Compromise Me: Chapter 34

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Chapter 34

 

“One jar of happy tears,” Arielle announced, setting a small jar of faintly-blue liquid on the bar next to Josie.  It was Saturday night, and the two women commandeered barstools at Alfred’s bar, so that Arielle could visit with her sister Christy, who had to work, and Josie could listen to The Keychains play a few sets as the billed band that night.

 

Josie’s ears perked when she heard the first chords of “Princess,” a song Travis wrote not long after she began working at Raw Studios.  She smiled to herself, knowing that was her song.  She’d been the inspiration for the tone of frustration in the lyrics.  Lydia’s sweet voice only enhanced the overall malice and annoyance, and in a very feminine way, Josie got a kick out of it.  She kind of liked knowing she got under Travis’ skin sometimes...at least, enough to compose an entire song out of it.

 

“And I say happy, because they are happy tears, even though I bawled my eyes out collecting it,” Arielle said, gaining Josie’s attention again.  Josie grinned and hugged her friend.

 

“Thanks, Arielle,” she said.  “Now tell me all about the honeymoon.”

 

“Nuh uh.  Tell me all about your date with Travis,” Arielle insisted, her eyes gleaming mischievously.

 

This was only the second time Josie had seen Arielle since she and Sam came home from Niagara Falls, and yet the first chance Arielle got to give Josie her jar of "tears."  Just that morning, Josie and Travis arrived at Ari’s and Sam’s new house to help them move in.  Josie had forgotten all about the newlyweds moving to Memphis that weekend, until Arielle called Josie in the middle of her drink with Travis the night before.  Most of the Saturday had been spent unloading and unpacking furniture and boxes...and playing with Tristan.  Because there was just something about opening a box of toys--old toys that hadn’t been played with in a long time--and rediscovering all the treasures of a little boy’s imagination.  

 

Needless to say, Tristan’s room had to be set up and arranged first.  It was good foresight on Travis’ part.  By lunchtime, Little Man wore himself out, and the adults found him curled up on his bed with a nest of his favorite toys surrounding him.  During the boy’s nap, Sam and Travis were able to get most of the heavy furniture into the house without the barrage of questions and the scurry of a little boy underfoot.  

 

Arielle showed Josie the house, and they walked the neighborhood for a few minutes, and Josie thought it was a great place to raise a child.  The backyard was spacious.  There was a park nearby, and Arielle’s workplace was only a quick drive up the street.  It was a home suited for Arielle, who loved the city.

 

Now, Tristan and Sam were hanging out at Sam’s mom’s house, while Travis and his band worked their set, and Josie and Arielle visited with Christy at the bar.

 

“Whoa, just wait two minutes on that,” Christy said as she poured glasses of beer in front of them.  “Let me deliver these before you say anything.  I want to hear about this date, too.”  Christy winked at Josie and disappeared out into the tables with her order.

 

Arielle shook her head and leaned toward Josie.  “Tell me!  You don’t have to wait for Chris.  She’s always so nosey anyway.”

 

Josie laughed at the irony of that.  “There isn’t much to tell.  We went to a concert at the Gardens.  We had fun.  It was great.”

 

Christy came back and propped her elbows on the scarred-wood bar.  “He took you to a concert?  Sounds Travis-typical.  What else did you do?”

 

“Really, that’s it,” Josie said, sipping from her water glass.

 

Arielle mirrored her sister’s posture.  “You know what we want to hear...did you sleep with him?”

 

Josie felt the rush of heat to her cheeks.  “No.”

 

The sisters deflated.  “Well...crap,” Arielle said.  “Not at all?”

 

Josie arched an eyebrow as The Keychains wrapped up their song and called out a short break.  “Is there a way to partly sleep with someone?” she asked Arielle.

 

“Sure...,” said Christy with a grin.  “It’s called oral.”

