by Mika Lane
Her beloved bike had also been thrown and was now tangled up with a scrubby bush. Thank goodness. If it had ended up in the street, it would have been destroyed by any number of cars flying through the intersection. Pulling and tugging, she extricated it from the bush that had cushioned its crash. She brushed off some twigs and found it had suffered nothing more than a bit of torn handlebar tape. The tires were still inflated, the brakes were fine, and the chain was intact.
With more deep breathing, her heart slowed to a reasonable beat. She slowly crept back onto the bike.
Someone else stopped and yelled out their car window. “Hey. You okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Thank you.” She waved to prove it.
In spite of wobbly legs, she rode home. As a cyclist, she was always on guard. Well, except for when she wasn’t. This time, she paid more attention to the traffic whizzing by, wishing she could catch up to the asshole who’d caused her fall. Oh, the things she would say, and all the delicious curses she’d hurl his way. Maybe she’d even punch him or something. She was entitled to that, at least.
Right?
Safely home, mostly recovered, and completely cleaned up, Aurora chomped at the bit for an evening of song. If it hadn’t been for karaoke night, she’d have been happy to crawl in bed and nurse her wounded pride. But not tonight. It would take a lot more than a bike wreck to keep her home tonight.
Checking in the mirror to rearrange her crazy curls one last time, she ran down the stairs and out the front door. Back on her bike for the short ride downhill, she hurried to meet Isabella at Left Bank where they joined the karaoke contest every Wednesday night. They never won, but Aurora kept trying.
She chained her bike outside the building and found Isabella seated at their favorite corner of the bar. Out of breath, she said, “Whew. What a night.” She looked around the little place with its oversized Toulouse Lautrec murals as she inhaled the scent of garlicky mussels. It was early yet, but the place was filling up.
“You okay?” Isabella flicked back her long brown waves and signaled to the bartender, Jake, for a couple Stellas.
“Ugh. I wiped out on my bike coming home from work today. Some asshole nicked my front wheel.”
“Oh no! You hurt?” Isabella turned with a worried brow and pursed lips, looking her friend up and down as if she could spot injuries through clothing and skin.
“Thank goodness, no. But if I’d landed on the street, god knows I would have been hit by a car.” She relayed her sorry tale.
“I got lucky. Except for all the people who stopped to watch.”
“Every time you make it home in one piece, you are lucky,” Isabella said, shaking her finger in her friend’s face. “I’d never ride a bike around like you do. It’s way too dangerous with these crowded roads and crazy California drivers. Why don’t you just get a car like a normal person?”
“I don’t want a car. I hate cars.” She faced Isabella. “Besides, you ride a motorcycle. That’s a thousand times more dangerous.”
“Well, that’s true.” Isabella waved over the bartender. “But I’m careful.”
Aurora’s mouth dropped open. “You think this happened to me because I wasn’t being careful?”
“Not exactly. But I know how you get dreamy. Maybe if you’d been paying better attention—”
“Stop. Stop right now.” Aurora’s hand flew up, palm toward her friend.
Not in the mood for a debate…not tonight…
“We’re changing the subject. Right now.”
Isabella shrugged.
In silence, they sipped their cold brew and looked around for familiar faces. They waved across the room at a couple of their Devi’s Bliss coworkers, and while they waited for karaoke to begin, got down to their requisite gossip.
Aurora took a deep swig of her beer. “Talked to my mom today.”
“Oh my. That always makes for a good story. Tell.” Isabella swiveled the barstool to fully face her friend.
“Same conversation as always, really. Should I ever expect any different? She wants me back in New York. It’s my fault Ben dumped me and knocked up my best friend. I’m wasting my life in California at my silly little job. The only way life will be worthwhile is by settling down with a nice boy. Oh, and giving her grandchildren.”
“Yikes.”
