TOGETHER

[Rated-G; Takes place before The Blues Brothers Movie.]

Several weeks ago, I was working in a bar setting up the equipment for the bands that were booked to play there. One night, a bunch of guys came in calling themselves The Blues Brothers. Not your usual group of fellas, but they had a way about them that appealed to me. I helped them get set up, and found them to be really friendly.

One of the two lead guys introduced himself as Jake. He hung around near me while I sorted out the electrical wires and plugged them into the right spots. He told me they were traveling around, playing various places and trying to raise some cash to get better instruments so they could move up in the business. He told me they had a few run-ins with the cops and they had to be careful. I assured him that we rarely ever see cops in the area.

While Jake and I talked, I couldn’t help but notice the guy he came in with ahead of the rest of the group. A rather slender guy, kinda moody looking and not very talkative. He came in and sat at the bar and ordered a few beers. Occasionally one of the band members would go over and say a few things to him, but other than that, he sat there alone and just guzzled his drinks.

Jake noticed I was taking a few opportunities to glance over at his friend.

“You got a thing for Elwood, over there?” he asked, catching me by surprise.

“Who?” I asked, not registering what he meant.

He looked towards the bar, “Elwood. My friend over at the bar. I saw you lookin’ over at him a few times. You got a thing for him?”

I was quite embarrassed now. “No. Why would I have--”

“Come on. I can see it in your eyes. He isn’t with anyone. I can introduce you to him, if you want. He’s kinda shy, but I think you two would hit it off.” He motioned for me to go with him, and I obliged.

Jake and I approached Elwood at the bar. He didn’t see us at first.

“Hey,” he said, while looking up at Jake. “Want a beer?”

“Sure” said Jake, and he took the bottle from Elwood. Jake turned to me, “You want one?”

“No thanks,” I said. “Can’t, while I’m working.”

Elwood noticed me standing slightly behind him. “Who’s this?” he asked, looking at Jake, as if I wasn’t in hearing range.

“Elwood, this is Nicole. Nicole, this is my buddy, Elwood.” He moved aside to allow me to get closer to Elwood.

“Hey,” was all he said. I’d say ‘shy’ was an understatement.

Elwood went back to drinking his beer, and I thought I’d try to get a conversation going.

“So, Elwood, that’s a cool name. I’ve never heard it before.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Back to his beer.

Well, enough of that. “Gotta get back to work. See you later.” I’d have better luck with a brick wall. Guess he’s not interested.

I was just finishing up the wiring when Jake came up behind me.

“Need a hand?” he asked.

“Nah, I’m just about done. You should be crankin’ out the tunes in about 5 more minutes,” I said, trying not to sound too irritated about what had happened at the bar.

Jake started to explain things, “Look, about Elwood, he’s just not used to girls diggin’ him, that’s all. I mean, he’s had relationships, but in our line of work, it’s not really easy to convince a girl to stick around. There’s not many of ‘em who don’t mind bein’ on the run from the cops, you know?”

“Well, I just don’t think he was interested, anyway. No big deal.” I finished hooking up the last of the amplifier cords. “All set. Tell your friends they can give it a go.”

“Thanks,” he said, still more concerned with playing match-maker. “Give him another chance. I told him I’d send you over again and I told him to be a little more talkative. What do you say?”

I guess it wouldn’t hurt. After all, I really did think he was adorable, and I’d love to get to know him. “All right. Why not.”

Jake grinned. “Great! I’ll go gather up the band while you go talk to Elwood.”

I slowly walked towards Elwood, still sitting in the same exact place.

“You plan on sittin’ here all night?” I asked him.

“Oh, hi. No, I gotta do some songs.” He sounded serious, as if I didn’t know he was in the band or something. “Listen, Jake told me I was a little short with you before, and I....well, I just don’t know what to say to girls I guess. I mean, I don’t run into many who wanna carry on a conversation, you know?”

“It’s OK, you don’t have to explain. I really don’t know what to say either. I just noticed you sitting over here and Jake encouraged me to come and meet you, so I did. I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything.” I looked towards the stage and saw that the band was all ready to start playing. “Looks like you’re on.”