 

Laughter bolted out of Josie’s mouth.  She was still smiling when Lydia walked up and coughed out a request for some iced water.  Josie stopped smiling to frown with concern.  “You don’t sound so great,” she told the younger girl.

 

“I’m having a hard time tonight,” Lydia admitted.  “I woke up with a nasty head cold this morning, and all this singing is making my throat dry and scratchy.  I swear, if there’s a germ within two miles of me, I always get it!  I have the worst immunity.”

 

Christy gave Lydia her drink.  “Why are you singing tonight if you don’t feel well?”

 

And Arielle asked, “Travis is making you do it, isn’t he?”

 

Lydia shook her head as she guzzled her water.  “I lied and told him I feel fine.”

 

Just then, Travis walked up behind Lydia and said, “Okay, spill it, Lydia.  What’s wrong?  I can hear it in your voice.”

 

Lydia ducked her head with a blush coming up her cheeks.  Arielle said to Travis, “She has a cold, dumb butt.  Why are you making her sing?”

 

Travis gave Arielle a small glare before turning back to Lydia.  “I told you if you didn’t feel well enough for this, we could cancel.  This is the one venue I wouldn’t feel bad about ditching.”

 

“Gee, thanks, Trav,” Christy said, popping him on the shoulder with a dishrag.  “You’re damn lucky you’re family.”

 

“I know,” Travis returned and went back to Lydia.  “Go home and get some rest.  We have that festival next Thursday, which we can’tcancel.”

 

“What about the rest of the show?” Lydia asked, her voice crackling heartily.

 

“Dont’ worry about it,” Travis said, taking her by the elbow and leading her back to where the band stashed their things.  “I’ll call you for practice later next week.”  Lydia met up with her boyfriend and the two left the bar shortly after.  

 

Tractor rushed up to the bar.  “Where is Lydia going?”

 

“She’s sick,” Travis said.  “Chris, can I get a soda water with a lime?”

 

“Damnit, again?” Tractor grumped.

 

“Yes,” Travis sighed.  

 

“Now what?”

 

Travis drank his soda water in one gulp, turned to Josie with a smile, and finally said, “Hey, beautiful...having fun?”

 

Josie smiled playfully.  “I always have fun listening to you play.”

 

Tractor said, “Dude!  The rest of the set?”

 

“Shush,” Travis said to Tractor, still smiling at Josie, “I’m working on it.”

 

Tractor glanced between the two of them, obviously remembering the last time Josie sang for The Keychains.  He blinked, then grinned broadly, and then said, “Oh...okay.”  And then he walked back to where the rest of the band gathered.

 

“You’re working on it, huh?” Josie said, slanting her body toward him.  “And how do you suppose that is going to work out when the solution to your problem knows only a handful of your songs by heart?”

 

“You can sing anything,” Travis said in a soft, endearing voice, meant to win her over.  “And we can play any rock cover you can think of.”

 

Josie heard Arielle snort, but her focus was on the very sexy man in front of her.  “And what will I get for saving your ass again?"

 

“This one isn’t on the house?” he asked, leaning closer and closer, so near she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek.  Josie smiled into his eyes.

 

“Not on your life, Big Daddy.”

 

“I told you not to call me that,” he said, but his smile suggested he was liking it now.  “Name your price.”

 

“I’ll have to send you a bill,” Josie told him.  “I’ll need time to tally up all the fees and charges.”

 

“It’s a deal,” Travis replied and dropped a kiss on her lips.  “We go back on in two minutes.”

 

He left to visit the men’s room, and Josie turned on her stool to meet the eyes of Arielle and Christy.  “I don’t know who’s whipped more,” Arielle said sideways to Christy.  “Her or him.”

 

“They’ve both got it bad,” Christy returned, and Arielle nodded.

 

“They need to sleep together.”

 

“They definitely need to sleep together.”

 

Josie rolled her eyes.  “Both of you need to hush.”  She rose from her seat and went to sing for Travis.

