Chapter 6

6

M ia 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.

"That's very poetic…"

"It's true. Conspiring is half the fun, and the other half is the mystery of it all. You're even served food and drinks in the darkness of the low glowing lanterns. A semi-hidden delight of the senses, so to speak."

"You're loving this, aren't you?"

"I will be."

A gentleman showed them to a booth at the back and asked Harper if she would have her usual.

"Yes please, Percival, but make it for two this time. I'm with company."

The man nodded and disappeared into the curtains and smoke.

"Did you just order for me?"

"I did, is that a problem?"

Mia reminded herself that Harper was buying this meal and thought she should be quiet, but the notion ticked her off a little.

"What if I don't like what you've ordered?"

"You will."

"What if I'm allergic to something?"

"Then you'll have the best medics money can buy. Have you quite finished?" Harper smiled at her. Mia could feel that she was losing the confidence she'd had earlier and didn't like it. She wasn't normally a confident person unless she was performing, but Harper was like this all the time, she couldn't compete.

"Don't look so downtrodden, Mia, this is your first day in showbiz, this is my thirtieth year. Once you learn that everything in LA is a performance, that confidence will come as a second nature, but for now, stop pouting and let me treat you to an exciting mystery dinner."

Mia conceded and sat down. Harper slid into the booth behind her, sliding her arm around pulling her close. Mia went a little rigid, forgetting for a moment the proximity of which Harper was getting dangerously accustomed to assuming with her. The booth had a thick luxurious curtain for complete privacy, and it looked down towards the stage.

"See, it's not so bad to let someone else take the lead every now and then, is it?"

She leaned forward and kissed Mia on the cheek, her cheek still tingling moments after she pulled away. Mia looked nervously at Harper, their faces inches from one another.

"What was that for?"

"I told you, if you behave, I'll give you a treat."

Mia huffed a small laugh, her heart beating a mile a minute. She couldn't believe where she was and where she had been two days earlier in her life. Two days ago, she was picking up odd shifts in every retail job she couldn't find or at the Indigo Lounge just to eat and pay her minuscule rent to Esme for letting her sleep in the vacant room above the Lounge. Today she was sitting with the biggest name in music representation in a private bay of a secret club whilst her finger traced circles on her thigh to the blues.

"This is the interlude music between the main performances," said Harper. "A good time to talk before the food arrives, so tell me about yourself, Mia…Who are you? What kind of person have I just signed on to my label?"

"Well, technically I haven't signed anything yet…"

"Oh shush, you know what I mean."

"Well, I grew up in Spain, raised by my mother and grandmother as my grandfather died before I was born and my father isn't talked about. I started singing when I was about six and fell in love with how it made me feel. I felt invincible. I still do when I sing…I guess that's why I get so confident when I'm up there. If you want to know more specifics, I'm a Gemini, my favorite color is red, and I love old horror films."

Harper laughed.

"A Gemini certainly suits you, you're like two different people when you're performing and when you aren't. I haven't quite decided which I like more yet. When you're not performing, you have this sunniness to you that draws people in, makes them feel welcome and warm. I'll be honest, at first I saw it as na?vety when you were first setting up, you looked too sweet to be this powerhouse Deborah had told me about…but I did like how kind you looked."

Mia sat back, she didn't think Harper could be so tender with her words, she hadn't been up until now, and this softer side made her chest ache. She strikes me as a Gemini too then, if that's her logic.

" And then you have your performing side. I don't think I can put it into words, Mia, but you are like lightning incarnate. You're both dazzling and terrifying, powerful and beautiful, ethereal and primordial…I've never seen anything like it. And your vocals are so…unique."

Harper squeezed Mia's arm slightly then, the urge to be closer to her made Mia push herself towards her in the bay.

"What about you, Harper? Tell me something about you."

"Well now, do you want the answer I give interviewers or the real me?"

Mia gave her a look.

