One Week: Saturday Night
"Ready?" Your friend Zak says.
"Almost." You smile, holding up a decent-sized glass of orange juice and vodka.
"Well sip quickly for goodness sakes Love. It's not getting any livelier out there." He moves across the room to finish checking the wiring of the sound system.
It's Saturday night and you're in your usual spot, the Jaded Stars nightclub in London. On the weekends, in a vain attempt to prove you actually do have more of a life than your boring day job would attest to, you help out your friend Zak in the audio crew of the club. He runs the system in the Karaoke lounge.
Usually, the room is a little slow to get going with the competition that it has from the dance mix blaring in the main section of the club. So Friday and Saturday, you come help Zak set up and then drink a couple of glasses of courage before you take the stage. You're not exactly worried about record companies breaking down your door to give you a contract, but you can carry a tune well-enough, especially with the music turned up quite loud. After a few songs, more often than not, someone else will brave the microphone and you sit and keep Zak company.
You're starting your second drink when a movement near the entryway catches your eye. A tall man has just entered from the club. As he moves further into the lounge, stepping out of the shadows, you recognize him. He's been coming here a few weeks. He has even sat at the back of the room and watched you sing a couple of times. He's only moderately heart-stoppingly gorgeous, but you turn your attention back to your drink.
You've heard that he had a fling with that skank Scarlet that comes in every once in awhile, though only to the main section (she wouldn't be caught dead in the lounge). And if she's his type, you certainly aren't. And if he's her type, you're almost sure that, despite how your body seems to react to the sight of him, he must not be yours.
You almost choke on your drink when you catch someone sitting next to you out of the corner of your eye. You want to check and see if it's him, but what if it is?! What would you say?! Soon, curiosity gets the better of you. Attempting to look casual about it, you turn toward him slightly. You find that it not only *is* him but, he is looking right at you and smiling.
"Hi," he says before you can turn away.
"Hello," you answer.
"I'm James."
"Ah." You sip your drink.
"What's your name?"
You take a deep breath and answer him, then resume drinking, suddenly a bit faster. You have a feeling you're going to need a lot more courage than alcohol can provide tonight.
"Are you going to sing tonight?"
You smile, slightly relaxing. "If you want to call it that."
His grin broadens. "Now, I've heard you. You're very good."
"Oh Hell. I'm great. If you're drunk enough and the music is cranked." You finish off your drink.
He laughs. "No I mean it. You're the reason I've kept coming back after the first time."
"Oh? I kinda thought you came here looking for Scarlet?" Now it is his turn to nearly choke on his drink.
"What did she say about me?"
"How would I know? I'm not exactly friends with her. I just heard that the two of you had a thing and made a conclusion from that."
"Oh. Well then it's alright for us to talk then yes? She and I didn't exactly part on the best of terms."
"Glad to hear you came around in the end. If' you'll excuse me, I'm going to go warm up the stage."
"Of course. I'll wait right here for you."
You sigh. Why does he have to make this harder? "Look, I'm not Scarlet, okay? Men don't exactly fall all over themselves for me and when they do it means one of two things. They either have a very wrong impression of me or they're very very drunk."
He seems a bit nonplussed and more than a little amused. "Would you like me to walk a straight line to prove my sobriety? Did you ever think that maybe you don’t have a line of men at your door not because you’re not sexy as hell but because you’ve booby trapped the walkway? I understand your reservations but..."
"Do you?"
"Only too well. And I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Sorry whoever you did take the chance on hurt you so badly. I thought you'd be fun to spend some time with and I thought maybe you'd like to go out to dinner with me?"
"Well I'm not fun. Five days a week, I reception in an accountants firm in Islington. Two nights a week, I come here and help out a friend and pretend it doesn't make me crazy-scared to get up there in front of everybody. I'm a boring person who is nothing at all like Scarlet and if you liked her well enough to come chasing after her, I'm sure you're not my sort of guy at all."
"You don't even know me. Give me a chance to piss you off myself first at least?"
Despite yourself, you smile. "Look James, you're gorgeous. Go on out into the club and have yourself a wonderful time. I'm certain some lucky woman will be just thrilled to go home with you tonight. But you're wasting your time here with me."
You pat his hand and stand up. As you start to leave, he grabs your wrist and pulls you against him, kissing you soundly. When the surprise of it wears off, you gently push him away. Without looking at him, so he doesn't see your blush, you walk away and climb the three steps to the stage. Taking one of the microphones from the back table, you walk to Zak's enclosure at the far side of the stage and tell him what song to play.
The music starts up and you chance a look over to where you'd been sitting. James smiles at you and raises his glass. You glance to the prompter and begin to sing.
"Just tell me what you've got to say to me,
I've been waiting for so long to hear the truth,
It comes as no surprise at all you see,
So cut the crap and tell me that we're through.
"Now I know your heart, I know your mind,
You don't even know you're being unkind,
So much for all your highbrow Marxist ways,
Just use me up and then you walk away,
Boy you can't play me that way.
"Well I guess what you say is true,
I could never be the right kind of girl for you,
I could never be your woman."
When you look to James again, he has finished his drink and stands. Figuring he must have finally gotten the message, you congratulate yourself on another well-executed pre-emptive strike and turn your eyes away.
"When I saw my best friend yesterday,
She said she never liked you from the start,
Well me, I wish that I could claim the same,
But you always knew you held my heart.
And you're such a charming handsome man,
Now I think I finally understand,
Is it in your genes?, I don't know,
But I'll soon find out, that's for sure,
Why did you play me this way?."
Sensing that you are suddenly not alone, you turn to face the other side of the stage again. Doing so, you find that James has now joined you. You are so surprised, he easily takes the microphone from you and begins to sing.
"Well I guess what you say is true,
I could never be the right kind of girl for you,
I could never be your woman.”
You laugh because you can’t help it. Maybe this James wasn’t Scarlet’s type after all and that’s why you’re getting this chance. You certainly can’t picture her with the man before you. With his naughty eyes, easy smile and silly sense of humor, he’s making a very strong case for being just your type.
His eyes are locked on yours. He slowly slips his arm around your waist, obviously gauging whether he’s about to catch the business side of your fist. You can’t help but notice the relief in his eyes when he sees that you just can’t stop smiling at him. You can’t even seem to tear your eyes away.
Your inner voice is chiding you. This can only end one way. You in a puddle of tears. You can already see yourself caring way too much about what will inevitable be a short acquaintance that you’ll be only too eager to deny this time next week when you’re up here watching him chat up someone else.
Just then he takes his thumb and strokes it very slowly across your jawline. His gaze is still fixed on yours as he begins to sing again.
“Well I guess what they say is true,
I could never spend my life with a man like you,
I could never be your woman.”
Inwardly, you sigh. Yeah, you probably will regret this, but at this moment it’s simply staggering how much you just don’t care.
When the music ends, you break away from James and walk to Zak’s enclosure. “I’m taking the night off.”
He is smiling at you, but decides to play innocent. “Why’s that Love?”
You grin smugly. “Got a date.”
Lyrics from “Your Woman” by White Town
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| The character of James and the show Manchild are © the BBC. No infringement is intended and no profits are being made. |