Page 97 of Protect Your Queen

Except I knew without asking. Her favorite color was gold.

My sister wore a black dress with gold fringe, hoping to make a good impression on my so-called girlfriend.

It didn’t matter if I hadn’t seen her in months. Or that she hadn’t contacted me. Elyse was certain that these tickets to see her show were practically a proposal of marriage.

“Yeah? So why’d she send me two of them?” I asked.

“Maybe she’s testing you! After all, everyone thinks you’re a big hero now!” My sister leaned into my shoulder, nudging me with her tease. “You have a fan club andeverything.”

“Oh, shut up,” I laughed.

She did shut her mouth when we got into the club, staring adoringly at the photos on the walls of all the great musicians. She called every single one out, as if I had never seen them before. I let her, because hell… I didn’t mind being reminded about how cool this place was.

Of course, Jareth wouldn’t spring for good seats front and center. I was in a place where I could be easily ignored. Or maybe it was so thatshewouldn’t notice if I did or didn’t come.

Stasia was with her new boyfriend, Phoenix Asher, near the stage. Beside them was a table of four - the Barkada siblings, as I had come to know them. Jaz and Jareth sat in the middle, facing the stage. Flanking them were Jorik and Jomari, the MMA champion and the classical composer. Each of them had identical tulip shaped glasses. A Don Papa bottle of rum was in the center of the table. It must be a family thing.

There was a smaller table near them, with a white-haired man, sitting with a very sophisticated, silver-haired woman. They wore their Sunday best, the woman’s church hat tilted on the back of her chair, along with her purse. Brian and his wife. They had made it here after all. I wondered if that was Jestiny’s doing, or if it was Jareth’s.

The waitress came by our table, asking us if we wanted drinks.

“I’ll take a Don Papa Rum.” If I ever wanted to get in good with the family, I had better acquire a taste for it. I tilted my head to mydate,“And she’ll have a ginger ale.”

“Chris!” She whined.

“Not a fucking chance.”

“Come on…”

“When you’re 21, I’ll be right there, helping you hold your hair back, but until then, sweetheart, Ginger Ale.” My sister pouted, slumping in her seat.

If the bar hadn’t been closed down for the event, she wouldn’t have been able to come. But hey, there were exceptions being made tonight.

“My first time in the Black Bird, and you’re already a buzz kill,” Elyse said, though she had the tiniest hint of a smile.

“There is no buzz to kill.” I played up my big brother role. “If there’s a buzz, I need to know who supplied a minor, so I can breakhis hands.”

“What makes you assume it’s a he?”

I looked at her, and she looked back at me with that shit-eating smirk.

“You’re a pain in the ass,” I gritted out as the lights dimmed.

A small, soft spotlight lit up the seat by the piano. There was no one else on stage. I wondered if she was doing all of this solo?

There was a smattering of applause as we waited.

Then slow, measured steps filled the hall, as she walked from the wing of the stage to the piano bench.

She wore a white dress with a slit up her thigh. The sleeves were flat, but large, giving her the impression of having butterfly wings at her delts. On those sleeves was an intricate, gold embroidery of bird silhouettes in flight. She wore white ballet flats, and no jewelry. Even her face was simply done.

Once at the piano, she leaned towards the microphone, looking bashfully at the audience.

“Thank you, everyone for being here. This is not really what you might expect from me, but I…” She let out a long sigh, blinked a few times, and I wanted to get up there and hold her hand. I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, that things were going to be fine. “I took some songs from home and tried to make them my own. I also had my brother, Jomari,” she smiled as she pointed to where her brother sat, as he waved at her acknowledgement, “help me write some things. And there’s a song another friend wrote, and I hope he still doesn’t mind me using it.”

She wasn’t looking at the audience, but instead was looking intently at the microphone.

“It’s just me today, though,” she said, her next sigh audible, and raspy against the mic. “I thought it was best that I strike out on my own, to see if… if you guys liked it.”

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