Page 49 of A Secret Chance
Lauren nodded.
“I can see it,” he acknowledged.
“What?”
“The resemblance. But the name?”
“Charlotte changed hers to O’Hare years ago.” Lauren left it at that. She didn’t need to go into all of the sordid details about why Charlotte had completely changed her identity.
Baxter raised his eyebrows but didn’t ask the reason why. Lauren respected his restraint, so she gave him a hint. “To distance herself from her past, from here.” Lauren lifted her cup and gestured to the scene around them.
“I get that,” Baxter said.
“So do I,” Lauren whispered.
The whispering wasn’t necessary, the music was loud enough that almost everyone in the beer garden had given up talking and was either shouting or dancing. The band had just started into the opening notes of ACDC’sHighway to Helland the crowd had gone wild.
Lauren looked to Baxter, suddenly feeling the urge to confess, to tell him who she was; but shook her head, not here, not now. She had been hiding from her past all these years, maybe it was time to face it. Her past had literally come to life and was sitting in front of her. Facing her.
For the first time in years, the tenseness in Lauren’s body let up a little. Her decision to face her secret released its hold from her body. Her legs relaxed and her knee met Baxter’s, but this time she didn’t recoil. He looked at her and held her gaze as his leg fell heavy against hers. This subtle connection sent a wave of warmth through Lauren’s body. As she sipped her drink, she pressed into him slightly harder, to test and see if the touch was accidental, and her breath hitched as he pressed back. This touch was no accident.
“Baxter!”
A waft of bourbon and smoke cut the air around them as Carrie reached between them, grasping for Baxter’s hand. “Come on,” she yelled, her back pressing Lauren away from Baxter. “Let’s dance.”
“You’ll have to get in line,” Baxter said. He edged away from Carrie, not taking his eyes off Lauren.
“What?” Carrie yelled.
“This young lady asked first.” Baxter rested his hand on Lauren’s arm and the goosebumps that sprang up had nothing to do with the dropping temperatures. Baxter raised his eyebrows at her and mouthed, “Please.”
Lauren hesitated, and Carrie took advantage, laying a proprietary hand on his shoulder. Lauren’s gut clenched, seeing those manicured claws on Baxter’s jacket. “I did ask first,” she smiled and took Baxter’s hand. “This is one of my favorite songs,” she lied.
“Mine too,” Carrie folded her arms across her chest but stepped back to let Lauren and Baxter extricate themselves from the picnic table.
“Next one then.” She heard Carrie shout as they wound their way through the sea of tables to the plywood dance floor in front of the stage.
“Thank you,” Baxter shouted.
Lauren heard, but yelled, “What?” jokingly and pointed to her ear. When Baxter laughed, Lauren saw the glint in his eye again. The bass reverberated in her chest and she felt deliciously alive. “Come on,” she shouted and pulled him by the hand into the sea of dancers. The majority were drunk, and the dancing was more a frenzy of arm flailing and scream-singing along with the band. Baxter raised his fingers into the devil horn symbol above his head and Lauren started singing along. She hadn’t heard the song for years, but somehow the lyrics had found their spot in her memory.
Baxter took a wide step into what Lauren thought was a lunge. When he raised his hands into the telltale air guitar position she yelled, “You wouldn’t.” Baxter grinned and then wind-milled his arm, proceeding to play along with the band, fully committing to his act.
“Nice air guitar,” she shouted.
He stopped, dropped his imaginary instrument violently, and put his hands on his hips. “It’s an air bass, Lauren.” He managed to say it with a straight face for at least two seconds before they both broke out into a fit of laughter.
“You’d better pick up your bass before someone steps on it.” Lauren rested one hand on his arm and pointed to the snow-covered dance floor.
“You’re right.” He bent down and when he stood up, he thrust his arms at Lauren. “Your turn.”
There was no way Lauren was going to air guitar or air bass. “I’m more of an air sax player,” she cocked her head and grinned at him, thankful that as far as she knew, ACDC didn’t have a saxophone player.
He smiled at her and as the final notes of the raucous song rang out, he said, “Fair enough. But I expect to see your sax in action at some point tonight.”
Lauren’s cheeks rushed red. Was that an innuendo? The crowd screamed and Lauren and Baxter joined in with the clapping and shouting. She leaned back into Baxter, “You, sir, are a fine air bass player.”
“The finest,” he whispered back. They had been jostled close together by the crowd of dancers, and even though their bodies weren’t touching, she could feel the light brush of his jacket against hers as he breathed behind her.
