The Boy and the Bookstore
Karaoke
“I need you to ask Jamie out on a date for me.” Sam said standing in the doorway of Charlie’s college dorm room. He was sitting in the middle of a futon couch with a girl on both sides of him.
“Uh… I think you can ask her out yourself.” Charlie said awkwardly as the two girls looked at him.
“What are you even doing here? How did you know which room was mine?” Charlie asked.
“Seriously? c’mon.” Sam pulled out his wallet and grabbed a ten dollar bill. “Ladies can you run to the gas station or somewhere on campus and pick us up some soda. I need to talk to your lover boy.” The two girls gave Sam a disgusted look and then looked at Charlie. “I don’t really care if you get the drinks or not. That was just my nice way of throwing you out of the room and getting ten dollars.” The two girls got off the futon. One of them grabbed the ten dollar bill and the two of them left. Sam turned around and shut the door after they left.
“You know you didn’t have to do that. You could have just called me or something.” Sam walked over and sat down on the desk chair.
“I wanted to come check out your new place. See if there were any new slam pieces I might run into.” Charlie shook his head with a smile.
“So why do you need me to ask Jamie out for you? Assuming that is really the reason you came here.”
“I don’t need you to ask her out for me. I need you to ask her out for you. She’s driving me nuts.” Sam said standing up.
“I don’t even know the girl.” Charlie said before Sam cut him off.
“I hang out with her three times and all the sudden we are best friends.” Sam said pacing around the room. “You can’t be friends with a girl that hot. It’s torture.”
“Well I can’t do it.” Charlie said. Sam stopped pacing and looked at him.
“Why not? She’s gorgeous.”
“I’m involved right now.” Charlie said serious. Sam laughed at him.
“You’re fucking me right? The last time I saw you you were playing the field and chasing everything that moved. You were bragging about how many girls you were sleeping with. You can’t be dating some girl.”
“Yeah well school got started and classes started taking up time. I mean there’s only so much sleeping around you can do before girls start to talk and you’re labeled something you don’t want to be.”
“Oh I’m sorry. One of them said you were bad in bed didn’t they?” Sam said sitting down on the futon.
“No! That never happened.”
“It’s either that or you’re lieing to me.”
“I swear to God man.”
“How do you expect me to believe any of that garbage when you’re sitting here in your dorm room with two girls on your couch?” Sam questioned.
“You know how girls can be. How many times have you told me ‘you can’t be friends with girls?’ Those two girls are both waiting for me to mess things up with Mary so they can slide themselves right in there to take her place. They are just pretending to be my friend until a breakup happens.” Sam laughed.
“No wonder they looked pissed when I said to ask Jamie out. They probably thought you were single again.”
“Exactly. Why don’t you just have your buddy Pete ask her out or something?”
“Pete’s too old and too ugly for her. Plus she is the case that he is working.”
“What do you mean?”
“Pete’s my private investigator guy and she’s involved with a guy he’s checking out.”
“So why are you talking to her then?”
“Eh… it’s complicated.”
“Every story you have is complicated.”
“I just need something to keep her busy for a while. Something to keep her distracted…” Sam said trailing off. He caught a poster on Charlie’s wall that looked like a campus activity. He walked over to it and looked at the poster. “Are you on the activities board or something?” Sam asked. Charlie looked away towards the ground.
“Not really. I just did it to put something down on a resume.” Charlie said ashamed.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I did more stuff while I was in school. Tell me about this thing.”
“That’s just kind of a mixer type of event. You know get the freshman out and introduced to more people on campus. They sell nonalcoholic drinks and snacks and have a DJ play some music. Last years was pretty fun.”
“You have more of these things already planned for the year or what?” Sam said looking at Charlie.
“Well the school gives us a certain budget of money and then we try to figure out what the students might like or might show up to. It’s kind of a hassle because of all the red tape and stuff so we don’t really get a chance to have a lot of them. This is just one thing they’ve always done from what I’m told.”
“Yeah they did it when I was here.” Sam said dryly. “You have the right equipment for a live band?” Sam said curiously gazing outside the window.
“Well they have some sound stuff that I’m sure they use for events and meetings and stuff I’m sure.”
“What if you put on some form of a fundraising event? Sell cheap tickets to the students and people in the area.”
“Well if it’s on campus students are normally free.”
“It wouldn’t be anything more than a few bucks a ticket. Is there normally a good crowd?”
“Yeah I’d say at least a few hundred people show up.”
“Well open it up to more people in the area. Allow the staff to come, have some business donate food or just a large donation to post a sign up somewhere.”
“Yeah but a good band doesn’t play for free.”
“Jamie’s band would.” Sam said looking at Charlie now. “And you know they’re good. You’ve witnessed that yourself.”
“You really think she would play for free?”
“If you could get this thing set up, and I don’t mean half-assed, where you get a thousand people and have local businesses involved and everything she would do it in a heartbeat. That would give her a stage to play and could get her band a lot of buzz and publicity.”
“Yeah it actually would. And the people on campus would like her music. Even if she did just covers most of the time. This could work. What do you think the fundraiser should be for?” Charlie asked walking over to his desk. He grabbed a notebook and a pen and was writing things down as he sat back down on the futon.
“I don’t know. You guys figure that out. Just don’t make it for new sports jersey’s or anything. Make it for a real cause like testicular cancer or care packages for troops or something.”
“Yeah I’ll figure something out. This might take some time to plan though. Can we figure out a date and get back to you on it?”
“Yeah that’s fine. How long till you’ll get an approval you think?”
“Just give me a week or two to see if I can get the idea passed. But after that it’ll take some time to pick a space or renting out equipment and then it’ll take time asking companies in the area about donating for stuff.”
“There’s a guy Andy told me about that might still work here. I think his last name was Paul. He’s the guy you need to talk to about for donors and businesses. He’s the one who has relationships with certain people already. That might speed up the process. He’s a really nice guy too.”
“Alright I’ll look into him too. Anything else?” Charlie questioned.
“No. But now I’ll actually have something to talk on the phone with Jamie about. Why couldn’t she just be ugly?” Sam said sitting down on Charlie’s bed.
“You like this girl don’t you?” Charlie asked. Sam looked up at Charlie.
“It’s complicated.”
“It’s ok if you do. It doesn’t really matter what Pete has you involved with. If you like her you like her.”
“I don’t know if I like her or if I like the idea of her. She’s an enigma. That girl will say things that I haven’t thought of and make correlations out of the smallest bits of things.”
“So you’ve actually met a smart girl who can keep up with you?” Charlie asked.
“But you’ve seen her. It’s the law of nature, girl’s that pretty are given things that most aren’t and they’re not used to working for things that ordinary people have to.”
“God doesn’t give with two hands. Well at least that’s what they say.”
“I know. But it’s like she defies it. It’s a puzzle.”
“Well whether it’s the puzzle, her good looks, or her mind there is an attraction. And I think it all starts from there. Usually for me it starts with some attraction, whether it’s her looks or personality it depends. After that it’s usually the challenge of getting her attention or getting a chance. Once you get passed that it’s the similarities and the comforts. After that I think it’s about where you’re going. You could be perfect for someone but if their goals are to dig holes and you want to chase the stars it’s not going to work out. Someone either has to change or give up something for the other and that might work for a while but eventually it will strain enough that it doesn’t last.”
“Look at you. Paging Dr. Love over here.” Sam said trying to keep the subject light.
“I think that’s where I might get stuck with Mary. We haven’t been going out that long where we still enjoy all the littlest things but if it does last I’m not sure where it’s going to go when we finish school.”
“Just enjoy it man. As weird as it sounds coming from me, don’t try and over think it. Just let it be. You can worry about it when you get to it but that’s a long ways away and who knows how much both of you will change by then. You could switch your major three times by then.”
“Yeah I still need to figure that out. And like right away.”
“You should be a surgeon.” Sam said standing up.
“Why?”
“So you can stitch me up when I get hurt.” Sam said. Charlie chuckled. “I got to head out. I’m supposed to meet up with Jamie for dinner later. I’m sure you’re too busy to come and be a buffer aren’t you?”
“Yeah sorry I have to finish a paper today.”
“That’s too bad. I’ll bring up that fundraiser though.” Sam said walking out of Charlie door and headed down the hallway.
