The Last Beautiful Man
Melinda Cassidy
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2010 Melinda Cassidy
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The Last Beautiful Man
Callie was far too concentrated on her latte to notice him. She saw him walking back and forth to the stage, checking on the board, tuning guitars, but all she remembered was an image of too much hair. She didn’t like long hair on men, and she didn’t like beards, however neatly trimmed. The only exception she’d ever made was Pete-the-jerk and wasn’t that a mistake. Even her new job that she hated was because he worked at the old place and wouldn’t leave. Of course, being a jerk, he did leave, two weeks after her, but they had no openings for six months so she was stuck. She went back to her latte and dark thoughts completely unaware of him, waiting for her friends to show up and distract her.
The coffee house was starting to fill up, as Jude did a final check of the stage and came back down to get a drink and wait. He liked playing at Sam’s Place – small, informal, comfortable; and this might be one of the last times he could manage a place like this. He looked at the latte girl. She was reading a book, oblivious to him at the next table. He wondered if she was the type to have seen The Last Beautiful Man when it opened last night. Would she have any idea that the three big songs were his - maybe pay attention to him if she knew? And why did he care? All around him women eyed him appreciatively, without the extra attraction of fame.
She glanced up, frowned to see him watching her and went back to her book. He remembered why he cared: her eyes were beautiful, her absorption was beautiful, she was beautiful. A young crowd came laughing through the door, heading for her table, the manager signaled him and he got up to begin the night. As he stepped onto the low stage, he glanced at latte girl again - and almost forgot where he was.
She was absolutely gorgeous, smiling, lit up with her friends, and just for that split second, looking right at him as if she meant it. It wasn’t for him, of course – in the next second the glance settled where it belonged on one of her friends, but that one moment bowled him over. He picked up his guitar, tweaked the sound board, and set himself to work some magic on the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Callie felt much better now Jenny and Linda and all the rest of the crowd were there with her. It wasn’t that she even missed Pete any more, she just felt like such a complete idiot over the way he’d used her. Whenever she went out alone to the places they’d gone together, even to Sam’s Place, where she came often enough to be something like friends with Marissa, the wonderful manager; even here, she felt exposed, vulnerable - and don’t forget stupid she thought. Definitely stupid. It seemed obvious to her that everybody must know she’d been cheated on, lied to and dumped; all without the faintest idea anything was wrong until she checked her email while waiting for him to pick her up for their date. Hey. Decided it’s not working. See you around. Which she had, the first time she ventured out on her own. There he was at Sam’s place, sitting with his old girlfriend. It didn’t help in the least that she saw him a week later making out with another woman under a tree in the park and after that at a mutual friend’s wedding plastered to a bridesmaid. It just made her feel even stupider that she’d never caught on before.
“Hey! Callie!” She jumped as Jenny poked her shoulder. “If you’re thinking about anything to do with Pete-the-jerk, stop.”
“Sorry.” Callie smiled around the table, accidentally catching hairy musician guy’s eye as he stepped onto the stage. Huh. That was a weird buzz. She shook it off. “I was, but I won’t anymore. Promise.”
“Good. Now. We think it’s time you started seeing some guys again. Scott has a friend he’d like you to meet.”
Callie raised her eyebrows, looked at Scott in his beautiful lavender silk shirt and pearl earring.
“Hey, not all my friends are gay, honey. And my Toddy is pretty. You’d look good together.”
“How do you know him?” Callie stuck with skeptical and Scott blushed.
“Well, I think he’d be really into going out with you,” he offered, taking Jesse’s hand for support.
Callie leaned forward. “Scott. How. Do. You. Know. Him.”
“Alright, alright we sort of had a thing once. He’s you know kind of bi. But he might want to stay straight if he had someone like Callie,” he added enthusiastically as they all glared.
“Kind of bi and Scott’s ex. How desperate do you think I am? Not if he were the last man on earth!”
Linda tweaked Scott’s unearringed earlobe. “We didn’t know, did we Scott? Geez!”
The music started then, and they all turned to watch. He was really good – even Callie noticed that. Had great stage presence too in spite of the whole long hair and beard thing that made him look like leftover hippie. She glanced down, saw that his feet were bare and laughed.
After a while, Linda leaned over the table. “He is yummy.”
“Oh, yeah. And what a voice.” Jenny sighed. “I wonder if he’s got a girlfriend?”
“Hey, girl! You’ve got a fiancé, remember me?” Joel nibbled her ear to jog her memory and Jenny stifled a giggle. “I was thinking of Callie, lover.”
Jesse had been sitting quietly next to Scott, content to watch and listen, but now he looked at Jenny. “Has anyone else noticed that he seems to be focusing on Callie a lot?”
“Oh, no you don’t,” said Callie. Then she discovered that she was looking right into the guy’s eyes, loving the sound of his music. She blushed and looked away. “I’m not interested.” Liar said a voice far in the back of her mind, but she ignored it. “I don’t like long hair and beards anyway.”
“Well, I think it’s sexy.” Jenny eyed Joel’s one day growth speculatively.
He shook his head. “Not on me. This is as far as it goes.”
Scott tapped the table. “People, I think our boy is striving for Callie’s attention?”
They turned to the stage. Jude grinned at them all, then looked straight at Callie, still faintly smiling. “I think it’s time for some Bob Marley… for the loveliest woman I’ve ever seen.” A warm loose reggae rhythm filled the room: I don’t want to wait in vain for your love….
Callie’s table whistled and clapped; other tables sent indulgent looks. A few young women sent looks of a less indulgent nature. Callie was oblivious to all of it, cheeks flaming and eyes glued to the man on the stage. His fingers moved seductively on the guitar neck, his other hand seemed almost to stroke its belly, and all the while he sang looking into her eyes, his voice delicious enough to swallow whole. Finally near the end of the song, he released her, and sang to the whole room. She sat back, dazed.
Linda shook herself, made a little purring sound in her throat. “That’s some charisma he’s got going on. I guess he wants to make sure you get the message, girl.”