Ten
Beautiful
Cooper opened the door and led me inside, still holding my hand. A rush of bottles clinking, people laughing, and the thumping of music playing invaded my senses.
“Is this where you play every Friday night?” I asked, looking around the bar.
“It is,” he said. “I wanted you to meet my friends. By the way, have I told you how beautiful you look today?”
“You have,” I said blushing. “I think it’s the red. You did say red was your favorite color, right?”
Looking thoughtfully for a minute he said, “No, it’s not the red. It’s you.” He brought my hand up to his mouth for a kiss. And I got tingles instantly.
It was a decent crowd for a Wednesday night, and looking around the bar, I decided quickly that I liked the place. It was not a roughneck bar, but one that had the ability to suck you in with its charm. The bar itself had dark walls and pictures of famous musicians all around. The muted lighting gave off a jazzy kind of mood to the place. As I continued to scan the room I saw there were large mirrors behind the bar with stools wrapping along the front and around each side, and the stage was directly across the room with tables and chairs set up all around it, booths outlining the perimeter. My eyes scanned back toward the bar area, and I made eye contact with the bartender. His eyes shifted from me to Cooper as we made our way toward his smiling face.
“Coop!” the bartender shouted as we approached, holding out his hand to greet Cooper.
The two men exchanged handshakes like old friends and immediately both sets of eyes landed on me. “Joe, this is Lily,” Cooper said, looking at me with pride written on his face. “Lily, meet Joe Carlisle.”
“Hi, Joe. Nice to meet you,” I said, reaching across the bar to shake his hand. He was good looking with hair black as coal and just the right amount of stubble for a five o’clock shadow.
“Lily, so nice to meet you. Coop, you dog, you said she was beautiful, but you didn’t say she was a goddess.”
I laughed at that. Goddess? Please.
“Would you have believed me if I told you?” Cooper said.
“Wow, you guys could charm a rattle off a snake,” I said, trying not to look embarrassed. “I’m sure you meet a couple of goddesses every night in this place.”
“Not at all,” Joe said. “But that would be nice.”
“Let me guess, this must be Lily,” a voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw a man with sandy hair and crisp blue eyes. He held his hand out and instinctively I reciprocated. He didn’t wait for Cooper’s introduction, instead introducing himself. “Hi. I’m Hayden McCoy.”
“Hayden?” I said looking for Cooper to complete the introduction.
“Hayden is another friend of mine that I wanted you to meet,” Cooper said as the two exchanged the familiar one shake handshake.
“It’s nice to meet you, Hayden.”
“It’s a pleasure, Lily,” Hayden said, slapping Cooper on the back.
“I’ve got someone covering the bar,” Joe said. “Let’s go sit down somewhere.” He said something to one of the other bartenders and then led us to a large booth in the corner.
I slid into the booth first and then Cooper, and Joe and Hayden slid in on the other side. Cooper had me sitting close to him and draped his arm around me. Before we got completely settled a waitress came and brought us drinks. Bottled Coronas for all of us plus tequila shots, salt, and lime wedges.
“Have you ever done a tequila shot, Lily?” Cooper asked, looking at the glasses in front of us when he saw my expression.
“Nope, but something tells me I’m about to,” I laughed.
“I’ll show you how,” he said. He removed his arm from around me, licked the skin between his forefinger and thumb, sprinkled salt on it, licked it, then downed his tequila shot and bit the lime.
I looked around the table at the three sets of eyes watching me, waiting to see how I was going to handle this part. “Okay,” I said, looking confident, “I can do this.” I did everything Cooper did – licked the salt, downed the tequila, bit the lime, and slammed my glass down on the table, then proceeded to twist my face into something that probably resembled a cork screw. “That,” I said, trying to keep composed but failing miserably, “was disgusting.”
Laughter broke out across the table. Cooper wrapped his arm around me and pulled me toward him. “Yeah, but you looked hot doing it,” he whispered in my ear and then gently laid his other hand across my knee. The gentleness of his touch sent a rush of warmth right through me.
Joe and Hayden downed their shots, and we all laughed and had a good time as the night went on. I liked his friends. They were funny and easy to be around.
“Hey, Lily, I got a joke for ya,” Joe said.
Instantly Cooper and Hayden rolled their eyes and shook their heads. “He has the worst jokes on the planet,” Hayden said. “Please, don’t do it, Joe.”
“Hey this one is funny,” Joe said. “Lily, how do you make a tissue dance?”
“Uh, I have no idea,” I said
“You put a little boogie in it.”
Silence.
Each of us looked at the other one…and then……laughter – all of us. Not because the joke was funny but because it was just so ridiculous.
Hayden turned to Joe. “You are banned from telling any more jokes, man.”
I leaned back into Cooper and laughed at his friends until my sides were hurting. When I needed the ladies room he promptly rose to his feet and helped me out. By the time I came back they had simmered down slightly.
“I told them you could sing,” Cooper said.
“What?”
“They want to hear you.”
“No no no no no,” I said. “Not gonna happen.”
“What if I sang with you?” Cooper said and then whispered in my ear, “Please? For me?”
I sighed. “I don’t know.”
Joe and Hayden were both staring, and finally Joe said, “I’ll clear this place out, and there won’t be anybody else around. We close in ten minutes anyway. If you’re as good as Cooper says you are we want to hear you.”
They all got quiet and waited for me to answer. I took a breath and looked at all three faces, stopping at Joe’s. “Get me another shot of tequila.”
