I fell for Heather at The Perk Place on one of their Open Mic Nite. I was just sitting in the back watching all the people go up on stage and read their poetry and sing there songs. Heather was a waitress there but she always got off on open mic night because she would perform. I had seen her perform many times but this time it was different.
Heather was a little 5 foot nothing girl. She had curves and this beautiful head of curly brown hair. She had broad shoulders and muscular arms. Flat as a board, nothing really there on her chest but she made up for it in many ways. Her hips where full and so were her ass. Her legs I could assume were masculine but I never had really seen them before this night. As my assumuitions were proven to be correct, tonight she was wearing this black velvet skirt that hung to right below her knees. She sat on the barstool in front of the microphone with her guitar in hand and began to sing.
Before long, the entire coffee shop was singing along to it. I knew the song but didn’t know from where or even why I knew it. It didn’t really seem to matter for I was more in entranced by Heather. Watching her play. Watching her lips move as the words escaped her mouth. I had never seen her before like this. It was almost as if I was the only one in the room with her. She was singing only to me. I looked around me and noticed that no one was paying any attention to me. No one could see or hear my thoughts.
Her song ended and everyone applauded. She began another song. One that she had written and I caught her glance. She was looking directly into my eyes. Her stare was mystifying. I was lost in her eyes. I didn’t notice that the song had ended and Heather didn’t seem to notice it either. The entire coffee shop was quite as she stayed on the stage just staring into my eyes. Finally it looked as if something had awakened her for her dream and she said her thank you’s and left the stage. I watched her leave trying hard not to jump up and run after her.
I had talked to her numerous times. Never about much really. I was very attracted to her but I thought everyone here was and didn’t really think that I had a shot with her. Something inside of me was telling me that I was wrong. Why would she have stared at me like that if there was anyone else in her life?
I decide to get up and get another cup of coffee. I thought that maybe she would be at the counter getting one for her and there I could ask her to join me and tell her how beautiful she looked. To my surprise, or maybe fear, she was standing there talking to one of her coworkers. They paused so I could get my order in and as the girl went to get me a new cup of coffee I looked at Heather. She looked even more stunning than she did on the stage. Her brown eyes seemed warm and inviting and I felt that this was my only shot.
“Heather?” I asked hoping that I didn’t sound like a 5 year old. “Would you like to join me over some coffee to talk? I really enjoyed your set and I just…”
“I would love to Shelly.”
Oh my, it was really happening. I showed her the way to my table and we sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Then we began telling the story of how we both came to the city. Heather had lived here in Chicago all her life. She was planning on going out east to New York to try to become a song writer like Ani Difranco or Amiee Mann but she had found it just easier to deal with the people here and this was her home and she wasn’t sure if she would ever leave. Then I shared my story of a small town girl who moved to the big city to find herself and I found myself gay. She laughed. Well, we both did but I found it more amusing hearing her gentle laugh.
The conversation soon turned to the lack of love or love partners in our life and I got this feeling that I should ask her to go to my loft for the night.
“Um…would you like to come to my place to have a couple of drinks and maybe watch a movie or something?”
“Sure Shelly…I. well…I don’t have any spare clothes or anything.”