London Harmony: Minuette (16 page)

Vanessa backhanded Fran in the arm and Small Fry squeaked out, “Oh shit... you didn't tell her?”  She covered her mouth with a hand. “It just the way you two are sitting and... I thought... oh God, I'm sorry.”

Mindy's pleading eyes locked on mine and I heard my own voice from a million miles away, “I'm sorry, but you ladies need to leave... now.”  There was silence for a moment as a tear rolled down Mindy's cheek, her eyes were filled with fear.  Then I heard the three women get up and leave.  The little click of the latch on the door echoed through our silent flat as I tried to force the dizziness away.

It felt like the silence stretched on for a thousand years.  My pulse was pounding and a cold sweat was making itself known on my hands and face.  A tiny voice that sort of sounded like me asked, “Mind?”

Her body shook twice as she silently cried.  She calmed herself and her voice was raspier than ever, almost raw.  “Please don't hate me Netty.  I couldn't live like this anymore.  Keeping it inside.  I was trying to tell you earlier.  And the past few years... but I was afraid.  It needs to be said, though, and I'll understand no matter how you react.  Just know, I'm so scared of losing you as a friend.”

She shook our hands to get me to look up at her. She reached her other hand over to shakily take mine.  She squeezed my hands and whispered, “I have been so in love with you for so long.  You deserve to know.”  She stared at me as I processed the words, tears dripping off my cheeks.  She looked down and said in utter defeat, “I can be out by the weekend.”

The blood pumping from my heart seemed to be liquid fire that heated my body up, right down to my soul as I comprehended what she was saying to me.  Had I passed out in panic earlier and this was just a dream?  My voice squeaked out, “Out?  Where... are you going?”

I glanced at our hands, then her lips and locked eyes again, there was a spark of hope in hers that I'm sure matched mine.  I finally gave voice to the feelings that I have held locked away for so very long.  “I have been in love with you for as long as I can remember, Mindy.  I was always so afraid to tell you and ruin our friendship.”  One corner of my mouth kept quirking into a smile as I added, “I was going to tell you tonight, even if I lost you, you deserved to know.”

She giggled nervously and shook her head as she stared at my lips. “We're a couple of bloody gits.”  Then her smile turned sly, sexy, heated as she leaned slowly in.  “I've wanted to do this for so long.” And our lips met in the most tender kiss I could imagine and I started bawling like a wally as she held me.

The woman I loved loved me back.  It was true, there were still miracles in our world.  I regained my wits and whispered in her ear shakily, “One.”

She held me out at arm's length with a question in her eyes, her brow furrowed.  “One?”

I nodded and released her hands and tentatively placed my hands gently on either side of her face and leaned in and kissed her with a little more heat this time.  When we broke for air, I whispered, “Two.”

She grinned hugely when she realized what my new counting obsession would be.  She leaned in and whispered, “Three.”  And gave me a teasing kiss that left me chasing her lips as she pulled away.  Internally I agreed with her count.  Three.

She sobered quickly and asked firmly, “Always and forever?”

I nodded and replied, “...forever and a day.”  The words had changed so much in meaning.  They had always been an expression of love, but now they were a promise of a different, more intense love.  I realized we had been confessing to each other all these years, just now was I realizing that she had always meant them the same way I did.

She stood up, and I immediately missed the heat of her body next to mine.  She bashfully offered a hand to me.  I took it and she led me to our bedroom.  Before I could knock three times as we passed the door, she did it for me with an impish grin.  Oddly, it worked for me, I didn't feel the compulsion to knock.

She rasped out as we stood beside her bed and she raised her hands up to stroke my arms, “I love you, Annette Lenore Corrick.”

I smiled as my toes curled into little balls as I let the words thrum through my body, heating me in ways I never experienced before.  I said firmly back, “And I love you, Mindy Sienna Stevens.”

I leaned in and kissed her again, hungrily, and I was in nirvana as she responded in kind.  Four.

What followed that night, was the most beautiful, erotic, exciting experience of my life.  I never knew it could be that way.  Sharing yourself with someone that way.  Almost becoming one being as you lose track of where you ended and your lover began. Everything carried a shared heat as your love entwines itself with theirs. Merging.  Each touch, each caress, each kiss, electric.

We fell asleep in each other's arms in her bed, a tangle of limbs, soaking in each others warmth.

***

The next morning she came out of our room yawning with a supremely satisfied smile on her face as she rubbed her bedhead that just made her look like she had had a night of passion.  I felt proud of that.  She looked cute in my night shirt.

She wandered up to me, where I was cooking breakfast for her, wearing her night shirt.  She gave me a cute peck on the lips and said, just because she could, “Morning love.”  Bloody hell, I melted into a sodding puddle.