----------------------------------------
Sam and Jamie were sitting on the floor of Jamie’s apartment eating take out Chinese food off of her coffee table. Jamie was living in a studio apartment. It was the size of a rectangle plus the addition of a small bathroom to it. The kitchen area was off to the left once you entered through the front door. She didn’t have any dining table or chairs. She had a futon as a couch, and where her band mates often slept at, in the middle of the space with a small TV and TV stand. At the far end of the room by the windows was where she kept her bed and dresser. Sam wasn’t sure why her place was so unfurnished but he could understand why it wasn’t.
“You’ve been quiet today.” Jamie asked eating some noodles. “Is there something on your mind?”
“Yeah I got a lot on my mind lately.” Sam said. Jamie paused from eating waiting for Sam to continue but he didn’t.
“Well like what? Let me hear it. Maybe I can help.”
“I don’t know.” Sam said puzzled. He wanted to tell Jamie the truth but knew that he shouldn’t.
“Well if I tell you something will you tell me?”
“Depends on what it is, but maybe.”
“Okay. Well I wrote a new song.”
“That’s great!” Sam said happy for her. “When can I hear it?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to record it first. I don’t want you to hear a rough version in case it changes.”
“Well I’m sure it’ll be great.” Sam said taking a bite of his food.
“Yeah… the funny thing is you kind of inspired me into writing it.”
“Really?” Sam questioned. She had gotten his attention. “What’s it about.”
“It’s just basically about pushing your own limits and trying new things. Taking a leap of faith in yourself.”
“Well I’m happy that I inspired you. I actually have some news that I need to ask you about but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. Did you ever meet my friend Charlie?”
“No I don’t think so. I know you’ve mentioned him a time or two.”
“Well he’s on some committee at his school and he’s trying to start a fundraiser event. I kind of offered you and your band….” Sam said trailing off.
“What? When is it?” Jamie asked.
“I don’t know yet. He has to go through all the proper channels before he can give me a date. I think it would be really great for you and your band though. It’d be a chance to do some of your own stuff and have a chance to play a full set of songs. It’ll be a young crowd so they’ll be into it, but also a mix of adults that might know people. You never know what could happen. I just think it would be great PR for you guys and it would be fun.”
“Look at you talking about PR. You should be in business school.”
“Well it’ll give you a chance to play and it’ll give him a band that he knows is good and can play. If he likes it the kids at the college will like it too.”
“So it’s a college event? Sounds like it could be pretty big then.”
“If he goes about it right and gives it time to be planned it could be pretty big.”
“Well give me an idea when the date is and I’ll make sure we are free. It should be fun.”
“He told me to give him a few weeks to get it approved and then to see if he could get some equipment rented from the school. I’m sure you don’t want to lug all the equipment you have all the way over to Malibu and back.”
“Even if we did it wouldn’t be a big deal just as long as we have enough time to do a sound check and set up.”
“Awesome. I hope it works out.” The two got quiet and continued eating. It wasn’t until a few minutes went by when Jamie finally spoke up.
“Wait a minute. Is that really what was on your mind? You were afraid of asking me to play a free concert? I’m not buying it. The third day we hung out you told me I had a booger in my nose and you thought one of my band mates was gay.”
“He is gay but what’s your point?”
“My point being that normal people don’t say those types of things to somebody they just met. Even friends that have known each other for years normally won’t even tell their friends they have a booger in their nose because they don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
“So you’re calling me a jerk then?”
“If I’m calling you anything I’m calling you outspoken and I’m calling you honest. Part of the reason I like you and trust you as my friend is because of that. You’ll tell me something even if it’s not exactly what I want to hear because it’s something that needs to be said.”
“I’m not sure where you’re going with this.” Sam questioned.
“You’re hiding something from me.”
“What?” Sam said slightly outraged.
“Just tell me what it is.” Jamie said putting her plate on the coffee table. Sam paused to think about what he was going to say. There were several things that had been eating him up inside that he wished he could tell Jamie but knew he couldn’t.
“I saw Cam making out with some girl the other day. I didn’t know if you were into him or not and I didn’t know how to approach you about it without it sounding awkward.”
“Why would it sound awkward?” Jamie asked.
“Because of this.” Sam said motioning towards him and Jamie and being in her apartment. “Honestly how many guy friends have you had in the past who pretended to be someone just because they wanted to sleep with you? I’m assuming all of them other than your band mates. And I don’t know if you unintentionally lead them on because you’re such a nice person or if maybe you just liked the attention. And it bugs me that I can’t figure it out because I know I’ve never been in a friendship with a girl without there being some form of underlying secret agenda. She’s either wanted to date me or somehow use me.”
“And you think I’m manipulating you somehow?” Jamie said calmly. The calmness through Sam for a swerve as he was sure she would have gotten somewhat emotional and judgmental over what he had just said. Sam took a deep breath.
“No.” Sam said quietly. “Because if you were you would have gotten defensive, you would have gotten emotional about it. But most of the time I can’t read you and I don’t know why.”
“Why do you need to be able to read me?”
“Because that’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at. I read between the lines and I read the body language.”
“So because you can’t read me that frustrates you?”
“Yes!” Sam said frustrated.
“Interesting… I’m going to have some fun with that.” Jamie said with a smile.
“Oh that’s cruel.” Sam said.
“Can you just promise me that instead of trying to read me and guessing wrong that you’ll just ask me and find out?”
“Absolutely not. It’s like second nature now. I couldn’t stop even if I cared enough to want to.” Sam said. Jamie laughed.
“So wait how did you find out that Eric was gay? What was his tell?”
“When we all went out for pizza the other day and we had that waiter. He dropped his notepad thing and you reached down to get it for him. You had a cleavage shirt on and any guy’s natural instinct is to check out the girls boobs but he glanced at the waiters butt when he bent over to pick it up.”
“Seriously? That probably lasted like two seconds.”
“That’s how he gave himself away. After that you can just catch the guy looking at something to confirm it.”
“Your mind is just incredible. You know the other guys in the band don’t even know he’s gay either? He’s only told me.”
“Well you’re the sympathetic presence. I mean who else would he tell?”
“So you really thought I was interested in Cam?”
“The guy is helping you out with your music career. He flirts with you and he sent you flowers in the mail. It’s usually hard for a female not to feel some form of flattery or good feelings towards a guy who does that.”
“Aren’t you over generalizing now?” Jamie said slightly offended.
“Maybe. But generalizations are made generalizations for a reason. It doesn’t mean there aren’t outliers in them.”
“Oh my my my aren’t we a smooth talker.” Jamie said sarcastically.
“Am I wrong?”
“He’s a nice guy for helping us out but by no means am I attracted to him. He’s just another guy like Eric, my brother, or you.”
“Just another guy? Words can hurt you know.” Jamie laughed.
“You done with your food?” Jamie asked standing up and crabbing the boxes from the table. Sam nodded his head. She went over and threw the boxes in the trash. “You want to hang around and do something fun tonight?”
“Like what?” Sam asked curious.
“I don’t know. There’s a bar that does karaoke tonight. It could be fun.”
“I’m not singing and you sing every day.”
“Oh c’mon. I want to hear you sing. It’ll be fun.”
“That’s not fair. You know you’re good and everyone will suck compared to you.”
“Well then maybe I won’t sing. I can be your backup dancer or something.”
“Yeah I don’t think so.”
“Oh c’mon! I will buy all your drinks if you need a little liquid courage, but after you’re feeling buzzed you have to do it. I don’t want any sloppy drunk up there singing.”
“Have you ever paid for a drink in your life? You probably go to this bar every week and get free drinks.”
“Actually I’ve never gone there before.” Jamie said kind of shyly.
“Why not? You never went with any of your band friends?”
“No. I mean I’ve tried to a couple times but they’ve never wanted to go with me. I think it’s cause I’m a girl.”
“Maybe you suck at being a wing woman. There’s only two reasons guys go out to bars. They go out to pick up chicks or they go out to get wasted and dull themselves from their lives. If you suck at the first I’m sure they don’t want you there for the second.”
“Yeah I guess. I just want to go and check it out. Maybe sing and dance, have some fun. I don’t want to be there all night and I’m not really looking to pick up any dudes right now in my life.”
“Why not?”
“All my energy is spent making ends meet and creating music when I have the space to do it and the band’s time. It wouldn’t be fair to expect someone to understand and fit themselves into all of my craziness.”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“Yes! I’m going to go get ready.” Jamie said excited and rushing over towards her closet. It was a small gap in the wall next to her bathroom. Sam hadn’t even noticed it was there. He looked at himself. He was wearing a plain white tee shirt and jeans. It worked for him. He flipped on the television while Jamie disappeared into her closet. A few moments later she came out with a flannel shirt, tiny jean shorts, and cowboy boots.
