West Coast

Lacey's night with Alec was almost a week ago and she hadn't heard from him since, but she had other things on her mind. It was Lacey's first night singing at Blue Eyes and she was trying to shake the nerves as she was making her way down the strip. She felt like a sore thumb compared to everyone else she shared the sidewalk with that night. It was very humid that night and Lacey was wearing a sequin red dress a-la Jessica Rabbit and she pinned her hair just above her shoulders. She had talked to De Luca all morning and he asked her if she knew any of the Four Seasons. Of course, she did. He explained how every night, except Thursday and Friday, there were themes based on a particular artist. Thursday was singer's choice and Friday was kareoke. Lacey was going over her setlist in her head when Maggie yelled for her from behind and the Lacey turned around to see Maggie jogging up in a white lace dress and hugged Lacey, wishing her good luck.

"Glad you could make it, mama!" Lacey said, opening the door for them.

"You think I would miss this your first night? Come, now." Maggie said as she walked into the dark bar. "Suze and Miles were right behind me, well, I thought they were. And Peter should be here any minute, he requested to get off early tonight."

As honored as Lacey felt that everyone was there to support, her head felt heavier and heavier with each name mentioned.

Cassidy was in the kitchen, he was pulling a double shift tonight. Hearing the tinkle of the bells on the door, he peered out of the window behind the bar and smiled, running through the door to the two ladies. The first thing he did was put his arm around Lacey and jostle her around a bit.

"Hey, cheer up, Lace, you'll kill it!" Cassidy was all smiles. Just then, light filtered through the bar and the trio turned to see Miles opening the door for Suzie and Peter before entering himself. They all smiled encouraging smiles at Lacey and tried to get her excited to go on. She was excited, she was just more anxious. But she kept reminding herself that this was why she was here, she had been doing this for years. It was almost 9 and Lacey had to check in De Luca so she smiled as the guys gave her pats on he shoulders. Lighting a cigarette she hoped would calm her down a bit, Lacey went up to the single round table where she first met De Luca. With her back to the stage, she stood in front of the man. He was dressed in a maroon velvet suit and a ivory bow tie and he had shaved since she last saw him. She was too shaky to sit, but he insisted so she pulled the metal chair out and sat on the edge as De Luca smiled, waiting for her to say something.

"How ya doin' doll?" He asked, leaning an elbow on the edge of the table.

"Alright, you know, not bad. I'll be better once I'm on stage." Lacey explained.

"Good, good. Alright, what'll you be singing for us tonight?"

Lacey unfolded the small piece of paper and handed it over to her eager boss with a forced smile. De Luca took it and leaned back in the small chair that seemed to be struggling to support the big muscle of a man that was De Luca. Lacey watched his eyes roam down the paper carefully and he nodded, he nodded a lot, and then folded the paper and put it in his jacket pocket so he could tape it to the floor of the stage so both Lacey and the band could refer to it as reference during the show. Lacey waited for him to dismiss her but she just saw him hold up his chunky index finger in front of Lacey's face.

"One thing, sweetheart," De Luca started, "I have a song request." Lacey tilted her head down and motioned for him to go on. "You know eyes have adored you song?" He questioned.

"Yes sir," Lacey nodded.

"That will be your last song. It's a slower one, it'll calm the whole joint down. Plus, you'll sound like an angel up there." De Luca instructed her. Lacey obliged and excused herself from the table.

"Thank you sir," She said before she left.

"Sing good, break some hearts tonight." De Luca winked and leaned back in his chair confidently.

/////

Blue Eyes was filling up quickly when the clock finally struck 9. Lacey found herself on stage, trying to imagine the audience as the vast ocean she got lost in a few nights ago. She had introduced herself to the band and tried to learn their names, unlike she had in New York. The band at Blue Eyes was consistent and Lacey wanted to try and work with them this time around. They had all gone over the set list and had been playing a little before it was time for Lacey to sing, to get the crowd warmed up a bit. Securing the pins in her hair, Lacey looked up and saw Cassidy toss her a wink from the corner of the bar by the double kitchen doors before turning and heading back in. Smiling, she dared herself to try and make out the rest of her roommates. They were sitting a little to Lacey's left, squeezing a surplus of chairs around a tiny round table like the one De Luca was sitting. She heard Maggie hoot and holler at her before she was even introduced and the rest of the gang waved bright-eyed at her. Lacey was actually feeling much more comfortable than she anticipated and she smiled back at them and cleared her throat into the mic. She looked at De Luca to see if she should introduce herself and she saw him shake his head "no" and shoot a finger to the drummer to Lacey's left, an older African gentleman by the name of Chukabuka, or Chu, as he insisted to be called.