I whispered, “Four hundred and thirteen.”  Then repeated back to her with a tinge of wonder coloring my voice, “Morning love.”

She poured herself a coffee and sat at out tiny kitchen table and swung her feet cutely.  “That...”  She said with mischief on her face.  “...we are doing again.”

I felt a heat starting to spread through me from some interesting places.  I squeaked out, “Yes please.” I slid some eggs onto our plates with the rest of the fryup.

I stepped over and placed them on the table.  She slid my plate so I sat next to her instead of across from her.  She has a smug look on her face as we ate in silence.  Not by choice but because I couldn't speak if you had paid me since she rested her free hand on my leg, thumb stroking my thigh.  I was more or less eating on automatic.  I couldn't pry my eyes off of hers as we ate.  I loved the smug look on her face... her knowing just how much she was affecting me.

She showed mercy finally and moved her hand.  I sighed and then formed words.  “June will want an answer from us.  I'll back whatever you decide.”

I smirked and added, “Minuette.”

She scolded, “We are Minuette.”  She squinted an eye and said, “Say it or no more kisses.”

I blurted out at super sonic speed, “We are Minuette.”

She leaned over and smiled into a silly kiss with me as she mumbled into my lips, “Four hundred and fourteen?”

I nodded with a grin and she finished heating me up with a little nip of my bottom lip when she broke the kiss.

She pointed between our lips with her fork satisfaction after she took another bite of bacon.  “I can do that now you know?”  I nodded enthusiastically.

I looked at the time and she sighed and nodded before I could say anything.  “We'll talk about it tonight and make a decision when I get home.”

I nodded and started cleaning the plates up as she headed to our room to start getting ready for work.  I called after her.  “I'll contact the agency and let them know I am needing a gig.”

She wound up being late for work.  She had called me into the shower when she said she couldn't quite reach all of her back as she washed up, and, of course, needed some assistance with that.  So I did my duty, like any good friend would, and braved the hot waters of the shower with her to wash her back, and her front, and all her interesting bits.

There was soap and moans everywhere by the time we staggered out of the shower.  I giggled and said breathlessly, “I feel like I need a shower after that.”  She giggled as well, then looked back over her shoulder demurely as she slipped a bra strap up over her shoulder.

She was such a tease.  More, please.

I finally got her off to work and I just sat on the couch playing over the night in my head.  I wasn't dreaming was I?  If I was, I never wanted to wake up.  Mindy loved me!  I wanted to scream it out loud.  I sighed then almost jumped out of my skin when my mobile started ringing.  I blurted out, “Bloody hell!”

I chuckled at myself and looked at the screen.  It was Fran.  I swallowed... I had no answers for her.  I just stared at the screen until the call went to voicemail.  I took a deep breath.  I was done being a coward.  I resolved to call her back and before I could dial a text came from her.  “Where iz be?  U late fer werk.”

I blinked at the message.  Then slowly typed out, “I'm not sacked?”

She replied, “Why u think dat?”

I shrugged.  Brilliant Nett, like she can see a shrug.  I typed, “You know I was lying.”  Then I added, “Your texting sucks.”

She sent back quickly, “LOL.  You are not the first to make the astute observation that I lack the diction and prose commonly associated with my loquacious articulations in a rapid messaging environment.  I could revert to a more professional form of textual conversing if that is what you would prefer.”

I couldn't stop the grin on my face as I replied, “No.  No.  Please don't.”

I got back, “Werd.  When U be in?  Lots of werk to do.”

I stared at the mobile for a bit.  They still wanted me at London Harmony?  I really loved it there.  I looked at the mobile for a second and looked around for some reason, like someone was watching, then sent, “Give me an hour?”

Her response was simply, “Sweet.”  There was a delay of maybe thirty seconds as I headed to my room to get dressed for work when she added, “I'm really sorry for my boneheaded maneuver last night Annette.  I hope I didn't damage things too much.”

I looked at it and I could easily imagine the pained look on her face as she sent that.  She was such good people.  I sent back, “No worries.  My girl loves me!”  My toes started to curl as I thought of Mind.

I felt like I was living a fairy tale.

My Mindy smiled at me and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.  “You got this Netty.”  I looked around to the other women in the room, they gave confident nods.

The last six months have been a whirlwind.  Mind and I signed with London Harmony as an anonymous artist.  The studio puts out one of Mindy's new multi-layered, Phantom Melody tracks each month.  I can hear the depth of each track, she has outdone herself.

I'm always amazed at her genius.  There are at least five layers hidden in there.  It will take years to get down to the final layer, just like before.  I was more than happy to be part of the adventure and mystery.

Whenever June is pressed by, well, the press, she vows that Minuette's identity will never be revealed, and she will never go on tour.  As per our only demand upon signing with her, since Mindy insists that the music is for me.  However, June assures everyone that Minuette would still make her random public appearances in the coffee houses and piano bars of London.

