"You look great, he said, looking me over. "You look like you were expecting this."
"The dress was more prepared than I was," I assured him, causing him to laugh. "Where are we going?" I asked after we made our way past a large group of people in the kitchen.
"There's a set of stairs over here," he said. "Ash is in the basement."
Chapter 14
Ash
He knew that Audrey was on her way to the party. He also knew that Mason had been charged with going upstairs to get her. There was no way for Ash to take a break. He had worked this gig for his cousin before, and he knew the parameters. It wasn't just any party gig. Ash was playing guitar and doing vocals with a drummer and bass player that his cousin wanted him to use. They were jazz guys from the university. Ash had played this gig with them before, and they got along fine. The gig was two full hours, from ten to midnight, and they were to play non-stop. They were always set up in the basement, and a lot of the party guests congregated down there.
Ash didn't play much jazz, but he had been working on his skills in the last few years since he had been playing this gig. The first one had been an eye-opening experience, and he had put more effort into it since then.
The music demanded his attention, and he had no time to go meet Audrey when she arrived. The basement had a wall of windows that opened up to a sprawling patio on the backside of their house. The fireworks would happen at midnight, and they would be clearly visible from the small platform where Ash and the band were set up. There were a lot of people in the basementand on the patio, and there was a lot to look at, but Ash spotted Audrey the minute she came down the stairs.
She was wearing a black dress. She told him she would be. She had her hair pinned back, with pieces of it coming down around her face. She knew how to style her hair and how to look beautiful and carefree while also being put together.
She seemed real compared to all these other women. Ash saw a different side of women when he performed on stage. The women at this party were especially forward. Maybe it was because they had money and they thought he was impressed by that.
Either way, Audrey was not the same as the others. Things were real between them. She was the type of girl he wanted to build a life with, and he didn't have patience for games and secretive flirting from married women. He felt awkward just thinking about it. But there she was. Audrey, standing there like a vision. Mason was next to her, smiling and dressed in a suit.
Ash stayed focused on the music, but he was keenly aware of Audrey. She had only been in the room for a minute when someone crossed over to the place where she was standing with Mason. He was aware of her introducing the guy to his brother. Audrey was standing there talking to two young men, and Ash was stuck behind a microphone, having to concentrate and pretend that none of this bothered him.
She was too desirable.
Maybe she was too beautiful for him.
Maybe he needed someone he would be less jealous of.
Ash played and sang, and Audrey kept talking to the guys. It was her, looking gorgeous and bold in black, and two men, one on each side, all laughing and conversing. Others came up to talk to them as well, but all he could see was Audrey with a man on either side of her. They were far enough from Ash and the band that it shouldn’t have been a distraction. About half of the crowdwas watching the band, and the other half, especially the ones further on the patio, were talking amongst themselves.
Ash made eye contact with Audrey while the bassist was soloing, and she smiled at him. He could tell she was happy that he looked her way. Ash was totally smitten.How was he going to be away from her for all of February? How was he going to miss Chicago?He felt terrible about it.
They were taking things so slowly that this month-long break made him feel like he would lose too much traction with her. He felt like he might lose her, period. She was like a cloud—impossible to take hold of. Ash concentrated on playing and tried to be oblivious to Audrey's interactions in the room.
She had been forewarned that he wouldn't be able to talk to her until after he sang Auld Lang Syne at midnight. That song was a big part of the evening. All of the party guests made their way to the basement and patio, and before long, the room was jam-packed, and Audrey was on the other side of about a hundred people. He could see her, and he knew that she would soon be swept away in the tradition that took place at the stroke of midnight. There was a drumroll, and Ash led the countdown.
Mason kissed a girl who was standing by and volunteered herself. This left Audrey standing next to the guy she knew, and he watched as they smiled and awkwardly half-hugged each other. She glanced at Ash after that. He was still busy on stage, but he made eye contact with her.
He performed the famous New Year's song, but it only took a couple of minutes. The crowd knew what to do, and there was no way Audrey could avoid it. After everyone had kissed their respective dates, they all fell into the pattern of crossed-arm handshaking in small circles of anywhere from four to ten people.
Audrey was in one of the bigger circles, and she smiled and went along with the tradition while Ash sang the whole song.They always played at a pace that people seemed to enjoy. But this year, it was difficult for Ash not to rush through it. The fireworks were going off, and he was too far away from the beautiful princess on the other side of the room.
They finished the song, and everyone cheered while bigger and better fireworks started. Ash was finished for the night. He was aching to get close to Audrey.How was she not next to him already?Music was cued to come through the speakers just after he finished his song.
Everyone continued with the cheering and talking as the fireworks continued. Some people were watching, some were talking, but it all seemed like a blur to Ash because he could not get his guitar off fast enough. He turned and took it off. He looked at his fellow musicians, and in one sentence, he told them it had been a pleasure playing with them and excused himself. He left his guitar where it was and headed to the place where he knew she was standing.
Audrey had seen that he was finished, and she headed his way. They caught up with each other in the middle of the basement. She went into his arms for a hug. Her arms were cool to the touch, and her skin was soft and smooth. Her back was warm. He could feel it through the fabric of her dress. He loved her dress, and most of all, he loved having her in his arms. She pulled back and smiled up at him as she broke away.
"I want to kiss you," he said quietly, staring at her.
"I know, me too, but everyone's looking at us."
It was the truth. Ash could feel the stares. He had been on the mic for two hours, and some of the attention in the room had stayed on him when he left the stage. He found himself standing in front of her instead of holding her, and he couldn’t reach out and make it happen because there were so many eyes on them.
Music was playing, and there was romance in the air, though. It would have been easy to throw caution to the wind and kissher passionately, but he knew he had to be reserved. He was going as slow as she needed to go.
"You found someone you knew," he said, trying his best not to be jealous.
