"Will you please, pretty please dance with me?" Lori's bottom lip playfully quivers as she holds her cocktail steady in one hand and uses the other to tug on the hem of my sundress.
Tossing my head back softly, I let out a loud laugh. "Chill out," I smirk, pushing over the chair next to me for her to take a seat.
But she doesn't- of course, she doesn't. She's been sauced since the moment we stepped off the plane nine days ago... I won't lie, so have I, but I can somehow contain myself a little better.
It's been an exciting couple of days though- I will admit that. We have spent a lot of time on the beach, a lot of time drinking and Sharon was even able to convince Lori to go with us on a bike ride around the island.
It's been great, but every time we stop moving and stop doing, I start thinking. I miss the girls, I miss my husband... I miss Lindsey.
I'm a runner, I know that- I've known that since I first started dating right out of high school. I used to get numbers from guys and I would never call, ever. Then when I meet Jerry, I turned him down four times before I finally agreed to get married... I wasn't ready, even at twenty-eight.
I'm not scared of commitment, but I am scared of heartbreak. And that's okay. It's okay to not be ready and it's okay to not be "over it." If there's one thing that I've learned from the two years I spent in my therapists office is that healing doesn't happen over night and booze doesn't kill demons as much as I wish it would.
"Stevie?" Her voice lingers once again as she wraps her arm around my neck. "I was talking to someone and he really thinks you're hot." She mumbles into my ear, motioning across the bar towards a man, standing close to the tiki torches and right under a string of fairy lights.
He's staring right at us casually, not like some creeper... No, I can tell that they've been talking for quite awhile over there. And he's cute, but not for me.
"Hmm," I nod my head lightly, turning back to look down at my Malibu sunset... my third one since dinner.
"I told him you love to dance." She smirks, sliding around me to lean against the bar.
Sighing lightly, I roll my eyes gently. I haven't been drinking enough for this shit. "Where's Sharon?" I ask, wanting to collect her so we can head back up to the rooms and call it night.
"She walked that way," She lazily points down the beach, a soft shrug following her words.
I open my mouth, preparing to tell her that we should go find Sharon and then go to bed. But before I get the chance, the feeling of someone's handing falling on my shoulder causes me to jump slightly.
"Hi," he walks quick- too quick for my liking. I mean, two seconds ago he was twenty feet away and now we're just inches apart. "I'm Bryon," he smiles, holding out his hand for me to shake.
"Hey, there." I return the smile, through I really feel like kicking the legs of Lori's chair right out from underneath her. "I'm Stevie." I add, taking his hand in mine for a short second.
"You are quite beautiful," he lingers, deep green eyes melting into mine.
I can feel my cheeks become red as my smile grows unintentionally bigger. "Thank you," I bite down on my lower lip, wrapping my hand tighter around my cold glass.
"Would you like to dance with me?"
"No."
~Lindsey~
Sitting behind the soundboard, I watch as they all file in, laughs and jokes circulating throughout the room. They're a fun group- an interesting one, but definitely fun. They've kept us on our toes all morning, even after we've spent hours recording the same song over and over again.... they've been great.
The only thing that really gets me is the fact that every time I look at Joplin, I'm reminded of her mom.
Stevie hasn't answered any of my calls in the last two weeks and I know she told me that she didn't want to get in the way of my marriage, or something along those lines, but she hasn't and she's not... And if I'm being really honest, I just really miss her.
I've said it before, I'll say it again, she's one of those women that are just unique and perfect in all the right ways. She's funny, but not purposely funny- just kind of a raw sense of humor that really gets me. She's also sweet- like pink lemonade on a hot summers day by the pool kind of sweet.
I'm just really in love with everything about that woman.
"Hey, Lindsey?" She has a husky voice too; maybe not exactly like her mothers, but pretty similar.
"Yes?" I give her a soft smile, leaning against the board to ensure her that I've given her all my attention... or at least most of it.
"I have a song that I kinda want you to hear." Joplin shrugs lightly, a little laugh following her words.
Nodding my head, "of course," I assure, glancing over at Dan, who's also smirking... I think it might be for a different reason though, which I'm sure will be a problem between the two of us sometime soon.
They take a moment to figure out the beat and then Joplin does this little dance- she calls it her "groovy moves."
"You say I have everything," she begins, eyes wandering from me back down towards her sheet music on the stand. "Well I'm living on dreams and chains," her continues, swaying back and forth as the men all stay completely enticed by her simple presence. "But I sing for things that money can't buy."
We all spend the next two minutes completely silent- the only sound flooding the room is Joplins vocals through the microphone. She's talented... the kind of talented that could create hit records and sell out arenas with time.
"Did you write that?" Dan asks the moment the music stops and she grows quiet along with everyone else.
Joplin laughs a little, playing with the hem of her long skirt. "Umm, no." Shaking her head, "My mom wrote it." She adds, which almost immediately causes my heart to start pounding.
Falling back a little further into my chair, I let out a soft sigh as I rest my hands on the back of my head.
"Well, that's dope." Dan chuckles, looking over at me in pure amazement. "The mom must be a music genius too." He mumbles with a stupid grin.
Nodding my head, I push my chair out to stand up. "We're gonna go ahead and call it a day." Picking up my folders, I let a weak smile tug at the corners of my mouth. "See you later." With a small wave, I head out of the room and down the hall to my office.
But right before I step into the empty room, the sound of Joplins wedges hitting the cement floor catches my attention. "Hey, skippy, slow down." She allows this sweet giggle to fill the air around us. "Is everything okay?" She creases brow, coming to a stop just feet away.
"I need to talk to you about your mom." I regret it as soon as it leaves my mouth... I shouldn't drag her into this.
