Music, Ink, and Love (6 page)

“Are you drunk, Munroe?”

I laughed even more. “No, I’m just enjoying my momentum. I gave Nix something to think about while she’s in class.”

He rolled his eyes. “I kind of miss the old Levi. The one who didn’t give a fuck about all that romance shit. The one who tattooed for a living.”

“Hey, K. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

He pulled a chair, next to my station. “You’re never here anymore and when you are, you have these red flashy hearts popping out of your eyes like you got hypnotized by some dick vultures.”

I tried hard not to laugh. “Dick vultures? Seriously, K.”

“When you two are together, you are undressing her, repeatedly, with your eyes, you drool all over the fucking floor and she is definitely loving it. I’m just saying, dude... You are pussy-whipped and she’s a fucking dick vulture.” He smiled proud of his speech.

“Maybe you should keep your eyes open. You look like you might be in need of some vultures. You know, get some action below the belt, and I’m not talking about getting a doctor check-up because your piercing got infected again.”

“Shut up, it only happened once.”

“Twice. Not that I want to think about your dick... but the first time, you actually showed it to me and the second time, I drove you to the hospital myself.” I laughed. “You can’t go bare with that shit, you need one or two layers of rubber.”

We could go on and on. Just being guys, spitting each other’s shit in our faces.

T
he week had been dragging and dragging. Work kept me busy, but the closer we got to the weekend, the more Nix became restless. Seeing Brian had to play games with her mind. She kept having weird dreams, talking in her sleep and she kicked me a couple of times too.

Phoenix insisted on packing our clothes last night after her shift at the club. I had no idea what she had brought for me, not that I was difficult anyway. In her own words, it calmed her down to focus on something. Fuck, I felt like she was on her way to making the biggest mistake of her life and yet, I couldn’t stop her. I couldn’t forbid her to meet her father again.

We’d landed in San Francisco two hours ago. Our luggage was in our hotel room. Nix took a quick shower before leaving again. The room was great. I mean, if it wasn’t for Brian, maybe I would have enjoyed being here.

We had to meet Brian at 8pm in a bar. Like I thought, he was going to perform with his band and he wanted us to meet him there. We had one more hour before meeting him so I opted for a nice restaurant. I also had a surprise for my girl, in the hope of brightening her day.

“Would you like something to drink, babe? Wine, beer?”

“I’ll have what you have.” She half smiled. Her body was tense and she kept shuddering. Nix was so nervous that it was starting to make her weak.

I ordered two beers and two plates of grilled chicken with rice and salads. Grilled chicken seemed to be a favorite of hers so I thought I played safe.

Of course when we got our meal, it resembled more of a mountain than an actual dinner. There was no way Nix would eat more than half of it. Throughout the meal, she smiled and seemed happy.

“Do you want to walk around the city tomorrow? I’ve never been here and it looks like a great city.”

I nodded, she was already thinking about tomorrow when my head couldn’t even process anything after tonight. Maybe I was the nervous one after all.
Chill the fuck out, Levi.

“Do you want dessert?”

She chuckled. “Baby, I didn’t even finish my plate.”

“So what? You can eat cake if you want. Screw the rules.”

She started laughing louder. “You see? I don’t even see my mother anymore and her rules are still haunting me. How fucked up is that?” She sighed. “Okay, I’ll have chocolate cake, if they have any.”

“Do you know a restaurant that doesn’t have chocolate cake on their dessert menu? It’s a classic, come on. I’ll take a piece of lemon pie.” I wasn’t really a fan of dessert, but I knew Nix was so I wasn’t going to let her eat her cake alone, right?

We ate silently, and ten minutes later we were outside the restaurant, walking hand in hand toward the address Brian has given us.

The bar was huge. There was a large black stage with few couches facing it. Brian was nowhere to be seen. Nix had the habit of hanging out in loud places like this since she was working in a club. She walked through the crowd and found a place for us to sit. My hand searched for hers, I needed the connection and wanted to let her know I was there for her. My biggest worry had to be seeing her hurt.

“He should be here soon. He said he would.” She said, not realizing the doubt resonating in her voice
. He said he would
, she held on to his words.

“Do you want something to drink?” I offered her because I sure as hell was thirsty.

She nodded looking through the crowds, trying to find him. “A Jack, no ice and hum... make it a double.”

I waited for her to look at me or do something before I went fetch the drinks but nothing, she only focused on finding him and I thought it sucked.

I got up, turned around without looking back and got our drinks. This bar wasn’t really the type of place where I would hang out on a regular basis. The crowd seemed a little older too. 

“Hey, man. I’ll have a beer and two double Jacks, no ice.”

My mind was fucking yelling at me, throwing me rocks so I would wake the fuck up. Something was off about tonight. I feared that something wrong was going to happen and it completely confused the crap out of me.

The bartender gave me the drinks and my beer. I drained one of the Jacks, felt the burn down my throat and slammed the glass on the counter. Fuck it, I had to protect my fiancée. I grabbed the beer and her JD and hurried back to Nix.

Shit
, I muttered.

Brian stood by her with proud smile on his face while Phoenix looked nervous as fuck. A tall young tattooed guy shook her hand. He held drum sticks into his other hand so I knew he was the drummer of Brian’s band. He approached her and kissed both of her cheeks.
Really?

“Hey, Rock Star.” She took her glass and emptied half of it.

“Meet my fiancé, Levi. Levi, this is Alexander, the drummer.”

He stepped back and I offered to shake hands.
Yeah, I’m the fiancé, so back off.

Next thing, I saw was Nix drinking the remaining of her JD.

“They want me so sing with them.” She told me in front of all the bandmates.

