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was trying to pick Eric up. Said that Eric told the guy to fuck off, but he just laughed. Then
she said the guy started touching him and he just flipped out.
Malcolm! Mike called from behind the bar. Where s that extra case of Bailey s?
Malcolm sighed. Hang on, I ll look. He hurried off and I sat down to think. I already
knew that Eric didn t like being touched unless he initiated it. And now I knew he definitely
didn t like anyone coming on to him. Lots of people don t, I guess, but I thought his reaction
was pretty extreme. Made me wonder about him even more than I already did.
I was so deep in thought that I didn t even notice that Eric had returned from Tamara s
office. He stood grinning down at me for I don t know how long, before his presence finally
registered.
Hey, he said. What planet were you on?
Sorry. I was just thinking.
Bout what?
Nothing much, I lied. Let me buy you a drink to celebrate.
He smiled. Okay.
I stood up and we headed for the bar, where Malcolm was busy setting up for the night.
What ll it be? I asked. You like tequila?
Yeah, sounds great.
Tequila it is, then, I answered as we sat down at the bar. Hey, Malcolm!
Be with you in a sec, Malcolm called from under the bar. He rummaged around a
little more, then reappeared looking mussed and sweaty, with the missing case of Bailey s in
his hands. I knew I had that around here someplace. Now, what ll you have?
Tequila, I said. Shots, with lime.
Coming right up, Malcolm said.
Eric watched him as he opened a fresh bottle and set two shot glasses and a plate of
lime wedges in front of us. Malcolm? he said hesitantly.
Yeah?
I m sorry about the other night. I hope I didn t hurt you too bad.
Malcolm smiled. The knee s still sort of tender, but that s all.
Eric bit his lip. I don t usually do that sort of thing. That guy really pissed me off
though, and when you grabbed my arm I just sort of acted on instinct. Sorry.
Forget it, Malcolm said. No major damage done. Looks like you banged your head
pretty good though.
Eric laughed. Yeah. Good thing black and purple are my colors.
40 Ally Blue
Like you d know, I chimed in as I poured the tequila. Calling you fashion challenged
would be the understatement of the century.
He gave me an evil look. You should talk. He tossed back his shot and bit into a lime
wedge. He shuddered. Oh, man, that s good.
You move pretty quick in a fight, Malcolm said. Looks to me like you ve had some
martial arts training, am I right?
Eric nodded. Black belts in three disciplines. I started when I was five and I liked it so
much I kept at it, right up until I left Mobile.
Wow, that s pretty impressive, I said.
He smiled at me. I ll teach you, if you want.
That would be way too cool.
I run too, he added. At least five miles every other day. You wanna come with me?
Don t know about that, man.
Aw, come on. It s fun once you get used to it.
Yeah, if you re a masochist maybe.
Just try it once with me. I swear I won t make it too hard.
Too late, I thought. But I had to admit he was wearing me down.
Okay, I said. I ll go with you some time.
Great.
I poured more tequila. We clinked our glasses together and tossed it back.
The bar opened about an hour later. Eric and I were both feeling pretty good by then.
Mike and Janey joined us after a little while and we sat talking over the increasing noise of
the crowd until nine o clock rolled around. Janey glanced up at the clock, then stood and
tugged on my sleeve.
Time to go, Ben, she said. You re still capable of playing, aren t you?
Oh, sure, no problem. I stood up and managed not to sway too much. Eric choked
back a laugh.
Okay then, Janey said. Come on. She leaned over and kissed Mike, then grabbed my
arm and pulled me with her. We took our places on stage with the rest of the band and
launched into a hard and sweaty two-hour set.
It s a good thing we weren t trying out any new material that night, because I was
hopelessly distracted. Eric and Mike sat at a small table near the stage, finishing off the
tequila while we played. Eric s gaze caught mine and held it, and I played the whole set
staring into his eyes. When it was over, I felt like I was waking up from a dream.
Goddamn, that was fucking great! Eric declared as we came down off the stage.
Forgotten Song 41
I plopped down into the chair next to him and mopped the sweat off my face with a
napkin. Thanks. Hey, can I have some of your water, Janey? I grabbed her water bottle
without waiting for an answer and guzzled half of what was left.
Keep it, she said when I tried to hand it back to her. She turned to Eric. Forgot to
tell you before, I loved your song earlier. It was gorgeous. Her eyes held a grudging but
genuine respect.
He gave her a loopy, tequila-fueled grin. Thanks!
Mike glanced at Eric and back at me, and smiled. Hey, Janey can you come help me
with something?
She started to say something, then the light bulb went on over her head. She frowned,
but got up and went with Mike.
I cleared my throat. It really was a beautiful song. You said you wrote that this
morning? Really?
He nodded. Yeah. In my head. I hardly ever write them down.
Pretty amazing. I can t write in my head.
I wrote it for you, Ben.
I choked on a mouthful of water. What? You did what? I croaked once the coughing
stopped.
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