 

*****

Not a soul on that stage minded that Travis shanghaied Josie to fill Lydia's shoes for the rest of the night.  All the guys adored Josie.  Loved the way she sang, and secretly, they were pleased to go back to playing covers...something they hadn't done in a while.  But when Josie jumped up on that small stage with a devilish gleam in her eye, Travis got a little worried.  

 

Tonight, she wore a pair of old jeans with a hole ripped through one knee, a plain gray t-shirt knotted in the front and a pair of canvas sneakers...the same outfit she graced while exploring Trist’s toys that morning.  Travis’ heart thumped double-time when she bent over to adjust the microphone stand, and he can’t help feeling empowered that that beautiful woman was here for him.  Only one official date into their relationship, and he was hooked.  Truthfully, he’d been hooked for a while now, but today, he was admitting it.

 

“Evening!” Josie called out to the Saturday night crowd in the restaurant.  Cat-calls and howling greeted her.  “I’m Josie...filling in for Lydia for the rest of the night, and I was told that The Keychains can play any rock song...that true, fellas?”  She turned around and addressed the band.

 

Travis smiled at her as Tractor answered with a sweep over his kit.  Stan winked and Dave stroked out the intro to “Hysteria,” which earned some appraisal from the crowd.  

 

“I think that’s a yes,” Josie said with a laugh.  She held her mic close to her mouth and looked out over the crowd.  “Shall we put that to the test?”

 

Travis gazed out over her shoulder to see the patrons of the bar enjoying Josie’s teasing, and he thought again why she never wanted to join a band.  She had that star quality, that certain something that couldn’t be faked.  A natural, through and through.

 

“So…?” Josie drew out over the sound system.  “Got any ideas, folks?  They did say anything.”

 

Travis whipped his eyes back to her.  “Now, hang on,” he said, coming up next to her.  “Don’t you want to choose a song you can sing, too?”  His voice echoed right behind hers through the speakers.

 

“If you can play it,” Josie crooned, “I can sing it.”

 

Yeah, the crowd loved that.  Travis shook his head with a disbelieving smile, faded back behind her where he belonged, and waited to see what rabbit she pulled out for this stunt.  Several shouts called out names of songs from the audience, and Josie immediately pointed to a back corner.  “‘You Shook Me All Night Long’!  We’ll start with something easy, but you guys gotta sing with me on this one!”

 

She nodded at Tractor, who twirled his sticks with a silly grin on his face before pounding out the rhythm.  Oh, yeah, Travis thought, taking up the beat to the popular AC/DC classic.  We’re going to have some fun tonight.

 

Two hours later, Travis walked next to Josie on the darkened sidewalk toward their vehicles in a nearby lot.  As late as it was, he wasn’t the least bit tired.  Performing with Josie that night, watching her play with their audience, singing gracefully to some songs that should probably never be sung by a girl, he couldn’t remember the last time he had that much fun.  Every time his band played a gig, he enjoyed himself, but tonight, right about the third song began -- a System Of A Down diddy--the usual stress associated with performing perfectly melted completely away.   

 

Holding her hand as they walked, he gave hers a little squeeze.  “Did I mention that you do a great Rammstein?” he said, leaning in to kiss the side of her neck.

 

She giggled.  “And you play a decent Jimi Hendrix.”

 

“The man was a guitar god,” he returned.  “But the next time you bring Ari up on the stage to duet, don’t have her sing Iggy Pop again.  That was wrong on so many levels.”

 

“I was actually surprised she knew the lyrics,” Josie said, swinging their clasped hands.  They reached her car first, and Travis set his guitar case on the ground.  Josie backed up against the driver door and pulled him closer.

 

The simple kiss started out just like that...simple.  And yet, Travis tasted her sweetness, inhaled those permanent coconuts, and felt the warmth of her body pressed against his, and he fell…

 

He fell hard.  Right into oblivion.

 

Who cared they only had one date?  