Cooper looked at me. “Liquid courage?”
“Yep.” I rubbed my hands together and then because I was still wearing my red dress from this afternoon, rubbed them on Cooper’s jeans.
He laughed. “What are you doing?”
“My hands are sweaty.”
“Relax, Lily,” Cooper said. “It’ll just be us. Keep your eyes focused on me. Concentrate on me, and you’ll be fine.”
“You do realize that you make me nervous, right? I had to close my eyes and not look at you the last time you made me sing, remember?”
“Would you rather sing by yourself?”
“No. I want you up there with me.”
He kissed me on the forehead and wrapped his arms around me. “What song do you want to do?”
“Do you know ‘Just a Kiss’ by Lady Antebellum?”
“I do.”
“Okay,” I said, and then exhaled. Joe handed me my shot and I downed it without the salt or lime. “Thank you,” I said, handing him back the glass.
Joe had put the closed sign on the door and locked it after the last patron left. “We’re all set,” he said, looking at me and Cooper.
“Wait,” I said. “Where did you get the guitar?”
“It’s mine. I keep it here. I’ve got another one at home.”
“Oh, okay,” I whispered to myself.
“No excuses, sweetheart. You got this.”
Hayden and Joe sat at one of the tables close to the stage and Cooper placed two stools side by side and then two microphones. “Take a seat, Lil.”
I walked over and sat down on one of the stools, questioning my sanity.
Before sitting down, Cooper leaned in close to my ear. “You have no idea how good you are. Do you trust me, Lily?”
“Yes.”
He moved to face me. “Look at me, and keep your eyes on me. Only me.” He sat down next to me, adjusted his mic, and counted off…1…2…3…and just like that music was playing.
I focused on Cooper. Only him. I fought to keep from closing my eyes, allowing the melody he strummed to flow through me. I let him take me with him, to that place where you get lost in the hum of the rhythm, the soothing sound of the vibration of the strings, and the rich tone it makes when set in motion. Each note he played was distinctive and individual, yet combined beautifully like the flavors of a fine sauce. I’m not sure exactly when I realized that I was singing, but by the time I did I was no longer nervous. Cooper had the ability to soothe away my deepest fears and cover me with confidence like a warm blanket. The rich textures I was hearing were coming from his voice and mine, and blended together it was almost indescribable – like trying to dance to architecture.
The song finally came to an end, and I was unable to take my eyes off of Cooper. He never once took his eyes off of me.
“Do you guys have any idea what you sound like together? Oh. My. God. Y’all. That was amazing!” Hayden said.
Joe spoke up after a few seconds of silence. “Seriously, that was insane. I don’t know what that was just now, but, Lily, I better not ever hear you say you’re too shy to sing again, because I’ll drag you up there myself. Cooper, my man, I think I’m in love with your woman.”
Cooper blinked and instantly looked at Joe. “You can’t have her.” Then his eyes were right back on me. “She’s mine.”
The drive home was quiet, yet comforting. It gave me some time to sort out my thoughts and feelings towards Cooper, a man I’d only known for a few days. Well, we met a couple of months ago, but we were just now getting to know each other. Yet, I felt so completely attached to him, as if we’d known each other our whole lives. I felt closer to him than I felt toward people I’d known all my life. In part, that may have something to do with Ms. Sophie and the fact that she practically took me in as her own family from that first day on the plane. Even she didn’t feel like a stranger to me. It was bizarre, and also amazing. Some things were simply unexplainable.
“My friends adore you, you know,” Cooper said as he helped me out of his car. We somehow managed to drive all the way to my house without me noticing or having the slightest memory of the trip.
“They do?”
“Oh yeah, without a doubt. I knew they would. Who wouldn’t?”
I looked down at my feet, studying the red color on my toenails. “I’m glad. I really like them too.”
Cooper laced his fingers with mine and we quietly trailed up the front walk.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked, unlocking the door once we made it to the porch.
“No. I can’t.”
“Oh. Is it because you need to be up early?”
“No. That’s not it. I can’t because if I go in there with you…” He sighed, and ran his hands through his hair, then exhaled deeply. “I’m going to say good night to you out here.”
There was a bit of awkward silence between us so I was trying to think of something to say. “Cooper, I—”
Cooper slammed his lips against mine with such intensity that it shot a wave of tremors straight down to my toes and I suddenly had a feeling of vertigo. The sensation from his hands on my face and neck caused me to tremble beneath him. I heard a guttural moan before he pulled away.
He rested his forehead on mine. “I need to go. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?” he said, breathing fast, heavy breaths.
I nodded my head to say yes because I tried to speak but couldn’t find the air.
He pulled me in for a hug and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing tight. He took in a big whiff as he smelled my hair. “You smell like lavender,” he said. “You always smell so good.”
“So do you,” I said trying to find my balance. Was I even standing? My legs felt like cooked spaghetti.
He gave me a kiss on the forehead and turned to leave, but then turned back around. “Lily?”
“Yes?”
“Nothing. I just needed to see your face one last time before I go.” He stared at me like he was committing my face to memory. And I understood, so I let him. “Good night, Lil.”
“Good night, Cooper.”
“Lil?”
“Yes?”
“When you go to sleep tonight I want you to remember the words I’m about to tell you.”
“Okay.”
“Your dad would be proud of you. I just felt like you needed to hear that.”
He turned to leave, and a single tear fell down my cheek.