Page 16 of The Night the Stars Went Dark

“This is one of my best friend’s bands. He asked to come and play tonight.” He grinned. “What are you doing here?”

“Working.” I motioned to my apron. I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. We hadn’t spoken in years, and really didn’t know that much about each other’s lives.

“Oh.” His head snapped back in surprise. “When do you get off for the night? I’d love to catch up.”

“Technically, I’m not even supposed to be here. Today is my night off.” I glanced around. I needed to look at anything, but him.

“We finish our set at eleven. You wanna grab a coffee after and catch up?”

“Sure,” I gave in. If I didn’t agree, I knew he would bug me until I did. That was his thing. “I can hang out until the set is done.”

“You should play some with us. I’m sure the keyboardist would let you do a few songs. I can vouch for ya.” His face lit up as if it was the best idea ever.

“No.” I shook my head. “I don’t play anymore.” I lowered my voice. I didn’t want this to become a thing. No one here knew about me playing. I’d kept that part of my life a secret and I didn’t want to answer the question that would inevitably come with my secret getting out.

“Ok.” His brow furrowed. “It’s great seeing you.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

“Yeah, same.” I offered a half smile. I wasn’t sure if I was happy about this or not. Seeing him brought up so many memories from my past which led to feelings that I didn’t want to feel. I’d locked that part of me away and having him here made them all come back. I needed to collect myself before this coffee thing happened. Build the walls higher, stronger. Don’t let him in.

Chapter 10

Aspen

“I can’t believe I said yes. That was stupid. Maybe I can just sneak out the back,” I muttered to myself as I moved about flipping chairs and putting them up on tables.

“Do you have a date?” Lisa giggled from behind me.

I jumped. I didn’t know she was there. “No, just an old friend.” I shook my head, attempting to rid the memories that were beginning to flood in. I would not cry. I would not let him in no matter what. I couldn’t.

“You look like you’re about to walk the green mile.” She moved closer. “Do you need a buffer for this?”

“No.” I shook my head. “He’s harmless.” I nodded over to where Bryson was closing a guitar case. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.” I untied my apron and headed for the door.

When I stepped out onto the sidewalk, the warm summer air wrapped around me; the sounds of the city were alive. Horns honked, water ran under the street grates, and radios sounded from cars waiting at stoplights. It hurt to listen, but I couldn’t help myself. There was no way to avoid some of it, and Bryson being here made it that much harder to ignore.

“Ready?” I jolted when he touched my arm. “My car is around the block. I can drive us.”

“I don’t mind walking.” I smiled.

“Well, let me at least put this in there.” He motioned to his guitar case. We walked around to where a small dark sedan was parked on the street, he clicked his fob, and the trunk opened. After slipping the guitar in, he closed it and turned to me. “Wanna go to our old stomping ground?” He pointed down the street where you could just barely see the sign for Cool Beans.

“Not really.” I frowned. “There’s a place a few blocks this way that we can try.” I turned and started walking in the opposite direction, not waiting for him to agree.

We walked in silence until we reached the café, Tall, Dark, and Coffee. There were a few tables outside and then a small seating area indoors. I opened the door and was blasted in the face with the smell of mocha and cinnamon.

“Have you been here before? You said ‘try’.” He looked slightly worried.

“I just want something different, and no. I usually just make coffee at home.” I shrugged as we approached the counter. I looked over the menu, and then decided on an herbal tea. I didn’t want to be up all night, and really just wanted to go home. This whole catching up thing was not where I wanted to be… like ever.

The barista made our drinks, and then Bryson decided we’d go outside to a table. We sat down, and I started sipping my tea immediately to avoid having to talk.

“So, how have you been?” He sat back and stared at me. “You like fell off the face of the earth five years ago. I feel like I don’t know anything about you anymore.”

“There’s not much to tell.” I set my tea down. I was being rude, and I knew better, but being rude didn’t make this so painful. “I still live here, and I work at the bar. I’ve been there two years now, before that I worked at various restaurants around town.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“What about piano? Or the symphony? Or even playing in general?” His eyes widened. “Don’t you play?”

“No, and I don’t want to talk about it.” I looked away. I could feel the tears pricking my eyes and I refused to let them fall.

---