“Huh?” He noticed the band waiting, “Oh. Well, you’re gonna be here, ‘til we’re done, right?”

“Yep. Somebody’s gotta help get those wires back into neat little bundles.”

Elwood drank the last swallow of beer in the bottle before grabbing a full one and standing up. “Maybe we can talk some more, you know, after the gig.”

A large smile tried to form on my face, but I managed to keep it small. “I’d like that.”

Elwood smiled back at me and then went to join his friends.

During the performance, everyone in the bar was clapping and singing along with the band. I had a few things to do here and there, but most of the time I sat and kept a secret eye on Elwood. A couple times I got caught when he looked over at me. I’d look away quickly and when I looked back he wasn’t looking at me anymore, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips.

After the last song, the people filed out, some who needed a bit of help from drinking too much. I started getting the cords unplugged and bundled. This part was always easier than setting them up.

I was on my knees and reached back to unplug one of the amplifier cords and was greeted by a familiar hand holding the end of the cord. I looked up and saw Elwood’s sweet face looking down at me.

“Thank you,” I said, as I took the cord from him. “Great job, up there.”

“Thanks, we had a good crowd. This is a nice place. How long you worked here?” He handed me another cord.

“Just a couple months. I’ve had quite a few jobs like this. Someone’s always lookin’ for a technician for these kinda things. I get bored real easily, so I tend to job hop. There isn’t much action around this area.” I was paying more attention to Elwood than I was to the outlet and got a small zap from it. “Aah!”

“Are you OK??” Elwood said, as he bent down and took my hand in his.

“Yeah, it was nothin’. I’ve gotten worse. Most of these old places have tricky wiring.” He was still holding my hand, and I felt a little on the spot the way he was looking into my eyes. “It’s....alright. Really.”

I found myself straining my eyes, trying to look through his dark sunglasses to search out his eyes. I imagined they must be beautiful, and it was a shame to have them so hidden.

After a few more seconds, he realized that he had been staring and looked down at my hand. “It looks OK. You should be more careful, though. Wouldn’t want you gettin’ hurt or anything.”

“I appreciate the concern” I said, as we both stood up straight. “I better get this stuff done so you can get going. I mean, I don’t wanna keep you here, I know you must be bored just standing around like this.”

“I don’t mind. I don’t have anywhere to be.” He paused for a few beats, then started, “Actually, I was gonna ask if maybe you’d wanna go out sometime and--”

He was interrupted when Jake approached him. “Elwood, you wouldn’t happen to have any cash, would you? Some of the guys accidentally broke the jukebox and the money we owe for that and the beer we drank is a little more than what we just made from the gig.”

“How much more?” Elwood asked.

“Well, we owe $150. How much have you got on you?” He held out his hand to Elwood.

“I‘ve got about five bucks. Now what are we gonna do?” He looked at me, hoping I had an idea.

“I haven’t got that much pull here to get you guys out of it, and I only have a few bucks in my pocket. I can stall my boss and you guys can make a run for it. Neither of us have a car, so he won’t be able to go after you.” I didn’t even need to consider it, it just felt right. I’d been getting ripped off in my pay since I’d started working there. What did I care if some nice guys made off without paying?

Elwood seemed a little concerned. “We can’t just leave you behind, what if your boss blames you? Have him go in the back room or somethin’, and we’ll all split, together.”

It only took me a second to decide that it was a good idea. After all, I’d been complaining how I got no excitement around here. Now was my chance. On the run with some lawbreakers. Sounded like a real adventure!

We’d been driving over an hour since darting out of the bar, and I gotta say I was glad I came. Elwood was an incredible driver, and the three of us had the whole car to ourselves. The rest of the band followed in the other car and we had all the equipment in the back seat. We spent half the time singing along with the tunes on the radio, and Elwood didn’t mind showing off a few little stunts when we ran into some speed bumps.

Around 4am, we were pretty tired, so we pulled into a motel and parked around back, out of view of the road, and any cops who might be looking for the car. Unfortunately, there were only two rooms left. It was a cheap place, and we managed to scrape up just enough to cover the bill. Luckily it was only $15 a room. Not the biggest or best looking rooms, mind you, but they had clean beds, and at least we could afford it.