“Where are we going with you dressed like that?” Sam asked.
“It’s a country bar. Did I not mention that? Oh well you already said you’d go.” Jamie said walking into her bathroom.
The two of them walked to a bar about ten minutes away from Jamie’s apartment. It was called Duke’s Country Bar. Jamie and Sam had already had a previous conversation about country music. Sam liked it and Jamie was a huge fan. Sam found that weird because of the type of rock music she played but it kind of made sense since she was from the Midwest. The two of them walked into the bar after waiting for a few people to be let inside. The country bar felt like it was about 80% full. Sam quickly noticed there was a lady who was probably in her early 40’s on a small stage singing a song while reading off the television for the lyrics. She wasn’t very good and it was obvious she had had a few drinks. It was going on 10:30 on a Friday night. From the looks of it the crowd seemed to be a younger audience between 21-30 but there were some older couples in their 40’s who were also having a good time. Jamie quickly nudged her way up to the bar between two guys and handed the bartender a credit card. Sam was standing a few steps behind her. Sam assumed she told the bartender to open a tab for herself and Sam for the night. The bartender looked at Sam and asked what he wanted.
“A shot of whiskey, I don’t care what kind.” Sam said loudly over the music. Jamie raised two fingers and then took a few steps towards Sam and gently grabbed his arm to pull him closer to her.”
“I’m going to go get you on the list. I feel like it could be pretty long. You like Hunter Hayes right?”
“Yeah. He’s good.”
“Alright because I’m picking one of his songs for you to sing. Do you think you’ll be able to handle his lyrics?”
“Oh please. I almost have your lyrics memorized I can handle his.” Sam said. Jamie laughed and walked away towards the DJ at the stage. Sam walked over towards the bar where the bartender had just finished pouring two shots of whiskey. Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. He always tried to keep a few hundreds on him in case he had to make an unexpected run. “I’ll let you keep whatever is left of this at the end of the night if you don’t charge her credit card. Just put it underneath her card.” Sam said to the bartender. He smiled slightly and nodded his head. Sam glanced back and saw Jamie talking to the DJ. He grabbed both shots and took them one after the other while the bartender watched. “Fill her up again. You can add the tally marks on our tab.” The bartender filled up the two shot glasses again. Sam waited for Jamie to come back and then they clicked their glasses and drank their shots.
“I talked to the DJ. He said they’ve had like a rotation of seven or so people and then every other rotation somebody new will sing one song and then stop. I said you’d probably be good for three songs before you get sloppy drunk.”
“You think I’m going to be the sloppy drunk one at the end of the night? I have at least fifty pounds on you and a couple inches taller.” Sam said slightly offended. Sam knew he could handle his booze but he had never drunk with Jamie before. She was pretty thin and he didn’t want to be the one carrying her home later so he decided he would do most of his drinking when she was distracted or in the bathroom. The two of them stood next to the bar and listened to the next person sing their song. The girl had a pretty good voice but Sam could tell she wasn’t quite confident she knew all the lyrics and would trail off on the parts she didn’t know.
“You want a mix drink?” Jamie asked.
“Sure.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t care. Whatever you get.”
“Jack and coke?” Jamie asked. Sam nodded his head. Jamie got the bartenders attention and moments later she had her two drinks. Sam actually liked that he was out drinking with Jamie. He usually avoided crowded bars because they usually called for some sort of security and sometimes fights broke out and the cops would be called in. He also didn’t like the amount of time he had to wait to get his drinks. But because Jamie was an attractive female the bartender would make her drinks really fast. The two of them took a drink.
“I got the DJ to put you fifth on the new list. That means after the next person sings you should be next.” Sam nodded his head again. “Are you nervous?”
“Not really. I mean there’s a lot of a people here so many a little.”
“Have you ever sung karaoke before?”
“Not that I can remember. I hardly ever sing.”
“Well I think you’ll be great. I’ve heard you try and sing one of my songs with your headphones on one day. You’re pretty good.”
“You’re lying. You’ve never heard me sing before. You’re just trying to boost my confidence up.”
“Why do you think I’m lying?”
“Because I know you’ve never heard me before. I’ve never sung when I’ve been around you. That’s your thing.”
“Damn. You’re right.” Jamie said with a smile. Sam could appreciate her effort to boost his confidence. Luckily for him confidence was not something that Sam lacked in. The only worries he had on his mind was if it was a song he didn’t know and in the back of his mind was if somebody recognized him even though he knew it was a long shot. “Well if it makes you feel any better it’s not like a lot of country singers really have amazing voices. I think that’s what makes country music so likeable is that anyone can sing it.”
“I guess that’s true.” The person on stage had finished and the DJ had called an older gentleman to the stage. He was singing an older country song that he could tell most of the younger crowd wasn’t into. “You’re not setting me up are you?” Sam asked. “And secretly I’m singing some really stupid song I don’t know.”
“No I promise. I would not do that to you especially when you’ve never done this before.”
“What song is it then?”
“Wanted by Hunter Hayes.”
“That’s kind of a slower more personal song. You sure that will really be popular with the crowd?” Sam asked slightly concerned.
“Oh trust me the girls will love it. And from the looks of the crowd that’s more than half the audience. If you have even a decent voice and known the lyrics the girls will probably be giving you their numbers.” Jamie said with a smile and then took a drink.
“So you did set me. Just in a different way. Why?”
“I just wanted you to have some fun. What guy doesn’t like meeting hot girls? Plus I’ve already noticed a few checking you out.”
“You’re joking with me right?” Sam asked. Jamie shook her head with a sarcastic smile. The song had ended and the DJ called Jacob to the stage. Sam quickly finished his drink and handed it to Jamie and walked up to the stage. Off to the left of the stage was an actual piano and in this song a piano was used. The DJ handed Sam the wireless microphone. “It’s my first time doing this so don’t be too harsh.” Sam said in a charming way. A couple girls cheered at him. The DJ was having an issue finding the song. Sam grabbed the microphone stand that was on the stage and walked it over to the piano and propped it up as he sat down at the piano stand. One of the girls that was by the piano asked him if he could really play the piano. Sam knew he couldn’t but said over the microphone “just imagine I’m really playing this piano for the song too.” The song hadn’t come on yet so the crowd was starting to get curious. Sam felt around on the piano. The DJ walked over to him and told him to get off the piano and on the stage. The owner didn’t want anyone touching it. Sam apologized and got on stage. “Just kidding about the piano” The crowd laughed a little. The DJ started playing the song and Sam started singing when the lyrics called for him to.
You know I'd fall apart without you
I don't know how you do what you do
'Cause everything that don't make sense about me
Makes sense when I'm with you
Like everything that's green, girl I need you
But it's more than one and one makes two
Put aside the math and the logic of it
You gotta know you're wanted too
'Cause I wanna wrap you up
Wanna kiss your lips
I, wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
Never let you forget it
Yeah I, wanna make you feel wanted
A few girls had moved closer to the stage and were singing along with Sam while holding a drink in one of their hands. After the chorus happened Sam felt more comfortable on stage and he felt like he knew the lyrics well enough that he could be more of a showman.
Anyone can tell you you're pretty (Yeah)
You get that all the time, I know you do
But your beauty's deeper than the makeup
And I wanna show you what I see tonight
Sam sang that verse to one of the single girls standing closest to the stage. He glanced back to where Jamie was standing and she was shaking her head with a huge smile on her face. Sam could tell she was enjoying it.
When I wrap you up
When I kiss your lips
I, wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
Never let you forget it
'Cause baby I wanna make you feel wanted
As good as you make me feel
I wanna make you feel better
Better than your fairy tales
Better than your best dreams
You're more than everything I need
You're all I ever wanted
All I ever wanted
As the chorus repeated itself one more time an attractive brunette girl approached Jamie after she noticed that Jamie had been talking to Sam for the night and he had glanced at her a few times while he was on stage.
“Is that your boyfriend on stage?” She asked Jamie.
“No that’s just my friend.” Jamie said casually.
“Oh really? Are you into him or on a date or something? I don’t want to step on your toes.” Jamie paused for a moment it appeared to think.
“No we are just out here to have a good time. He’s the only one I could sucker into coming here with me.” Jamie said in a jokingly manner.
“But he’s single?” The girl asked curiously.
