with an inescapable charm. Tonight, he owned the room. He knew where his confidence came from...it was from the exciting rush he felt meeting Dana.
Just like the rush he felt the night he met Laura.
He wasn’t expecting Dana to be so beautiful or so sharp. He wasn’t expecting anything. Maybe that’s why things were clicking. He felt extra pressure since she was there, wanting for her to be as impressed with him as she was by the CD. No, he wanted her to be more impressed by their live performance.
She was.
Dana saw the raw talent of the band. They were new to the game, she could tell by the effort they poured into their performance. No one was even close to phoning it in. They lacked polish, but made up for it with sheer energy. The band sounded tight, well-practiced and, most importantly, they had good songs – real lyrics with strong melodies. The band connected with the crowd. Cody had an easy charisma that drew the audience into his emotional songs. His deep, guttural voice was hypnotic. You couldn’t help but listen and love them.
“All right Dana,” Jonny yelled over the music, “if you wanna like him you can. They’re good.”
“I’m glad I have your approval.”
The band finished their set. The crowd went wild.
“You want more?” Cody shouted into the mic, wiping the sweat from his brow.
The crowd responded loudly, hungry for more.
They did an encore then left the stage. Give the crowd what they want, but hold back a bit so they’ll come back for more. That was Eric’s motto. It was a good one.
Jill pulled on Jonny’s arm. “I’m tired. Let’s go home.” It was now almost one a.m.
“Dana won’t be happy about that. I think she wanted to talk to Cody.”
“Look, I can appreciate that, but I’m tired.” Jill had enough of this night. “Can we please go?”
Jonny nodded reluctantly and approached Dana.
“Jill’s real tired. She wants to leave.” He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, I have no choice.
“Really? I wanted to talk to Cody.”
“I know, but what can I do? She’s my wife.”
Dana thought on her feet. “I can take a cab back to my place, right?”
“You’ve really got it bad for him, huh?”
Dana turned red with embarrassment. For once she had no retort. “Look, he seems nice...I’m kinda low on myself now. I could use the attention.”
Jonny put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I won’t big brother.”
“So, you’re okay if we go?” He peered into her eyes.
“Well, not really, I mean I wish you’d stay, but you definitely can’t, right?”
Jonny looked at Jill. She was tapping her foot impatiently.
“Right.”
“Jonny, I don’t want to go home to my empty apartment right now. I know what you’re thinking...”
“I’m thinking rebound...”
“You are?” Dana said disappointedly. “I wasn’t thinking that at all...and I don’t want to regret not seizing this moment.” She sighed and shook her head. “Maybe I am being stupid and should go home with you guys.”
“Go where?” another voice said.
Dana looked behind her. It was Cody. Tall, tan, handsome and seemingly available. She had her answer. “Hi there,” she said to him. “Give me a minute...?”
“No problem,” Cody said. “I’m just gonna get some water at the bar. You want anything.”
“The same.” Cody walked away.
“Jonny I’ll be fine.” She kissed him on the cheek, amazed at her own adventurousness. “Thanks for everything.”
“Be safe and call me tomorrow...I wanna know how the story ends.”
“Maybe it’s just the beginning,” she said as he walked away.
Cody returned on cue with two waters. “We’re hitting the hard stuff tonight,” Dana joked, clinking her glass with his.
“Exactly.” He leaned into her ear, again. “Do you want to go someplace less crazy to talk?”
She stopped drinking. Maybe she had misread the situation. She was nobody’s groupie. Not even the sexy Cody Blue’s. “I’m not that kind of girl.”
“Oh, no...no I didn’t mean it like that at all...” Cody was red with embarrassment. Had he blown it already? “I mean like a quiet public spot. Like the beach or something. Honest. I’m not that kind of guy.”
“Oh,” Dana said and paused, feeling bad for totally misreading the situation. “I’d like that.”
Cody took Dana’s arm and steered her through the crowd, ignoring the people who all wanted a piece of him.
They left through the side door of the club and walked across the street to the beach. The cloak of night was a disguise, giving them anonymity and privacy. They found an empty patch of sand.
“I wish I