"Hello folks, hello" Chu's rusty voice spoke behind Lacey, "Thank you all joining us tonight at Blue Eyes. We're welcoming here, tonight, a new member to the stage: the enticing and lovely, Lacey James!"

Lacey smiled, wide and honest, turning her head back to all her friends who were standing and cheering in the corner, then she turned back to Chu and bowed her head in thanks, which he returned.

"Thank you, everyone for coming tonight, I'm Lacey and I'm honored to be here." She introduced herself only to find the audience cheering again. Waiting for them to calm down, she went on, "This first song's called Cry For Me."

The audience clapped again, but quieter and quicker, allowing the band to start in.

"I cried for you, now cry for me." Lacey began, eyes on the ground, "No, no, I don't love you anymore, cry for me." She was just getting her bearings when she heard someone on stage clear their throat. Looking to the tall brunette on the piano who tapped his chin, telling her to keep her head up. Lacey felt foolish for being so timid and shot her head up to continue.

"Well, you had your fun with someone new." Lacey smiled to herself hearing the background singers behind her and focused on the light coming through the windows, feeling the music. "Now you want me to take you back. We're all through. 'Cause now I'm leaving. No, no make believin'. You made a fool of me, so now I'm leaving you!" Lacey carried the note and looked at De Luca who gave her little golf claps in support.

When she finished the first song, all her worries were gone. She bid them farewell and smiled out to the crowd with her pearly teeth and sang C'mon Marianne with solid confidence, skill, and even a little sass. She loved singing these songs, though they were old, they were classics and they stood for something so different than songs these days. She really felt like she was doing a good job. The audience was so response to her. They would cheer and clap at the end of the songs, and sometimes they would hoot when she hit a high note or carried one out, but, that could just be Maggie that Lacey was hearing. Every once in a while, Lacey would spot Cassidy's blond curls pop up out of the little window behind the bar. The door had hardly opened since 9 when she started. She hadn't even seen anyone leave in the middle of her songs when they finished their drinks or their meals. It wasn't until she was in the middle of singing Beggin' that the dim light shone on her through the open door.

"I'm fighting hard to hold my own. No, I just can't make it all alone." She sang as she saw a man with dark hair and suspenders squeeze through the crack, looking only at the back of De Luca's head.

"I`m holdin on, I can't fall back. Now that big brass ring is a shade of black!" Her eyes were closed as the verse built up. She let the band play the slight instrumental part and caught the man tying an apron around his waist and nodding to Cassidy through the little window.

"I`m begging you, won`t you give your hand out, baby? Begging, begging you. Put your loving hand out, baby. I'm begging." Lacey finished and looked out to the crowd from under her eyelashes and smirked as they applauded her once again. She flashed her eyes to clock above the door and saw that it was 11:45. She hadn't realized she had been up there so long already. She had one more song left so she waited for the crowd to quiet down before she announced it.

"Thank you, thank you, so much! It's almost time for me to go," Lacey started into the microphone, glancing at De Luca who sat smiling with his arms crossed. The crowd groaned audibly and Lacey went on, "but, I do have one more song for you tonight. This one is called My Eyes Adored You."

The crowd built up again but let the music calm them down again. Lacey let herself sway with the tune that was bursting from behind her. Opening her eyes, she glanced around the bar, trying to make out the faces of strangers, hoping to commit them to memory so she could see if they returned to see her sing again. She saw Cassidy's curls bounce in her peripherals and he had come around the bar to watch her. In fact, the whole place seemed to stop what they were doing to listen. She glanced around the bar and made eye contact with the bartender who came in late. She couldn't see him clearly, but she felt like she knew him. Ignoring the feeling, the kept surveying the dark room as she felt a spotlight hit her and she began to sing.

