He watched her. Her legs crossed, guitar in lap, she strummed the first chords of the song. They rang through his ears, as he didn't even know she could play. There were a lot of things about her that he didn't know, he knew this. But when her hair wisped over her closed eyes, and the notes escaped from her lips, he knew it was time to get to know her better.
"You want to dance with the angels?
Then embroider me with gold, and I will fly with the angels,
and you can dance with me.
Sing with the angels?
Then show me a song, and I will strum with the angels,
and you can sing with me.
But you want to fall fashionably in love with a woman,
in love with a life you'll adore, in love with a woman you'll adore.
Under my wings, you'll start to ask yourself,
Under my wings, you'll learn to fly.
Under my wings, you'll come to understand how to hold on-if you want to.
Or you can dream of the frog legs sitting in the church
in the glass, in the sand, where your foot steps.
Or you can dream of the angels in the air-
don't you see me?
I float in the skies, in your eyes, in your eyes.
You want to dance with the angels?
Then embroider me with gold, and I will fly with the angels,
and you can dance with me.
Under my wings, you'll start to look for me.
Under my wings, you'll want to cry sometimes.
Under my wings, you'll find someone to hold onto-if you want to.
You want to dance with the angels?
Then embroider me with gold, and I will fly with the angels,
and you can fly with me." ***
Taylor sighed as she the last chord of the song floated through the room. Carter looked up and stared at him, cheeks red and hot, eyes widened. "I didn't know you were there."
"I didn't know you could sing." Taylor stood in the doorway of her bedroom, afraid he had already intruded too much.
"You can come in."
Taylor pushed his hair behind his ears and sat down on her bed. "How long have you been playing guitar?"
"Since I was 7. My mom taught me. She started out by playing, and I'd sing along. But then she wanted me to learn."
"You're amazing." Taylor whispered as she sat down on the bed next to him.
"No I'm not. I missed 3 chord changes and my voice was flat."
"No. It was great. You should play more often... like as a career."
"Me? Play in front of a bunch of people? Like that will ever happen."
"It's not like you're a shy person." Taylor laughed
"But...I don't write my own stuff. I just sing along with cd's and play guitar. It's nothing special."
"Carter, your voice is amazing. Don't you know that? Have you ever been to that little cafe downtown?"
"The one where those weird people with long hair and little sunglasses read stuff that they call poetry?"
"Yeah. You should play there."
Carter laughed and pushed her short brown hair behind her ears. "I would. But... I dunno how to like... arrange it. I have always wanted to sing."
"You should. My friend works there. He could get you in. You could play a song and if they like you, they'll ask you back." Taylor's eyes lit up. He seemed to be more excited that she was.
"Well... Ok. But don't beg him or anything. It's no big deal." *******************************************************
A week later, Carter found herself sitting between Isaac and Zac. Her guitar was already on stage, behind the curtain. Her black velvet skirt was an inch above her knee. Zac had picked out her black and silver swirled tanktop. She looked amazing. But she couldn't hide the fact that she was scared out of her mind.
"This is gonna be so cool!" Zac shrieked when the free stage hour began. Carter knew she could go up now, but she needed a push from Zac before she could move.
When she found herself on the stage, she took a deep breath and wrapped her guitar strap around her shoulders. Taylor gave her a big smile and Zac gave her his "two thumbs up babe!" sign. She knew everything would be ok.
"No teacher to follow, no prophet to tell me how,
But I know what I want, I know what I want now.
Like water, it rushes,
it's the last thing you see when you close your eyes
it's the one place you want to be.
But if it doesn't brush my shoulder, and it doesn't beat my heart,
that's not what I want, that's not where I will start.
I never kissed somebody so that they would break my heart,
that's not what I want.
If you don't know what your missing
cause you don't know where to start,
follow your wishing heart."###
The rest of the words and notes floated passed everybody's ears. All they heard was her voice, and all they saw was her fingers, moving delicately over her guitar. When she stopped singing, all was quiet.
Carter took a deep breath when she was finished and she smiled. As she pulled the strap over her shoulder and walked off of the stage with the guitar, she couldn't even hear Zac and Taylor's words of praise. All she heard was the applause.
"Are you that girl that sang tonight?" A tall man with blonde, wavy, hair to his shoulders and thin framed glasses asked Carter as she walked outside with Zac and Taylor.
"Yeah."
"My name's Brad. I own this place." Brad held out his hand and waited for Carter to shake it. "That's some voice."
"Thank you." Carter smiled and winked over Brad's shoulder at Zac.
"Yot got a job?"
"No. Not as of now. Why?"
Brad stood his ground and smiled. "How would you like to play here."
"Like, come back on free nights?"
"No I mean, come here Wednesday nights to sing. It pays a hundred dollars a night. The audience loved you. You could be a star."
Carter's eyes widened and she laughed as she saw Zac nod enthusiastically.
"I'd love too. Any catches?"
"Will you always look that hot and sing that great?"
"I can sure try. But if I feel like wearing jeans and an old t-shirt, I'm gonna."
Brad laughed and shook Carter's hand again. "It's a deal. What did you say your name was?"
"Carter. See you Wednesday night."
"See you then."
Carter grinned as Brad walked back into the cafe. She let out a quick squeal and jumped.
Zac shook his head. "You have no idea what you just got yourself into."
"What?"
"Wednesdays."
"So?"
"You're gonna miss Charmed."
Carter's jaw dropped open. "SHIT! HEY BRAD!" She screamed and ran back into the cafe.
*** Dance With The Angels, By Lisa Loeb
### Wishing Heart, By Lisa Loeb