"Alright, alright…but don't go blabbing to the press. What can I say? I was raised by my mother and step-dad. The biological father ran off when he learned my mom was pregnant, the sweetheart, and my mom thought she was going to have to raise me herself. Luckily for her, a man in her team at the gallery she worked for had been crazy about her for years and they were already great friends, so a love blossomed between them naturally. On my birth certificate, I had my birth fathers name for all of a week before my mother had it scrapped and had my now step-father's name added instead. His name was Lee Nightingale. My mother called me Harper after Harper Lee—she saw it as a sign that my step-dad was meant to be in my life because like in To Kill a Mockingbird , a white man proved he could be an ally to a black person and support them through everything. She also loved the idea of my surname being Nightingale as it made her think of Florence Nightingale and Maya Angelou, one a fierce woman pioneering her industry with her skill in a world dominated by men and the other who wrote about a caged bird and made people realize it had a voice."

"Your family is deep."

"We're a family of artists, of course we are."

The two women laughed again, and the lights dimmed further. A second spotlight clicked on from somewhere and showed a man next to the bar with a saxophone. The band didn't stop, but their sound quietened to a sizzle of percussion and strings. Over the top of the gentle hissing of the snare, the saxophone weaved a solemn tune, one that told a story of loss but also the strength of the player's heart and devotion to what he lost. Harper leaned forward throughout, barely aware of Mia for that short moment. The spotlights reflected in her eyes with a twinkle. This wasn't just a job for Harper, Mia realized, music was love to her. She was one of the lucky few who got paid to be a part of what they loved and seeing this in her eyes made Mia start to wonder if Harper would let herself be loved in the same way.

Mia turned to the saxophonist now and tried to hear what Harper heard. She felt the pull of each note and heard the moments his breath strained over a breathy note, she saw the beads of water run down his cheek as he played, some rolled into the creases at his eyes, making Mia uncertain which were sweat and which might be tears. Her own eyes began to sting, uncertain whether from the smoke or the music, but as she held back tears of her own, she felt she understood what Harper was hearing.

"You know, your music could have the same power on people."

"You think so?"

"It's actually the reason I brought you here. If I wanted to take you on a swanky date, I could have gotten us a seat anywhere in Hollywood, but the blues is where most of modern music comes from and that soul seems to live in your voice…You could do great things with that ability."

Mia took Harper's hand in hers and brought it up to kiss the back of it.

"What was that for?"

"Because I wanted to. It's hard to stay professional around you when you look at me that way."

"Well, is it a problem if I like it when you're not professional either?"

Mia laughed, "No, not a problem at all."

The two women paused for a moment as the lights came back on a little and talk commenced properly again.

"God, I'm gonna need a drink or two if we are getting deep this early!"

Mia slapped her wrist but found the show of bravado endearing.

The food started arriving at the table and the lights turned up a fraction more. Mia could make out the plates now at the very least, but anything in a sauce just looked dark and mysterious. The smells that her nosed picked out seemingly easier in the dark were deep ginger notes and warm chili. She smelled mint from somewhere and the gamey juiciness of lamb along with the zest of lime and the air of something floral.

With the lights a little higher, a couple of people walked by the booth as the curtains were still open, all seemingly knowing Harper. She expertly briefly introduced Mia and gave a few pleasantries before signaling ever so politely that they should leave. As each one left, she would whisper who they were and a tiny secret about them all.

"He's the owner of a big oil field in Texas; his hair is a toupee. She is trying to start a makeup brand from money she got from an accidental ginormous jackpot in Vegas, however she has had most of her makeup tattooed permanently on."

Mia liked these quirky tidbits and felt as if Hollywood was finally accepting her and inviting her in. Suddenly an overly campy guy came over, talking louder than all the tables combined. Mia shrank in her seat in embarrassment.

"Oh my Goodness, Harper Nightingale! How are you? Where have you been hiding!"

"No way, I can't believe it!" replied Harper, in a much more muted version of his excitement. She stood up and kissed him on both cheeks as he drew closer. "You know, the jetsetter life of Hollywood and all… How about you, what are you doing these days?"

"Urgh, I hate you, you bitch!" They both laughed and Harper slapped his arm. "You know, same old, same old—being everyone's little runner between sets even though I'm meant to be a producer… Honestly Har, if I'd have known what a pain in the ass being a producer would be, I would've stuck to directing pornos."

