Smoke and Mirrors (Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan)

Chapter 5

“Y-your muse?” I stuttered, confused. All he did was nod and even though I couldn’t see them, I felt his eyes wander my body. “Who are you?” I whispered, I was in a position of weakness.

He sighed while he continued scribbling notes in his little pad, every action of his was a complete mystery to me. “I’m Jimmy.” He said casually.

Jimmy? Such a vivid name for a person so mysterious? “Jimmy?” I repeated in disbelief.

“It’s short for James.” He said and I was pretty sure that he was smirking.

“Yeah, I know what Jimmy stands for, I may look dumb but I’m not stupid.” I snapped, hating it when people question my intelligence.

“Feisty.” Jimmy commented on my remark, “I know you weren’t as pure as you appear to be.” He added and I snapped back to reality, realizing that he was a client, and I was there to fulfill his wishes.

I blushed, my protective behavior was definitely inappropriate. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped.” I mumbled. Sweet Lou would murder me if she found out that I was rude to a client.

Oh no! Sweet Lou! I’m not even supposed to be in here!

“I should get going, I’m not supposed to-“ I panicked and got up, nervously touching up my outfit.

“Stay, I’m paying you.” He said a bit less amicably than before and his long finger pointed back to my chair. I obeyed and sat back down, there was nothing else I could do.

I sat there cross legged, my fingers nervously tapping my knees. “Why did you ask for me?” I asked rather bluntly as I was burning with curiosity as to who this man was.

“I told you, you’re my muse.” Jimmy said quietly but ended his sentence with a small laugh. Right before I was about to ask him what it meant, he replied, as if he was reading my mind. “You inspire me.” He said.

I blinked, my eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness and his figure was becoming clearer to me. I could tell by now that his hair was very dark and rather oddly shaped, but in a sleek way. “What are you writing?” I questioned softly and pointed my red fingernail to his notebook.

“Some fiction.” He said casually and closed the notepad, putting it aside and the lighter over it.

“Fiction?” I asked, it seemed like I was repeating anything he said to me, but it’s only because I was so terribly confused. “Are you a writer?” I leaned closer, arching my back for a closer look of his face, but unfortunately, he was well disguised by shadows.

“A musician, actually.” Jimmy brushed a strand of hair away from his face, as if he was teasing me.

“What do you play?” I stretched my leg so that it brushed against his, and that faint touch did incomprehensible things to me. In only a matter of minutes, I began developing this strange attraction to him. Frankly, I didn’t really know if we sat there for hours or minutes, but I was thirsty for anything he had to say to me.

“A variety of instruments.” He said, completely ignoring my attempt to draw his attention.

“Piano?” I asked. My gaze was fixed on his slender fingers, which were definitely the ones of a pianist.

“Among others.” Jimmy replied, he wasn’t very explicit with his words, which saddened me.

I decided to risk and quickly rushed to his side, sitting on the tiny sofa next to him and turning my body to face his. “And what do I have to do with it?” I whispered into the darkness. I could sense the vibes coming from his body and only there I realized how tiny I was in comparison to him.