When we learned about that little tidbit, we blinked at her, wondering what she was thinking, what if someone who knew us saw us performing?  She smugly handed us her answer.  Mindy groaned and I actually found it funny.  The solution added to the mystique.

I slid on the intricate masquerade mask that hid all my facial features.  It was beautifully crafted black leather.  And it cupped the right side of my face, in a mysterious Phantom of the Opera way... but it looked... kind of sexy.  With the patterns swirling on it punctuated by the glittering black beads and sequins.

Mindy slid hers on, a literal mirror of mine.  It instead cupped her left cheek.  It wasn't until the third time we wore them that Mind squinted her eyes and overlapped the two masks, they formed the face of a pretty woman.  She grinned at June who gave a smug smile and shrug, “What?  The two of you make one whole.”

Wherever we showed up, there were a network of fans who put the word out and the locations would be swarming with fans by the end of the performance, and London Harmony would seed the car park with thumb drives.

I looked around at the backstage room and smiled at all my friends who were now heading out to their seats.  Mindy grabbed both my hands and playfully swung them side to side as she placed her forehead on mine.  “Always and forever...”

I grinned. “...forever and a day.”

Then she leaned in and gave me a whisper of a kiss that filled me with a calm I cannot explain.  I said breathlessly, “Nine thousand and two.”

She locked eyes with me, shoring up my confidence with the steel of her resolve.  We heard Eliza finish her opening number and Ronnie Marx; no relation to Zilrita, we are assured; introducing “Minuette!”

We grinned at each other and she took my hand.  We walked out in our matching nineteen twenties black flapper dresses that did wonders for her curves and showed off her cute swaying butt.  She caught me looking back.  “Hey, my eyes are up here.”

I blushed and grinned and she led me out to the stage.  The place was packed, standing room only, and the cheering of the crowd almost hurt my ears.  I couldn't believe this.  We were signed with a record label, and here we were at Walker's, getting ready to perform Mindy's music.  If you would have told me this six months ago, I would have thought you were off your trolley.

We walked to center stage holding hands.  Mind took us into a little bow, which just encouraged the crowd.  She squeezed my hand and left me standing behind the microphone as she took her seat at the Steinway grand beside it.

It was like she held power in her motion.  The crowd settled into silence as she gracefully raised the fallboard then rested her hands on the keys.  There was a humming energy and a palpable anticipation in the air as she waited for the last murmurs to die down.

Then from a single note that hung in the air for a seeming eternity, my girl brought the cascade of notes, the fusion of songs within songs, the web of melodies that only she could craft, out into the world.

Now you may profess that there is no such thing as magic in this world, I would argue the fact as I witness it every time Mindy lays her hands on the ivories.  Bringing life to the elegant melodies, and a wellspring of emotions hidden inside them, all woven into their core.

I opened my mouth and sang for her, giving a voice to the emotions.  She turned her head from the keys as she played.  Our eyes meeting and our love reaching out between us like a tangible force, stretching and grasping, then merging into one, becoming the music.

Like waves gently lapping at the shore, the music went out to all who embraced it, I could feel the change in her music, from the way of our mutual confessions.  They were so filled with joy and love and so many complex underlying emotions now.

Gone was the haunted Phantom Melodies, which were replaced with nothing but hope and passion and wanting now.  A tear rolled down my cheek, knowing those emotions were a promise to me from the woman I loved.

As the song started to wane during the tag, she gave me a loving smile full of promise as she turned back to the keys.  I smiled at her a moment then looked to the crowd who seemed to be entranced with our performance.  I had to smile at June, Vanessa, Fran, Tasha, and Zilrita at their table in the reserved area.  Fran wiggled her eyebrows which made me crinkle my nose as I smiled.  I was still her assistant for my day job, between recording sessions, June let me know that I had spoiled them all at the office and they needed me there.

My smile threatened to split my face as Jen showed up a little late to sit next to Zil, who just froze.  Just when were those two going to open their eyes to each other?  They were an adorable couple and they didn't even know it.

I hit the final note and held it, following Mindy's lead as she held the last note on the keys.  My mouth kept twitching into a smile as she continued on.  She knew me, and my limits, I was, after all, her voice for as long as we both can remember.  Then she damped out the note when I had reached my physical limit.  I'd get her for that later tonight.

She stood and clasped my hand as the place erupted into cheers.  Mindy led me into a deep bow.  I stared at our hands then into her eyes as I realized that there was no place I would rather be than by her side.  To her, I mouthed, “I love you.”

She mouthed with glittering eyes and a huge smile, “I love you too.”

Then we stood up and looked around as I leaned into the mic.

“Minuette out.”