“To the best of my knowledge he still is yes.”
“Ok thanks. My friend thinks he’s really sexy and it’s her birthday. She’s kind of tipsy right now so she’ll probably be heading your way after the songs over.”
“Well thanks for the heads up.” Jamie said. The girl walked away just as the song ended. The crowd cheered and Jamie clapped her hands. Sam walked off stage with a little grin on his face and then walked over to Jamie.
“Did you like it?” Sam asked her as she handed him another mix drink.
“Yeah you were really good. I might have to hire you to be my backup singer.” Jamie said playfully. “I don’t know about this
flirting on stage stuff though.”
“What you didn’t like that? I was trying to add a little entertainment.”
“Yeah I know. A girl came over here asking about you so good job.”
“Was she cute?”
“Yeah. She’d probably let you do her on top of the bar too.” Jamie said sarcastically.
“I don’t give out sex shows for free. I charge for that.” Sam said seriously.
“What?” Jamie said quickly before realizing he was kidding when he smiled and shook his head. “You know what I’m going to do a song now. You’re getting a little too smug.” Sam laughed.
“I would love for you to do a song. You can have my spot. I don’t think I can top that performance.”
“You can’t be done already. You did so good. You didn’t have fun?”
“Yeah it was actually pretty fun after you get comfortable up there. I just think I’m going to be too busy with this group of girls heading my way.” Sam said looking over Jamie’s shoulder. Jamie turned around and noticed that four girls were making their way to the bar area where they were standing. One of the girls was the pretty brunette that Jamie had spoken to.
“I’m going to sign up but you’re doing at least on more song.”
“Sure.” Sam said distracted.
“Hey look at me.” Jamie said. Sam looked at her. “Promise me you’ll do at least one more song?”
“I promise you I will do one more song of my choice if I don’t get kidnapped and raped by this incoming group of girls.” Sam said.
Jamie turned away and headed towards the DJ as the group of girls showed up next to Sam.
Jamie sang a few songs and tried to be a wing woman but Sam didn’t really need help. The group of girls ended up being girls in their early twenties who were still in college and wanting to pick up guys and take them home. Sam knew he could probably take any of the four home and maybe two of them but he knew he would forever be in Jamie’s bad graces if he did that to her. Sam was actually thankful for a couple of the guys who were hitting on her next to him because it at least gave her someone to talk to in-between songs. He tried to include her in conversations but he didn’t know Jamie that well to be able to enough. Sam glanced at the phone Pete gave him. It was a quarter past one in the morning. He also got a glance at Jamie yawning and remembered she didn’t want to be out all night.
“You girls want to get out of here? We can go party back at your apartment or something.” The girls quickly agreed and decided whose place they were going to go to. “I’m going to go to the bathroom and then we can catch a taxi.” As Sam walked away he pulled out his phone and texted Jamie on his way to the bathroom. “I’m not leaving but I’m going to ditch these girls and get them a taxi. Stay by the bar.” Sam walked in the bathroom and cleaned his hands before walking back out.
“Okay girls let’s go. I’m sure we can all squeeze into one taxi.” Sam said heading outside. He got the attention of a taxi cab driving by and he pulled over. He opened the door and let the girls get inside first. He opened the door to get into the front seat and then paused. “Oh crap. I have Jamie’s keys. I need to go find her and give them to her. Just tell me the address and I’ll catch the next ride over there.” Sam said pretending. The girls argued and said they’d wait but Sam convince them that he needed to talk to Jamie and it might take time because he was supposed to be out celebrating with her and he spent the whole night talking with them. They bought his lie and agreed to let him catch the next ride. One of the girls told him the address and he repeated it back to them before he left. Sam never had any intention of meeting up with them though. If he did he would have given them his phone number but none of them were sober enough to even realize that. Sam went back inside Duke’s and saw Jamie sitting at the bar by herself. He glanced up at a clock by the bar and it was 1:45.
“I’m so sorry Jamie. I didn’t know how to get rid of them any sooner. I tried sarcastic and mean and they thought I was just being funny. Did you just want to get out of here and go home?”
“No!” Jamie said. “You still owe me a song.” Jamie was slurring her words a little and Sam noticed.
“What if I sing a really embarrassing song? Will that make you not hate me for tonight?”
“No that will just be stupid. You shouldn’t sing a song if you’re just trying to be funny. You need to pick a song that means something to you. If you do that and it’s a good one I will forgive you for tonight.” Jamie said with a little attitude.
“One song?” Sam questioned. “It has to mean something to me. Does it have to be a country song?”
“It can be whatever type of song you want as long as they have it.”
“Okay. Give me a couple minutes to figure out what song that is and then I’ll do it.” Sam said and he ordered another mixed drink from the bartender. Jamie excused herself to go to the bathroom. Sam asked the bartender if he knew how many drinks she had on the night. He said he gave her at least four mixed drinks that he could remember and he knew she took a shot or two with some guys that they paid for. Sam didn’t want to hear that. He closed out the tab and took back Jamie’s credit card. He knew that he had messed up and he needed to come up with a really good song because it was very likely that Jamie was actually throwing up in the bathroom because she had to sit by herself and drink all night. The crowd had died down and most of the people had left by now. There were only about three regular singers and the friends that they came with left in the bar. Jamie came back from the bathroom and sat down on the bar stool next to him. He looked her over. He knew she was drunk.
“Are you doing okay Jamie? Do you need me to walk you home now?”
“Just shut up. I’m fine. Did you sign up for your song yet?”
“No I’m about to though. I don’t know if you’ll like the song but I think it’s very similar to me” Sam said. He walked up to the stage and signed up. The DJ called his name after the person on stage finished. Sam had picked “Half of my heart” by John Mayer. Sam took the song very serious because the song actually did mean a lot to him.
“This songs for Amie”
I was born in the arms of imaginary friends
free to roam, made a home out of everywhere I've been
then you come crashing in, like the realest thing
trying my best to understand all that your love can bring
oh half of my heart's got a grip on the situation
half of my heart takes time
half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you
that I can't keep loving you (can't keep loving you)
oh, with half of my heart
I was made to believe I’d never love somebody else
I made a plan, stay the man who can only love himself
lonely was the song I sang, 'til the day you came
Showing me another way and all that my love can bring
oh half of my heart's got a grip on the situation
half of my heart takes time
half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you
that I can't keep loving you (can't keep loving you)
oh, with half of my heart
with half of my heart
your faith is strong
but I can only fall short for so long
Down the road, later on
you will hate that I never gave more to you than half of my heart
but I can't stop loving you
I can't stop loving you, I can’t stop loving you, I can’t stop loving you
but I can't stop loving you with half of my...
half of my heart
half of my heart
half of my heart's got a real good imagination
half of my heart's got you
half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you
that half of my heart won't do
half of my heart is a shotgun wedding to a bride with a paper ring
And half of my heart is the part of a man who's never truly loved anything
After that the song trailed off and Sam walked off stages towards Jamie. There was only a small applause after the song as it was more of a sad song than the up-tempo songs they were used to hearing throughout the night.
“Let’s go.” Sam said seriously. Jamie stood up and walked out the door following Sam.
“Did you say Jamie or Amie at the beginning of the song?” Jamie asked.
“I said Amie” Sam said with no emotion.
“Who is Amie?”
“She was my fiancee’” Sam said walking along the sidewalk with Jamie following by his side.
“You were engaged?”
“Yes.”
“Well what happened? Because I don’t see a ring on your finger” Sam stopped and pulled out the necklace that he always wore underneath his shirt with two different rings on it.
“See these rings. One of them is the wedding ring of one of my best friends who passed away. He took care of me after my dad kicked me out of the house. The other ring is her engagement ring. She died before we ever got married.” Sam continued walking. Jamie followed behind him in silence. They were halfway back to her apartment before Jamie said something.
“So that song… half of my heart. That’s like a true story for you isn’t it? Half of your heart will always be for Amie because she’s the girl you fell in love with and because of that you know that the other half of your heart isn’t enough for someone new in your life?” Jamie asked. Sam ignored her and kept walking. “If you think you can’t love again you’re wrong.”
“Just stop.” Sam said. He was getting angry and he was obviously upset. “You wanted something personal and I gave it to you. I’m not an open book for you to question. Just because you can read me sometimes doesn’t mean you deserve the whole story.” The two of them walked back to Jamie’s place in silence. Jamie tossed Sam a blanket and a pillow and he made himself comfortable on the futon while she got ready for bed. The two of them went to sleep without saying another word.
