you care about my past? Mistakes I’ve made? Do you feel like you need to hear about any of it?”
“No…” she says, uncertain where this is going but following me anyway.
“Or do you care about who I am now, with you?” And then she fucking smiles, and I feel light bursting throughout my whole body. I smile back at her and continue to talk. “Because I only care about the Mayzie that I know and what we have, and I hope you feel that way too.” She drops her head back, smiling before looking back at me.
“Yeah,” she says, nodding. “That’s how I feel.” Thank God. She doesn’t realize it, but I’m just as grateful as she is about t
his agreement that each other’s pasts don’t matter here. All that matters is our today and our tomorrows.
12
Mayzie
It’s the Fourth of July, and Freedom Fest is an annual occurrence for the occasion. It’s a big Independence Day celebration that takes place in the park in the middle of town, and it’s pretty much a given that that’s where everyone you know will be, at some point in the day. The park is always full of people of all ages that come to explore the tents the craft vendors have set up, enjoy food from all the local joints that have parked their trucks bumper to bumper, or just set up blankets and chairs on the lawn in front of the stage where a lot of the local bands play sets throughout the day. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that Turn it Up is on the menu. Each band has a set list that is around ten to twelve songs long, and their start time is 5:30. I’m getting a little nervous for them, as the weather has been pretty iffy all day, unlike what you’d expect in Michigan on the Fourth. It’s been overcast all day, and the later it gets, the gloomier and breezier it becomes. Annie and I have been here a while, perusing all the artwork, jewelry, and clothing in all the tents as we each sip on local craft beers. It’s always fun to come here, even this year, despite the weather. A lot of people have foregone the shorts and sundresses in favor of pants and t-shirts, and we’re no exception. I’m in my ripped jeans and a grey V-neck t-shirt. I rode here with Annie, and the plan is to hang with Jack for a while after their set and then have him take me home. I was looking forward to sticking around here at nightfall for the fireworks, but I won’t be surprised if that gets cancelled.
See Her (Turn it Up Book 1) Page 11