"Well, that job only sounded fun for the first few weeks."

"You're not wrong there, once you've seen one schlong, you've seen them all!"

Mia wanted to die at how loud this guy spoke, several shadows looked as though they turned their heads at the shouting of the word schlong … Who even called them that?

"I wouldn't know," joked Harper, and they both laughed again.

Suddenly the man noticed Mia and a coy grin crawled over his lips.

"Oh now, Harper, you haven't been keeping this one secret from me have you? Has the almighty Harper Nightingale finally decided she's human after all? You must be pretty special, Miss…?"

"Mia," replied Mia, wishing she could be as hard to see as the other patrons.

"Caleb. Me and Harper go way back. If you want to get in with her for the long haul, you'll have to get through me!"

The three laughed then, Mia's more out of nerves than anything else.

"Anyway, Caleb, my darling, it was so lovely bumping into you. We need to plan a brunch soon, just us girls and have a proper catch up."

"Of course, I can tell when I'm being a third wheel!"

Can you? thought Mia with an eyebrow raised.

"I'll get my people to call your people and blah, blah, blah, brunch!"

The canned laughter came again and the two hugged and kissed each other as he strutted off up the stairs and out of the club, much to what Mia assumed was the appreciation of the whole club.

"Well…" started Mia, pushing her now luke-warm food around with a fork, "He seemed…nice. How do you know him?"

"Oh, I don't," said Harper, the sides of her mouth already beginning to curl upwards.

"What?" Mia put down her fork in disbelief.

"Never met him before in my life."

The two held eye contact for a moment before both bursting into fits of laughter. Even a couple of the tables nearby seemed to laugh, likely having heard the whole thing. The jazz started to pick up then as if to shut up the naughty kids in the crowd and they tried to get serious about the food in front of them.

"This one is my favorite; it is a Thai recipe of a curried lamb dish. Are you okay with spice?"

"Oh, now you think to ask if I'm okay with an order?"

Harper nudged her shoulder with her own. "Just open your mouth, will you?"

She forked a piece of the rich-smelling meat onto a fork and gently placed it in Mia's mouth, her lip trembled a little at the welcomed and yet intimate intrusion of the fork.

"Wow!" Mia exclaimed. It was really delicious. Slightly sweet and sticky, yet fragrant and balanced. The fattiness of the meat melted the sharp notes into a warmth that lingered on her tongue.

"Now try a sip of your drink."

Mia complied and her mouth fizzed with what felt like a condensed mojito. The strong flavors of mint and lime, but with a touch of ginger and the sweetness of pure sugar cane juice. It washed away the warmth of the lamb and blended with the flavors, leaving a sparkling dew of a Thai vacation dancing on her lips.

The lights dimmed again and this time, a glamorous woman stepped to the plate and began to ad-lib over the top, scatting riffs and sounds to accompany the music.

"You have behaved yourself very well this evening so far, Mia," said Harper, dabbing the edges of her mouth with a handkerchief. "But let's see how this woman's performance gets you."

Mia nestled herself into her seat, preparing for a true show of this singer's range, which already sounded incredible, when Harper turned her face and kissed her lips.

The sensation of her lips was even softer on hers than it had felt on her cheek; she wanted to melt into them, to taste the lime cocktail that teased the edges endlessly. Harper grabbed Mia's chin and forced it away to look at the stage again, exposing her neck. Harper's lips began to trail along the line of her neck and down to her collarbone. It took Mia a moment to notice in the confusion of the transpiring heat, but Harper was playing the scales along her body. As the singer's pitch raised, so did Harper's mouth, but the deeper the woman sang, the lower her lips trailed.

"Did you know," whispered Harper as she came up once more, "that Zadia here has one of the largest vocal ranges of any woman in history…aren't you lucky?"

Mia gripped the edge of the chair as Harper's lips descended again, this time below the collarbone, Harper having to pull Mia's top to the side to remain on skin. On the next time the pitch peaked, Harper bit Mia's ear gently.

"She also has one of the loudest voices around…although I'd say yours is very powerful too. Shall we see who is louder?"

