Times Like These

It had been about a week since Brian asked me to be his girlfriend, and things were going good. He surprises me with lunch and sometimes flowers at the bakery almost every day, and we have dinner together every night. It’s now Saturday and the day of open mic night. We closed the bakery for the day so we could get everything ready, and of course once I mentioned it to Dani she insisted that we perform something together. “Come on Nick, it’ll be just like that talent show in tenth grade that we rocked!” She said excitedly. I laughed to myself thinking about that day, when we played Every Rose Has Its Thorn in front of pretty much the entire student body and parents. We kicked everyone’s asses that day.

I was back in the kitchen baking, while Dani, Erin and the guys were all out front rearranging tables and setting up the stage area. If this was a success tonight, I wanted to do it at least once a month. Good Charlotte was coming out of the speakers of my little radio at a ridiculously high volume, and I was singing and dancing along while mixing up some cookie dough, until I heard a laugh behind me. I turned around and my blue eyes met brown. “What are you doing?” “Oh, just enjoying the view.” Brian chuckled, walking over to kiss my cheek. “If you’ve got a sec come out here and see if you approve.” I smiled and walked out into the front of the bakery, where it had been completely transformed. There was a small stage with a piano on it in front of the rounded windows on the right, a spotlight shining on it. The chairs and tables were arranged so that everyone would be able to see the stage, and the bar was set up to the right of the glass counter. “It looks great guys! Thank you so much!” I beamed. “How about we go have lunch and relax until tonight?” Johnny suggested. “The smells coming from the back are making me so hungry.” “I’d love to but I have to finish getting everything ready. Y’all go ahead without me.” I said, shooing everyone toward the door. “Come on babe. You have to eat.” Brian said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Yeah, you have to have your energy tonight to play!” Dani said excitedly. “Play? Play what?” Brian asked. I hadn’t mentioned that we were going to be performing tonight to him, I wanted it to be a surprise. “I guess you’ll have to come tonight to find out.” I smiled up at him. “Okay, fine.” I sighed, “I’ll come with. I guess I’ve baked enough for tonight.” “Nikki. The case is full. I’d say it’s plenty.” Erin said from her spot beside Zack. I had formally introduced them last Sunday and they have been hanging out ever since. They’re so cute together, Erin is like a third sister to me and Dani, except she has red hair, green eyes, and a shit ton of freckles. “Alright, let’s go eat.” Matt said, leading everyone out of the bakery.

After lunch I decided to go home and binge watch Netflix until it was time for me to get ready. I laid in bed pretty much all afternoon, using Brian as a pillow, and watched Grey’s Anatomy. After a few episodes and three times as many questions, he was hooked. “Man I can’t believe I’ve never seen this show.” He mumbled. When I got up to get ready, he went home to shower and get ready himself. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” He said, kissing me deeply before walking out the door. I sighed and got in the shower, making sure to shave all the important places before washing and conditioning my hair. Once I got out I dried and straightened my hair and did some makeup, a slightly smoky eye and a nude lip. I went into the bedroom and dig through my closet for what seemed like forever, until I decided on black skinnies, a gray Iron Maiden cut off tank with a black bandeau underneath, black converse, and a pair of spike earrings. I walked into Dani’s room, and she was wearing a pair of destroyed skinnies, a white T-shirt that says ‘rock n roll stole my soul’, red converse, and a pair of skull earrings. “You ready to do this shit?” She asked me with a grin. “Let’s do it, Daniel.” I said with a laugh, grabbing my acoustic guitar before following her out the door.

Two hours later, the bakery was packed. There had been quite a few people sign up for open mic night, and Dani and i were the next ones to go on. All the guys and their ladies were here, except Brian. I figured he would be here by now, but no one had heard from him. I walked over to the bar and ordered a Jack and Coke and a kamakazi shot, which I downed immediately. “Hey, you okay?” I heard a voice ask behind me. I turned around and smiled at Johnny, “Yeah. I’m good. Nervous. I haven’t played in front of anyone since tenth grade.” Johnny chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, “You’re gonna be fine. It’s pretty dark in here so you shouldn’t see many faces. If you have to stare at like a picture on the wall or something, so you don’t look at them. I used to get nervous before going on stage too.” “Thanks Johnny.” I said with a smile, giving him a one armed hug. We walked back over to our table to watch the guy before us finish up. When he was done, Dani looked over at me and nodded, while I downed my Jack and Coke. “Fuck fuck fuck.” I mumbled. “Go kick some ass, Nikki. You got this.” Zack said from beside me. I gave him a tight lipped smile and headed toward the stage with Dani, while Erin introduced us to the crowd. I grabbed my guitar and sat on the bar stool to Dani’s left, adjusting my mic. I nodded that I was ready and she smiled. “We hope you’re having a good time tonight.” I said into the mic. “Thank you guys so much for coming out and supporting my small business. It means a lot to me.” With that, I counted in my head and started playing the opening chords to Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. Dani played the rhythm parts while I played lead, and then her voice filled the room. I kept playing my heart out, and provided backup vocals while looking for Brian, but I never saw him. The song finished as quickly as we started, and the entire bakery stood up and cheered for us. “Thank you!” Dani said as we stood up and stepped off the stage. I had just put my guitar back into its case and stood up when I was pulled into a pair of long arms. I looked into Brian’s eyes and saw an emotion I couldn’t quite put my finger on, when he grabbed both sides of my face and kissed me passionately. “You were fucking amazing baby.” He whispered after we broke apart. “Thank you. I almost didn’t think you were going to make it.” I said, smiling up at him. “I know, I’m such a dick. I got home and sat down with Pinkly and wound up falling asleep. Once I woke up and realized what time it was I rushed to get ready and got here as soon as I could. Johnny and Zack were cussing me the entire way over here.” He chuckled. “It’s okay. You were here and that’s all that matters.” I smiled. “You were seriously amazing. And you look hot as fuck tonight.” Brian said. I took a moment to see what he was wearing, which was one of those amazing white v-neck shirts, a pair of dark jeans, and some Nikes. I looked around the bakery to make sure no one was watching us before grabbing his hand and leading him into the back. “Nick where are we going?” He asked, following behind me. Once we were in the kitchen I locked the door, then pulled him toward my office, which had a small desk on it. I shut that door and as soon as I locked it his mouth was on mine and he had me pushed against the door. It didn’t take long before most of the things on my desk were in the floor, along with our clothes, and the sounds from open mic night were drowning out our moans.

Notes