 

Jesus, he couldn’t let her go...not tonight.  Three years of abstinence and Josie Kirkland didn’t mix well on a steamy summer night.  She felt it, too.  Her heartbeat thundered through her touch, her breathing increased as he took that kiss down one side of her neck and back up the other.  Hands soared over shoulders, around waists, down past hips.  Spines arched.  Knees buckled, and fingers grabbed hold.

 

“Damn, Princess,” he gasped for breath, leaning his forehead against hers.  “You don’t make this easy, do you?”

 

“I’m just saying good-night,” she said between heavy inhales.  Her fingernails dug into his back, right here above the waistband of his jeans, pushing his shirt high, and long, lingering images of holding her just like this, naked and hot and forever, drifted through his mind.

 

“Let me take you home,” he dared to say.

 

“Oh, god, yes,” she moaned, and her nails etched deeper into his flesh.  “But you can’t.  You’re picking up Tristan early, remember?  You two have big plans, and you need to get some rest.”

 

He hung his head on her collarbone.  “Oh...yeah.”   Then looked up into her sweet, green eyes and cupped her chin lightly.  “How could I forget?”

 

"I'll see you on Monday, and I have a great idea for our next date, which will be Tuesday night," she said, but she said it with such an air of playful mystery, Travis tipped his head back to get a better look in her face in the moonlight.

 

“What are we doing?”

 

“Oh...something I like to do,” she replied airily.  

 

“Well, that narrows it down,” he said.  “Let me see...you like to sing…”

 

“We won’t be singing.”

 

“And you like to work.”

 

She laughed.  “We definitely won’t be working.”

 

“And you like that yoga stuff,” he added.

 

Her smile got real frisky.  “Bingo.”

 

“You’re not serious?” he asked, staring at her.  “Yoga?”

 

Her hands moved to his chest, smoothing down his front as her eyes followed the path, and she explained, “I am trying out a studio here in town for Livie, and I want you to come with me.”

 

“Do I have to?”

 

Josie pursed her lips.  “Yes.  It’s my turn for a date, and you don’t get a say in it.  Unless…  Unless, you want to forget about the whole dating thing.”

 

“And if I want to forget about the whole dating thing?”

 

She brought her gaze up to him.  “Then I guess we go back to being co-workers, because I want to be with a man who wants to be with me...even if that means joining me for a yoga session.”

 

“Is that an ultimatum?” he asked, dropping his arms from around her.  

 

“Will going with me to a yoga class be that bad?  Is that where you draw the line, Travis?”

 

“Are we fighting?”

 

“Are you so stubborn and set in your ways that you can’t sacrifice an hour of pretzel-twisting for me?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

She didn’t stop touching him as she said, “Then, maybe we’re fighting.”

 

“I’m not going to get out of this, am I?”

 

Now, she removed his hands from his body.  “Sure you can.  You know how to walk away.”

 

Travis couldn’t believe his ears.  Okay, so he’d walked away from a lot of potential relationships in the last three years.  Okay, so he didn’t like leaving his comfort zone.  Okay, so he didn’t want to go to a freaking yoga class and make a fool of himself!

 

But he also didn’t want this to be the defining factor in their relationship, and he really didn’t like it that Josie could so carelessly point out his flaws.  Especially when he knew she had so little failings.  

 

“Why are you doing this?” he asked.

 

She knew what he meant.  Her eyes seared into him.  “Because you wanted to take an honest stab at getting to know each other better.  You chose to share your life with me, even if it’s just the life you have now, and you wanted to see if we could last.  Well, this is me, telling you that we won’t last if you aren’t willing to compromise a little.  I will do just about anything to  make you happy, Travis, but you have to understand that I expect the same.  All I’m asking is that you come with me to this yoga studio to get a feel for the place.  Livie needs an instructor that will help her restore some control over her body, and both of us will know if an instructor will be that person, or if Livie will start going off on someone who tries to change her.  Do you understand what I’m asking here?”

 

He relaxed as she talked.

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