Page 7 of Finding Tane
When I dropped my arms, Ivy grabbed me, startling me again.
She spoke in an urgent whisper. “Dill. Was that...Whetu?”
“No, his name’s Tane.” I whispered back, not wanting to be overheard.
Her fingernails dug into my arm. “Whetu is a stage name. Tane is his real name. Oh my fucking god, is it really him? You were touching him!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Only the biggest up and coming star of club R&B right now.”
I turned to look Ivy in the eyes, sure she was messing with me, but she stared right back, certain as anything.
“What, you’re saying he’s famous?”
Ivy let go of my arm. “Yes, exceptionally, he’s brilliant, and he’s here? Why is he here?”
“I don’t know,” I rubbed my arm, sure she’d have bruised it. “He said he’s here for maybe a week, but he was very vague.”
“Maybe he’s writing his new album and he knew nothing here would distract him, since this town is dull as dishwater.” Ivy went up on her tip toes, tracking Tane around the shop. “I’m going to go and tell him how wonderful he is.”
I grabbed her arm. “No, you’re not. He’s obviously here for his own reasons and if you make a fuss of him, he might leave.” Ivy stared at me. “You know, leave without buying anything,” I finished, weakly.
The idea of spooking Tane frightened me. I didn’t want to do anything that could possibly make him feel uncomfortable.
For whatever reason, I wanted him to like it here. To like the town.
Ivy racing over there and blowing his cover by fangirling over all of him would be the opposite of that. She glanced in the direction he’d gone and then her shoulders slumped. “Fine.I’ll leave him alone, but I’m bringing one of his LPs with me tomorrow in case he comes in again.”
“Don’t you have some homework to do?” I pushed her gently towards the backroom.
“Yeah.”
I looked back as I hustled her into the back and saw Tane was chatting with Christian as he checked out his purchases. He looked relaxed.
I was way too relieved.
Tane
I sat on a park bench to eat and enjoy a little sunshine.
The turkey roll was objectively great. Easy access to turkey as a deli meat was one of the great small joys of living in the States. Back home turkeys were farmed pretty minimally, so it was definitely a once-a-year special occasion treat.
But this roll? Wholemeal bread, layers of turkey, salad greens, the perfect amount of mayo? It was exactly what I needed.
I sent a silent thank you to Dillon.
Not too far from me a young man started busking with a violin. He wasn’t bad. I wondered what his plan was, he couldn’t have been eighteen yet, but did he have a big music career planned? Something like mine?
I tore my eyes away from him and looked back at my sandwich. I didn’t want to think about music right then. Dillon with the dreamy blue eyes and warm smile was a much more comforting thing to daydream about.
I wondered what he’d meant by asking me to dinner? Was he just being friendly or was he coming onto me? I dismissed the thought. In a small town like this, there was no chance anyone here was gay, right?
I finished up my sandwich, tossed the rubbish into the nearest bin and walked slowly back up Main Street to my little motel room.
Being away from L.A. was a relief, but in all honestly, I was starting to get sort of bored. I picked up my guitar on a whim. It was the usual thing to do, the thing that comforted me, that rooted me to the ground... but I could barely bring myself to put my fingers on the frets.
I froze, my heart thudding with urgency and my breath restricting in my chest.
