Getting to the office the next morning, Mariah was still reeling from the night before. Her mind had been a constant state of panic and curiosity regarding Tessa. On one hand, the woman was captivating, beautiful, funny, and talented. On the other hand, she was a woman. Not that she had a problem with her being a woman, it was just that she had never been attracted to one before. And she was attracted to Tessa.
Mariah was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't even realize Devon and Hilary had walked in the door. She smiled as she thought about Tessa touching her shirt, her wrist, or the way she put her hand on Mariah's lower back. All simple gestures, that had ignited a new desire within Mariah.
"Mariah?" Devon raised his voice since Mariah had not heard him the first time he had spoken.
"Oh, sorry I didn't hear you come in." Mariah blushed, her mind still fixated on Tessa's hands.
"It's okay, I just asked how last night went." Devon sat his briefcase down on his desk, as Hilary shifted uncomfortably beside him.
"Oh, it was great. She is amazing. Her guitar work is just beautiful, and her voice is edgy but sweet." Mariah remembered how Tessa smiled at her from the stage as she sang. "She has stage presence, makes you feel like she is singing just to you."
"Well you sound like you have a crush." Hilary finally piped up, using the opportunity to take a jab at Mariah.
"I..." Pausing to gather her thoughts, Mariah cleared her head of Tessa's image.
"Well, that proves my point." Hilary scoffed.
"I have a video. I'll airdrop it to your phone Devon." Mariah, refusing to engage with Hilary, pulled out her phone and began sending Devon the video.
"I am here for the candy boxes. Did you finish them?" Hilary with her hands on her hips, was still trying to get a rise out of Mariah. Without words, Mariah pointed to the two boxes sitting on the work table. "I hope you followed the instructions I sent."
"I'm sure they are perfect Hilary." Devon interjected.
"It's not like I could mess up putting together the boxes and dropping candy in them." Mariah smiled at Hilary. "But I'm sure you will find something."
Hilary turned to Mariah, a look of smugness on her face. "Oh, I'm going to need you to pick up the place cards from the printers today. You will also need to go through them and make sure there are no errors."
Mariah smiled, knowing when to pick her battles. "Are they ready now, because I need to run a couple of other errands this morning and the printers is on my route?"
With a huff, Hilary looked at the boxes. She needed to prove a point, so she made her next play for superiority. "Devon, I need some help, and I know you are really busy this morning."
"Mariah, do you mind helping her get the boxes down to her car?" Devon smiled at Mariah begging her to not be too snarky and start something that he would eventually pay for.
Mariah got up and picked up the boxes off the table. "I'm going to go ahead and run to the printers and do the rest of my errands."
Devon nodded as the women made their way out of the office.
Mariah made it back to the office before lunch, having completed all the tasks she had set out to accomplish including picking up the wedding place cards. Devon sat at his desk, shuffling through papers and listening to music on his computer.
"I see you got to the music I prepared for you yesterday." Mariah giggled. "I'm sorry about earlier, boss."
"It's okay, she is under a lot of stress, so maybe go a little easier on her." Devon laughed, knowing his soon to be wife was difficult on the best of days.
"Did you have a chance to get to the video I sent." Mariah said, as she checked her phone. "I really believe Tessa is a good fit for you."
"You seem to really like her." Devon said, picking up his phone and scrolling to the video in question.
As he pushed play, Tessa voice filled the office, causing a giant smile to tug at Mariah's lips. Even with a poor-quality phone video, the singer's sultry voice warmed Mariah's soul. Devon listened to the whole video, never taking his eyes off the screen. After the song stopped, he sat his phone down and turned to Mariah.
"You are right, she has a presence." Smiling, he continued. "She seemed to really like you. She spent more than half the song just singing to you. Had you talked to her beforehand? Or did she just connect with you from the stage?"
"I didn't get to talk to her till after the show. There weren't too many people there, and I'm pretty sure I was the only one not drunk or playing pool." Mariah blushed. "I did talk to her afterwards."