Jake, Elwood and I took one room, and the other guys crammed into the other. I didn’t really know the other guys, so they understood why the three of us would get a whole room to ourselves. The other room had 2 beds, at least. Ours only had one.

Jake went inside to check it out, while Elwood and I threw a blanket over the back seat, trying to cover up the equipment in case someone peeked into the car and saw something worth breaking in for.

The lot was pretty well lit by various lights around the motel doors. I had my back to the light and Elwood finished up in the car and looked in my direction, “That outta do it.”

The light was just enough to reflect on his face, and again I was drawn to those eyes that I couldn’t see.

“Do you ever take those sunglasses off?” I asked.

“Only if I have to,” he replied. “Why? Do they bother you?” He leaned his arm on the roof of the car.

“No, but I’m just curious as to what you look like without them on. I bet you’ve got really pretty eyes.” I tried not to sound too corny about it, but I think I failed. “What’s a girl gotta do to get a good look at them?” I wiggled my eyebrows and gave him a mischievous grin.

I think he liked my tone, cos he slowly took of his shades and sat them on top of the car. The light made his eyes sparkle and I was instantly lost in them.

“I’d take of my hat, but then my hair would be messy,” he said, squinting a bit as his eyes adjusted to the light coming from behind me.

At that moment, he coulda said anything and I woulda loved it. “I love messy hair,” I said, in an excited voice.

I easily got my way and he took off his hat and placed it next to his sunglasses. Laughingly, he used his hand to mess up his hair a bit more. I giggled, and he smiled one of the sincerest smiles I’d ever seen.

Right at that very moment, there was only one thing I wanted to do. Kiss this adorable man standing less than a foot in front of me.

“Thank you,” I said, as I continued to stare into his eyes.

Breaking his own stare, he looked down in a shy manner. “Can I, uh, ask you a question?”

“Sure. Anything.” Which was just about true. I was feeling a bit too vulnerable at the moment.

He avoided eye contact with me. “Do you....like....Jake?”

“Jake? Sure, he’s a cool guy.” I didn’t understand what he was getting at.

“So, you two are....” He looked up at me and I knew what he was getting at now.

“Oh! No! He and I are just friends! He knew I liked you from the start. There’s nothing going on between him and me.” I never even thought about Jake that way, and I hoped I could convince Elwood of that. “Why do you think I spent all that time keeping my eyes on you while you were singing in the bar?”

“Yeah, I noticed that. I didn’t mean to accuse you, I just wanted to make sure, you know, that I wasn’t jumping to any conclusions with us.” He stepped a little bit closer to me. “Assuming that there is an us.”

I smiled and quietly replied, “I think it’s safe to say, there is.”

He returned the smile, reached out and gently brushed my face with his hand. A shiver went through my entire body and my knees felt like they were about to give out. Just when I thought I couldn’t support myself any longer, he leaned closer and kissed me. It was a small kiss, and he leaned back to make sure I had no objections.

When he saw I was in no position to argue, he leaned in and kissed me again, this time more passionately. He parted my lips with his tongue and invited me into his mouth. Our tongues danced together for what seemed like hours, while our hands wrapped themselves around each others bodies and held us tightly together.

“You’re an incredible kisser,” he said, taking a breather.

“So are you. It feels so good being this close to you.” I planted small kisses along his neck and I heard his breath escape him.

He nuzzled his face into my hair and shoulder.

“What are you guys doing out there?!” came a voice from inside the motel room. We’d forgotten about Jake.

“Uh, just checking a few things! We’ll be right in!” Elwood shouted back. “I guess we’d better get to the room now.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I said, slyly.

Elwood had a twinkle in his eye when I said that. He knew what was on my mind, and it was on his too. “What do we do about Jake?”

“Maybe he’d be willing to sleep in the other room, with the band,” I suggested.

“Nah, they’re already crammed in there like sardines. He’d never fit.” He paused for a moment to think, but the look on his face was enough to let me know that he had no solution. “Guess we’ll just have to make the best of it.”

“Elwood,” I said, disappointed. “I’d hoped you and I could....get a little close tonight, you know? We can’t do that with him in the same room.”

“We could stick Kleenex’s in his ears and put a pillow over his head,” he said, half joking, as we made our way to the room.

