Page 45 of Under the Ink

One thing Naomi knew was that the guys in the band were good guys. Johnny was super nice and seemed to act like a mentor to the rest of the men in the band. And Sage was becoming a good boss and maybe even someone she could call a friend.

Time would tell for certain.

But Naomi was excited about taking in this particular city. The band was also in good spirits because tonight they would be recording the concert for a video, especially focused on their next single “Never Saw It Comin’.” So even though it was a smaller venue than many of the ones they’d been playing, it was sold out and the energy was high. It was a cool place with plenty of room to mosh. Besides, Johnny said, they’d be back in Manhattan soon.

Outside, it felt muggy, but Naomi didn’t care. Pulling out her phone, she pulled up her maps app, wanting to walk towards water. She wasn’t quite sure where she was or if she would be able to see actual ocean, but that was one thing she hoped to find on her journey. As she looked around taking it all in, she decided it would be okay to go anywhere, remembering that she’d also love to see Central Park with her own eyes or any number of tourist attractions.

Nothing she saw here would be unwelcome.

Everything was larger than life and in constant motion. It was like the city was breathing. As she turned in a circle on the sidewalk, she knew she probably stood out like a sore thumb, a person definitely new here—but she didn’t care.

Here, she felt free. Light. New.

In a city like this, shecouldstart all over. A fresh beginning.Thishad been what she’d been looking for all along.

And what wasthat? There was an enormous building that stood over all the rest—and by far. When she pulled it up on her map, she verified that it was indeed the Empire State Building—so she turned on her phone camera and snapped a picture.

Couldshe live here?

The vibes were good. Deciding to walk toward the gigantic skyscraper, she knew she wouldn’t see any bodies of water anytime soon, but she didn’t care anymore. She was loving the people, the traffic, the sounds, and there were plenty of food smells wafting in the air. What amazed her the most was how tall so many of the buildings were, and yet they were dwarfed by that huge one she was walking toward. Mirrored glass, concrete, sides of buildings used as billboards. Giant busses hissing as they stopped to drop off passengers and pick more up. Scaffolding on the other side of the street where some kind of construction was being done.

Underneath it all there was an energy she couldn’t describe.

As she started realizing there were plenty of smells other than cooking food, like oil and gas and smoke, she noticed she was walking past an entrance to the subway and almost giggled.

Giggled! That was so not like herself. How could a place make her feel so much lighter?

After a bit, she began walking past one clothing store after another. Peeking through a huge window, she examined the bone-white mannequin wearing a pink flowery summer dress and a floppy straw hat, as if she were getting ready to go to the beach.

Why go to the beach when you could stay here?

But Naomi’s eyes again shifted to the tallest building in the midst of everything—and she walked several more blocks until she was there. From the bottom, she couldn’t even see the topmost part where the spire stood proudly. In fact, trying made her neck hurt.

And she was hungry.

Not to mention, she probably needed to start heading back toward the venue.

On her return walk, she knew now for certain that taking this job was probably the smartest thing she’d ever done. Despite any doubts she’d had up to this point, now she was filled with hope. Excitement.

Even gratitude.

Would she choose to live here in this city with a heartbeat? Maybe. Even if not, it had opened her eyes to all the possibilities.

For now, though, she had to get to work.

* * *

That feelingof being fully alive never went away—through the concert and even through the afterparty with a few extra guests who’d paid for the experience. Naomi began to believe that this was it—all she’d hoped for, all she’d wanted.

Leaving Winchester had been the best move ever.

And knowing she was good at her job didn’t hurt.

As the evening wore on, she sipped on a bottled water and moved away from the crew to a different area of the room. Things there still felt awkward, and she wondered if Andy had said anything to the rest of the guys.

Or maybe it was just her.

But she caught up to Sage where he was nursing a beer and talking with Mickey. The bassist said, “Sage here tells me you’re doing a great job as his tech.”

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