GRIT (The Silver Nitrate Series Book 2) (21 page)

…But all good things must come to an end.

The mob burst out in loud applause as Javier sung the last note. He held the microphone high, kept that pose, looking like a damn rock star… and he was.

Zenith got up from the seat and Dean walked towards him, looking a bit sheepish. They looked at one another, and he could see on the bastard’s face that the man knew
exactly
who he was now. It wasn’t his replacement’s fault what had happened; matter of fact, Zenith was no longer sure who was to blame.

He took short steps, dragging out the inevitable. Pausing, he looked over his shoulder and caught Javier staring at him. The fucker quickly turned away, and began to speak loudly about some inconsequential bullshit, something about a song for the cake cutting; he dismissed him just like that.

Some of the crowd dispersed now, taking their seats at the beautifully decorated tables in lavender and deep purple. And then, he felt warmth and smelled vanilla. Silver wrapped her arms around him. No, he didn’t see her, but he sensed her presence. A soft kiss landed at the nape of his neck, the barely exposed area beneath his ponytail.

“I appreciate what you tried to do… I do, baby. Give me a minute, though… I just want to be alone for a minute or two, okay?” He tapped her hand gently, removed himself gradually from her embrace, walked slowly out of the vast room into a sterile lobby of emptiness. He could feel her stare on him, but he knew she wouldn’t come running after him. He and Silver had an understanding, a thing he’d never experienced with anyone else, and that’s what made the situation all the more powerful, hurtful, and beautiful all at once. Something had happened on that stage, something most people would never comprehend… but Javier understood, because they were like brothers…

But now, they were hurting enemies, and nothing seemed to make the pain go away, not even the music that brought them together.

And that’s what hurt most.

Silver walked in
the ladies’ restroom and stood in front of the mirror. Muted music still played in the reception hall. She’d never admit the shit, but as she’d sat there holding Zenith’s hand during the ceremony, she’d wondered if they, too, would one day take the plunge? She believed for so long she’d never get married again. She’d admitted her jadedness after David had entered and left her life, but Zenith was nothing like him, and she was not who she used to be anymore, either.

She sighed and looked at herself from various angles, catching her reflection here and here. She had a hunch she and Zenith would get into it later that evening; hell, that’s what they did. They didn’t argue all the damn time, but when they did, well, the shit was on. He’d never understand that she simply had no choice; things had come to a head.

She turned on the faucet and worked up a good lather of soap into her palms. Her plan had backfired at first, and she had to think quick on her feet. In her mind, Zenith would be up there playing the entire set, not just one lousy song. Sure, she was biased, but the new guy couldn’t hold a candle to her man. When Zenith got up, something supernatural happened. The band sounded alive; they became electric in every sense of the word. She couldn’t believe how the crowd had lit up like incense sticks, campfires, and cigarette lighters all aglow. Even old people got out of their seats trying to shake a tail feather. The shit was simply beautiful… Javier, was beautiful… Zenith was beautiful… and together, they became walking, talking, musical magic.

But something bizarre had struck her as she stood off to the side, watching the crowd. Courtney, who cleaned up well and looked awesome in light blue, came up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Not sure what the hell that was about, the slightly tipsy woman then grabbed her arm and spoke loudly over the music, “Thank you for having them play! My sister is so happy… Oh, and you see our great-aunt over there holding her phone up in the air?”

Silver looked out into the crowd where the woman pointed.

“Yeah, I see her.” There a slender, statuesque woman stood with a rather grave expression on her face, recording the performance on her cell phone.

“She and her husband work in the industry. She’s an agent and he’s a talent scout in midtown. Silver, he’s really well known and finds some of the best bands. Ever heard of the Ramones?”

“Of course.”

“He’s part of the reason they no longer play in the subways…”

Silver’s eyes bucked, though she tried to play the shit off.

Oh. My. God! I’ve got to get Zenith and Javier to play another song! Okay… calm down, maybe they will on their own. Besides, look at them? They are truly vibing…

“Silver.” The woman brought her back into the here and now. “She said they were good all night, but
this
song is just the best, and she had to let him hear it. Hey, why didn’t Zenith play before now?” Courtney frowned in confusion.

“He wasn’t feeling well.” What else was she going to say?
Oh, Courtney, men can be pigheaded and such babies when it comes to their craft that if their egos get bruised, they will act like damn fools!
No… that wouldn’t be appropriate at all, despite the truth of the matter.

Courtney gave her a hug before disappearing back into the horde. Her heart dropped when the song ended and Zenith left the stage. He had such a wretched expression on his face, and so did Javier. She’d just confronted the son of a bitch, asked him if Zenith could play a song. The egotistical maniac said, ‘No,’ and then proceeded to try and get slick with the tongue.

Oh no, sir! This ended in a bunch of,
‘Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?”
and
‘You and Zenith can both go screw yourselves!’
She hated how out of hand it had become, but she refused to give up just yet. She shook her head and did what women in love do: keep pushin’.

…And now here she was in the bathroom, emotionally and mentally drained. But she had to go back out. And she had to go back out swinging. Pure Grit deserved a chance to shine. They were all diamonds; right now, they just happened to be in the rough…

“How much longer
do we need to be here?” Zenith asked behind a yawn. He glanced down at his phone, taking note that it was almost one in the damn morning. Silver hadn’t said much since he’d played on the stage. Matter of fact, she seemed almost oblivious that he was there.

