You’re a good person. Decent. Honest. This world will chew you up and spit you out again if you’re not careful. The rules are different here. So be careful. Okay?”
I nodded. It was the same advice that Iris and Alana had given. Vanni was limited in what he could give. Apparently the trick was not wanting any more than that.
When I looked down at the mid-level where he and the band entered the club, I had to wonder if that was even possible anymore. My heart leapt just seeing his face. And I could tell he was scanning the room to find someone in particular.
It did not escape my notice that his eyes lit upon Lourdes, and kept right on going.
He spent some time with the fans who had been invited as V.I.P. guests. As I watched from the upper level I could tell that he had grown quite proficient making each one of those swooning fans feel like they were the only person on the planet when he talked to them. He looked them in the eye, didn’t look around for an escape, he was completely in the moment. He’d openly touch them, lean in close to them, give them direct eye contact – all those things that made one feel valued and accepted.
I leaned my elbows on the rail and watched him. He gave big, full-bodied hugs to each one, even an older woman who was in no way a sexual conquest. But his smile and the touch of his hand on her arm made her blush nonetheless. As the band moved on after spending a generous chunk of time interacting with them, those fans felt as though they had made a new friend.
I was still smiling when he glanced up in my direction. My bright hair was a dead giveaway. For a moment the entire room between us ground to an abrupt halt, or at least felt that way. A moment later he disappeared in the crowd and before I knew it I heard his voice call my name from just a few feet behind me like magic.
I turned to face him, uncertain if it would have the same potent effect that it had prior to the last time we spoke. Just one look in those eyes, and feeling the heat of his body from three feet away, and I knew I was in serious trouble.
Everything I thought I had buried came bubbling up to the surface. Especially when he reached for a bear hug like the ones he had given to his new fans. Only mine was longer, as if he was trying to make up for lost time.
“Thank you for coming,” he said against my hair. “I didn’t think you would.”
We pulled apart. “I’m a professional,” I said. “It’s just business.”
His face fell somewhat. “We need to talk, Andy,” he said. “There are things you need to know.”
“It doesn’t matter, Vanni.”
“Yes, it does,” he corrected. “It matters to me.”
I sighed as I looked into his eyes. I knew then they would always be my downfall. “When?”
He glanced around. “Tonight’s out of the question,” he stated. “Can you meet me tomorrow? For lunch?”
I hesitated only briefly. If it was a public place I stood half a chance. “Where?”
He mentioned a pizza joint in Brooklyn. “Old haunt,” he admitted with a half-smirk. “Not as hip as this but private.”
“Okay,” I found myself saying.
He brightened immediately. He pulled me close for another hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said softly, then returned to his party down below.
I stayed long enough that Iris and Alana wouldn’t feel abandoned by my absence, and truthfully it was fun to hang out with the band again. It was like I lived two separate lives, and in this one I had more fun than I remembered having in my ordinary day to day. The boys were all cutups who kept me in stitches, even Yael, whose apathetic Goth exterior was actually a pretty good disguise for the sens itive, witty fellow underneath.
They were all actors in their own way, except for Felix – who was too enhanced by his questionable herbal supplements to be anything other than who he was: a stoner from California who had a passion for wringing every bit of life out of each and every moment. He coaxed me
I nodded. It was the same advice that Iris and Alana had given. Vanni was limited in what he could give. Apparently the trick was not wanting any more than that.
When I looked down at the mid-level where he and the band entered the club, I had to wonder if that was even possible anymore. My heart leapt just seeing his face. And I could tell he was scanning the room to find someone in particular.
It did not escape my notice that his eyes lit upon Lourdes, and kept right on going.
He spent some time with the fans who had been invited as V.I.P. guests. As I watched from the upper level I could tell that he had grown quite proficient making each one of those swooning fans feel like they were the only person on the planet when he talked to them. He looked them in the eye, didn’t look around for an escape, he was completely in the moment. He’d openly touch them, lean in close to them, give them direct eye contact – all those things that made one feel valued and accepted.
I leaned my elbows on the rail and watched him. He gave big, full-bodied hugs to each one, even an older woman who was in no way a sexual conquest. But his smile and the touch of his hand on her arm made her blush nonetheless. As the band moved on after spending a generous chunk of time interacting with them, those fans felt as though they had made a new friend.
I was still smiling when he glanced up in my direction. My bright hair was a dead giveaway. For a moment the entire room between us ground to an abrupt halt, or at least felt that way. A moment later he disappeared in the crowd and before I knew it I heard his voice call my name from just a few feet behind me like magic.
I turned to face him, uncertain if it would have the same potent effect that it had prior to the last time we spoke. Just one look in those eyes, and feeling the heat of his body from three feet away, and I knew I was in serious trouble.
Everything I thought I had buried came bubbling up to the surface. Especially when he reached for a bear hug like the ones he had given to his new fans. Only mine was longer, as if he was trying to make up for lost time.
“Thank you for coming,” he said against my hair. “I didn’t think you would.”
We pulled apart. “I’m a professional,” I said. “It’s just business.”
His face fell somewhat. “We need to talk, Andy,” he said. “There are things you need to know.”
“It doesn’t matter, Vanni.”
“Yes, it does,” he corrected. “It matters to me.”
I sighed as I looked into his eyes. I knew then they would always be my downfall. “When?”
He glanced around. “Tonight’s out of the question,” he stated. “Can you meet me tomorrow? For lunch?”
I hesitated only briefly. If it was a public place I stood half a chance. “Where?”
He mentioned a pizza joint in Brooklyn. “Old haunt,” he admitted with a half-smirk. “Not as hip as this but private.”
“Okay,” I found myself saying.
He brightened immediately. He pulled me close for another hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said softly, then returned to his party down below.
I stayed long enough that Iris and Alana wouldn’t feel abandoned by my absence, and truthfully it was fun to hang out with the band again. It was like I lived two separate lives, and in this one I had more fun than I remembered having in my ordinary day to day. The boys were all cutups who kept me in stitches, even Yael, whose apathetic Goth exterior was actually a pretty good disguise for the sens itive, witty fellow underneath.
They were all actors in their own way, except for Felix – who was too enhanced by his questionable herbal supplements to be anything other than who he was: a stoner from California who had a passion for wringing every bit of life out of each and every moment. He coaxed me
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