Chapter Five: Life Goes On
J.J. walked into the office and placed a yellow post-it on Dee’s desk. “Alex?” he asked. Dee looked over at the note and smiled. They were over at 27th headquarters, leaning back after cracking a case that had them flipping backwards for the last couple of weeks. The entire narcotics division was sort of in a party mood thanks to this, and the chatter could be heard all across the building. J.J. and Dee sat in their chairs behind desks in the office that Dee once shared with Ryo. J.J. had taken upon himself to erase any trace there was of Ryo and had done a pretty darn good job at it too. “Who is this Alex person and why does he call and leave a message?”
“He’s a guy I met at a bar – and no, he’s not into men,” Dee said before J.J. had the chance to ask. J.J. sort of relaxed. He was sort of hoping that he had a chance with Dee – an official chance with Dee.
J.J. and Dee had been partners ever since Dee came back and Ryo was gone. At first, J.J. tried to be the all-comprehensive buddy that he thought Dee needed after everything he’d been through, and Dee seemed to be appreciative of the gesture, particularly the fact that J.J. had long stopped being the annoying child he was way back when he first got to the precinct and Dee and Ryo began to go out as a couple. J.J. had matured, yet his feelings for Dee were not a mystery for anyone, including Dee himself.
J.J., on the other hand, felt relief when he heard those words come out of Dee. That meant that Dee was still alone – there was still a chance he could replace Ryo. J.J. knew that this possibility was a farfetched one, yet he loved to think about and dream about it. He loved to picture waking right next to Dee and not think that the room had to be emptied before noon. He loved the idea of having what Dee had with Ryo once. Maybe that was the bad part of the entire deal, because Dee, in more than one occasion, did take advantage of J.J.’s willingness and tried to fill his emptiness by screwing around with J.J. The damage these occasional encounters were still to be seen by both men.
In the meantime, J.J. still sighed whenever Dee left the room.
“Alex is more like a drinking buddy I would love to keep around,” Dee grinned before taking a zip from his cup of coffee. “He’s fun to talk to.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re having the time to make new friends,” J.J. sounded somewhat hurt. “Are we still on for tonight?”
Dee looked at him with a question mark on his face. J.J. leaned forward. “Poker night, remember? You, me, Drake, Ted? Don’t tell me you forgot, Dee Laytener!”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“My God, Dee! Poker night is, like, sacred! It’s like going to church – one must never miss poker night!” J.J. sounded frantic. After poker was over it was usually when Dee drove him over to a night in paradise.
Dee got up and picked-up his coat. “What can I say?” he said as he put it on. “I’m one hell of a sinner.”
Carol opened the door. It was well past ten and she didn’t expect anyone to be there at that hour. A few weeks had gone by and Josh (the friend from California) had been a no-show. Carol sort of had the suspicion that he was not going to show up after the phone calls stopped coming and the due date went by and nothing happened. Either way, Carol was sort of happy Josh stayed in California. That meant she could spend a little more time with her new friend, Alex.
They had been seeing more of each other for the past week or so yet there had not been another kiss since that night. Carol was sort of expecting more kissing, but Alex apparently had other ideas. Yet when she saw him that night behind the door, her heart began to beat faster than usual. “Hi,” she leaned against the door.
“Hi there, pretty girl. Is Dee here?” he asked. Carol nodded. “He’s getting ready,” she sounded disappointed. “Are you two going out tonight – again?”
Alex nodded. “I want to take him to this awesome place.” Carol puffed her lips.
“Sure! Take him to the awesome places and take me to feed your cat!” she whined. Alex winked. “If you want me to, I’ll take you to heaven next weekend.”
She turned red. Dee walked in to the conversation. “Did I miss something?” he asked. Alex shook his head. “I was just making small conversation with the pretty girl. Shall we go?”
“Let’s,” Dee said walking outside. Alex blew a kiss to Carol before she closed the door. The taxi was waiting downstairs.
“Where are we going?” Dee asked as they opened the doors to climb inside.
“It’s a bar, on the other side of town. It’s awesome.”
As the cab moved through the streets, Dee kept quietly looking outside. Alex sighed. “Spit it out,” he said.
“I don’t like you going out with Carol and giving her hope that she might have something to do with you when you’re gonna bite the dust in a matter of months.”
