Page 63 of My UnTrue Love
He shot her a look, like she’d just insulted him with the word “friendly”.
She smiled. “Don’t worry. No one will know you’re secretly a gregarious charmer, wholovesto hang out with me. If anybody asks, we’ll pretend that I kidnapped you.”
“Why would you kidnap me?” Luke scoffed. “Howcould you kidnap me? You’re tiny.”
“My God,” Clem laid a hand over her heart, “I’m going to adopt you if you keep saying such sweet things.” She grabbed hold of his arm, dragging him along and ignoring the way he stiffened.
“You shouldn’t do that.” He sounded serious. “Your --uh-- roommatewon’t like you touching another guy. It messes with the scent.”
“What scent…? Oh, wait. That’s right. You said I smell like Bill.” She shrugged. “I have to tell you, that makes me think maybe I’m wasting my money on that shower gel. It must have no staying power on my skin, if I don’t smell like delicious sugared blueberries.”
Luke allowed Clem to herd him along. He towered over her, so he certainly could have broken free of her hold if he wanted to. At least that’s what she told herself, because he didn’tlookeager to be joining her. Pale-brown eyes swept over every person who walked by, watchful and menacing. Not the best for successful mingling, but great for opening up a table. The three goblins sitting there took off at the sight of a surly teenager headed their way. It was better than an ox-dozer.
Clem quickly snatched up their seats. “Perfect! Front and center.” She gestured to the chair across from her.
Luke stood there, uncomfortable. “I don’t want to…”
“Sit!”Clem ordered.
Luke sat. Well, “slouched” would probably be more accurate. He flopped down, his body sliding lower in the chair and his arms crossed against his chest again. “This is dumb.” He muttered, and she had the feeling he was talking to himself.
“Live music is never ‘dumb.’ It’s the purest form of art. Extemporaneous, but requiring long hours and incredible skill. Ephemeral, but it changes you forever. Traditional, but never, ever the same.”
Luke snorted, as if he didn’t feel any of that. Clem knew better. “I can’t stay long.” He told her. “I’m real busy.”
“Just until you hear Bill play. He’s got a lot of talent.”
“You think everybody’s got talent.”
“I’m a muse. I told you that, right?”
Luke grunted and the sound reminded her of Bill. Most of his attention was engaged in scanning the saloon for enemies. He didn’t like sitting in the middle of the room. She could tell it made him antsy, because he couldn’t watch all four directions at once.
“I can sense when someone has the making of a star.” Clem went on. “It’s part of my magic. I knew from the first time he strummed his guitar that Bill was a star.”
“Is that why you dote on him?”
Did she “dote”? That was a little embarrassing.
“No, Bill and I became friends when he joined The Yellow Roses. That’s the band I helped found. Then Johnny fired me,” she paused, “Johnny is the former best friend, I was telling youabout. At least, Ithoughthe was my best friend.” She frowned. “I’m not sure that I was ever his, though.”
“You should’ve expected that he’d screw you over.” Luke opined. “Everybody’s just out for what they can get.” His face twisted in some inexplicable mix of disapproval and grudging fondness. “Except maybe you. You’re too nice to understand things.”
Clementine decided to take that as a compliment. “Anyway, Bill quit the band too, out of loyalty to me. He’s justamazinglyamazing.” She sighed in dreamy wonder. “…Sorry, what was I saying? Oh, right! So, anyway, music brought us together, but I don’t like him because he’s a star. I like him because he’s Bill and Bill is amazing.”
Luke didn’t look encouraged by that news. “Amazing.” He sighed, scanning for threats at the nearby tables. “If he’s such a star, how come he’s playing in this crappy place?”
“Everybody has to start somewhere. I really wanted him to play at The Kitchen, which is amuchfancier saloon. But Dinah --my grandmother was her muse and now she owns The Kitchen-- she and Bill got into a bit of a tiff, because they’re both so stubborn. Especially, Dinah.” She frowned. “I think that’s why their love affair didn’t last.”
Luke continued looking for dangerous desperados. “Bill and that Dinah lady had a love affair? Itoldyou he was fucking around on you.”
“No!” She laughed. “Dinah and my grandmother had a love affair. At least that’s my theory. Grandma was a widow, at the time. They were both women of stormy passion, so they butted heads too much for their romance to last.” She paused.“What’s your opinion on the ethics of a muse and her artist having a love affair? Be honest.”
“I honestly don’t care.”
“I think it’s ethical.” Clementine decided firmly. “I’ve considered the question a lot lately and I think it’s very, very ethical.”
“Okay. Still don’t care.”