"Well, after the honeymoon, I'm going to sign her." Devon stood up, gathering his papers and putting them in his briefcase. "I need to run by the studio and then I'm going home for the evening. I know we talked about it, but I just wanted to reiterate how much I appreciate the help you are giving to me and Hilary with our wedding. I also want you to know that I consider you more than just an employee. You have always been a great friend to me. So, thank you."
"Are you nervous?" Mariah looked at Devon, her eyes looking for any sign of him having doubts. "I mean there is still two days to change your mind."
"I'm not changing my mind. I'm not nervous either. I mean we have done this before." Devon laughed. "I never thought we would do it again, but sometimes you just need a little time to grow to get things right. You also know when something is right, there are signs, feelings that can't be denied...and this is right."
Mariah's heart skipped a beat as she thought about Tessa and the feelings she had when they were together. She had never felt so connected to someone, so attracted to someone before. She felt her cheeks blushing. She hid her face and began checking the cards as Devon made his way out of the office.
The next couple of days flew by and the wedding went off without a hitch. Mariah returned to the office the next week, manning the phones and catching up on emails, she kept herself busy. Her mind drifted to Tessa often and by Thursday, she felt she had to see her again. She had began following Tessa on Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. She figured it was part of her job to keep up to date on Tessa's performances and social presence. So, when Tessa tweeted that she would be performing that night at the Wet Whistle, Mariah decided she needed to see her again.
Finishing up early, Mariah decided she would head out to the bar and catch Tessa's set. Digging through her closet, she came across a black pair of leather pants she had bought on a lark. She had never actually worn them, because she felt very self-conscious in them. Feeling a little bit like shaking up her life, Mariah slipped into the leather pants. Standing in just her bra and pants in front of her full length mirror, Mariah turned and was surprised at how good her ass actually looked. The black leather hugged every curve, showing off all the work Mariah had been putting in at the gym.
Finding a maroon lace camisole that she would top with black tailored blazer, Mariah tucked the camisole in and slid into the jacket. The outfit was drawn together by a the long chain necklace with a single strand of chain that dangled down to the top of her leather pants. Giving her hair a little volume, Mariah used a curl enhancer and gave herself a few more curls with her curling iron. Adding a darker red to her lips, Mariah stood back and took herself in. She had never had a lot of confidence in her looks, but the idea of seeing Tessa again made her feel like being bold.
Making her way downtown to the Wet Whistle, Mariah could feel the nervousness setting in. She though for a moment about turning around and going home, but ultimately her curiosity got the better of her. She had to see Tessa. She needed to see Tessa. The feeling that had been growing inside of her for the past week were akin to a crush, and she was way too old to be getting crushes.
Walking into the bar, Tessa was already on stage singing. Her voice was warm and inviting, Mariah immediately felt her body reacting.
"Vodka tonic with a lime please." Mariah ordered a drink from Tracy, the bartender.
"Hey I remember you, wine girl?" Tracy smiled. "I see you have come back to visit our little song bird."
"Its for work." Mariah lied. "My boss is thinking about signing her to his record label."
"Yeah, well good for Tess." Tracy handed Mariah her drink, as Mariah handed her a credit card.
"You want to open a tab?" Tracy asked.
"Yes." Mariah took her drink and found a shadowy corner to sit in.
Tonight she just wanted to watch Tessa and see how she interreacted with other people from the stage. Tessa was covering the Blondie song Maria, slowing it down, her fingers working their magic on the strings. Mariah's heart hung on every word as Tessa's voice floated across the bar to her.
Ooh, don't you wanna break her?
Ooh, don't you wanna take her home?
She walks like she don't care
You wanna take her everywhere
Ooh, it makes you wanna cry
As the song finished up, Mariah finished her first drink. She hadn't even realized she had been drinking so fast, the song had her distracted. She got up and went to the bar, requesting another vodka tonic. Tessa continued to play behind her.
Mariah took her drink back to the table and took out her phone. She began filming video of Tessa. After capturing a couple of the songs from Tessa's set, Mariah slipped her phone back in her purse. The other video she had taken the week before had been watched by her at least two dozen times, and she wanted more.
