My jaw must’ve practically been laying on the bar because Mina placed a finger under my chin and pushed it closed.
“Like I said, nothing to worry about it,” she said a wink. “She’s mine.” Then she turned away to wait on someone else.
I felt like such an ass. Mina was right. I needed to just walk over and talk to him. I wasn’t a shy man. I saw what I wanted, and I took it. And what I wanted was the timid man behind the bar.
Foster handed over a drink he’d mixed to a person he was serving, but the expression on their face screamed they had no problem waiting as they watched him in action. Not that I could blame them. In the short time I’d been playing there, even I noticed a change in his confidence as he pulled beers and mixed fruity concoctions. His smile went from timid to sure, and his shoulders weren’t nearly as tense from fear of screwing up.
When the person moved away, I noticed a lull in customers, so I decided now was the time to take my shot. Even if it was a brief exchange of words, at least I would have talked to him. I could even use the excuse of asking how his car did getting him to work—not that I needed an excuse to talk to him. But a heavy hand landed on my shoulder, thwarting my plans.
“Ready?” Maverick asked.
I bit back a groan as I stole another look at him and saw someone else had made their way up to the bar. Next time. I’d talk to him next time. In the meantime, I’d just play my ass off and show him, and everyone else, just how good I was.
Damn roadblocks. The next break, I was thwarted once again. Only this time, it was me who kept getting interrupted. First, it was by George, the elusive bar owner who rarely made an appearance according to Mina. He pulled the entire band to the side to let us know how glad he was that we were playing at his bar and how he’d like to make it a permanent thing every Saturday. It was something we’d have to discuss with Shapiro, our management company, of course, but Maverick didn’t seem to think it’d be a problem.
Once that conversation was over, I kept getting stopped by patrons gushing over how much they enjoyed our shows, and one woman even asked if I gave music lessons since her daughter had just joined the band. By the time I made it to the bar to get another water, Mina was the one to hand it to me with a sympathetic look. Of course, Foster was swamped at his end, so I didn’t bother trying to go over to him. Instead, I took a sip of my water and left it beside my music stand before making a beeline toward the bathroom.
After the set, I told myself.
I’d ask him once the show was over and they were cleaning up the bar. That’d give us more privacy anyway. Everyone else would be too busy with their own duties and not pay us any attention if we chatted for a few before closing. Mind made up, I went back to the stage to get ready for our final set. This was the one that included my solo, and when it was time, I decided to change it up by adding a few riffs and really show off my skill.
“Good job tonight, gentlemen,” Maverick said as we started to pack up.
“We always do a good job,” Baylor reminded him.
“It still needs to be said. See you guys at rehearsal. Whose turn is it to bring the food?”
“Mine,” Weston said. “I’ll grab some chicken.”
“And potato wedges?” I asked.
“Are you going to make your dipping sauce for them?”
I nodded. I had a recipe for a garlic dipping sauce the guys loved. I only made it on the occasion we had chicken and potato wedges. “As if anyone else’s will do.”
“Then I’ll get a large order.”
I laughed as they tried to get the recipe out of me, but I refused. Some things people needed to keep to themselves, like dipping sauce recipes for potato wedges. Instead, I steered the conversation toward white meat versus dark meat, and Baylor begged Weston to grab some boneless for him.
I could feel eyes watching us as we talked, and as I reached down to grab my saxophone case, I snuck a glance to see Foster’s eyes on us before he lowered his gaze to the bar where he wiped a spot.
Interesting.
It was time to put my plan into action, and as we bid everyone goodnight and walked out the rear entrance, I paused with a loud groan worthy of an Academy Award.
“I’ll see you guys later. I forgot my sunglasses.”
“Do you need us to wait?” Maverick asked.
I shook my head since I had driven separately. “Nah. Talk to you guys later.”
I turned on my heel and heard the guys chattering away behind me. I knew they were trying to figure out if I was telling the truth about my sunglasses, or if I was going back inside to see a certain someone. The truth was it was both. I’d purposely left my sunglasses clipped to my music stand for the sole purpose of returning. It was the perfect excuse.
I pulled open the door, thankful it hadn’t been locked yet, and was surprised to see Foster on the other side.
“Oh good, you haven’t left yet,” he said breathlessly.
My eyebrow rose as my lips pursed into a smirk. “Yeah? Were you looking for me?”
Since the area in the back was lit, I could see the way his cheeks colored and that my question made him flustered. “Uh, only because you left these, and I wanted to give them to you.”
I glanced down to see my sunglasses in his hand. “Oh, thank you. These are actually why I was coming back in.”
“Oh.” Did he seem disappointed by that? But as the question popped into my head, he added, “Well, now you have them.”
“I do. Thanks to you.”
I reached out to retrieve the glasses he held out to me and allowed my fingers to brush against his and linger a few seconds too long. I was testing to see if the spark was still there, or if it was something my crazy brain had conjured. But when the familiar jolt traveled through my fingers and up my arm before making my spine tingle, I knew it wasn’t my imagination. And the way his fingers twitched against mine, I knew he felt it too.
“Did your car work okay?” I asked, since I was in no hurry to leave, even if he had to get back to work.
He cleared his throat before answering, “It did. In fact, it’s running better than ever.”
“Great. Glad to hear it.”
“Well, uh, I’d better get back in there. The floors aren’t going to sweep themselves.”
I chuckled. He had no idea how endearing he was without even trying. And I needed to spend more time with him. Being around him, I’d tiptoed into the pool and had waded out waist-deep into the water. But now was the time to take the plunge.
“What are you doing when you’re done here?”
Foster seemed surprised by my question but impressed me with how quickly he recovered. “Just going home.”
“Are you in any hurry to do that?”
“Considering I don’t have an alternative, that’s all there is to do.”
“What if I gave you one?”
Foster cocked his head to the side. “What did you have in mind?”
“There’s a café down the road that’s open twenty-four hours. Why don’t we meet there when you’re finished for a cup of coffee?”
Foster’s breath hitched at my question and I saw different emotions play in his expressive eyes. And the longer we stood there while he debated how to answer me, the more uncertain I became. Maybe I’d misread the signals or misinterpreted the sparks and looks. Or maybe I’d overstepped the boundaries by asking him for coffee.