Page 1 of In Her Arms

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CAMERON

The Indigo Lounge was packed wall-to-wall with vibrant people sipping cocktails, their eyes trained on the stage setup in the corner of the room. Open mic nights had always been a crowd pleaser, but the demand tonight had been nearly overwhelming. They were lucky the bar’s order had come in on time, Cameron thought as she mixed a drink. Otherwise, they would have run short. Esme had only gotten more creative with the specials once the renovations had finished, and that meant getting more creative with the ingredients. This week was no different; Cameron was mixing something called “Cat Named Dog,” a mule made with rhubarb soda named after the Norma Tanega song.

Where does she come up with this stuff?Cameron handed the drink to a customer with a smile. It was clearer than ever that Esme was the driving creative spirit behind the bar ever since she had handed over some of the more technical responsibilities to Nora. She was flourishing and finally able to spend her time whipping up drinks and food with the chefs and making sure the weekly lineup of events kept the community entertained.

Cameron had picked up far more shifts since the grand re-opening than she had over all the months before combined. Being busy was good for her, kept her mind occupied and allowed her to help her friends when they needed her. It didn’t hurt that they had taken on extra staff and the newbies were being trained up. The Lounge may have expanded, but Cameron was grateful that the atmosphere hadn’t changed. It was bigger and better, but the community had expanded instead of being replaced. Cameron had begun recognizing new regulars, and she could always tell when it was somebody’s first time there. They tended to have a wide-eyed excitement about them, taking in every little curated detail.

Esme carried a slab of cans behind Cameron while she kept mixing cocktails, the line at the bar gradually growing shorter. Once the performances started, they would have a minute of quiet. Looking around at the crowd as she mixed, Cameron spotted Holly and Deborah making their way through the crowd. She smiled and gestured for them to sit on the stools while she took care of the remaining orders. Esme appeared over her shoulder, greeted the two women, and then made her way over to the stage area to introduce the emcee for the evening.

“Hello, Indigo Lounge! How is everybody doing tonight? Everybody having a good time?”

The crowd roared back. Cameron thought Esme’s smile was bright enough to power the building. Dressed in a pair of flowy linen pants and a silk shirt, Esme’s hippie-chic, comfort-over-style philosophy was clearly working in her favor. She moved freely around the stage, and Cameron knew that if she called her over to the bar, she would be there in a flash.“I’m glad to hear it! I wanted to thank you all for coming tonight. We have an absolutely incredible lineup of talented artists waiting to perform for you all night. Who’s looking forward to the show?”

Another roar from the crowd. Esme introduced the host of the show, a local drag king, and outlined some acts of the evening. A few major record labels were known to send talent agents around to the Lounge on open mic nights, and some people had even been offered contracts based on performances. It had become a big deal for the local lesbian music scene, which had only existed in scattered areas around L.A. before the Indigo Lounge had opened. The crowd was excited to see the performers, and the performers were excited to play to such a large—and potentially life-changing—crowd. It was a brilliant win-win. While the first act was setting up, the noise died down to the point where Cameron could finally say hello to Deborah and Holly without having to shout.

“How are you two doing?” She leaned over the bar to give them each a one-armed hug.

“I’m doing pretty well. Got some work done today, but Deb’s been in meetings since about nine this morning, haven’t you, honey?” Holly swept her hair behind her shoulder and wrapped an arm around Deborah. Their shared affection was easy, free-flowing, and casual.

“I’ve been crawling up the walls, Cam. I’m sick of boardrooms and execs who don’t know their behinds from their elbows trying to make decisions about what happens with the moviestheywanted to buy! Honestly, don’t spend millions on a franchise then complain tomewhen you realize you don’t know what to do with it.”

Holly looked exasperated. “Could we get her a drink, Cam?”

“Absolutely, two seconds, Hol.”

Cameron chose a small bottle of mezcal, a strong Mexican spirit, from below the bar and reached back for a grapefruit soda and some golden glitter. Grabbing a glass and an ice cube, she poured the soda over the mezcal and stirred in the edible glitter. The drink shimmered as she handed it over.

“What’s this one called, then?” asked Deborah, smiling as she took a sip.

“Golden Paloma,” Cameron replied, laughing as Deborah’s lips puckered at the strong taste.

Deborah was interrupted by her phone buzzing in her pocket, and she sighed, giving Holly a weary, apologetic look.

Holly only laughed, taking the drink from her and nodding toward the door with her head. Deborah reluctantly slouched toward the door.

Holly turned to Cameron again, sneaking a sip of the drink. “How are you doing?”

Cameron shrugged. “I’ve been doing alright, much busier since this place opened back up.”

“Is busy good? For you, I mean.”

“Busy keeps me from getting bored.”

“Ah, well, if you were ever bored, I know somelovelyladies around here who would be more than happy to keep you occupied.”

Cameron rolled her eyes as Holly laughed.

“Though fair warning, most of them have heard about you already.”

“Low blow, Holly!” Cameron raised her hands in mock frustration. The joke was fair game, even if it stung. “You got lucky with Deb; you really did. I just don’t think I’m built for something so…long-term. Not my fault people love to talk so much when things don’t go their way.”

Holly gave her a sideways look, and, okay, maybe it was justified, but Cameron had figured out what worked for her and what didn’t. Didn’t she deserve some credit?

“Long-term relationships may not be your thing, but you’ll show those girls the best night of their lives.”

“Ah,” Cam cut in. “No drinks for you tonight. That’s what you get for making fun of the bartender.”

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