“Not long…stay right here.” She walked away, her arms swinging, toward the woman she’d introduced to him as Courtney. Half the crowd was gone, but the band played on. He slumped down in a nearby chair and dropped his head, dreaming of a nice, long slumber. He’d already called the house and checked on Paw. The old man was knocked out cold and Denise had her granddaughter over, watching some late night television and chomping popcorn. They’d both sleep on the pullout couch.

Silver approached once again and took him by the hand. He sleepily followed her wherever she was taking him, then caught sight of Javier.

“Awwww,
hell
no! Silver,
damn
! Don’t you
ever
give up?!”

“No, and be quiet. Javier, bring your ass over here, too.”

Much to his surprise, Javier didn’t mouth off or get upset. He simply came up to her and she stood between the two of them, like a damn referee.

“Look, I don’t care about you both being on your period any more. Get a tampon, stuff that shit up and listen. There is someone here who is paying attention to you guys, and she is very important! She’s an agent and she is married to a popular talent scout. You better pretend like you love one another for ten minutes, please. And Javier, for your information, the lady only got really interested when she heard Zenith up there,
okay
?!” She stared the tiny turd down. “I could tell by your expression on that stage, while you two played together, that you knew it, too. Get up there and play some shit, okay? Play something before she walks the hell out of here! Do it, NOW!” Silver pushed both of them back towards the stage. They walked slowly, then a bit faster. As if gifted with uncanny intuition, Dean got up and Zenith slid back in his seat.

“Alright everybody,” Javier announced with a smooth voice. “The party is winding down, but uh…” He looked over at Zenith and grinned. Then he winked, too, and Zenith winked back. “We’re going to do an oldie but goodie; some music many of us knew nothing about, couldn’t appreciate when we were babies, but our parents, aunts and uncles and grandparents were playing it at their house and block parties. But uh, yeah, this song means something to me and this man sitting back here on the drums… You see, Zenith and I go way back like receded hairlines, and uh, I need him to help me sing this song… Mic up, man.” Flip burst out laughing, seeming to know exactly what was about to go down.

Silver jumped on the stage and did the honors, clearly excited to see what they had in store.

“Alright, let’s go.” Javier grinned. “One… two… one…two… three, hit it!”

“Oh my God!” Silver burst out laughing when Javier began to speak in a low-pitched tone.

“Yeah, Yeah, this is a story of a famous dog…

For the dog that chases its tail… will be dizzy

These are clapping dogs, rhythmic dogs…”

The crowd once again got to their feet, filled with renewed life. They danced and clapped, and singing right along with Javier.

“Do it, baby!” Silver encouraged as Zenith beat those drums loud and clear, right along with that slamming bass, masterful keyboard strokes, and the guitars in the background.

“They sound just like Parliament Funkadelic! Wow!” someone screamed out.

“Atomic Doooog!…Nothin’ but the dog in me!” Javier sang.

She kept smiling and clapping, falling into the groove… and he loved that shit. The entire room seemed to be singing right along with them, sending chills up his spine.

“Bow, wow, wow, yippie, yo, yippie, yeah…Bow, wow, yippie, yo, yippie, yeah!” Zenith sang his part, just as he and Javier had done as teenagers.

This had been one of the very first songs they’d ever played together. Silver, her face beaming, shook her finger in his direction, then looked over at the people out on the floor, having fun. He tried to not pay attention to her, to get distracted, but her enthusiasm was catching. Then she fled the stage and joined the crowd, dancing right along with everyone else.

“Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat?” people yelled out.

Zenith looked over at Flip for a moment. The man was playing his ass off. They winked at one another, showing love in their own special way. And then, he glanced at Javier. The man seemed to be fixated on something, or perhaps someone, in the crowd. Zenith strained a bit, taking notice of a tall woman holding up her phone, looking stern-faced and serious. She stood by the damn stage, the music so loud, he wasn’t certain how she could stand it. Yet she seemed unmoved, uncaring that her hearing would probably never be the same.

Javier looked over his shoulder at him, gave a head nod… the cue that they were about to show the fuck out.

Zenith nodded back and tore the damn song up, putting a spin on it. When they finished it, they immediately went into their surprise… ‘One Nation Under a Groove’ by Parliament Funkadelic began to pour from their instruments.

“Yeees! Okay, now!!!” he heard Silver scream, her smile as big and bright as the sun as she pumped her fist in the air like ‘power to the people’. Her gorgeous afro, pulled back in a rounded bun, made her look like a damn angel with a black halo… and she was. They mixed the song up, put a little bit of ‘Swing Down Sweet Chariot’ in the mix. Oh yes, it was on…

A little over ten minutes later, he was drenched in sweat and the song was over. He burst out laughing, unable to contain himself. Before he could see what was going on, Javier was standing right by him, and the other band members, too. He looked into Javier’s eyes, and the man looked like he was fighting back tears. Suddenly, the man grabbed him in his arms and gave him a big ass hug. Hesitating only for a second, he hugged him back, hard and tight. Flip began to applaud, and much to his surprise, so did Miguel.

“Look, you two can run off and get married in a second. We have business to attend to,” Silver joked as she drew closer. He pulled the woman onto his lap. “Now that I have your attention, someone just walked out of here. I have no idea if she, her husband, or someone else is going to call you, but she has both your numbers now.”