Nowhere But You

Chapter 21

"ROCK SINGER WANTED," Robin wrote in the notebook in front of her. The smell of chocolate, baked goods and the coffee placed to her right filled her nostrils, waking her up from the remainders of sleep that still lingered in her eyes.

It was barely 7 am. That morning's meeting place was the bakery/coffee shop where Nathan had recently started working. It was certainly fancier and more expensive than their usual coffee shop, but there was nowhere to seat. Customers had their coffee, breakfast and/or dessert at the counter or at one of the fancy marble islands in the middle of the shop. It was dimly lit and elegant, almost cozy, but nothing beat the light and the homeliness of their usual coffee shop (at least in Robin's opinion). Nevertheless, a short assembly before work there was due if they wanted an ad for a singer posted in this month's issue of the most important local music magazine.

Even if Nathan's day had started a couple hours before, an entire day was still ahead for everyone. Robin's schedule would consist of supervising photoshoots and interviews for three up and coming girl bands, posting the ad, and going to see a couple places with River at the end of the day.

Therefore, that rich, steamy coffee was the kickstart she needed.

"Singer songwriter." River suggested as he tied up his luscious hair in a ponytail and rolled up the sleeves of his buttoned shirt. The air conditioner had not managed to cool down the entire place yet from the heat coming from the ovens in the kitchen. It brought him back to his own times as a baker. "We need them to write lyrics too, at least in the beginning."

"Okay." Robin agreed and crossed out what she had written before. "ROCK SINGER/SONGWRITER WANTED for..." she paused to think, "modern rock project/ensemble?"

"Modern rock/alternative/what-have-you." River added, waving his hand.

"What-have-you?" Robin chuckled.

"Yeah, go on." He nodded. "We gotta be open."

Robin smiled and wrote. "ROCK SINGER/SONGWRITER WANTED for modern rock/alternative/what-have-you project. Okay, what else?" She asked. "Sex?"

"Yes, please." Nathan joked from behind the counter as he watched four sandwiches sizzling over the grill. Liz chuckled.

"She means gender." River grunted after a deep breath. For some reason he wasn't up much for jokes this early in the morning, or he just wanted to be done with this ad thing and carry on with his day, which would be busy as well. On top of the private guitar lessons he still offered, he had recently begun working as a music teacher at a comprehensive school and today was one of those days he'd have to spend in its entirety at his new workplace.

He felt predisposed towards the fact that finding a singer would be anything but simple. Again, he was not used to auditioning people... they already had the perfect singer/songwriter/frontman once in Julian, and had lost him.

He wished moving on were easier.

"I know that. Sorry," Nathan turned his head around and smiled mischievously, eyeing Liz. The white top she was wearing made the bright colors of her tattoos stand out and, at the same time, contrasted against her tanned skin. She was still a mystery to him, one he didn't know if he'd be able to unveil. "It's been a while." He chuckled almost to himself.

"You weren't specific on your ad when looking for a drummer, so that's why I replied," Liz shrugged shyly. She was still trying to feel comfortable and get used to the idea that she, too, was a part of all this. "So maybe we should keep it that way?"

"Um, yeah," River frowned, "As long as they can sing and write."

Eli raised his hand. "They must be 21, though, so we can play in bars." His eyes were fixed on the sandwiches Nathan was getting ready. His stomach was growling, apparently loud enough to make Nathan pick up his pace and finally get the sandwiches out of the grill and in plates.