DEEP

5. No Better Reason

A loud rock track plays through the record player as I walk into Stone's flat. It's a powerful and intense song, which creates a lively atmosphere in this tiny living room.

This apartment is now really a place of peace and warmth for me, and it always puts me at ease when I walk in the door. Although tonight there are some people I do not know, I find myself surprised at how in this place I can feel at home.

Stone is there, wearing a friendly smile and looking for a record to play next. I wave and he nods back as I approach him.

"We're still not used to welcoming a lady, as you may have noticed." he says, taking another record out of its sleeve with that usual grin on his lips.

"I wasn't expecting flowers and scented candles, don't worry." I say in a half smile, right before hand him the Fugazi record I bought. "Here."

He takes it in his hands, pulling out all his little gracefullness and looking excitingly at the cover front and back.

"Cool! You already heard it?"

"No," I say, shaking my head "I postponed the pleasure to do it together."

"You're so precious.", he smiles.

If sarcasm were sport, Stone would be the undisputed world champion. Almost everything that comes out of his mouth is drenched in sarcasm, and when it's not it seems.

"I see some new faces, don't I?" I ask looking around and disturbing his concentration as he lays the record on the latter, gently placing the needle on it.

"Yeah, some friends from Portland. Why don't you go introduce yourself?"

My introversion doesn't make me enthusiastic about that idea. I'm still the new girl around here after all.

"Shouldn't the host be doing this kind of thing?"

"I'm pretty sure they won't eat you." he says, grinning at my shyness. "But if you need some fuel for courage, help yourself. You'll find some on the kitchen table. That's if these louts left any."

Finally from Stone's mouth came out an idea that at the moment seems more than great. I definitely need a beer to melt my nerves after the long day of work and, above all, to give me the audacity to strike up a conversation with a group of musicians I've never met before.

"I'll get you one,"I say with a disgusted look inside his red plastic cup "looks like someone decided to add a little taste to your drink with that cigarette butt."

I'm heading towards the kitchen looking around a bit distractedly, when suddenly my gaze cross a pair of known eyes. Just for a few seconds, maybe less, maybe an hour, I don't know. Time has become relative all of a sudden.

From across the room Eddie looks over at me. Fleetingly, casually and with a very vague curiosity in the eyes, so far away to be barely perceptible. I smile nicely at him and, in the exact moment I do it, he turns away like he didn't even see me. Apparently I became translucent all of a sudden.

With probably a big question mark on my head, I scowl. One part of my brain can't figure out why he's ignoring me this way and thinks that, maybe, he hasn't seen me...but the other one knows we definitely looked at each other. He obviously doesn't like me and does absolutely nothing to hide it.

I look the other way, going straight to the kitchen and noticing with great pleasure and a certain surprise that there's still some beer cans on the table.

"I'm really gonna need you tonight..."

I take two, and without taking my eyes off the floor this time, I go back to Stone.