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“You know acutely how much I enjoyed it, it’s about as much as you’re enjoying this little powerplay you’re on.” She tugged a strand of Mia’s hair loose and began to twirl it around her finger. She leaned in close enough to just let her perfume mist the air between them; she saw Mia’s nostrils flare to breathe in deeply and her eyes rolled back slightly.
“You know, Mia? All of your eye contact and gestures don’t go unnoticed. That kinda behavior could get you into trouble, you need to watch your timing. You may get me in trouble.”
Mia began to lean into the scent of the perfume, like a trail to Harper’s neck and lips. Harper stopped her with one of her fingers to her lips.
“My dear, what did I just say? You need to pick your timing.”
“I-I don’t think I understand,” said Mia looking confused at the empty room and their proximity to one another.
“You see, you just did something that was reckless and I may have to make a bit of an example of you so that it doesn’t happen again.” She tugged lightly at the hair and Mia gasped a little, then smiled.
“Oh…”
“Do you understand now? When you behave, maybe I’ll reward you for it.” She leaned forward, enough for the electrons between their lips to fizz with excitement and static, but not close enough for the sensation to land. Mia sighed in frustration and laughed.
“Okay, I’ll play… What do I need to do to make it up to you?”
“Hmm, let’s see…” Harper began to pace around her again, like a proud feline, playing with her food before indulging. “Well, you nearly caused a scene. The other’s noticed how you look at me. How you are around me. So, let’s see if you can restrain from doing that first.”
“Sounds simple enough.”
“Does it now? Well this task should be no problem then.”
“I have more restraint than you think,” said Mia, puffing out her chest slightly. Harper thought she was adorable. She had the confidence inside her to act with boldness, but she was still new to these power plays, and Harper certainly wasn’t.
“You’ll see on our next meeting…” Mia went over to pick up her jacket she’d hung up by the door when Harper stopped her.
“Good! As that is right now.”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t think an artist’s work stops at the studio, did you? Firstly, we must celebrate your achievement, secondly you have to thank your wonderful agent for this opportunity and thirdly, you must surround yourself with other art and music to immerse yourself in inspiration.”
“Oh! Well, yeah, I guess when you put it like that…” Mia turned away and took out her purse and looked inside quickly at the empty pockets.
“Don’t worry, this first one is on me. Besides, you may find another way to thank me.”
6
Mia was crowded into the back of a cab with Harper. As Harper leaned forward to tell the driver their destination, she struggled to keep her hands to herself. When she had followed Harper out of the studio, she’d noticed that Harper’s hair, when down, flowed between her shoulder blades and all the way down her back, however the way she was leaning now, it cascaded off the sides of her hips, highlighting the shape of her body beneath the tightened fabric of her jumpsuit. Mia hadn’t noticed before, but the back of the jumpsuit was also a deep plunging backless garment, which from beneath the mass of hair, she could see Harper’s satin-sheened skin moving as she laughed with the driver. Mia had talked a big game in the studio, but perhaps her restraint wasn’t as strong as she thought…
As Harper sat back, the waft of perfume settled around her again and she had to stifle a moan. Harper saw the difficulty she was having and rested her head on Mia’s shoulder.
“Patience, Mia, what happened to your restraint?”
Within five minutes of general chit-chat with the cab driver, which with Harper so close felt like an eternity to Mia, they pulled up outside the door of what Mia assumed was a club of some kind. All she could see was the door and the bouncer, there were no flashing lights or crowds of smokers outside like normal clubs, but there was a bouncer, so it had to be something.
Harper paid the cab and waved at the bouncer as she walked past, the man didn’t say a word as Mia walked in behind her and the stupidly rational part of her brain thought that he was either a very irresponsible bouncer or in greater likelihood, that Harper was important enough to not need an invite anywhere. They descended wooden stairs to a basement, not to the rhythm of a thumping drum like Mia expected, but to the fluttering notes of flute and piano over the somber wail of a double bass. Mia reached the bottom of the staircase and stepped into the past. Around them was wood paneling everywhere and the kind of low light you might expect from a vintage theatre. In a single spotlight, manned by a ginormous bear of a man, was a tiny stage, no bigger than the one she was used to in the Indigo Lounge, but upon it were five musicians, all balancing around the sides of the piano which took up the majority of the space, pouring their hearts out in crotchets and quavers.
“What is this place?”
“I suppose you could call it the Indigo Lounge before the Indigo Lounge. This is the Bass Clef, a jazz bar from way back when…or at least that’s how they want it to feel.”
Mia looked around the darkened room. It was made up of crescent-shaped bays all facing the stage at the front. Within each bay was a table with a single light on it, which scarcely illuminated the shadows of patrons attending, although by evidence of the smoke in the air and the gentle chatter under the notes of the band, were most definitely there.
“They let you smoke in here?”
“They want it to feel authentic. This is a secret gem of LA, it’s where some of the biggest deals in Hollywood have been made, bodies conspiring together in the shadows of the Bass Clef.