Elwood, Jake and I had been laying on the large bed for a while, playing a few hands of cards we’d retrieved from the glove box. Elwood and I couldn’t keep our eyes off each other, but Jake didn’t notice. He was busy trying to win his pretzel sticks back. When Jake went into the bathroom, Elwood practically leaped across the bed to give me a deep kiss. He was wearing his hat and sunglasses again, but I didn’t mind. I still had the sweet image of his eyes and messy hair stuck in my mind.

I got a little carried away and knocked off his hat, and neither of us had noticed it was laying on the bed, and that his hair was tousled when Jake came back out.

“What happened to your hair? And your hat?” he asked, pointing to Elwood’s hat which was laying slightly behind him.

Elwood grabbed it and put it back on. “Oh, uh, it kinda just fell off. Musta been a draft.”

“Some draft,” he said, on to what we had been doing. “You two probably wanna be alone, huh?”

“Well, if you wouldn’t mind,” Elwood answered.

“No problem,” Jake said, gathering a handful of pretzel sticks and heading towards the door.

“Where are you gonna sleep?” I asked.

“Yeah, there’s not even enough space to sleep in the closet in the other room,” Elwood said, somewhat down-heartedly. He wanted some privacy, but he didn’t wanna kick his friend out.

“I’ll sleep in the car. So I can keep an eye on the instruments.” Before shutting the door behind him, he smiled, “You two have fun. But keep it down. There’s people tryin’ to sleep around here.”

Elwood and I laughed as the door clicked shut. We were finally alone. Still sitting on the bed, we cleaned up the remaining mess of cards and pretzel crumbs. I watched as he put the cards back into the box. Some of them were a little bent and crooked and he had a problem getting them into the box easily. I watched as his face scrunched up in determination and then relaxed once he finally got them in.

Unable to resist how cute he looked, I scooted closer to him. He had his back to the headboard and his knees bent up a bit. I scooted up between his legs and sat back on my feet, facing him, with my hands on his legs. He sat the cards on the nightstand and smiled slightly as he removed his hat, followed by his sunglasses.

“You’re so incredible,” I said, looking into his eyes. “Do me a favor?”

“Name it,” he said without hesitation.

“Play me a song.” I loved hearing his harmonica, and I knew it would sound even better by itself, and the acoustics in this small room would make it even better, still.

He reached for his bag on the nightstand and pulled out the little harmonica. “Any requests?”

“No. Just play anything. But make it up as you go along.” I rested my chin on his right knee and watched as he played a beautiful harmony of notes. I was completely mesmerized.

After awhile, I told him he could stop playing. “Wouldn’t want you to get blisters or anything,” I joked.

“It’s good exercises for all the kissin’ we’ll be doing,” he joked back.

He put the harmonica back in the bag and set it back on the table. I slid my hands up his stomach and tugged at the bottom of his shirt, causing it to come untucked. Slowly, I started from the bottom button and worked my way up, unbuttoning each one. When I undid the last button, his shirt fell open, exposing his chest, with just the right amount of hair covering it. I ran my hands over it, and massaged his abdomen.

He reached his arms out and put his left leg down so I could climb up next to him, into his embrace. We laid next to each other and kissed for several minutes before he rolled over and partially covered my body with his own. He continued to kiss me as his hands explored my body. I ran my own hands up under his open shirt and lightly ran my nails down his back, causing him to arch his body upward a bit.

Both of us were feeling the effects of the moment and we knew it wouldn’t be long before we took our actions a step further. He started unbuttoning my shirt and I reached down to unbutton my pants. When he got my shirt unbuttoned, he sat up and leaned back on his feet with his knees bent. I leaned forward and slipped my shirt off and removed my bra. He smiled at the sight of me topless, and proceeded to undo his pants while I watched contently.

We made love several times throughout the night, and barely got any sleep. But when we finally did fall asleep, we were in each other’s arms, and we woke up in the same position.

It was around 8am when Jake came in and woke us up. He had a pleased look on his face, and though we didn’t need it, it was nice to know that we had his approval.