“The longer I live here, the more I know I did the right thing moving here. I love Northern California, working at Devi’s, making new friends like you. And the longer I stay, the clearer it is that I don’t belong back in New York. My mom just doesn’t know me at all and has no interest in knowing me.” Aurora’s gaze wandered around the bar, staring without really seeing. For an instant, the heartbreak came rushing back and a lump grew in her throat.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. That’s so disappointing. Did she threaten to cut you off again?”
Aurora dabbed away an annoying tear. “She didn’t come right out and say it this time, but it was implied. The threat is just hanging out there, swinging in the wind. Taunting me. Laughing in my face.”
Aurora polished off her beer and turned to her friend. “You know what I’m going to do? Save my money, buy my own place, and live my life. I make enough at Devi’s that if I saved for a while, I could get my own house. I might have moved out here on a whim, but I had a feeling this could be the place for me. California suits me way much better than freaking New York. And now I’m a vegetarian, so they can put that in their pipe and smoke it.”
“Cheers to that,” Isabella said, clinking her beer bottle against Aurora’s.
Across the room on a makeshift stage, the restaurant’s manager started setting up a karaoke system of speakers, mic stands, a monitor, laptop, amp, and a spaghetti tangle of cables and cords. Aurora’s heart skipped a beat. She’d be singing on stage in a matter of minutes and was raring to go.
“Enough about me,” Aurora said. “What’s up with you? Gotten the IRS off your back? And the boy?”
“No more Feds breathing down my neck, trying to ruin my life. And Boone is great.”
Isabella smiled as if the weight of the world had been removed from her being. Boone, a tax attorney—and fellow motorcycle rider—had pretty much saved her sanity. A massive tax bill, thanks to an asshole ex-husband, did not make for a good relationship with the hungry Internal Revenue Service. But Boone had gotten them off her back.
“My debt is settled. Finally.” Isabella leaned forward with a glow of excitement on her face. “And we are riding our bikes up the coast next week—”
An amplified tap-tap-tap seized their attention.
“Hello my friends!” the manager said to the crowd, his voice booming from a couple small speakers.
“Thanks for being here with us at Left Bank on this beautiful evening. Our K-jock tonight is Don, and you’re gonna love him. He’s one of the best in the Bay.” He gestured toward the K-jock with an outstretched arm. “Take it away, Don!”
The karaoke jockey, a stout, geeky-looking guy, took the mic and stepped out from behind his console. He nodded, surveying the rapidly filling room.
“Hi, guys, welcome! We’re gonna have a great time tonight. Order yourself a beer or two from your friendly waitress and settle in. Now, who wants to kick off the party?”
Aurora’s hand shot into the air. “Over here! Coming!” she hollered from her spot at the bar.
She ran for the stage. When she’d reached it, she took greedy possession of the mic from the jockey, who seemed amused at her enthusiasm. After she whispered her song in his ear, he jumped behind his laptop and typed a title into his program. Her beamed a smile across the room, and Isabella flashed her a thumbs-up.
The crowd, for the most part, continued eating, drinking, and general merrymaking, uninterested in what was happening onstage. Aurora paid no attention to them. Getting up in front of everyone was beyond thrilling, and it was all she could do to keep from jumping up and down like a little kid.
At the first bars of recorded music, she cleared her th
roat. She looked down and curls tumbled into her face. An Alanis Morissette tune began. Snapping her head up, she grasped the mic in both hands. With closed eyes, she took a moment to center herself.
When she was ready, she looked to the other side of the room where Isabella was grinning from ear to ear. She nodded in encouragement.
Aurora’s cue flashed across the karaoke screen. Her lips parted. With little effort she released a clear and pure melody. The room’s chatter slowly petered out, and all heads turned toward her.
Swaying, she breezed through the song’s lyrics with barely a look at the screen prompts, reaching her notes with scary perfection.
Nearing the end of the song, she wound down the chorus, a grin stretching from ear to ear and her heart fluttering in little thump, thump, thumps. As she turned to see the K-jock scratching his head, the room erupted into applause, whistles, and woo-hoo’s as she returned the mic to its stand and took an embarrassed little bow.
