"Take Five" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
"Thanks for meeting me, Nelle," Malia said gratefully. "It's been almost a month and you're the first girlfriend I've actually made."
"Making friends is so hard as an adult," Nelle agrees, picking up a menu. "How about boyfriends?"
Her sly smile made Malia laugh.
"I mean, I've met a couple of guys who have been pretty friendly. Perhaps a couple of friendships are budding."
"Do tell," Nelle leans forward with intrigue.
"Well, I've picked up a few jobs at some bars, clubs, and cafes since I moved here."
"Wait," Nelle cuts in. "What? What kind of work do you do?"
"I'm a pianist. Mostly jazz."
"Fitting for New Orleans."
"Yeah," Malia laughs. "Anyways, this one guy keeps showing up to my gigs. He's been a little flirty but also just like . . . vague? I can't really get a read on the guy."
"Sexy and mysterious? Sign me up, he sounds exactly like the kind of guy you date when you first move to a new city."
"I don't even know if it's like that. I feel like the charm is just his personality, not necessarily anything special," Malia sighs. "Anyways, I think I just need friends, nothing, like, romantic or anything."
"Oh, come on! Let me live vicariously through you. My partner and I are practically engaged. I mean, it's great, but I'm such a gossip and it's so hard to be a gossip when you're in a happy and healthy, long-term relationship."
"Okay, well there was another guy. I don't even know if I'll see him again. It was just an accidental run-in at that bookstore you told me about."
"Oh my god!" Nelle drops the menu on the table, leaning forward on her elbows with her head in her hands.
"It was just the way he looked at me. There was this one moment, where he was reaching past me for a book, and I just couldn't breathe. I don't know, it was just weird."
"Weird? Or hot?" Nelle smirked.
"A bit of both, to be honest," Malia laughed. "So tell me about your partner."
"Their name is Birdy. We're high school sweethearts. Been together for seven years. Let's see," Nelle pauses to think. "They do ghost tours and tarot readings. Birdy's actually just the best."
"Ghost tours and tarot readings are very New Orleans. That's so cool."
"Yeah, super fun," Nelle waves her hand dismissively. "I'll need regular updates about these boyfriends and any future boyfriends. Please, I beg."
Malia laughed.
"Sure, just maybe don't call them my boyfriends?"
YOU ARE READING
Lover Be | The Originals
同人小说A pianist moves to New Orleans looking for a change. She becomes intertwined in the lives of the enigmatic Mikaelson brothers. "Let the Lover Be disgraceful, crazy, absentminded. Someone sober will worry about things going badly. Let the Lover Be."...
