Chapter Six

Marcy rambled on and on about a band, Sinful Souls, that Aria was sure she'd never heard of before. “You should see them, they're so good-looking, Aria. I can't believe you didn't see Devon. He was looking right at us.”

She humored her friend and listened to her go on in detail about how attractive each band member was. She was certain that wasn't possible, she'd never seen a group of musicians where all of them were “insanely” sexy. Aria shrugged it off and wandered to her kitchen, pulling out stuff to make a smoothie.

“Hey, want to go out for dinner tonight?” Marcy strolled in behind her.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'm going out with Bernard tonight.”

“Ugh, him? Why?” Marcy hopped up on a stool at the kitchen island in the center of the room. “He has awful taste in music.”

“Aside from that minor infraction, he's not bad.”

“Not bad, but not good either. You haven't slept with him yet, have you? I mean, you would've told me, right?”

“No, I haven't.” Aria chuckled at her friend's scrunched-up face and wrinkled nose. “We've been on four dates over a few months, I think. All we've done is kiss and hold hands. He seems content to do just that, and I'm okay with it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.” She shot Marcy a pointed look. “I don't sleep with everyone I go out with.”

“Where's the fun in that?” Marcy mumbled. “And you're still seeing other people?”

“Sure, we aren't committed or anything like that. How are things with Reed?”

“Ok, I guess.”

“You guess? Shit, if you guys don't make it, what hope do I have?”

“I mean things are fine, like always. I just wish he'd be more spontaneous...or something.”

Aria slid a smoothie in front of her friend and Marcy eyed it carefully. “Do I even want to know what's in this one?”

Aria laughed. “Probably not, but you sat here while I made it.”

“I wasn't paying attention,” she scoffed. “I was distracted by your poor taste in men.”

“Shut up and drink.”

Marcy picked up the glass of red slushy liquid and took a sip. Her eyebrows rose. “Not bad. I'd gladly have this one again.”

“I'll make a note of it.” Aria was into eating healthy foods. She didn’t eat that way all the time, but tried when she could.

Marcy sucked her smoothie down and slid off the stool, placing her glass in the dishwasher. She sighed. “I gotta get home and shower, I'm beat. How do you have energy to go on a date tonight?”

“I warned him it would be an early night.”

Marcy pulled her into a quick hug. “If you need rescuing, I'm your girl. Text me, and I'll call with some absurd reason for you to leave.”

“Thanks, but I'll be fine.”

***

Aria waited in front of her house, leaning against the large fountain in the center of her circular driveway.

Bernard pulled up and slowed to a stop for Aria to hop into his Mercedes Benz. “Hello, beautiful.” It was his usual greeting.

She smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Hello, handsome.”

His eyes widened at her greeting. She'd never commented on his looks before, but he truly was handsome and neatly groomed on any given day. Bernard was smart and had a lot of money as a result. He’d majored in computer science and got picked up by a prestigious company right out of college.

Aria didn't want to settle down, but couldn't figure out why she wasn't more attracted to Bernard. On paper, he was perfect for her—except for his obsessive love for jazz. She enjoyed jazz, but to a limit. He knew all kinds of trivia about the history of jazz, and it would drive her nuts when he'd get going and share the data with her.

“I have something special planned for us tonight.”

“I can't be out too late,” she reminded him.

“You'll be pleased. This is something different, and I think you'll enjoy it.”

Aria couldn't've been more surprised if Bernard sprouted a second head as they pulled up to a bar-and-grill restaurant. His usual haunts were high-end snobbish eateries, and the yacht club.

He pulled his car into a parking spot and got out to walk around to open her door, as he normally would. She didn't rise immediately, and he stuck his head in with his brows pinched together. “Everything all right?”

“Yeah, I’m surprised, is all. I should've dressed more casually.” She looked down at her skirt-and-blouse ensemble, and his dress pants and button-down shirt. They were going to stand out.

“No worries, you look lovely.”

And stand out they did, to her mind. Everyone around them wore jeans and T-shirts. There was the occasional dressy top, but always paired with jeans. She tried to let the discomfort go because no one seemed to care after a cursory glance in their direction. She sat and leaned back against the comfortable booth seat, and relaxed. “What's with the new place?” The décor was a little on the country side of things. Not to her taste, but it had a homey feel, allowing her to relax even more.

“What do you think of it?” Bernard looked around.