“Uh… I think you can ask her out yourself.” Charlie said awkwardly as the two girls looked at him.
“What are you even doing here? How did you know which room was mine?” Charlie asked.
“Seriously? c’mon.” Sam pulled out his wallet and grabbed a ten dollar bill. “Ladies can you run to the gas station or somewhere on campus and pick us up some soda. I need to talk to your lover boy.” The two girls gave Sam a disgusted look and then looked at Charlie. “I don’t really care if you get the drinks or not. That was just my nice way of throwing you out of the room and getting ten dollars.” The two girls got off the futon. One of them grabbed the ten dollar bill and the two of them left. Sam turned around and shut the door after they left.
“You know you didn’t have to do that. You could have just called me or something.” Sam walked over and sat down on the desk chair.
“I wanted to come check out your new place. See if there were any new slam pieces I might run into.” Charlie shook his head with a smile.
“So why do you need me to ask Jamie out for you? Assuming that is really the reason you came here.”
“I don’t need you to ask her out for me. I need you to ask her out for you. She’s driving me nuts.” Sam said standing up.
“I don’t even know the girl.” Charlie said before Sam cut him off.
“I hang out with her three times and all the sudden we are best friends.” Sam said pacing around the room. “You can’t be friends with a girl that hot. It’s torture.”
“Well I can’t do it.” Charlie said. Sam stopped pacing and looked at him.
“Why not? She’s gorgeous.”
“I’m involved right now.” Charlie said serious. Sam laughed at him.
“You’re fucking me right? The last time I saw you you were playing the field and chasing everything that moved. You were bragging about how many girls you were sleeping with. You can’t be dating some girl.”
“Yeah well school got started and classes started taking up time. I mean there’s only so much sleeping around you can do before girls start to talk and you’re labeled something you don’t want to be.”
“Oh I’m sorry. One of them said you were bad in bed didn’t they?” Sam said sitting down on the futon.
“No! That never happened.”
“It’s either that or you’re lieing to me.”
“I swear to God man.”
“How do you expect me to believe any of that garbage when you’re sitting here in your dorm room with two girls on your couch?” Sam questioned.
“You know how girls can be. How many times have you told me ‘you can’t be friends with girls?’ Those two girls are both waiting for me to mess things up with Mary so they can slide themselves right in there to take her place. They are just pretending to be my friend until a breakup happens.” Sam laughed.
“No wonder they looked pissed when I said to ask Jamie out. They probably thought you were single again.”
“Exactly. Why don’t you just have your buddy Pete ask her out or something?”
“Pete’s too old and too ugly for her. Plus she is the case that he is working.”
“What do you mean?”
“Pete’s my private investigator guy and she’s involved with a guy he’s checking out.”
“So why are you talking to her then?”
“Eh… it’s complicated.”
“Every story you have is complicated.”
“I just need something to keep her busy for a while. Something to keep her distracted…” Sam said trailing off. He caught a poster on Charlie’s wall that looked like a campus activity. He walked over to it and looked at the poster. “Are you on the activities board or something?” Sam asked. Charlie looked away towards the ground.
“Not really. I just did it to put something down on a resume.” Charlie said ashamed.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I did more stuff while I was in school. Tell me about this thing.”
“That’s just kind of a mixer type of event. You know get the freshman out and introduced to more people on campus. They sell nonalcoholic drinks and snacks and have a DJ play some music. Last years was pretty fun.”
“You have more of these things already planned for the year or what?” Sam said looking at Charlie.
“Well the school gives us a certain budget of money and then we try to figure out what the students might like or might show up to. It’s kind of a hassle because of all the red tape and stuff so we don’t really get a chance to have a lot of them. This is just one thing they’ve always done from what I’m told.”
“Yeah they did it when I was here.” Sam said dryly. “You have the right equipment for a live band?” Sam said curiously gazing outside the window.
“Well they have some sound stuff that I’m sure they use for events and meetings and stuff I’m sure.”
“What if you put on some form of a fundraising event? Sell cheap tickets to the students and people in the area.”
“Well if it’s on campus students are normally free.”
“It wouldn’t be anything more than a few bucks a ticket. Is there normally a good crowd?”
“Yeah I’d say at least a few hundred people show up.”
“Well open it up to more people in the area. Allow the staff to come, have some business donate food or just a large donation to post a sign up somewhere.”
“Yeah but a good band doesn’t play for free.”
“Jamie’s band would.” Sam said looking at Charlie now. “And you know they’re good. You’ve witnessed that yourself.”
“You really think she would play for free?”
“If you could get this thing set up, and I don’t mean half-assed, where you get a thousand people and have local businesses involved and everything she would do it in a heartbeat. That would give her a stage to play and could get her band a lot of buzz and publicity.”
“Yeah it actually would. And the people on campus would like her music. Even if she did just covers most of the time. This could work. What do you think the fundraiser should be for?” Charlie asked walking over to his desk. He grabbed a notebook and a pen and was writing things down as he sat back down on the futon.
“I don’t know. You guys figure that out. Just don’t make it for new sports jersey’s or anything. Make it for a real cause like testicular cancer or care packages for troops or something.”
“Yeah I’ll figure something out. This might take some time to plan though. Can we figure out a date and get back to you on it?”
“Yeah that’s fine. How long till you’ll get an approval you think?”
“Just give me a week or two to see if I can get the idea passed. But after that it’ll take some time to pick a space or renting out equipment and then it’ll take time asking companies in the area about donating for stuff.”
“There’s a guy Andy told me about that might still work here. I think his last name was Paul. He’s the guy you need to talk to about for donors and businesses. He’s the one who has relationships with certain people already. That might speed up the process. He’s a really nice guy too.”
“Alright I’ll look into him too. Anything else?” Charlie questioned.
“No. But now I’ll actually have something to talk on the phone with Jamie about. Why couldn’t she just be ugly?” Sam said sitting down on Charlie’s bed.
“You like this girl don’t you?” Charlie asked. Sam looked up at Charlie.
“It’s complicated.”
“It’s ok if you do. It doesn’t really matter what Pete has you involved with. If you like her you like her.”
“I don’t know if I like her or if I like the idea of her. She’s an enigma. That girl will say things that I haven’t thought of and make correlations out of the smallest bits of things.”
“So you’ve actually met a smart girl who can keep up with you?” Charlie asked.
“But you’ve seen her. It’s the law of nature, girl’s that pretty are given things that most aren’t and they’re not used to working for things that ordinary people have to.”
“God doesn’t give with two hands. Well at least that’s what they say.”
“I know. But it’s like she defies it. It’s a puzzle.”
“Well whether it’s the puzzle, her good looks, or her mind there is an attraction. And I think it all starts from there. Usually for me it starts with some attraction, whether it’s her looks or personality it depends. After that it’s usually the challenge of getting her attention or getting a chance. Once you get passed that it’s the similarities and the comforts. After that I think it’s about where you’re going. You could be perfect for someone but if their goals are to dig holes and you want to chase the stars it’s not going to work out. Someone either has to change or give up something for the other and that might work for a while but eventually it will strain enough that it doesn’t last.”
“Look at you. Paging Dr. Love over here.” Sam said trying to keep the subject light.
“I think that’s where I might get stuck with Mary. We haven’t been going out that long where we still enjoy all the littlest things but if it does last I’m not sure where it’s going to go when we finish school.”
“Just enjoy it man. As weird as it sounds coming from me, don’t try and over think it. Just let it be. You can worry about it when you get to it but that’s a long ways away and who knows how much both of you will change by then. You could switch your major three times by then.”
“Yeah I still need to figure that out. And like right away.”
“You should be a surgeon.” Sam said standing up.
“Why?”
“So you can stitch me up when I get hurt.” Sam said. Charlie chuckled. “I got to head out. I’m supposed to meet up with Jamie for dinner later. I’m sure you’re too busy to come and be a buffer aren’t you?”
“Yeah sorry I have to finish a paper today.”
“That’s too bad. I’ll bring up that fundraiser though.” Sam said walking out of Charlie door and headed down the hallway.
----------------------------------------
Sam and Jamie were sitting on the floor of Jamie’s apartment eating take out Chinese food off of her coffee table. Jamie was living in a studio apartment. It was the size of a rectangle plus the addition of a small bathroom to it. The kitchen area was off to the left once you entered through the front door. She didn’t have any dining table or chairs. She had a futon as a couch, and where her band mates often slept at, in the middle of the space with a small TV and TV stand. At the far end of the room by the windows was where she kept her bed and dresser. Sam wasn’t sure why her place was so unfurnished but he could understand why it wasn’t.
