Page 14 of Play Me

“Was it?” I ask, taking a step closer to her and lowering my voice, the mood suddenly changing.

“Was it what?” She tries to back away but I follow her.

“Unwanted?” I whisper by her ear. The return of that orange blossom scent is making me dizzy.

The pause is felt by everyone and is only broken when the bell signaling the end of intermission rings.

“Fuck!” Jez grabs my hand and pulls me back to the door, “We’re gonna be fucking late!”

I wave him off and he shakes his head and run off, leaving me behind.

I need my answer.

“Cadence? Was it unwanted?” I press her for an answer.

I reach out for her, the uncertainty making me feel weak. I want to touch her, to know that this woman and what I’m feeling are something real.

The back of my hand skims her cheek. It’s warm. She says nothing.

“Cadence. We better go.” Sarah speaks up, forgotten by both of us.

The bell dings again and I can’t ignore it.

I tear myself away and run down the alley, and just as I wrench the door open to run inside, I think I hear a whisper.

A whisper that tells me, “No, no, it wasn’t.”

CADENCE

“What. The Fuck. Just Happened?” Sarah asks me when we’re back in our seats waiting for the second set to start.

“I don’t...I don’t know.”

“What happened between you two at the store?” She presses on.

“Nothing.”

“Come on, the way you two were talking and touching...it can’t have been nothing.”

“I’m telling you, it was nothing. We were there for about two minutes, and then he stole the rosin, kissed my cheek and ran off.”

“You seemed like...like...old lovers or something.”

“Oh, shush.” I brush away her words.

“Honey...” She touches my arm and I turn to face her. “I’m serious. He has it bad for you. And, you’ve definitely got...something for him.” She chooses her words carefully.

“Yeah. In the eight years you’ve known me...have I ever given you any reason to think of me as a person who would have it bad for someone?”

“No. Until just then.” She says pointedly.

The lights go down and I’m glad. I can’t keep the act up for long, and I can’t process my thoughts wilt her haranguing me for answers I don’t have, and don’t want to share with anyone.

The second act starts like the first one, in complete darkness. It gives the audience no choice but to focus on the music. The music that deserves our complete and undivided attention.

The clearest note rings out, that one single note, enveloping my consciousness, building and building the anticipation, until I realize I haven’t taken a breath in so long. The mind races, trying to generate a melody from the one note, craving for a resolution to the question – what song are they going to play next?

And then, the stage explodes into light, and the opening strains to Ram Jam’s “Black Betty” blasts from the speakers. Four spotlights focus on the band, all four on their feet, facing each other in the middle of the stage, completely engrossed in their own instruments, but creating a sound that carries as one. Sarah and I can’t help but jump to our feet along with the 10,000 people around us, the crowd singing along to the music.