“Not bad.”

“Great, I hear the food is outstanding, and I was in the mood for a delicious steak.” He rearranged the cluster of condiments in the middle of the table, then moved them off to the side. “Oh, and there's live music tonight.” He nodded across the room to a small stage in the corner where a woman and a man set up equipment.

Please don’t let it be jazz.

They ordered drinks and dinner, and while they waited, the musical duo introduced themselves and started singing. The man played the guitar and sang soft background vocals while the woman belted out songs. It was mostly country, and nothing she recognized, but it was a fun atmosphere.

As she and Bernard ordered dessert, the couple said they were taking a break, but there was a friend of theirs in the house, and he would sing a song or two for everyone. “You're in for a real treat, I give you…Devon Mann, from...” The woman screamed out the last part, trying to be heard over the screams, screeches, and murmurs from the crowd, but Aria didn't catch where he was from.

A man hopped up on the platform with his back to everyone—and a fine back it was—this got her attention. He lifted a guitar from the back wall and tuned it a little. The chords he played were somewhat familiar. She'd heard them before, but couldn't say where. Maybe once he played the whole thing, she could place it.

Devon turned around to face the audience, and there were some whoops and hollers, and had she let out a sigh? The man across the room was gorgeous, so not her type, but wow.

“He's an attractive fellow, don't you think? The television doesn't do him justice,” Bernard said.

She couldn't stop gawking at Devon Mann. He strummed the guitar, leading into a slow melody. He was sexy as hell in his movements, and with his shirt rolled up to his elbows, she could see tattoos on his right arm. Usually that didn't do it for her, but on him? How had she not have known of this person before? Her heart was beating hard against her chest.

“Aria?”

“Uh, yeah sure, he's not bad looking.”

Bernard chuckled. “You can admit it, I won't be upset.”

She pulled her gaze away from the musician and toward Bernard, who now looked all kinds of plain. “Okay, I admit, he's very attractive.” She grinned ear-to-ear and went back to looking at the eye-candy.

“I figured you liked him with as much as you play his music.”

“What?” She swung around to stare at him. “I listen to his music?”

Bernard nodded, watched her for a moment, and laughed. “All the time. How do you not know that?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I hear songs I like and ask Marcy to add them to my playlist since she knows a lot about music.”

The first song ended, and Devon smiled a private smile to himself. “I came here tonight to grab a bite to eat, figured I’d sneak in and get a quiet booth, and then sneak out. No such luck, huh?” He chuckled and the patrons laughed with him.

“Since I'm up here, my dinner companion needs to get his butt up here and help out with this next song.”

The place went quiet and diners’ heads swiveled around, looking for whomever it was.

“If you don't come up here, Breck, I'll come get you and drag you up here.” Devon glared to his right as the excitement filled the air.

The Breck guy took the stage and strapped another guitar over his head while giving Devon a dirty look, but turned his head and smiled at the crowd. They went nuts.

“Jesus, are they all good-looking?” Aria mused aloud, trying not to pant.

Bernard laughed. “That's the general consensus of most women.”

“Wait? What band are they with?”

Bernard grinned at her, clearly amused. “You're not messing around with me?”

“No.” She shook her head adamantly.

“Sinful Souls.”

“Shit.” Aria dug her phone out of her pocketbook. “Excuse me for a sec.”

“Sure.”

Aria fired off a text to Marcy, “You'll never guess who I'm looking at.”

“Bernard?”

“Ha-ha smart ass, no.”

Instead of typing the answer, she waited until the men began to play a song she knew well. It was a song she loved to dance freestyle to when she wanted to let loose. A bit edgy and nothing like the classical music she danced her routines to, but that was precisely why she enjoyed it.

She held up her cell phone like many of the other patrons in the restaurant, and hit record. The song came to an end, she hit stop, and sent it to Marcy.

One and a half minutes later her phone dinged with a text. Aria grinned.

“You lucky bitch! Where are you?”

“With B, at a bar and grill, can you believe it?”

“No, I can't!”

“I gotta go, I'll call you later.”

“You’d better!”

When the couple returned from their break, they thanked the men for playing in their absence, and the men thanked everyone for their attention. The place was packed and went crazy. A server came out with to-go boxes and handed it to the guys, who waved and smiled, and walked out into the night.

“Wow.” It was all she could say.

Bernard nodded. “Great impromptu performance.”