He used the bathroom to freshen up and then went to the other room to wake the rest of the band up. Elwood looked so sweet laying there next to me. One arm around me and one under his head. His hair was even more messed up than before, and it only made him look cuter. We said “good morning” to each other and sealed it with a kiss. Then we got up and got dressed and took turns getting cleaned up in the bathroom.

Elwood went in after me, and while I sat on the bed putting on my shoes, he came out and leaned on the frame of the bathroom door as he tied his tie.

“So. What happens now? Where you headed from here?” he asked, not looking directly at me.

His words struck me like a blow to the stomach. Was last night just a one-night stand? Did he expect me to just pick up and leave, just like that? “Is that what you want? We share a great night of intimacy and then you send me on my way?”

He saw that I was agitated, and he looked sorry for the way he worded his questions. “No, I mean, I don’t expect you to go riding around with me, bein’ on the run from the cops and staying in sleazy dumps like this every night. Especially if we can’t even afford the worst motels on a nightly basis.”

“Elwood, I don’t go sleeping with just anyone, you know. I really like you, and I had no intentions of going separate ways.” My mind was confused.

He saw that I was hurt by what he said, and he came over and kneeled in front of me, at the edge of the bed. He put his hands on my hips and looked up into my eyes. “I don’t want you to leave. But I don’t have any money, and I can’t afford to get you the things you should have. And if I get sent to jail some day--

“I could be in for a long time. It wouldn’t be right for you to wait all that time. I know a lot of girls promise to wait for their guys, but most of them don’t, and I’d hate to get released and find that you weren’t anywhere to be found when I came lookin’ for you. So, I thought it’d be easier, for both of us, if you found someone better before we got too attached.” I could tell it was hard for him to admit that.

“I’ll wait for you for as long as you’re in there. And I don’t need you to buy me anything. All I need, and all I want, is right here in front of me. You’re all I need, Elwood.” I cupped his face in my hands. I didn’t know how to prove that I’d wait for him. I knew in my heart that I would, but I didn’t know how to convince him.

“I’m sure nothing I can say will make you believe that I truly love you, Elwood, and that I’d wait for you, no matter what. We only just met, but I know I love you with all my heart, and that’s never gonna change. You just have to believe me.” I took his hand and placed it to my heart. “If you could see inside here, you’d know I mean it.”

At that moment, I coulda swore I saw a tear in his eye. I never imagined such a seemingly tough guy like Elwood would ever show such emotions. I think he realized that I noticed because he turned his head and looked away. With my hand still on his face, I gently turned his head back towards me.

“I love you, Elwood.” I brushed the hair off of his forehead, as I smiled at him.

He straightened up on his knees and put his arms around me, pulling us close together. He kissed me passionately and then gave me a tender hug as he pressed his lips against my ear and whispered, “I love you too, Nicole. More than you know.”

Just then, Jake opened the door and poked his head in long enough to say, “Come on you two, we’re rollin’ outta here.”

Elwood straightened up and I helped fix his tie. He extended his hand and helped me to my feet. We grabbed our stuff and he put his arm around my shoulders. I put mine around his waist and we walked out to the car.

The other guys had already drove off, and Jake was eating a donut in the front seat when we got in.

“I hope you two slept well, cos I sure got a hell of a kink in my neck from this car,” he said, rubbing his neck with his free hand.

Elwood looked at me before starting the car and replied, “Not much.”

“Well, how about a neck massage, Nicole?” He turned in his seat a bit to give me access to the back of his neck.

“Forget it, Jake. She’s with me.” Elwood steered the car around to the front of the building, headed for the main road.

“Well, you can share her. I’m sure she won’t mind one massage.” He adjusted himself in the seat, trying to get comfy.

Elwood stepped on the gas and peeled out of the parking lot onto the main road. Jake was jolted forward and when he put his hand out to the dashboard to catch himself, the donut, which happened to be jelly, smooshed between the dash and his hand.

I couldn’t help but giggle, and Elwood put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer so I was right up against him.

After a few obscenities escaped his mouth, Jake relented, “Alight, alright, I get the point. But next time, you two get the car, and I get the room!”

Thinking it may be a fun, yet trying, experience, Elwood and I grinned at each other with raised eyebrows and concluded the mental note with a kiss as we drove off into a new day together.