As he approached, he noticed she held a large, brown paper bag.
“Hey, Maddie,” he said. “I’m so glad you made it. Are you enjoying the show so far?”
He rubbed both sweaty palms on his pants and hoped his nervousness wasn’t apparent.
She smiled and said, “Your band is really good. I’m so impressed with your vocals, Adam. You’re very talented.”
He had been told that before, but for some reason the compliment meant a lot coming from her—and she had even remembered his name.
“Thank you. Come with me and I’ll introduce you to everyone. Can I give you a hand?”
He motioned toward the bag she held.
“Thanks, but I’ve got it.”
She followed him to the table where the band always gathered for breaks between sets. The regulars often brought finger foods to share while everyone had a drink or two. He introduced her to Zach and Claire, the rest of the band, and all of the regulars. She seemed to fit right in with their crowd.
Luke, the most uncouth guy in the band, blurted out, “What’s in the paper bag, Maddie?”
She didn’t miss a beat when she said, “I wanted to bring something to contribute.”
Everyone’s curiosity was piqued as they gathered in to see the mystery contents.
“Adam, what is your favorite beer?” she said.
“I never met a beer I didn’t like. Hmm. Let’s see.” He thought for a moment and said, “Lately, we’ve been trying different imported beers at Blondies. There’s this one called Shark Fin I really like, but it is rare, and most people have never heard of it. It has a big shark fin on the label and the bottle is really cool-looking. I can’t find it anywhere except at Blondies. It’s…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Maddie reached into the bag, pulled out a twelve-pack of Shark Fin and smiled triumphantly. Adam’s eyes widened as he stared at the beer, then back at Maddie. Everyone seemed frozen in place—stunned.
Luke shattered the silence when he bellowed, “That’s fuckin’ awesome!”
He grabbed a beer.
Everyone else clapped and shouted their approval as they moved in for their share. Still a little stunned, Adam grabbed two beers and pulled Maddie aside so he could talk to her over the noise of the crowd. He handed her a beer and took a sip of his.
“Okay, what’s your secret?” he said. “How did you know which beer I was going to choose? Are you a magician or something?”
She laughed and said, “No. It was just a lucky guess.”
Adam shook his head and said, “There is no way you could have guessed that. Did you hear me talking about it through the walls of my apartment?”
Suddenly paranoid, he wondered what else she could hear through the walls.
In mock horror, he said, “What else did you hear?”
She laughed again and said, “Don’t worry. I didn’t hear anything.”
Still not convinced, he said, “Do you like Shark Fin too? I mean, where in the world did you find it?”
She hesitated a moment and said, “I don’t know if I like Shark Fin. This is the first time I’ve tried it. I just dropped into a package store on a whim and thought the design on the bottle looked interesting, so I bought it.”
“Seriously? What a crazy coincidence. Where’d you buy it from? I’d like to know. I haven’t been able to find it in any of the stores around here.”
She thought for a moment and said offhandedly, “I don’t know if I can remember the name of the store. Like I said, I just stopped in on a whim and didn’t think to take note of the name of the place.”
She took a sip of her beer. Adam looked at her skeptically, but he didn’t want to press her too much.
He said, “Well, what do you think? Do you like it?”
She nodded and said, “It’s pretty good. I’m not really into beer. I prefer wine. But this beer has a good, medium flavor. Not too light, not too dark.”
“I agree. Well, if you happen to remember the name of the store, or even just the location, let me know. Thanks for the beer.”
He lifted his beer to hers for a toast and said, “To Shark Fin.”
She laughed as she clinked her bottle against his and said, “Cheers. I’m glad it was a hit.”
She beamed that smile of hers again and he thought his heart might beat out of his chest.
What was it about her?
Adam and Maddie talked and sipped their beers for the rest of the break. He began to relax a little. He felt strangely comfortable with Maddie, as if he had known her for a long time. The beer probably helped a little as well.
Toward the end of the break, one of the regulars, Cristy, introduced herself and several of her friends to Maddie. She invited Maddie to join them at their table during the next set. While Maddie found a seat among the regulars, Adam nodded his thanks to Cristy for taking Maddie in. Adam thought she looked good there.
As he prepared for the next set, he found himself glancing their way frequently. From what he could tell, it appeared Maddie had seamlessly joined right in on their conversations. However, to his delight, Maddie turned her full attention on him when he started to sing. She smiled, clapped, and sang along to the cover songs. Every now and then she would chat with the ladies, but mostly she watched the performance. She watched him. It seemed as if she knew exactly how to make him feel special. With her attention focused on him, he performed to the best of his ability. He really wanted to show her what he could do. He performed for her and her alone.
The rehearsal ended around 11:00 p.m. With such a good vibe in the air, he didn’t want the night to end. Many people left early because they had to work on Friday. He did an inward fist pump when Maddie stuck around as the party moved