It wasn't long before Tessa was done, and Mariah sat in her corner trying to be invisible. Tessa packed up her gear and headed to the bar. Mariah ducked her head, pulling her phone back out and pretending to check her messages. She hoped that Tessa would leave, and she could pay her tab and slip out after.
"Hey there." Tessa's voice cut through Mariah's façade, her head snapping up to the dark haired musician smiling at her. "I didn't see you come in."
"I just slipped in to catch a few more songs for my boss." Mariah lied again. "He liked the first video, and wanted to see more."
"Well anything that gets you down here sounds good to me." Winking at Mariah, Tessa smiled a half smile that sent shivers throughout Mariah's body. Mariah finished her drink, pushing her chair back to leave.
"Well I should be heading home. Work early in the morning." Mariah actually had the next day off, since Devon would be back from his honeymoon the following Monday, he had given her a three day weekend.
"Too bad, I was hoping you might stay for one more drink." Tessa almost purred as she spoke. "I ordered you another drink, and I thought we might could discuss you watching me walk away the other night."
"What?" Mariah's cheeks felt warm as the color rose in her face. "I was..."
"You look amazing tonight. I love you in those pants, by the way." Tessa reached out and grabbed the bottom of Mariah's chain, her fingers brushing against Mariah's stomach, starting a storm of butterflies fluttering inside of her. "This really pulls the outfit together, and draws a person's attention to the places that matter."
Tessa's fingers worked their way up the chain to the spot where it split off into two separate chains, right between Mariah's breasts. Letting go of the chain, Tessa turned and walked to the bar. She picked up the drinks she had ordered and returned to the table. Mariah was still standing staring at her when she returned.
"Sit, have one drink with me." Tessa sat the drinks down and took a seat at the table.
"I have to go." Mariah declared as she rushed out of the bar, not looking back. She walked the half a block to her car, and dropped her keys as she got to the door.
"Mariah!" Tessa shouted as she ran up. "You forgot your credit card."
Mariah stood up just as Tessa got to the curb, credit card in hand. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, Mariah came around the car, meeting Tessa at the hood.
"Thank you. I don't know what I was thinking." Mariah reached to take the card. "I didn't sign for my drinks."
"I told Tracy I'd take care of it." Tessa retorted. "I mean, you will buy me a drink someday."
"Was that a question or a statement?" Mariah looked up into Tessa's sparkling green eyes. She really didn't care if it was either, she just had an overwhelming urge to find out if those beautiful red lips were as soft as she imagined.
Licking her lips, she let her fingers dance across Tessa's hand, lingering a little longer than neccessary. Tessa's smile grew even bigger, as Mariah took a step closer, her finger's wrapping around Tessa's wrist, pulling her closer.
"I really should go." Mariah whispered, her mouth only wanting to taste the lips her eyes couldn't seem to look away from.
Without hesitation, Mariah's free hand slipped up into Tessa's hair. Mariah's lips found their way to Tessa's, pausing briefly before crashing into them. The kiss was soft, but the intent that was felt was much more than any passion Mariah had ever felt. She let her tongue slip through the barrier of lips and find sanctuary within Tessa's mouth. There was no struggle for control, as Tessa let Mariah have her way with her lips. Mariah, her whole body alit with passion and desire, pulled back, her eyes locking with Tessa's.
What had she done? She had kissed Tessa, and it was amazing. She needed to think, and there was no way that was going to happen in this woman's presence.
"I'm sorry, I have to go." Mariah turned credit card in hand and unlocked her car door.
Tessa stood staring as the red-head once again ran away. She stepped back, as Mariah drove off down the street, wondering what had just happened.
Speeding down the street, Mariah's head was filled with soft lips and warm tingly sensations. She couldn't believe she had just kissed Tessa. She was excited, confused, and elated all at once. Concentrating on her driving, she put the thoughts out of her head. She just needed some time. Time to figure out what she was doing and if this was what she thought it might be. The beginning of something amazing.