"My eyes adored you, though I never laid a hand on you. My eyes adored you, like a million miles away from me you couldn't see how I adored you. So close, so close and yet so far." She smiled a bit, feeling at home with the song. She was glad De Luca suggested she sing this one song.

"Headed for city lights, climbed the ladder up to fortune and fame. I worked my fingers to the bone, made myself a name." She sang and turned to Cassidy to smile at him as he bobbed his head solemnly along to the slow beat. He smiled back and she focused on really singing this song with all she had in her.

"Funny, I seemed to find, that no matter how the years unwind, still I reminisce 'bout the girl I miss and the love I left behind." She was singing to her new friends and her old friends, to her father and to Maggie, to De Luca, to Chu, to the drunk men at the bar, to the melancholy woman in the corner, the the bartender who was late, and even to Alec.

"My eyes adored you" She heard scattered cheers as she held the first note and smiled, "though I never laid a hand on you, my eyes adored you. Like a million miles away from me, you couldn't see how I adored you. So close, so close and yet so far." She was glad that the back-up singers stayed silent during this song. Lacey heard the saxophone and closed her eyes.

"My eyes adored you, though I never laid a hand on you. My eyes adored you. Like a million miles away from me, you couldn't see how I adored you. So close, so close and yet so far. So close, so close and, yet so..." Glancing up, now, she felt every pair on eyes on her skin, hoping she didn't disappoint, "far."

The song came to a close and the room was silent. Lacey's anxiety hit her for a second, but before she could react the whole room got on their feet and celebrated the final song. Laughing incredulously Lacey looked around her, at her friends and at her fans. She tried to thank them through the microphone, but she was hardly heard over the applause. Turning back to the band, Lacey bowed to them and they nodded their heads at her and clapped along.

"The enticing and lovely, Lacey James, ladies and gentlemen!" Chu shouted through his mic and Lacey made her way off stage and the applause built up again. Cassidy was the first person she saw and she ran to him. He hugged her, despite his greasy hands, and kissed her forehead before she felt more arms pull her from behind. Looking under her arm she saw Suzie around her stomach. When the embrace broke she saw four smiling faces reaching their hands out to pat her shoulder and congratulate her.

"This calls for a drink!" Maggie declared above the small crowd, which cheered in return. As they took up seats around the bar, De Luca walked around the bar in front of them.

"It's on me, sweetheart," De Luca said to Lacey, already grabbing a glass and she nodded a thanks.

The band returned after a small break and played calming background music. Lacey had been bought many drinks by many different customers that night and she was starting to feel it. De Luca talked her ear off about how well she had done and how many people will come in to see her and all these great ideas he was brewing for the upcoming nights. If Lacey wasn't so buzzed, she'd probably be overwhelmed, but she was still on fire from being on stage. Cassidy had returned to the kitchen and Maggie had walked Suzie and Miles back to the apartment. Peter was now walking back to the bar from the stage, he spent a while talking to the band about music influences and all that. Not wanting to interrupt De Luca's enthusiastic speech, he came up behind Lacey's bar stool and put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a loose hug and smiled down at her before he congratulated her again and left the bar.

"You're gonna thrive here, doll! You're gonna shatter California to bits and then you'll shatter the world. That's how good you are. Not just your voice, no, no, no, but that charm, that light, you've got it all." De Luca's immense compliments made Lacey laugh and almost blush and he spoke them as if they were a guarantee. De Luca slapped the bar top a couple times before kissing the back of Lacey's hands and walking out from behind the bar to go back to the kitchen. Lacey looked around her to see that the only people left in the entire place were sitting at the bar, and even that was clearing out. Finishing what was left of her drink, she tried to flag down the last bartender working.

After a few minutes, the man walked over to her, wiped his hands on his apron, and looking at her, asked, "What're you drinking?"

"Rum and coke" Lacey said. Looking up, she was met with the same blue orbs she met nights ago. He was smirking at her, as if she had walked right into his trap. "Alec?" She asked.

He nodded and smiled wider. "It's Lacey, right?" He reached under the bar and pulled out the red bra she had tossed to him as a 'hint.' "Clever."