“I would love another bottle of water,” I told him, holding up my nearly empty one.
“Great. Anything else? Any food?”
I shook my head. “I try not to play on a full stomach. And while I’m sure the food here is great, I tend to stay away from putting anything too greasy in my body.”
Foster nodded, but I noted how his eyes seemed to linger on the part of my body that was visible. I wanted to stand up to give him a more thorough view, but I fought the urge and remained seated. The woman standing beside me was an afterthought because all of my focus was on the man behind the bar.
“That’s understandable. Let me get you that water.”
Was his voice always so raspy? Or was there more to it?
Foster returned with the bottle, and when I reached out to grab it, I threw a little caution to the wind by letting my fingers brush against his. Shivers ran down my spine, and I noted how his lips parted on a silent gasp. And while I wanted to suddenly know more about the man and my response to the briefest touch, he jerked his hand away nearly causing me to drop the bottle.
“Foster, come here so I can show you how to make this drink,” Mina called, breaking whatever moment had passed between us.
I noticed Foster’s entire body nearly sagged in relief as he gave me one finale glance before all but running over to her. But the pink on his cheeks told me he had been just as affected as I’d been.
Interesting. Very interesting.
Belatedly remembering the lady who was standing beside me, I glanced over and noted how she was no longer there. A flash of yellow caught the corner of my eye, and I turned to see her chatting animatedly with a a young guy. They were a match made in heaven already, and I could predict wedding bells in their future.
“Hey, you ready?” Baylor asked as he walked over to me.
I took a long drink of my water.
“Yup. Let me hit the bathroom real fast, and then I’ll be ready to go.”
“Perfect.”
“Oh, I had a request,” I said as I got off the stool to walk to where the bathroom was nestled in the back of the bar. Baylor had fallen in step beside me.
“Don’t tell me…”
I smirked at him. “Yup.”
Baylor sighed before chuckling. “They’ll love it.”
“I think so, too. It seems like that crowd.”
“I agree with you on that.”
We entered the bathroom, did our business, and after a thorough handwashing returned to the stage. The rest of the guys were already there, seated behind their bass and piano.
“We’ve had a request,” Baylor informed them.
The other two groaned without Baylor telling them what it was.
“We’ll fit it into this set,” Maverick reluctantly said.
Maverick was the leader of the band, and if he said we’d fit it into the set, we’d fit it into the set. With his graying hair, stern face, and dry sense of humor, he came off as stuffy and boring. And I originally thought that of him too, until I got to know him. He was actually a great guy, and when he played the piano, his entire demeanor changed.
“Great,” I said.
As I grabbed my sax, I risked taking another look at the bar to eye the man who’d captured my interest. Usually I didn’t care where we played so long as we had a gig so I could make some money. But as I got ready to play the opening notes on our next song, I couldn’t help but hope we played at Clancy’s more often.
3
Foster
I wasn’t sure what compelled me to walk over and see if the Tattooed God disguised as a sax player needed another drink. But as I stood there, watching the blond woman with the sweet face chatting him up, I felt my feet propelling me closer. I kept telling myself it wasn’t because I was interested in him, but because he looked uncomfortable and I wanted to provide the perfect interference. But when I heard his soft voice and saw his hazel eyes, my reasoning for going to the bar was forgotten, and all I could do was wonder what it was about this man who was making me question everything.
I liked women. I always had. The woman standing beside him, who was seconds away from laying across the bar and offering herself up as a snack, was more my style. Before my messy relationship, I wouldn’t have had any problem pulling her to the back room and peeling that dress off her. But I didn’t give her a second glance, except for wondering why she felt it was okay to lean in so close and lick her lips so suggestively. And feeling jealous it wasn’t me doing the leaning and licking, instead. Only they weren’t my licks I wanted to lick…
Where did that thought come from?
I should’ve been interested in the woman, not the man. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe everything I had going on was messing with my mind. The breakup, the move, the new job…my life had been turned on its head, so of course everything was completely screwed up. And because of it, I was having reactions I typically wouldn’t have.
Then how come whenever his fingers brushed against mine as I handed him his water, I felt something inside me stir that I hadn’t felt in a long time? Not even when I was with Jennifer did I ever have such a reaction. Yeah, we’d have sex, but her touch never sent fire sizzling through my veins, had my lips parting on a silent gasp, or my dick stirring in my pants. Fuck, I hoped there wouldn’t be a visible bulge or wet spot. How would I explain that to Mina?
I quickly jerked my hand away, confused by the strong reaction and nearly wept in relief when Mina called me over. Being so close to him, even with a bar between us, had me wanting to lean closer to get a better whiff of his scent. Would he smell more like cologne or sweat? And why was I wanting to push blondie out of the way and drape my own body across the bar to offer myself up as a feast?
Dammit, I was a mess.
Thank goodness the lights dimmed a bit to signal the set was about to start, which meant he’d left the bar, and I could breathe easier. I spent the rest of the night mixing drinks, watching Mina, and flirting with patrons to get more tips. And when the band broke for the second time, I stayed as far away from Sax Man as I could. He was all Mina’s and whatever woman was ballsy enough to approach him.
I couldn’t help but watch as he engaged with them politely but always seemed to lean away from their touch. Stupidity disguised as hope would flare inside me each time one would walk away, their shoulders slumped slightly in rejection. But why would I be hopeful over him rejecting someone? Clearly, he was taken or else he’d wouldn’t be sending those women away.
Maybe it’s not women he’s interested in, my stupid brain pointed out.
I gave a derisive snort, catching Mina’s attention in the process.
“Everything okay?” she asked, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.
I nodded. “Just got a tickle in my throat.”
I shouldn’t care whom or what he was interested in. He was nothing to me but the saxophone player of the band. Nothing more, nothing less. And if he liked men, so be it. I preferred women, anyway. Right?
Focus, Foster. You won’t achieve your goals unless you do. I needed to repeat that to myself a few times as a reminder of what I needed to do.
I needed to get my head back in the game and quit worrying about a man who played a saxophone like he was making love. But fuck me if my mind didn’t wonder if his body moved that way while doing other activities—with less clothing.