The next time Zadia's voice tumbled into a deeper range, Harper's hand traced slowly downwards. Down, discreetly under the table, under the ruffle of Mia's punk-inspired skirt and finally under the thin fabric of her underwear to the warmth beneath. Mia gasped.

"Harper! Wh-wha—oh fuck!"

"You're not doing a very good job of restraining yourself so far, Mia. You'll have to try a little harder than that or people might notice."

Mia shot her a look. So this was Harper's plan. The game was afoot, and like a performance, Mia's confidence grew, as did her stubbornness. She bit her lip and as Harper rubbed her clit and kissed her neck, she clenched her fists as she began to rock into the rhythm of both Harper's hand and the notes Zadia sang. Suddenly the performers voice grew to a peak and held a note, it was a reprise of an earlier melody, but it didn't feel like she was finished, and neither was Mia. Before Harper had her way entirely, before that wave crashed over her and she came, she slid herself off of Harper's fingers and pushed her back into the booth seat. The shock of the switch didn't give Harper enough time to react before the front of her jumpsuit was open and her nipples were in Mia's mouth, stinging with the rock-hard pressure that built within them.

"Mia! This…this isn't good behave—uh…" It sounded as though she lost her train of thought. Mia nibbled her swollen nipple gently and Harper let out a moan. A couple at a nearby table looked over to their booth, but it was too dark for anyone to clearly see what was happening. Harper pulled Mia's face to hers.

"Right now, I think I like this version of Mia more…" she whispered before bringing her in for another kiss. Mia laid her back slightly, allowing her to be able to slide her own hand in the front of Harper's open jumpsuit. Mia found her hot wetness before she found anything else and with a swift maneuvering of her lacy-feeling underwear, Mia slid her fingers inside her.

"Holy fuck, Harper, you're so so wet."

"Just shut up and fuck me."

Harper pushed Mia's head back to her breasts and Mia groaned into them. The music loud around them, dampening the noise of their heavy breaths.

Harper's legs began to shake as Mia thrust her fingers faster and deeper into her. With each held note, Mia paused to rub and tease Harper's clit, the depth of the rising groan from Harper's lips began to mount. The reprise was starting again from Zadie's set, this time louder and more energetic. This is the finale, thought Mia to herself. She took her nipple between her teeth again and nibbled.

"Oh fuck, Mia."

At this, Mia slid her fingers in once more and used her thumb to rub around her swollen clit and labia in a soothing circle, Harper now the star, began to sing. Low groans at first and then louder and louder. A couple of tables were definitely looking now, but still, their secret was safe in the shadows. Zadia reached her final note, and it was loud, even without the microphone, and the power was incredible, but Harper seemed to try to match it as she came, clamping down on Mia's fingers and trembling all over.

Harper ran her fingers through Mia's hair and tugged her up again to kiss her. She draped her arms over her shoulders and locked her there, kissing her between breaths until her lungs were at rest again. The crowd applauded, and Harper quickly pushed Mia off her, doing up her jumpsuit just in time for the lights to come on. Instead of looking embarrassed, she stood up and clapped a standing ovation to Zadia. A spotlight swung around to Harper and upon seeing who applauded the woman, people began murmuring and clapping more. Within a few moments, the whole bar was on their feet applauding the singer, and the lights came up allowing even the staff to stop and applaud her. Zadia was awestruck and began to weep, she was clearly older than Harper, but she knew who she was when she saw her, everyone had heard about Harper's coming out of hiding the day before and it was already all over the web. Harper blew the woman a kiss and the spotlight attempted to follow the kiss back to Zadia where she caught it and bowed.

"Now is our chance," whispered Harper in Mia's ear. The two women snuck out behind the applauding crowd and out into the warm night air, laughing.

"Always have an escape route prepared, the first rule of Hollywood," chuckled Harper. A car pulled up beside her as if called there by magic.

"What the…?"

"My driver knows that after 8pm, I am likely to need either picking up or saving from whatever potentially awful event I'm in, so he will ask around the driver network until he finds where I am and then will wait for me."

"Just how rich are you?"

"Nowhere near how rich you're likely to be once I'm done with you…fancy a ride?"