34

Jessica had completed a communications degree with a business minor, and would be interning at her dad's company for a while. She would probably end up in charge when he decided to retire. Ali had graduated in history and linguistics, though I'm pretty sure that Kelli and I were the only ones here who knew about her other education, and Jasmine, everyone else called her Jaz, was in her last semester of college for a degree in biology. That was when everyone turned their eyes on Kelli and me, and it was our turn under the microscope.

Kelli was a math and physics major, of course, and as far as all of us at the table could tell, was our resident genius. Kelli finally mentioned my reluctance to declare a major and mocked me for my foolishness in front of everyone. I mean really, and everyone agreed, who the hell hasn't chosen their major by the time they finish their second year? The fact was that I was going to be required to pick a major in order to register for the next semester, and this conversation would be moot in a few months. I did, however, continue to accept the good natured teasing rather than let my petulant side out. Soon enough the lights dimmed and the announcer came over the speaker system to introduce tonight's entertainment.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to The Tavern."

The low bass of the announcer's voice washing over the night crowd caused a rippling hush to descend on the bar, and the stage lights were lowered to a barely visible stream.

"Why don't you put your hands together for this evening's show, first timers here on our stage. Give it up for the Paul McAllister Combo."

"Alright, here we go," said Jessica, as gleeful as a yarn wrapped kitten. "And you all better clap like crazy or I will beat each and every one of you senseless."

Her comment made us laugh, and we all clapped for Paul and his group as if they had just introduced John Coltrane or Thelonious Monk. Within moments, however, the applause died down as the crowd held their breath in anticipation of the first notes of the night's performance.

It started with a slow beat of a bass drum with a matching rhythm from a snare drum being played with wire brushes. A couple of measures later the deep resonant thrum of a well plucked bass fiddle joined the drums along with the low mournful sound of a tenor saxophone. The lights started to come up on the stage then, and the soft mellow sounds of the first set had us swaying in our seats. The lights were still low enough that I could not make out any of the features of the players, but I could tell that the bassist was a giant of a man, standing well over six feet tall, and with shoulders as wide as the Grand Canyon. Even so, he played the upright bass with a dexterity that few could probably match.

I had been so caught up in scoping out the band members that I had failed to notice the bright spotlight that had just illuminated the baby grand piano, but the addition of the melodic tinkling of the keys to the music pulled my gaze to the now revealed pianist. Paul's deft movements over the black and whites meshed perfectly with the other players as the tempo picked up a touch, and the beauty of their music had everyone in the room tapping their feet or snapping their fingers. He looked pretty much as he had on New Year's, with a crisp white shirt covered with a deep maroon vest, but he had opted for a loosened straight black tie instead of the bowtie I remembered.

Soon enough they moved on to the next song in the set, and then the next. Paul pushed the group through several peppy up tempo numbers, and a smattering of the slow crooning ballads that were the hallmark of classic jazz music, stopping only to call out the occasional count off for tempo when it was needed. They were good. Really damned good for a group that had only been together for a couple of months, and I could tell that Paul was a true master at his craft. They weren't there yet, but with some years of seasoning and practice this group would probably be remembered as one of the greats of modern jazz.

After what seemed like way too short a time, the band ended the first set and a forty five minute break was announced and when I looked at the time I was shocked to realize that they had been playing for well over an hour. I had been so lost in the music that I hadn't paid attention, and their music was really that good, and I was glad that there would be more to come.

Paul had come down off the stage by then and was shaking hands and receiving congratulations from the crowd, but he made his way over to our group. He had come over to say hello to his sister and to introduce her to his band, and I giggled to myself as I saw Kelli eying him in a very subtle, but very predatory manner.

"Hey Jess," Paul said, as he pulled his sister to himself and hugged her. "Thanks for coming out tonight."

"You know I wouldn't miss this for the world Peanut," she replied, and it was clear that he was embarrassed by her use of an obvious family nickname.

"Come on Jess, you know I don't like to be called that," he groused as he rubbed the back of his blushing neck.

"I know, and that's why I still use it," Jessica giggled. "Because you look so cute when you blush."