“Okay, and what did you say?” I tried reading into her eyes, to see any signals she could give me. Did she want this or not?

She sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t really like the crowd.”

“She told me she sings too so let’s give her some space on the stage, guys. This is going to rock. Come here, Nix.” Brian praised her, trying to convince her. Dick move coming from her father.

She blushed, and looked embarrassed. “I don’t know. I could try but it really isn’t my thing. I love to sing but in my bedroom or in the shower. Crowds freak me out royally.”

The band eventually had to go on stage and I felt her body relaxed as soon as they left.

“Are you okay?”

“Maybe.” Not the answer I was hoping for.

The background music quiet down and Brian took his place in the middle of the stage. The other guys stood behind them holding a bass and a guitar. Alexander sat behind his drum set, stretching his fingers and arms, cracked his neck. Was he a MMA fighter or drummer?

Without introducing the band, they started with a song, probably one of theirs because I had never heard it before. The people in the bar all started applauding and cheering. It surprised me. Were they San Francisco’s best underground rock band or what?

Nix sat back into the couch and leaned against me. “Thanks. I thought you were going to punch Alexander in the face.”

I laughed. “I sure thought about it.” Why did he kiss her anyway?

She smiled and that made my night.

“Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce my band.  We’re the Old Rockers’ band.” And the crowd screamed louder than I thought possible. “Someone special is here tonight. Someone I lost many years ago. I made a mistake and never had the chance to go back on my decision. I was young and scared. I enrolled in the army, defended our country while I had a daughter growing up somewhere in America. We met for the first time last week and I now have the pleasure to have her here. Phoenix, come here.”

I felt her whole body freeze up.

“Come on, we won’t eat ya.” He laughed.

She squeezed my hand, kissed my cheek and met him on stage. She waved at the crowd and, for the first time, I saw pride in her. Brian had given her quite an introduction.

“This girl here has the potential of becoming the next music star. She has the voice of an angel and the talent of any Grammy winners out there. Phoenix is not really crowd friendly so we may not hear her tonight. I’m just happy she’s here.”

Some of the spectators started calling Phoenix’s name and I thought she was going to pass out. Brian introduced her as if he knew or had heard her before. I hated the lies.

Brian motioned to his band to start the next song. Nix stayed on the stage, but a little on the side. She looked at the band and at me. Her eyes balancing between me and the band. She followed to the beat, swinging her head to the music. She looked fine and that made it easier on me.

After a couple of songs, they all went backstage, even Nix, and left me there alone like an idiot. For a moment, I thought about going backstage with Nix but then I remembered that she had to talk to him, to be on her own. My beer bottle was empty and I had gotten thirsty so I went back to get another beer. When I returned to my place, Nix was waiting for me, her face lit up. She was giggling and excited about something, it appeared. I had never seen her like this before. Her blue eyes were different and everything about her was just odd.

“Did that JD shot get to you or something?”

She frowned, irritated. “No, I... I decided to have a good time tonight. To give him a chance.”

“Okay.” But it still didn’t explain why she was acting so hyper.

“I’m going to go on stage.”

“To sing?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I can do this, Levi. I need to get out of that shell. I’m just singing, I’m not pole dancing.”

“Alright then, rock the place like I know you can.”

She pulled me closer to her and I felt her trembling against me. Was that happening? My something wrong I had predicted.

She kissed me and got back on stage.  Her whole attitude was changed and looked like she was in the hyper phase of getting drunk, but she only had one drink. It couldn’t be that. This night was turning into a fucked up mess, I could feel it.

The band started playing again and I watched Nix in disbelief. They were playing an old song from Deftones. A smoother one. Nix took the microphone and started singing, owning the stage like she was the real motherfucking rock star. That wasn’t her. She scared me, I didn’t recognize her.

Her voice was strong and confident, she sounded even better than she had at the Black Shakers. Her fears were gone. I didn’t know if I should be happy or worried. I watched her sing, song after song. She jumped on stage and danced. Brian accompanied her, they sang together like they had hours of practice under the belt.

Because I couldn’t believe my eyes, I even made a video of her with my phone and sent it to Bekka. If this wasn’t normal, I would hear from her soon.

Well, it took two minutes.

Bekka: How much did she have to drink? It’s too early.

Levi: Nothing, only a double JD, that’s all.

Bekka: This is not her, not normal. She’s good but there’s something strange.

Levi: I know. I’m freaked out.

At least, I knew I wasn’t alone. Bekka thought the same thing.

L
eaving the bar with the star of the night holding my hand, I felt proud, but I couldn’t ignore the anxiety I felt. For one second, the idea of drugs came across my mind but knowing her history with drugs, I doubted that she would use them again.

She walked fast; I had a hard time keeping up with her, her body was agitated. She normally was more in control but now, she had to keep moving her arms, touching me, her hair or whatever it was she had to feel. I thought maybe it was the adrenaline but even then, it should have had toned down by now. It had been over an hour and she still wanted to walk, while I was sweating and tired. I didn’t think running a 5k would have been a problem for her. She finally agreed to go back to our room after she ate a foot long sub at Subway. I sat on the couch exhausted while she stayed up and watched TV while going through our luggage.

Bekka: Is she okay, now?

Levi: Still on a high.

Bekka: Fuck...

I hated to think that, but I was pretty certain she had taken drugs. It sickened me but it was the only reason that could explain her attitude.  I had been high before and I knew the reaction a person could have. But why Nix? After everything she went through? What happened backstage that influenced her after all of those years away from drugs? All these questions kept coming through my mind. I ended up going to bed, she was far from tired, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. I hurt, I hated San Francisco and I despised Brian.