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“I thought you said she was gay when we hired her?” Barrett rumbled.
“She swings both ways. She wanted to meet this one, too,” he laughed, indicating Junie with his chin.
Junie placed a hand over her chest, a big smile on her face. “Me? Really? I’m flattered.”
“You interested?” Lucky inquired bluntly.
Barrett rubbed a big hand over his face. “I can’t take them anywhere.”
“No, I’m not. But if anyone could swing me that way it would be her. She’s hot.”
I laughed, and scolded her, “Junie, shut up! You’re giving Lucky ideas.”
Everyone’s eyes shot to Lucky’s, who was indeed lost in happy contemplation.
“You have to admit, the juxtaposition of light and dark, the aesthetics of it if nothing else…” He waggled his eyebrows, and everyone laughed.
He held out a hand to Junie. “I’m Lucky.”
“Not tonight, you’re not,” she quipped, and he grinned, mimicked driving a knife through his heart while laughing. “I’m Junie.”
He reached out and shook Junie’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Junie.”
He turned to me. “And you must be Willa. It is a pleasure to meet you. Barrett’s told us about you.”
He offered me his hand and I shook it. He didn’t let go and Barrett’s big voice rumbled out from beside me.
“Do you remember what else I said?”
“Yup.” Lucky grinned easily, releasing my hand. “Hands off.”
I turned to Junie, exasperated. “You have found your people.”
Her face lit up and she gave me big eyes and a bigger smile, and said, “Right?”
Barrett put his hand on my knee, and I swung my gaze around to stare at him, shocked at the effect the simple touch had on my equilibrium. By the look on his face, he felt it, too. He gently removed his hand and stood. My eyes followed him up and then he bent over me, his face serious as usual.
“We’ve got to go back on for twenty to thirty minutes. You going to be here when I’m done?”
I nodded, still speechless, and his lips tipped up ever so slightly at the corners.
“Good,” he rumbled, tugging one of my curls.
I watched him walk away.
“Close your mouth, Willa.” Junie elbowed me lightly and I turned to look at her.
“I’m in trouble,” I admitted.
She looked at me with compassion. “Naw, you’re in luck. Go with it. Enjoy. You
don’t have to be alone all your life.”
I withdrew but she saw and called me on it right away. “We’re not having this discussion right now, relax and enjoy the show. Anyway, deep down, you know I’m right.”
Barrett took the stage, and they checked their connections before settling into the last half of their set. My emotions were in turmoil, pulling me back and forth between desperately wanting him and desperately wanting to avoid him. The music started and pulled me out of my head as it always did, and the atmosphere caught me up and carried me away from my swirling thoughts.
Half an hour later, Barrett and Lucky stepped back from their mics and exchanged their electric guitars for acoustics. Barrett settled the guitar at his hips and plucked the strings a few times before stepping back up to the center mic.