The K-jock’s eyes were wide as he stepped to the mic. “Wow, that was something. Let’s give it up for…”
She leaned toward the mic. “Aurora. The name’s Aurora.”
The room went wild as she floated back to her barstool, returning several high-fives on the way.
Someone hollered, “Hey, can I get your number?”
She threw her head back and laughed. Tingles traveled up and down her spine and adrenaline sprinted through her veins.
There was nothing like singing…nothing…
Isabella threw her arms around her friend, gushing praise. “Oh my god, you’re just getting better and better! Your voice lessons are really paying off. You just killed it!” Tears welled in her eyes.
Aurora shrugged with modesty. “Oh come on, it was just fun. But it did feel good. It felt really good, in fact.” She beamed at her friend and took a sip of the fresh beer Isabella had ordered her. No amount of modesty could wipe the smile from her face.
“It used to be I couldn’t live without signing. I’m not sure what happened. I guess life just got in the way.” She tilted her head at her Isabella. “Your turn now. You’re gonna sing tonight, right?”
“Maybe. If I have a couple more beers.” She laughed.
A throat cleared behind them. “Excuse me,” said a male voice.
They turned in their seats, enthralled by a dimpled chin, dark eyes, and mussed black hair.
Aurora nearly dropped her beer. Isabella only smiled.
Mr. S.
Mr. S from earlier in the day. Mr. S, also known as Hale Saxon. The hottest client Aurora had seen in a very long time.
Possibly ever.
Chapter 4
Aurora straightened up on her barstool and wiped the drop of beer she’d dribbled onto her chin. Facing her visitor, she sputtered, “Mr. S. Uh…Hi.”
“You promised not to call me that.” He smiled and extended his hand to Isabella. “I’m Hale. And you are…?”
Aurora jumped in. “Hale, right. I’m sorry. ‘Mr. S’ just came flying out of my mouth.”
Oops, that didn’t sound right.
“Anyway, this is my friend, Isabella. She’s a masseuse at Devi’s, like I am.”
After they’d shaken hands, he turned back to Aurora. Behind him, Isabella gave a not-so-discrete once over. Actually, it was more like a twice over, which earned her a sharp kick to the shin, and an even sharper stink eye from her friend.
“Ouch!” Isabella cried.
When Hale turned to see about the outburst, Isabella said in a small voice, “It’s nothing. Just a little cramp.” She smiled and massaged her calf.
Aurora made a mental note to chat with her friend later about acting like a dog in heat, especially since she’d recently landed herself her own hot new guy.
Hale waved the bartender over and ordered another round for everyone.
“I don’t want to ask if you come here often. But do you come here often?”
That dimple is to die for. He needs cut out the smiling. Every woman in the bar is going to be over here.
Aurora nodded. “I live up on Mount Tam. Isabella lives in the city. What about you?”
“I live up in Sonoma. Got a nice little house with a view. I had business down here today, so thought I’d hang out before heading home.” He sipped his beer. “I enjoyed your song. Have you ever thought of singing professionally? You’ve got quite the set of pipes.”
A hot blush exploded from Aurora’s neck to the roots of her hair. Thank goodness for dim lighting. She shook her hair into her face to hide. “Thank you. But I don’t know. I mean, I love to sing, that’s for sure.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Isabella said. “She’s just being modest. Of course she wants to sing professionally, she even takes voice lessons!”
Aurora shot her another stink eye.
“Voice lessons?” Hale asked, looking from one to the other. “That’s awesome. Where?”
“In a little studio in Sausalito—“
“Hey, Aurora.” A tall, redhead stepped up to the group.
“Oh, hi.” Aurora choked on the woman’s name. They took voice lessons at the same studio. “It’s nice to see you.”
“You did well tonight,” the woman said without expression.
“You heard me sing? Thanks. That’s nice of you to say.”
“Sure. See you at the studio tomorrow.”