“You’ve been quiet today.” Jamie asked eating some noodles. “Is there something on your mind?”
“Yeah I got a lot on my mind lately.” Sam said. Jamie paused from eating waiting for Sam to continue but he didn’t.
“Well like what? Let me hear it. Maybe I can help.”
“I don’t know.” Sam said puzzled. He wanted to tell Jamie the truth but knew that he shouldn’t.
“Well if I tell you something will you tell me?”
“Depends on what it is, but maybe.”
“Okay. Well I wrote a new song.”
“That’s great!” Sam said happy for her. “When can I hear it?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to record it first. I don’t want you to hear a rough version in case it changes.”
“Well I’m sure it’ll be great.” Sam said taking a bite of his food.
“Yeah… the funny thing is you kind of inspired me into writing it.”
“Really?” Sam questioned. She had gotten his attention. “What’s it about.”
“It’s just basically about pushing your own limits and trying new things. Taking a leap of faith in yourself.”
“Well I’m happy that I inspired you. I actually have some news that I need to ask you about but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. Did you ever meet my friend Charlie?”
“No I don’t think so. I know you’ve mentioned him a time or two.”
“Well he’s on some committee at his school and he’s trying to start a fundraiser event. I kind of offered you and your band….” Sam said trailing off.
“What? When is it?” Jamie asked.
“I don’t know yet. He has to go through all the proper channels before he can give me a date. I think it would be really great for you and your band though. It’d be a chance to do some of your own stuff and have a chance to play a full set of songs. It’ll be a young crowd so they’ll be into it, but also a mix of adults that might know people. You never know what could happen. I just think it would be great PR for you guys and it would be fun.”
“Look at you talking about PR. You should be in business school.”
“Well it’ll give you a chance to play and it’ll give him a band that he knows is good and can play. If he likes it the kids at the college will like it too.”
“So it’s a college event? Sounds like it could be pretty big then.”
“If he goes about it right and gives it time to be planned it could be pretty big.”
“Well give me an idea when the date is and I’ll make sure we are free. It should be fun.”
“He told me to give him a few weeks to get it approved and then to see if he could get some equipment rented from the school. I’m sure you don’t want to lug all the equipment you have all the way over to Malibu and back.”
“Even if we did it wouldn’t be a big deal just as long as we have enough time to do a sound check and set up.”
“Awesome. I hope it works out.” The two got quiet and continued eating. It wasn’t until a few minutes went by when Jamie finally spoke up.
“Wait a minute. Is that really what was on your mind? You were afraid of asking me to play a free concert? I’m not buying it. The third day we hung out you told me I had a booger in my nose and you thought one of my band mates was gay.”
“He is gay but what’s your point?”
“My point being that normal people don’t say those types of things to somebody they just met. Even friends that have known each other for years normally won’t even tell their friends they have a booger in their nose because they don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
“So you’re calling me a jerk then?”
“If I’m calling you anything I’m calling you outspoken and I’m calling you honest. Part of the reason I like you and trust you as my friend is because of that. You’ll tell me something even if it’s not exactly what I want to hear because it’s something that needs to be said.”
“I’m not sure where you’re going with this.” Sam questioned.
“You’re hiding something from me.”
“What?” Sam said slightly outraged.
“Just tell me what it is.” Jamie said putting her plate on the coffee table. Sam paused to think about what he was going to say. There were several things that had been eating him up inside that he wished he could tell Jamie but knew he couldn’t.
“I saw Cam making out with some girl the other day. I didn’t know if you were into him or not and I didn’t know how to approach you about it without it sounding awkward.”
“Why would it sound awkward?” Jamie asked.
“Because of this.” Sam said motioning towards him and Jamie and being in her apartment. “Honestly how many guy friends have you had in the past who pretended to be someone just because they wanted to sleep with you? I’m assuming all of them other than your band mates. And I don’t know if you unintentionally lead them on because you’re such a nice person or if maybe you just liked the attention. And it bugs me that I can’t figure it out because I know I’ve never been in a friendship with a girl without there being some form of underlying secret agenda. She’s either wanted to date me or somehow use me.”
“And you think I’m manipulating you somehow?” Jamie said calmly. The calmness through Sam for a swerve as he was sure she would have gotten somewhat emotional and judgmental over what he had just said. Sam took a deep breath.
“No.” Sam said quietly. “Because if you were you would have gotten defensive, you would have gotten emotional about it. But most of the time I can’t read you and I don’t know why.”
“Why do you need to be able to read me?”
“Because that’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at. I read between the lines and I read the body language.”
“So because you can’t read me that frustrates you?”
“Yes!” Sam said frustrated.
“Interesting… I’m going to have some fun with that.” Jamie said with a smile.
“Oh that’s cruel.” Sam said.
“Can you just promise me that instead of trying to read me and guessing wrong that you’ll just ask me and find out?”
“Absolutely not. It’s like second nature now. I couldn’t stop even if I cared enough to want to.” Sam said. Jamie laughed.
“So wait how did you find out that Eric was gay? What was his tell?”
“When we all went out for pizza the other day and we had that waiter. He dropped his notepad thing and you reached down to get it for him. You had a cleavage shirt on and any guy’s natural instinct is to check out the girls boobs but he glanced at the waiters butt when he bent over to pick it up.”
“Seriously? That probably lasted like two seconds.”
“That’s how he gave himself away. After that you can just catch the guy looking at something to confirm it.”
“Your mind is just incredible. You know the other guys in the band don’t even know he’s gay either? He’s only told me.”
“Well you’re the sympathetic presence. I mean who else would he tell?”
“So you really thought I was interested in Cam?”
“The guy is helping you out with your music career. He flirts with you and he sent you flowers in the mail. It’s usually hard for a female not to feel some form of flattery or good feelings towards a guy who does that.”
“Aren’t you over generalizing now?” Jamie said slightly offended.
“Maybe. But generalizations are made generalizations for a reason. It doesn’t mean there aren’t outliers in them.”
“Oh my my my aren’t we a smooth talker.” Jamie said sarcastically.
“Am I wrong?”
“He’s a nice guy for helping us out but by no means am I attracted to him. He’s just another guy like Eric, my brother, or you.”
“Just another guy? Words can hurt you know.” Jamie laughed.
“You done with your food?” Jamie asked standing up and crabbing the boxes from the table. Sam nodded his head. She went over and threw the boxes in the trash. “You want to hang around and do something fun tonight?”
“Like what?” Sam asked curious.
“I don’t know. There’s a bar that does karaoke tonight. It could be fun.”
“I’m not singing and you sing every day.”
“Oh c’mon. I want to hear you sing. It’ll be fun.”
“That’s not fair. You know you’re good and everyone will suck compared to you.”
“Well then maybe I won’t sing. I can be your backup dancer or something.”
“Yeah I don’t think so.”
“Oh c’mon! I will buy all your drinks if you need a little liquid courage, but after you’re feeling buzzed you have to do it. I don’t want any sloppy drunk up there singing.”
“Have you ever paid for a drink in your life? You probably go to this bar every week and get free drinks.”
“Actually I’ve never gone there before.” Jamie said kind of shyly.
“Why not? You never went with any of your band friends?”
“No. I mean I’ve tried to a couple times but they’ve never wanted to go with me. I think it’s cause I’m a girl.”
“Maybe you suck at being a wing woman. There’s only two reasons guys go out to bars. They go out to pick up chicks or they go out to get wasted and dull themselves from their lives. If you suck at the first I’m sure they don’t want you there for the second.”
“Yeah I guess. I just want to go and check it out. Maybe sing and dance, have some fun. I don’t want to be there all night and I’m not really looking to pick up any dudes right now in my life.”
“Why not?”
“All my energy is spent making ends meet and creating music when I have the space to do it and the band’s time. It wouldn’t be fair to expect someone to understand and fit themselves into all of my craziness.”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“Yes! I’m going to go get ready.” Jamie said excited and rushing over towards her closet. It was a small gap in the wall next to her bathroom. Sam hadn’t even noticed it was there. He looked at himself. He was wearing a plain white tee shirt and jeans. It worked for him. He flipped on the television while Jamie disappeared into her closet. A few moments later she came out with a flannel shirt, tiny jean shorts, and cowboy boots.
