Never Enough - By Ashley Johnson Page 0,86
very good. I’ve never been better. I’m sure you’ve already heard that Trevor left town. If you’re mad at me I’ll understand completely but I would like to come back here. This is my home.”
“I know he left. I didn’t mean to seem like I took his side. I just didn’t want anything going sour with you two and when it did, I tried to do what I thought was best. You will be just fine Macy. You are a strong young woman. I’ve never been more proud of you in my life for standing up for yourself and knowing what you want.” He got up and made his way over to me for a hug. “This bar hasn’t been the same without you here.”
“It’s good to be back. I have a friend here with me tonight. His name is Luke.” Gary eyeballed me for a second. “I just met him last night. He’s very nice and he’s a tattoo artist. Maybe me and you can get tats Gary.”
He burst out laughing so hard I thought he was going to cry. “Yeah, Macy that’s a good one. You must get your sense of humor from me. Enjoy yourself tonight, you know the rules.” I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the office and headed behind the bar. I threw back a shot of whiskey and went to meet Luke. Halley and Marcus were there too. Surprisingly, Marcus seemed to be cool with Luke. Apparently they knew each other from a few of Marcus’ tattoos.
Luke grinned as I walked up and I couldn’t help but return one back. A few more regulars noticed me and walked up asking if I would sing. I hadn’t been on the stage in a while. It was almost like a craving I couldn’t ignore for much longer. Of course I would sing, what was wrong with these people. Halley and Marcus were making their rounds talking with everyone. I wondered if he were upset that there was no band to play tonight. I squeezed Luke’s hand and whispered in his ear, “I’ll be right back.”
The DJ booth was unoccupied at the time. He must have gone to the restroom. Oh well, I grabbed the book and began flipping through the list. I didn’t want anything sappy. I’d had enough sap here lately and that was not going to be revisited. The DJ came back just as I made my selection. No one could raise my spirits quite like music from the 80’s and everyone began cheering as a peppy upbeat song came over the speakers. Halley looked at me from the crowd and I waved her onto stage. She ran up and joined me. It felt so incredible to be back on this stage singing karaoke. My eyes scanned the crowd as we sang and when they met Luke’s eyes, it almost reminded me of when Trevor used to watch me sing. That memory got shoved further behind. He was no longer here. Luke met me as I stepped down from the stage, those green eyes sparkling in the light. How lucky was I?
“You are pretty amazing up there. Why don’t you sing with a band or something?” Complements have always come my way for my singing but I’d never given it any further thought. Music was just a major release for me. I loved anything to do with it, I just didn’t know about making a living off of it.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m content with this for now.”
“The crowd loves you. I’m definitely a fan.”
I smacked his arm playfully and he pulled me in closer. “Are you really?”
He kissed my lips and I already knew my answer. Gary came walking up and cleared his throat like a father would to his daughter. Laughing, I turned to look at Gary and rolled my eyes in a joking manner. “Luke, this is my Uncle Gary. Gary, this is Luke.” The two men shook hands and began talking like they’d known each other for years. I stood back and smiled. Luke and I barely knew each other but my mind had ease with this. If anything did progress with Luke, we didn’t have to worry about sneaking behind Gary’s back or worrying about what he would think. We would be free to be together and do as we pleased.
I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see Halley beside me. “Looks like the two of them are getting along rather peachy.”
“Sure does right?