About forty minutes later the revelers thinned out, and the band stopped playing and packed away their things. Lianne grabbed their microphone and tapped it three times.
“Is this thing still on?” she asked then cringed when her voice screeched with feedback.
“Jesus, you’re supposed to hold it to your mouth, not stick the fecking thing down your throat when you talk,” the old drummer from the band advised her.
Peals of laughter rang out around the room.
“Sorry. I just think we should say a big thank you to Daisy for putting on such an amazing ceilidh tonight.” Clapping and cheering ensued until she held up her hand to stop them.
“You may also have seen a drop-dead hottie collecting the glasses which helped the bar staff to keep the drink flowing tonight. His name is Barney, and he’s Daisy’s pen-friend from Canada. If you’ve noticed him—and you’d be blind if you haven’t by the way because he’s pantie melting handsome—me and the girls certainly have. Anyway, we all think Barney bears an uncanny resemblance to Jamie Fontaine, from the American band, DistRoyed. I mentioned this to him and he tells me he gets this all the time. As some of you may know, Daisy’s had this massive crush on Jamie Fontaine for years, so I thought it would be fun to ask Barney to sing a DistRoyed number for her at the end of the night. And guess what? He only fecking agreed!”
A loud drunken cheer of encouragement broke out among those who had remained. Daisy threw the glass towel she was holding onto the bar and came around the counter. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking rooted to the spot because in reality, I was her rock idol and she felt overwhelmly nervous for what I was about to do.
“Come here, Daisy, darlin'. Lianne’s put me up to this and she gave me the song you’d chosen. If I’m Jamie Fontaine for five minutes I should at least maximize the effect of any tune I sing so the pick of the song is mine."
Daisy walked toward the hand I held out for her and when she reached me she slipped hers into mine. I gave it a little squeeze and her eyes flew up to look at me. They were wide with shock and anticipation and the small tremble in her hand showed how nervous she was about it all.
“Here, sit,” I told her and gestured to the seat the accordionist had been sitting on. Daisy slowly sat down, but her eyes never left mine. Once she was fully seated, they darted toward the patrons then back to me, and I knew from that point on I’d have her full attention.
Lianne began to fuss around with her iPhone and I shook my head. “No need. I’ll sing without the music and I know the words of the song.” Looking at her cell phone then to me, Lianne shrugged then went over to join her friends at the table she’d been sitting at.
The atmosphere changed, and the room fell silent as the air shifted around me when I prepared myself to perform. I glanced toward another chair close by and left Daisy momentarily to pick it up and positioned it facing her. When I sat opposite her with our sides to the audience, I took both of her hands in mine and gave her a warm smile—then I started to sing.
The song 'The First Taste' was about a man who shares a night with a beautiful woman; who gets lucky and goes back to her room. There are a million rock tunes just like it, but this one is different because the woman gets under his skin and the meaning of the single encounter changes, at least for him.
During the lyrics he tells himself he can handle the onetime thing that’s happening between them, but deep down he knows from the first taste it’s a lie and if he’s not careful, he’ll get hurt. The woman in the song is confident and her beauty terrifies the guy because he knows he can’t stay.
I’d sung the song a thousand times but when I sang it to Daisy, the words were packed with meaning because I realised the moment I met her she was something special. When I watched her reaction, her first shock at the song choice, then her tears as they pooled in her beautiful green eyes, I saw how affected she was by the words. I sang softly and with meaning until an unexpected pang of sadness crept into my heart and my mind played over my day since we’d met.
This woman had connected with me on a deeper level and I noted we had several things in quick succession: chemistry, familiarity, warmth, and an attraction that had made me stop and think, instead of taking anything she would give me.
Then as the words of the song came to an end, it hit me—everything I thought I knew about women had changed. I wasn’t ready to leave Daisy the following day, not without knowing what the feelings I had meant.
Suddenly there were far too many people in the audience for my liking and I wanted to be alone with her.
When I’d finished my song, Daisy looked stunned at first, then a mixture of fleeting emotions flitted over her face. She was awestruck and distressed at the same time and I hated that I’d caused those feelings in her.
Being the showman, I continued with the pretense, then lifted her to her feet and hugged her. “We’ll talk once they’ve gone,” I told her in a whisper for her ears only, then stepped away like a good friend would have done.
The bar erupted in a roar of appreciation for my performance and I turned and bowed my head. Daisy and I didn’t get time to dwell on whatever had gone on between us because Lianne and the rest of her friends descended on the stage.
“Jesus Christ, that was incredible. You sang it better than the real Jamie. Have you checked your family history by any chance? I mean was your father away from home a lot? You’re the spitting image of Jamie Fontaine…he could be the half-brother or twin you don’t know exists or something. Seriously, you should make a demo tape and send it to him,” Lianne stated with a big grin on her face. “So fecking hot,” she added and fanned herself. “Listen, I don’t normally do this, but in your case, I’ll make an exception… would you have a drink with me tomorrow?”
Daisy bristled by my side and I reached out and touched Lianne’s arm as a gesture of sincerity. “Sorry, honey. I’m leaving tomorrow; this was only a flying visit.” From the side of my eye I saw Daisy’s shoulders slump. Strangely, I felt the same disappointment as she had.
Chapter Five
Shortly after I sang to Daisy, Terry wandered into the function room from the bar downstairs. He interrupted us to say he’d locked up and for everyone to leave by the other exit leading down to the street, throwing a bunch of keys on the bar.
Daisy took that as her cue to step down from the stage and call time. Together, we collected the remaining glasses which I washed while she hugged more people than a pastor after the Sunday service.
After paying the two barmen she’d hired for the night, she went down and locked the door. When she came back, I felt an awkward vibe. Her behavior had changed and instead of the fiercely confident woman who’d greeted me on sight, flirted endlessly and kissed me hard, Daisy busied herself with various unnecessary tasks. I could see she was creating diversions; delaying the time when she’d have to face me alone.
We were the only two people in the building by then and I could see her internal struggle about whether she should pretend to be who she portrayed herself as when I arrived, or be the person she really was. What she probably didn’t understand was I could tell the difference between a performance and being oneself.