“Where are we going with you dressed like that?” Sam asked.
“It’s a country bar. Did I not mention that? Oh well you already said you’d go.” Jamie said walking into her bathroom.
The two of them walked to a bar about ten minutes away from Jamie’s apartment. It was called Duke’s Country Bar. Jamie and Sam had already had a previous conversation about country music. Sam liked it and Jamie was a huge fan. Sam found that weird because of the type of rock music she played but it kind of made sense since she was from the Midwest. The two of them walked into the bar after waiting for a few people to be let inside. The country bar felt like it was about 80% full. Sam quickly noticed there was a lady who was probably in her early 40’s on a small stage singing a song while reading off the television for the lyrics. She wasn’t very good and it was obvious she had had a few drinks. It was going on 10:30 on a Friday night. From the looks of it the crowd seemed to be a younger audience between 21-30 but there were some older couples in their 40’s who were also having a good time. Jamie quickly nudged her way up to the bar between two guys and handed the bartender a credit card. Sam was standing a few steps behind her. Sam assumed she told the bartender to open a tab for herself and Sam for the night. The bartender looked at Sam and asked what he wanted.
“A shot of whiskey, I don’t care what kind.” Sam said loudly over the music. Jamie raised two fingers and then took a few steps towards Sam and gently grabbed his arm to pull him closer to her.”
“I’m going to go get you on the list. I feel like it could be pretty long. You like Hunter Hayes right?”
“Yeah. He’s good.”
“Alright because I’m picking one of his songs for you to sing. Do you think you’ll be able to handle his lyrics?”
“Oh please. I almost have your lyrics memorized I can handle his.” Sam said. Jamie laughed and walked away towards the DJ at the stage. Sam walked over towards the bar where the bartender had just finished pouring two shots of whiskey. Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. He always tried to keep a few hundreds on him in case he had to make an unexpected run. “I’ll let you keep whatever is left of this at the end of the night if you don’t charge her credit card. Just put it underneath her card.” Sam said to the bartender. He smiled slightly and nodded his head. Sam glanced back and saw Jamie talking to the DJ. He grabbed both shots and took them one after the other while the bartender watched. “Fill her up again. You can add the tally marks on our tab.” The bartender filled up the two shot glasses again. Sam waited for Jamie to come back and then they clicked their glasses and drank their shots.
“I talked to the DJ. He said they’ve had like a rotation of seven or so people and then every other rotation somebody new will sing one song and then stop. I said you’d probably be good for three songs before you get sloppy drunk.”
“You think I’m going to be the sloppy drunk one at the end of the night? I have at least fifty pounds on you and a couple inches taller.” Sam said slightly offended. Sam knew he could handle his booze but he had never drunk with Jamie before. She was pretty thin and he didn’t want to be the one carrying her home later so he decided he would do most of his drinking when she was distracted or in the bathroom. The two of them stood next to the bar and listened to the next person sing their song. The girl had a pretty good voice but Sam could tell she wasn’t quite confident she knew all the lyrics and would trail off on the parts she didn’t know.
“You want a mix drink?” Jamie asked.
“Sure.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t care. Whatever you get.”
“Jack and coke?” Jamie asked. Sam nodded his head. Jamie got the bartenders attention and moments later she had her two drinks. Sam actually liked that he was out drinking with Jamie. He usually avoided crowded bars because they usually called for some sort of security and sometimes fights broke out and the cops would be called in. He also didn’t like the amount of time he had to wait to get his drinks. But because Jamie was an attractive female the bartender would make her drinks really fast. The two of them took a drink.
“I got the DJ to put you fifth on the new list. That means after the next person sings you should be next.” Sam nodded his head again. “Are you nervous?”
“Not really. I mean there’s a lot of a people here so many a little.”
“Have you ever sung karaoke before?”
“Not that I can remember. I hardly ever sing.”
“Well I think you’ll be great. I’ve heard you try and sing one of my songs with your headphones on one day. You’re pretty good.”
“You’re lying. You’ve never heard me sing before. You’re just trying to boost my confidence up.”
“Why do you think I’m lying?”
“Because I know you’ve never heard me before. I’ve never sung when I’ve been around you. That’s your thing.”
“Damn. You’re right.” Jamie said with a smile. Sam could appreciate her effort to boost his confidence. Luckily for him confidence was not something that Sam lacked in. The only worries he had on his mind was if it was a song he didn’t know and in the back of his mind was if somebody recognized him even though he knew it was a long shot. “Well if it makes you feel any better it’s not like a lot of country singers really have amazing voices. I think that’s what makes country music so likeable is that anyone can sing it.”
“I guess that’s true.” The person on stage had finished and the DJ had called an older gentleman to the stage. He was singing an older country song that he could tell most of the younger crowd wasn’t into. “You’re not setting me up are you?” Sam asked. “And secretly I’m singing some really stupid song I don’t know.”
“No I promise. I would not do that to you especially when you’ve never done this before.”
“What song is it then?”
“Wanted by Hunter Hayes.”
“That’s kind of a slower more personal song. You sure that will really be popular with the crowd?” Sam asked slightly concerned.
“Oh trust me the girls will love it. And from the looks of the crowd that’s more than half the audience. If you have even a decent voice and known the lyrics the girls will probably be giving you their numbers.” Jamie said with a smile and then took a drink.
“So you did set me. Just in a different way. Why?”
“I just wanted you to have some fun. What guy doesn’t like meeting hot girls? Plus I’ve already noticed a few checking you out.”
“You’re joking with me right?” Sam asked. Jamie shook her head with a sarcastic smile. The song had ended and the DJ called Jacob to the stage. Sam quickly finished his drink and handed it to Jamie and walked up to the stage. Off to the left of the stage was an actual piano and in this song a piano was used. The DJ handed Sam the wireless microphone. “It’s my first time doing this so don’t be too harsh.” Sam said in a charming way. A couple girls cheered at him. The DJ was having an issue finding the song. Sam grabbed the microphone stand that was on the stage and walked it over to the piano and propped it up as he sat down at the piano stand. One of the girls that was by the piano asked him if he could really play the piano. Sam knew he couldn’t but said over the microphone “just imagine I’m really playing this piano for the song too.” The song hadn’t come on yet so the crowd was starting to get curious. Sam felt around on the piano. The DJ walked over to him and told him to get off the piano and on the stage. The owner didn’t want anyone touching it. Sam apologized and got on stage. “Just kidding about the piano” The crowd laughed a little. The DJ started playing the song and Sam started singing when the lyrics called for him to.
You know I'd fall apart without you
I don't know how you do what you do
'Cause everything that don't make sense about me
Makes sense when I'm with you
Like everything that's green, girl I need you
But it's more than one and one makes two
Put aside the math and the logic of it
You gotta know you're wanted too
'Cause I wanna wrap you up
Wanna kiss your lips
I, wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
Never let you forget it
Yeah I, wanna make you feel wanted
A few girls had moved closer to the stage and were singing along with Sam while holding a drink in one of their hands. After the chorus happened Sam felt more comfortable on stage and he felt like he knew the lyrics well enough that he could be more of a showman.
Anyone can tell you you're pretty (Yeah)
You get that all the time, I know you do
But your beauty's deeper than the makeup
And I wanna show you what I see tonight
Sam sang that verse to one of the single girls standing closest to the stage. He glanced back to where Jamie was standing and she was shaking her head with a huge smile on her face. Sam could tell she was enjoying it.
When I wrap you up
When I kiss your lips
I, wanna make you feel wanted
And I wanna call you mine
Wanna hold your hand forever
Never let you forget it
'Cause baby I wanna make you feel wanted
As good as you make me feel
I wanna make you feel better
Better than your fairy tales
Better than your best dreams
You're more than everything I need
You're all I ever wanted
All I ever wanted
As the chorus repeated itself one more time an attractive brunette girl approached Jamie after she noticed that Jamie had been talking to Sam for the night and he had glanced at her a few times while he was on stage.
“Is that your boyfriend on stage?” She asked Jamie.
“No that’s just my friend.” Jamie said casually.
“Oh really? Are you into him or on a date or something? I don’t want to step on your toes.” Jamie paused for a moment it appeared to think.
“No we are just out here to have a good time. He’s the only one I could sucker into coming here with me.” Jamie said in a jokingly manner.
“But he’s single?” The girl asked curiously.
“To the best of my knowledge he still is yes.”
