Page 29 of Animal Beats

“It’s awe-inspiring. Makes me feel pretty insignificant.” I turn toward Hayden, understanding what she’s saying. “I mean, if you were a local politician back then, you were at the top of society’s ladder. Can you name someone besides the kings from this era?”

I shake my head. She has a point. “We don’t even know the names of popular artists from one hundred years ago, never mind from this time period.”

“Yet they lived and loved and shared good times as well as bad.”

Her observation sinks into my heart. Will UC be thought of in the next century? “Guess that means we have to make the most out of the time we’ve been given.” I turn to her.

“But not to excess.”

One side of my mouth lifts. “Where’s the fun in that? I say, we should live out loud because it won’t be remembered in the future. So long as you don’t hurt anyone, go for it.”

She puts her camera around her neck. “That might be the best rule. Don’t try to ruin someone else’s life and enjoy your own.”

Hear that, Pop? Don’t set out to hurt others, and you’re good. I shut my eyes for a moment. “Like what we do on stage. We play our music for everyone’s enjoyment.

“That’s true. A real shared experience. Can’t get much better.”

She’s right.

Humming a tune popular twenty years ago, I offer her my hand. She takes it, and a buzz runs up my arm. Spinning her around, she laughs.

It’s a pure sound.

I like it.

And I can keep this for myself, since no one else is nearby.

Wanting to maintain our mood, I end the song and point to another sign with yet more information about the previous inhabitants of this great city. We go down more stairs and find ourselves at the bottom of the dig, in the oldest part.

“Fascinating,” she remarks. “They’ve unearthed an old drum.”

How did I miss this? Was I studying my entrancing babysitter more than the ruins? I focus on the ancient instrument. “This is so cool. I bet the guy playing was surrounded by all the ladies, who swooned over his talent.”

“Or,” she counters. “The women would tell him to shush so the animals didn’t find their hiding space and eat them.”

“Geez. I prefer my take on events.”

She chuckle-snorts. Her hand flies in front of her face.

I smirk. “That’s what you get for being a downer. Should’ve played along with my story.”

She smiles, her blue eyes getting involved. “You may be right. Fine. A guy played drums and all the women in the village came out to hear him. Then what?”

“They’d start dancing, of course.” In my mind’s eye, I picture an entire town coming from their huts to listen to the intricate beats being played by the man with the fast hands. “The guy might even add two or three more drums to his set, pounding a catchy beat. Little kids would jump on their bare feet, with their parents keeping a watchful vigil. Or,” I pause. “Maybe going off to a corner to create more brothers and sisters.”

She swats the top of my shoulder. “You had to go and ruin it, didn’t you?”

“Hey. Just keeping it real.” I might be persuaded to sneak away with her for some practice. Down boy! She’s your babysitter. However, if Pop had hired such a sexy babysitter for me growing up, maybe I would’ve turned out different.

Nah.

She rubs her hands together. “Are you ready to go back up? I’m getting a little hungry, believe it or not.”

“Perhaps you can find more churros?” I join her as we walk toward the staircase in the middle of the site.

“Oh!” She stops and turns. The sleeve of her cardigan’s caught on the banister. Before I’m able to offer help, she springs free. When we get to the next landing, she takes off the cardigan and assesses the pick. “Damn.”

Noting the goosebumps erupting on her now-bare arms, I surround her with my body heat while she works on her cardigan. She’s rigid in my arms, her sole focus on fixing her sweater. I continue to rub my hands up and down her arms, careful to avoid where she’s working. I’m caught up in the spell this challenging woman put on me. One who loved the dress Nese picked out for her, but our stylist told us she refused to buy it when she saw its price tag. Any other chick would’ve asked for my credit card. Not Hayden.