Alex chuckled. “Outch. That was low.”
“I mean it. You and Carol had been goody-good friends for the last month and I don’t want her to cry over a corpse again. It’s not fair to her.”
“I’ll tell her and then she can make-up her own mind, okay?” Alex said.
“Are you even serious about her? Don’t lie to me ‘cause I can see right through you.”
Alex looked outside for a moment. “Yeah, I am,” he replied almost to himself. Dee contained a gasp. “I like her, Dee,” Alex turned to face Dee’s eyes. “I mean – I think I really like her. And it sucks because I have so little time to get to know her. But I do want to spend what little time I have left with her; she’s amazing.”
“She doesn’t deserve to be hurt like that,” Dee said seriously.
“Just like you didn’t deserve to be hurt by this Ryo person, hum?” Alex said bluntly.
The ride was pretty silent after that.
They arrived to a big building with a long line of people waiting to go in. The place had neon lights that read “The Lighthouse”, and the guys at the door looked less than friendly. Alex and Dee walked right up to them. “Hi,” Alex said. “I’m Alexander Lawrence.”
The doormen looked at each other and allowed him and Dee in. The place was big. It was a bar with a stage on the corner and dim lights that gave a very jazzy atmosphere. The tables seemed full, the bar was filled with people yet the place itself didn’t seem to be as full as to keep all those people outside. “It’s a gimmick,” Alex explained as they headed for a table near to the stage. “It’s what gives the place hype.”
“How do you know about this place? I’ve never heard of it before.”
“I know the bartender,” he replied pointing to the bar. “His name is sort of weird, but he’s one heck of a guy.”
“Welcome to the Lighthouse, my name is Sarah and I’ll be your waitress tonight. What can I get a couple of fine gentlemen tonight?” a pretty red-curly-haired young woman said as she stood next to the table, her notepad at hand.
“Hi Sarah, my name is Alex and this is my drinking pal, Dee. We would like a bottle of your finest whiskey, two glasses, and loads of ice.”
“A number six,” Sarah said writing it down. “My slave David will bring it right over. Have a good time!”
She left and went over to another table right after she gave a skinny young man the order. Dee observed how the guy took the paper over to the bar and pretty soon he was walking over to the table with a tray with a bottle of Johnny Walker (Black Label), two whiskey glasses, and a small bucket of ice. He rapidly placed the items on the table, took a small bow and left just as the red-haired woman was flashing another piece of paper. “Good efficiency,” Dee commented as Alex poured the whiskey over the ice in the glasses.
“She bosses that poor shrew around, but I’ve never seen him complain about it.”
“If you’ve been around, how come she acts as if she has never seen you?”
“Because I’ve asked her to,” Alex said. Dee arched his eyebrow. “Sarah can be quite the character…” just then, they heard a high-pitch scream. Sarah was now hugging a customer at table six. “See what I mean?”
“So – what is so great about this place?” Dee asked.
“The band; they’re called The League and they are the most amazing band you’ve ever heard! True, they play mostly cover songs, but I swear to what is holier than thou, Dee, that this band sings those songs ten times better than the original artists.”
“Wow.”
“I wanted to bring you here so you could listen to them and fall in love with the lead singer’s voice just as I have, and then I won’t look like a freak when I drool over whenever she starts singing Billie Holiday songs.”
Dee looked at Alex in silent awe for a moment. “You really are a piece of work.”
“Thank you. I try.”
Sarah took the stage and tested the microphone. “Ladies and drunken bastards! Welcome to the Lighthouse, the only place where you get to listen to the now three-time War of the Bands champions – The League!”
The people roared in cheers and applause. The lead singer was a gorgeous young woman who wore a red dress that lead little to the imagination. Her hair was long and black, and her heels made her look two times taller than she was. She took the microphone and looked straight at Dee’s and Alex’s table. “Thanks. I think I know what our first song is going to be… but you know the drill, after this one, is all-request time!”
She turned to the band and gave them silent instructions. The guitar began to play… and Dee’s soul reacted as he never expected it to. Alex kept a keen eye over Dee’s reactions with a serene expression on his face. Dee was mesmerized by the girl’s voice. “So,” Alex started. “Who is Ryo?”
TBC
0 comments:
Post a Comment