“Ok thanks. My friend thinks he’s really sexy and it’s her birthday. She’s kind of tipsy right now so she’ll probably be heading your way after the songs over.”
“Well thanks for the heads up.” Jamie said. The girl walked away just as the song ended. The crowd cheered and Jamie clapped her hands. Sam walked off stage with a little grin on his face and then walked over to Jamie.
“Did you like it?” Sam asked her as she handed him another mix drink.
“Yeah you were really good. I might have to hire you to be my backup singer.” Jamie said playfully. “I don’t know about this
flirting on stage stuff though.”
“What you didn’t like that? I was trying to add a little entertainment.”
“Yeah I know. A girl came over here asking about you so good job.”
“Was she cute?”
“Yeah. She’d probably let you do her on top of the bar too.” Jamie said sarcastically.
“I don’t give out sex shows for free. I charge for that.” Sam said seriously.
“What?” Jamie said quickly before realizing he was kidding when he smiled and shook his head. “You know what I’m going to do a song now. You’re getting a little too smug.” Sam laughed.
“I would love for you to do a song. You can have my spot. I don’t think I can top that performance.”
“You can’t be done already. You did so good. You didn’t have fun?”
“Yeah it was actually pretty fun after you get comfortable up there. I just think I’m going to be too busy with this group of girls heading my way.” Sam said looking over Jamie’s shoulder. Jamie turned around and noticed that four girls were making their way to the bar area where they were standing. One of the girls was the pretty brunette that Jamie had spoken to.
“I’m going to sign up but you’re doing at least on more song.”
“Sure.” Sam said distracted.
“Hey look at me.” Jamie said. Sam looked at her. “Promise me you’ll do at least one more song?”
“I promise you I will do one more song of my choice if I don’t get kidnapped and raped by this incoming group of girls.” Sam said.
Jamie turned away and headed towards the DJ as the group of girls showed up next to Sam.
Jamie sang a few songs and tried to be a wing woman but Sam didn’t really need help. The group of girls ended up being girls in their early twenties who were still in college and wanting to pick up guys and take them home. Sam knew he could probably take any of the four home and maybe two of them but he knew he would forever be in Jamie’s bad graces if he did that to her. Sam was actually thankful for a couple of the guys who were hitting on her next to him because it at least gave her someone to talk to in-between songs. He tried to include her in conversations but he didn’t know Jamie that well to be able to enough. Sam glanced at the phone Pete gave him. It was a quarter past one in the morning. He also got a glance at Jamie yawning and remembered she didn’t want to be out all night.
“You girls want to get out of here? We can go party back at your apartment or something.” The girls quickly agreed and decided whose place they were going to go to. “I’m going to go to the bathroom and then we can catch a taxi.” As Sam walked away he pulled out his phone and texted Jamie on his way to the bathroom. “I’m not leaving but I’m going to ditch these girls and get them a taxi. Stay by the bar.” Sam walked in the bathroom and cleaned his hands before walking back out.
“Okay girls let’s go. I’m sure we can all squeeze into one taxi.” Sam said heading outside. He got the attention of a taxi cab driving by and he pulled over. He opened the door and let the girls get inside first. He opened the door to get into the front seat and then paused. “Oh crap. I have Jamie’s keys. I need to go find her and give them to her. Just tell me the address and I’ll catch the next ride over there.” Sam said pretending. The girls argued and said they’d wait but Sam convince them that he needed to talk to Jamie and it might take time because he was supposed to be out celebrating with her and he spent the whole night talking with them. They bought his lie and agreed to let him catch the next ride. One of the girls told him the address and he repeated it back to them before he left. Sam never had any intention of meeting up with them though. If he did he would have given them his phone number but none of them were sober enough to even realize that. Sam went back inside Duke’s and saw Jamie sitting at the bar by herself. He glanced up at a clock by the bar and it was 1:45.
“I’m so sorry Jamie. I didn’t know how to get rid of them any sooner. I tried sarcastic and mean and they thought I was just being funny. Did you just want to get out of here and go home?”
“No!” Jamie said. “You still owe me a song.” Jamie was slurring her words a little and Sam noticed.
“What if I sing a really embarrassing song? Will that make you not hate me for tonight?”
“No that will just be stupid. You shouldn’t sing a song if you’re just trying to be funny. You need to pick a song that means something to you. If you do that and it’s a good one I will forgive you for tonight.” Jamie said with a little attitude.
“One song?” Sam questioned. “It has to mean something to me. Does it have to be a country song?”
“It can be whatever type of song you want as long as they have it.”
“Okay. Give me a couple minutes to figure out what song that is and then I’ll do it.” Sam said and he ordered another mixed drink from the bartender. Jamie excused herself to go to the bathroom. Sam asked the bartender if he knew how many drinks she had on the night. He said he gave her at least four mixed drinks that he could remember and he knew she took a shot or two with some guys that they paid for. Sam didn’t want to hear that. He closed out the tab and took back Jamie’s credit card. He knew that he had messed up and he needed to come up with a really good song because it was very likely that Jamie was actually throwing up in the bathroom because she had to sit by herself and drink all night. The crowd had died down and most of the people had left by now. There were only about three regular singers and the friends that they came with left in the bar. Jamie came back from the bathroom and sat down on the bar stool next to him. He looked her over. He knew she was drunk.
“Are you doing okay Jamie? Do you need me to walk you home now?”
“Just shut up. I’m fine. Did you sign up for your song yet?”
“No I’m about to though. I don’t know if you’ll like the song but I think it’s very similar to me” Sam said. He walked up to the stage and signed up. The DJ called his name after the person on stage finished. Sam had picked “Half of my heart” by John Mayer. Sam took the song very serious because the song actually did mean a lot to him.
“This songs for Amie”
I was born in the arms of imaginary friends
free to roam, made a home out of everywhere I've been
then you come crashing in, like the realest thing
trying my best to understand all that your love can bring
oh half of my heart's got a grip on the situation
half of my heart takes time
half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you
that I can't keep loving you (can't keep loving you)
oh, with half of my heart
I was made to believe I’d never love somebody else
I made a plan, stay the man who can only love himself
lonely was the song I sang, 'til the day you came
Showing me another way and all that my love can bring
oh half of my heart's got a grip on the situation
half of my heart takes time
half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you
that I can't keep loving you (can't keep loving you)
oh, with half of my heart
with half of my heart
your faith is strong
but I can only fall short for so long
Down the road, later on
you will hate that I never gave more to you than half of my heart
but I can't stop loving you
I can't stop loving you, I can’t stop loving you, I can’t stop loving you
but I can't stop loving you with half of my...
half of my heart
half of my heart
half of my heart's got a real good imagination
half of my heart's got you
half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you
that half of my heart won't do
half of my heart is a shotgun wedding to a bride with a paper ring
And half of my heart is the part of a man who's never truly loved anything
After that the song trailed off and Sam walked off stages towards Jamie. There was only a small applause after the song as it was more of a sad song than the up-tempo songs they were used to hearing throughout the night.
“Let’s go.” Sam said seriously. Jamie stood up and walked out the door following Sam.
“Did you say Jamie or Amie at the beginning of the song?” Jamie asked.
“I said Amie” Sam said with no emotion.
“Who is Amie?”
“She was my fiancee’” Sam said walking along the sidewalk with Jamie following by his side.
“You were engaged?”
“Yes.”
“Well what happened? Because I don’t see a ring on your finger” Sam stopped and pulled out the necklace that he always wore underneath his shirt with two different rings on it.
“See these rings. One of them is the wedding ring of one of my best friends who passed away. He took care of me after my dad kicked me out of the house. The other ring is her engagement ring. She died before we ever got married.” Sam continued walking. Jamie followed behind him in silence. They were halfway back to her apartment before Jamie said something.
“So that song… half of my heart. That’s like a true story for you isn’t it? Half of your heart will always be for Amie because she’s the girl you fell in love with and because of that you know that the other half of your heart isn’t enough for someone new in your life?” Jamie asked. Sam ignored her and kept walking. “If you think you can’t love again you’re wrong.”
“Just stop.” Sam said. He was getting angry and he was obviously upset. “You wanted something personal and I gave it to you. I’m not an open book for you to question. Just because you can read me sometimes doesn’t mean you deserve the whole story.” The two of them walked back to Jamie’s place in silence. Jamie tossed Sam a blanket and a pillow and he made himself comfortable on the futon while she got ready for bed. The two of them went to sleep without saying another word.