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“I should get your number,” Natalie suggested again as she released her seatbelt, the sound of the rain thumping against the car almost swallowing up her words. “To go get my car tomorrow.”
Sienna stared at her for a second, studying her. “Why did you ask me before?”
“For your number?”
Sienna nodded. “Yeah.”
Natalie took a deep breath. She didn’t know how to explain it without sounding desperate, so she just told Sienna the truth. “Honestly? I don’t know the last time I heard someone sing one of my songs, and so beautifully at that. I had no idea who you were. I suppose I could have asked around tomorrow, but I don’t know,” she said with a bit of a shrug. “I couldn’t walk away without asking. And it’s not all about me. I wish I’d seen your set. I just wandered towards the stage when I caught that familiar melody, even if it did sound quite different at the same time.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” Sienna said with a hint of a smile.
“Are you kidding? I love what you did with it. And, please, don’t apologize. I’m still just shocked that I got to hear my song again. But yeah, I just wanted the chance to maybe buy you a drink or… I don’t know.” Natalie made herself stop talking. She was being entirely honest, and in the process, she’d managed to make it sound like she was trying to ask Sienna out. Which was not her intention. Not that Sienna wasn’t a very attractive woman.
Sienna slid her phone out of the pocket of her shorts and passed it to Natalie. “Give me your number. And I have to apologize for all of that. About not knowing who you were. I’m so embarrassed.”
Natalie added the last few digits and saved her name to Sienna’s phone, handing it back to her to find Sienna’s cheeks a little flushed. “Why? Actually, hold on.” The rain hadn’t let up one bit. It was probably worse. “Why don’t you come in for a while? Let the rain ease up a bit. Unless you have somewhere to be?”
“No. Nowhere to be.”
Natalie took her keys out of her pocket and flung the door open, dodging the puddles as she jogged the few feet up to her front door and underneath the cover of her porch. She unlocked the door, holding it open for Sienna as she flicked on some lights, leaving her muddy shoes inside the door. Sienna did the same.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Natalie asked as she motioned for Sienna to take a seat on the couch. “I know you still need to drive home, but I have beer and wine, or I can put on a pot of coffee.” She turned on the floor lamp in the corner of the room, casting a warm light across the living area.
“A beer would be great,” Sienna said as she took a seat, throwing her arm over the back of the couch as she angled her body to keep talking to Natalie as she entered the kitchen. “Whatever you have is fine.”
Natalie took two beers out of the fridge and opened them, handing Sienna hers while she left hers on the wooden coffee table. “I just want to go freshen up,” she said, running a hand through her damp hair.
“Sure. Take your time.” Sienna took a sip of beer as Natalie climbed the stairs just off the living room and up to her bedroom.
Natalie checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror, surprised to see that her makeup was still intact, although her hair was a little unruly. She took her hair dryer out of the drawer and turned it on for a few seconds, thankful for Sienna’s offer to drive her home, because she’d probably only be getting to her car now. She’d have been soaked through, and then have to sit in that traffic in her wet clothes.
Natalie took one last look in the mirror now that her hair was dry, stopping herself from touching up her makeup. Why was she being this particular about her appearance?
Natalie blew out a breath as she switched off the bathroom light. She couldn’t remember the last time she was in the presence of someone who might appreciate her music. She probably just wanted to make a good impression. That was all it was.
She slid her hand along the smooth pine banister as she descended the stairs. Sienna’s eyes were glued to her phone, and Natalie didn’t think much of it, knowing how younger people were, always checking social media or messaging someone, but when Sienna looked up as Natalie padded across the carpet, Natalie knew something had changed.
“Everything okay?” Natalie asked, noticing how pale Sienna looked, and she was afraid of what Sienna might say. That maybe someone she knew had been in a car accident or something like that. She looked shell-shocked.
“Yeah.” Sienna put her phone face down on the coffee table and took another swig of her beer. “Yep. All good.”
Natalie studied her as she picked up her beer and sat on the loveseat, leaving Sienna alone on the couch. And then it dawned on her what might be going on.
Natalie took a sip of beer, waiting to see if Sienna would say anything, but she still looked like she’d just seen a ghost, her eyes unable to meet Natalie’s.
“You Googled me, didn’t you?” Natalie asked softly.
Finally, Sienna’s eyes met hers, an almost painful look on her face. “I had no idea,” Sienna said with an exhale, shaking her head as she spoke. “None.”
Natalie held her gaze, not entirely sure if Sienna was referring to the fact that Natalie was involved in a scandalous affair or that it had ended her career just when it was really taking off. That that was the reason why there had been no new music in the last eighteen years. “You had no idea about which part?”
Sienna visibly swallowed. “I had that box of CDs with your three albums in it, and I guess I never really thought about why there hadn’t been more, why I never had a chance to go see you on tour as a teenager. And then I found other artists to listen to, to learn their songs.” She sighed. “I had no idea about any of it. I had no idea why.”
“And now that you do?” Natalie asked, curious to find out more about this very real, almost visceral reaction from a complete stranger.
Sienna’s eyes glistened. “I can’t believe your career ended like that. I’m just reading old news headlines, scrolling from one to the next… But was it true? In five minutes, I came across just as many articles with Amelia Hart denying all of it as I did of reporters claiming it was all real, backing it up with photos.”
Natalie crossed one leg over the other. “What do you think?”