"Hey Jaz, Matt," Paul greeted the couple in an effort to keep his sister from embarrassing him further. "How are things?"

"We're great," Matt piped up, almost immediately, and Jasmine followed right on his heels.

"Yeah, never better. Though school is still a pain. I can't wait to be done."

Paul waved and said hello to Ali before beginning to introduce his band to his sister and her friends. I couldn't help but focus my attention on Matt and Jasmine, though, because there comments just seemed off a bit to me. The bond between them obviously was solid, but it was thinner than other love bonds between couples that I had observed. Perhaps they were a really new couple, and had not really formed solid attachments yet, but either way I resolved to keep an eye on it over the next few weeks. If I needed to step in and help or to push them a bit, I would be ready. Then Paul turned and noticed Kelli and I, and his jaw dropped so low you could probably have driven a car into his mouth. He recovered quickly, though, and rushed over to me.

"Oh my god! Myka! How are you," Paul exclaimed as he pulled me up in a chest creaking hug and spun me around before setting me back on my feet.

"Hi Paul," I replied softly, as I placed my hand on the side of his face and gave him an ever so gentle kiss, my ears and tail flicking with pleasure. "It's good to see you again."

"Yeah, it's really good to see you too," he said excitedly, still blushing from the kiss I had given.

"Damn Paul! You never told us you knew a cat-girl," rumbled the giant bass player as he moved up to greet us, nearly eclipsing what little light there was in our corner of the room. "And a damn sexy cat-girl at that. You really need to introduce us man."

Both of his other bandmates were nodding their heads while Paul was shaking his, a resigned grin plastered to his face.

"You have a two track mind Mark. It only recognizes music and women," Paul chuckled and we all joined in with his laughter.

"Damn straight," he replied. "Nothin else matters. So hurry up and introduce me to this lovely lady already."

Paul sighed as he shook his head, and then indicated his band as he said, "This here is Mark, our genius bass player and resident horn dog. Carl over there is our drummer, and Jackson, or Jax for short, is our tenor horn player. Guys, this is Myka."

The other two waved, and clearly liked what they saw, but Mark was really interested in moving into my space. He was nice looking, and confident as hell, but I was not really interested.

"Hi there Myka," Mark said as he leaned down to get closer to my short frame. "It is a rare pleasure to meet such a beautiful woman."

"Well, hi to you too Mark," I replied with good natured laughter as I grabbed Kelli's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. This is my girlfriend, Kelli."

I almost had to laugh out loud as I could practically hear the grinding of gears trying to turn in his head as Kelli said hello. Clearly this was something Mark had not expected.

"So, uhh, when you say girlfriend..."

"Well, when I say girlfriend it means we live together, go on dates with each other, have met each other's parents, and we have sex," I had leaned in so that I could whisper the last part just loud enough for everyone to hear.

My comment made Ali laugh out loud, while Kelli and Jessica both blushed red with embarrassment. Paul on the other hand just shook his head while failing to suppress an ear to ear grin.

"Sorry bro," Paul chuckled, patting Mark on the back. "Better luck next time."

"Mark, I really was not trying to be so mean," I replied, still giggling like mad. "I just let my mouth run away with my brain sometimes."

Everyone, including Mark, was laughing again at this, but Jasmine had gone to sit back down with another disgusted look on her face, clearly not finding any of my antics funny. I felt sad that I had somehow offended her before I even got to know her, but I had learned long ago that you just could not please everyone.

The group spent the next few minutes just hanging together, and the comfort level that everyone had with each other made for fast friendships. The time came, however, for the band to go back stage and get prepped for the second set, so they all made their excuses and went to prepare.

"You guys are all staying for the second set, right," Paul asked, as he turned to follow his bandmates. "Cause it's going to be fantastic."

Jessica guaranteed him that we all would stay, though no one was in any mood to leave. People were refreshing their drinks and taking the time to mingle during the break between sets, and I turned and grabbed Kelli as the sound system started playing recorded music during the break.

"Come dance with me," I insisted, as I dragged her out to the floor.