No Longer Alone

Chapter Seven

 I was watching as Nicole and Jen talked with the lady running the equipment, and heard Nicole's choice of song, rather unusual choice for a female, but we will see.  She stands up straight and looks towards the pool table  with a far away look in her eyes.

    "So how does it work for signing up here, Nicole?" I watch as her carefully for a reaction, a slight change to the way she stands, the split second her eyes glaze over before turning neutral and clear again.  Impressive control, I think to myself as I watch her.   She turns and smiles, though I can see it doesn't reach her eyes.

    "Same as it would anywhere else I suppose, give Lacey here your name and the song you want to sing, she's got a pretty good variety but she also is set up to download the song if she doesn't have it."  

    I glance down towards the system, and think it is a decent set up, not the best I have seen, but a far cry from ones that still use books to track everything.  I'm able to get my song in after Jen's, going with the song "Bad Liar" by Imagine Dragons.  As I stand straight again, I notice that Nicole had looked at the singer getting up and had grabbed her coat heading for the door in a rush.  When the girl started singing, I wished I had followed her sooner.  The words and song were mangled past recognition by the flat soprano that must be tone deaf.  

    I caught Alex's eye and nodded towards the door, he simply shook his head, his shoulders shaking with laughter and motioned me off with his hand.  Evidently no hard feelings if I try and talk with this unique woman.  I head out the door and see her standing leaning against a post smoking a cigarette.  She doesn't turn, but her body language is relaxed except for the occasional flexing from a particularly loud off key note making its way through the walls.

    "Had to escape that one as well?  Did you see how many singers were up before us?"  her voice is softer than it was talking to Alex, tinted with a hint of laughter.

     "If I had wanted to hear a cat in heat, there are other places I could go, and your friend Jen is up before me, and you are up before her.  I think there were two others before you."  Her body tenses up again at the sound of my voice, and she looks over her shoulder at me, her face a mask of polite courtesy.

    "She's a regular unfortunately, and I apologize, I thought Jen had followed me out as she normally will."  Her voice had changed slightly, an edge to it that I couldn't understand where it came from, not hostile, but not inviting either.  Her eyes though, looking at them, for a moment showed a longing before shutting down.  

    Pulling out a cigarette of my own, I mimicked her pose on the opposite post, watching her from the corner of my eye.  I could see as she deliberately forced the  tension out of her body, appearing in every way unconcerned and unaffected by anything.  There was an easy silence for a bit with an under current of something waiting, an almost physical energy thrumming as both of us kept the game of acting unconcerned, uncaring, and yet, it was as if we could both tell the act was there, but not the reason for the act.  

    "Well, I had better check when I will be up, and make sure that Adam hasn't chewed up and spit out your friend."  She smiled a little and headed back inside.  Simply tipping my head, I continued to my disinterested act, yet felt a little vindicated when I heard her pause, out of the corner of my eye I caught her looking me up and down before letting out a soft sigh and heading in.  As the door shut I felt the first real smile I had in years stretch across my face.  Well, well, well....someone is more interested and interesting than they are trying to be...but why are you trying so hard to hide it.  What's going on in that mind of yours...I've always loved a good mystery, solving a puzzle, and it seems like one was presented to me tonight.

    Hiding the smile I snub out my cigarette and head back inside just to hear Nicole being called up to sing, I find a spot to watch her without appearing to, as Alex comes up next to me chuckling while waiting for Adam to take his shot.  The two seem to be evenly matched and seem to be enjoying the game.

    "Well, the denim princess there seems to be disinterested in everyone here."  Alex comments as we watch her singing, her smokey voice a perfect tone and speed for the older rock song as she sings with her eyes closed, not needing the words on the screen in front of her, just lost in the music.  "Her friend there warned me off for my own sake, evidently she's more worried her friend will break my hand than of me breaking her heart."

    "Oh?" I respond with a nonchalant tone, glancing at Alex, who just grins. 

    "Yup, evidently she knows how to play the game  and can flirt, but she's taken up a strict no touch policy as of a couple years ago, Adam doesn't seem to have a clue about it, but Jen suddenly looked ready to hurt anyone who breathed wrong at the moment."

    Nicole had finished her song, and handed the microphone off to Jen with a familiarity that spoke of them having done this more than once, but she didn't head back to the pool table, instead staying on the dance floor near Jen as she started singing.  She danced slowly by herself to the music, her body swaying to the sultry beat of the song.  Adam paused to watch his wife for a moment before taking his shot, looking at Alex and I as he did so, the sharp c***k of the balls hitting each other a distinct contrast to his wife's soft singing.

    "You can look, and talk, but don't try playing games with that girl.  She was the only one who stayed by Jen's side without trying to use us or cause drama.  She's one of the best people I know and I would hate to have to hide a body of someone who hurt her...but it wouldn't stop me from hiding it."  Adam didn't bother to explain any further than that, and simply lined up for his next shot.