Page 19 of Muted

I give him a real smile that hurts the muscles in my cheeks. “You guys have a phenomenal night! Enjoy the show!”

My shoulders shake in silent laughter at their grumbling until the abrupt silence of music diverts my attention, followed by overzealous whooping and clapping.

My head flies toward the stage and I suck in a breath when my eyes lock with her darkened caramel orbs for only the briefest of moments before she slides them away.Fuck. She was looking for me and I fucking missed it.

This woman has a tough time meeting anyone’s gaze, so now I’m curious if she’s been keeping an eye on me as well and I just haven’t noticed.Interesting.

My eyes roam over the crowd, happy to see the enthusiasm tonight. It hasn’t been this wild for a few months. The majority of attention is directed toward Vance, but we all know that Susu is a big part of that. They’re phenomenal together. I also have an inkling that it doesn’t hurt having two performers easy on the eyes instead of just Vance. Thad was alright, but he wasn’t one to make women weak in the knees.

“Hasn’t been like this in a while,” Chaz says from my left. I hadn’t noticed him come over, but when I glance toward him, I’m happy to see that he has an easy smile planted on his face. It’s been a long time since he’s looked this relaxed.

Nodding once, I watch the two of them settle back in to battle it out after one of the audience members calls out a request. Chaz likes to keep a list of crowd favorites on the tables, so I’m familiar at this point with what’s available. The song requested isn’t one on the list, so just as Vance begins his smile to turn down the request, Susu runs her fingers over the piano, quickly playing the melody.

My eyes hit my forehead when she ignores Vance’s silent message that he doesn’t know the song, and she begins to play. It’s a heavier ballad, one that only recently hit the radios.

“Fuck,” Chaz breathes out, his arms dropping to his sides as we both stare at the slight woman with a bit more than shock. She closes her eyes and sails through the song seamlessly. I flick my gaze over to Vance where he’s sitting ramrod straight, hands in his lap, watching her along with the rest of the bar.

Everyone is silently listening, engrossed by the powerful emotions she’s dramatizing through the song, building to the end until she finishes with a flourish. The lasting notes she strikes ring through the space, and I swear, you could hear a fucking pin drop.

Her eyes slowly open, then widen when she meets Vance’s heavy stare, and she jerks her hands away from the keys, the final cord ending abruptly.

Once more, the crowd explodes, happily cheering for our newest addition to the bar. Everyone except for Vance. I ready myself to walk over and chew his ass out for being a complete dick because she played something he couldn’t, but I notice the thoughtful tilt of his head as he studies her. He’s not upset. He’s impressed.

Of course, Susu doesn’t know how to read him, so she winds her hands together in her lap to curb the trembling as it starts up again. She nods her head toward the bar in thanks, then patiently waits for Vance to begin the next song.

She seems off for the rest of the night while Vance can’t keep his eyes off her. None of us can. Chaz hasn’t left my side as I continue to check IDs at the door while Cliff works the room, checking in with people. Our bartenders have the back of the room handled, so overall, the night ends well.

Eventually, we shut down and all pitch in to help clean up rather than leaving it to only a few of the employees. It was a busy as fuck night, but everyone leaves on a high.

Setting the last chair upside down on the tabletops, I let my gaze roam around the room. I want to find her and tell her how well she did tonight, but she’s nowhere to be found. Vance is packing up his bag on the stage, so I work my way toward him.

“Where’s she at?”

He doesn’t look at me when he shrugs his shoulder. “Not sure. I think she left already.”

Frowning, I look out the front door and note that it’s pouring rain again. It’s been never ending this past month. “Anyone walk her out?”

Shouldering his bag, he lets out an exhausted sigh. “Honestly, I have no idea. I barely had a chance to say anything to her before she disappeared.”

Grunting, I shove my hands in my pockets. “She’s probably tired. She worked all morning before doing this tonight.”

That news pulls him up short. “You all had her work today before playing tonight? That’s too fucking much.”

“I barely had a chance to talk to her after Thad quit yesterday, and then you all practiced. I would have told her to take off this morning, then it slipped my mind to text her. I’ll let her know she doesn’t need to come in tomorrow morning.” Chaz says from behind me.

Glaring at him, I bite out a little harder than I should. “Don’t forget.” It was thoughtless of him, but I’ll give him a pass. It’s been a long few weeks.

Hopping down from the stage, Vance joins us. “She’s good, really fucking good. Better than Thad ever was, and this was just her first night.”

Cracking my neck, I suck in a tired breath, annoyed that I need to school both of these boys on how to not be dismissive assholes. “Youneed to make sure you tell her that. She doesn’t know you yet, Vance. I’m sure you’re well aware, but you kind of come across as an egotistical asshole. I guarantee she thought you were pissed at her all night. You made her nervous.”

He brushes off my comment until Chaz pipes in. “He’s right, you know. Let’s not send her running for the hills just yet. We kind of need her.”

“I’m not an asshole,” Vance mumbles under his breath. “I just prefer excellence. And sheisexcellent, I’ll have you know. I’ll give her a pep talk tomorrow.”

I snort out a laugh. “I’m gonna head home. See you boys tomorrow.” Turning on my heel, I wave goodbye to them as I head out to my car.

My drive home is easy and filled with thoughts of the petite blonde piano player that has me so intrigued. They don’t stray as I hurry through a shower to wash the bar from my skin and eventually crawl into bed.

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