“Yeah, see you soon.” Her classmate disappeared into the crowd as quickly as she’d come on the scene. Aurora tried to see who she was with, but lost her as she turned a corner.
“Whew, she might have just congratulated you, but she didn’t look like she meant it,” Hale said.
“She’s pretty competitive. But she has a nice voice,” Aurora said.
Isabella hopped down from her bar stool. “Hale, why don’t you take my seat for a bit? I’m going to say hi to the other Devi’s girls.” Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed her beer and headed for the far side of the bar.
As he slid onto the vacated stool, his smile had Aurora tingling from head to toe. But before she could say a word, a young guy with a neatly trimmed beard and man-bun tapped her on the shoulder.
Good lord. Who could this be?
He extended his hand to Aurora and Hale, introducing himself.
“I’m a booker for a couple clubs in the city.” He handed Aurora his business card. “I’d love a recording to share with my boss.”
For the umpteenth time that day, Aurora’s face exploded into fire. But this time, she wanted to scream and jump up and down with joy, too. Instead, she placed a hand on the bar to keep her cool, and smiled calmly.
“Why, thank you,” she said nonchalantly, as if things like that happened to her all the time. “I’ll get one right over to you.”
“Awesome, Aurora. Have a great night.” He shook their hands again and headed for the door.
Aurora, mouth open, watched him leave.
She turned to Hale, tilting her head. “Did that guy just ask me for an audition tape? Or am I imagining he did?”
He grinned and nodded. “You’re imagining nothing. You were just asked for an audition tape.” He held his hand up like a pledge. “I’m your witness.”
Holy shit.
“What are you going to send them?”
She thought for a second and then burst out laughing. “I’ve got nothing to send. I mean, I don’t have an audition recording.”
Oh my god!
She held on to her seat to avoid toppling over.
“He really asked me for an audition, didn’t he!” She slid from her seat and jumped up and down, energy exploding from every pore.
Isabella came running over. “What’s with you? What happened? What did I miss?” She looked from Aurora to Hale and back, losing patience. “Spill it!”
“Your friend here was just approached by a booker from some of the clubs in the city. He asked for an audition recording,” Hale said, applauding.
“Oh my god!” Isabella shrieked, throwing her arms around
Aurora. Both girls squealed and did a little happy dance.
Then Isabella stopped short, her brows knit together. “Wait a minute. You don’t have anything like that to send. Do you?”
Aurora shook her head. “I guess I’ll be getting something.” She burst out laughing.
“Where? How?” Isabella asked as Aurora dug for her phone.
She scrolled through her contacts. “I’m texting my instructor now. I’m pretty sure he can help me. He has a little on-site recording studio.”
“Anybody like champagne? I think it’s time to celebrate,” Hale said, waving the bartender over.
Aurora and Isabella screamed yes at the same time. A moment later, the bartender headed their way with three flutes and a chilled bottle of bubbly. Aurora couldn’t stop smiling and laughing.
Two empty champagne bottles later, karaoke singers, fans, and those out for a fun night had mostly gone home for the night. Aurora caught herself trying to stifle a yawn, and finally had to admit how exhausted she was.
Isabella said her good nights. “Thank you for the champers, Hale. It was really nice hanging out with you. I hope we’ll see you at the spa again soon.”
Isabella gave Aurora a peck on the cheek. “And you, Miss Superstar. See you tomorrow.”
Aurora looked at the time. “I think we’d all better hit the road too, unless we want to spend the night here.”
“Let me see you out?” Hale asked.
They exited into the evening air, as perfect as it got in Marin County. Most months of the year were temperate, calling for not much more than a sweater or a fleece. The bright moon created a giant silhouette of Mount Tam, the highest peak around. They were both stopped by the awe-inspiring view.
Pointing, Aurora said, “That’s where I am lucky enough to live, up there on the crazy mountain, surrounded by redwoods.”
“Lucky girl.”
He followed her to the side of the building, glancing around with a confused expression.