After The Dust Had Settled

"Oh baby, here, here, what's wrong?" she asked, alarm in her voice.

I smiled, then wiped my face and said, "Nothing's wrong, it's just that I never thought that I would be with someone as beautiful you. I guess it was kind of childish for me to act like that. I'm sorry!"

"You're beautiful yourself, ya know. I thought so the first time I laid eyes on you. I think that you're a very special person, and to tell you the truth, I'm in awe of you, Mark," said Andie, as she put her arms around me and kissed me softly on the lips.

"You're in awe of me?" I asked, then smiled and added, "I think it's the other way around, Beautiful!"

Taking me by the hand, Andie grinned and replied, "Then we can be in awe of each other. Come on, handsome. I'm gonna introduce you to some musician friends of mine and I think that you all will get along famously!" So, off we went. At Andie's suggestion, we took her car this time as she knew her way around Dallas a hell of lot better than I did.

*********************

We drove around downtown Dallas for about an hour until we came to a place that had the words "Nick's Uptown Lounge" lit up in big green and red neon letters on the marquee. As we pulled into the parking lot, Andie turned to me and said, "These guys that I'm about to introduce you to are all members of the One O'clock Jazz Band. They call themselves "Prodigy" and if I remember correctly; Doctor Breeden used that word on more than one occasion when he spoke to us about you last year!"

"I don't know about all that," I replied sheepishly.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I do," Andie replied grinning, and then with a nod of her head, she opened her car door and said, "Come on handsome! It's time for you to shine!" As we went into the club, she took my hand, and leaning up to my ear, whispered, "Listen baby, classes don't start for a few more days so, act like you don't know anything. Besides, I've got a plan that you're gonna love!"

"What kind of plan?" I nervously asked.

After softly kissing my lips, she smiled and replied, "Trust me, baby, you're gonna love it!"

"Okay beautiful, I'm gonna trust you!" I replied, proudly walking into the club with this gorgeous creature on my arm.

Legal drinking age in Texas was eighteen at that time so; I ordered a beer for myself and a Tom Collins for Andie. The band had just taken the stage when we sat down so; when the waitress left our table, Andie leaned into me and I put my arm around her as we listened to her friends play. These guys were really very good, and it seemed like I knew every song they played. The band consisted of four people, a singer, a guitar player, a bass player, and a drummer. These guys were progressive rockers like me and I really dug everything I heard. Andie could tell I was getting into the music when she leaned over and said, "See? I told you that you'd like these guys, huh?"

"Oh hell yeah, they rock!" I replied excitedly, making Andie giggle then hug me.

After a couple of hours, they took a break and the singer came to our table, and greeting Andie, smiled and said, "Hi Andie! Thanks for coming out, gorgeous." Then he looked at me and asked, "Who's your friend?"

Andie smiled proudly and replied, "Hi Bryan. Bryan Rogers, this is Mark Thompson. Not only is he my boyfriend, but he's also the keyboard player that you guys have been searching all over hell and back for!"

Bryan smiled and shook my hand and said, "In that case, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mark. Andie is a good friend and not only do I trust her judgment, but she knows good musicians when she hears them so, I have no doubt you're probably pretty good!"

"I can hold my own, I guess!" I replied happily.

"What kind of music do you like?" asked Bryan.

"I like Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Rick Wakeman's solo stuff, and Keith Emerson's solo stuff! I really dig King Crimson, and that predates Emerson Lake and Palmer" I replied smiling.

"Man! I like this guy already, Andie," said Bryan grinning wildly.

"I knew you would," said Andie proudly.

About that time, the rest of the guys in the band came over to our table. Before anyone else could say anything, Bryan stood up and said, "Guys! Andie found us a keyboard player. She's gonna bring him over to the house tomorrow so he can jam with us."

"Who is he?" asked the drummer.

Once again, Bryan said, "I'm sorry," then looking at me, added, "Mark Thompson, this is our drummer, Tommy Adams. The guy standing next to him is our bass player, Philip Ross. And this guy over on your side of the table is our guitar player, Danny Reed!"

After the introductions were made, everyone took a seat at our table and we all sat around and discussed progressive rock and roll. I discovered that these guys were my kind of people and I couldn't wait to jam with them the next day. The time came for them to go back onstage while Andie and I held one another's hands, having drinks and enjoying the music. The night ended with promises that I would see them all tomorrow. As we were walking out to her car, Andie stopped me and gave me a searing kiss that nearly curled my toes and then smiled and seductively said, "You're mine, Mark. You know that, don't you?"

"I guess I do now!" I replied smiling.

Then she nodded her beautiful head toward the car and said, "Come on, handsome. We're going home!"

When we got back to the dorm, we walked down the hall, hand in hand until we came to our doors. I looked at Andie and said, "I think you're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen and I love being your boyfriend, even if it's only been for a few hours!"

She draped her arms around my neck, then laughed and said, "You're so cute. I had a good time tonight, Mark. Thank you!" As we kissed each other good night, I felt her shiver slightly but thought nothing of it at the time. Hell I didn't know any better then, but I would learn a lot of things, and a whole lot sooner than I expected, too. That much was certain. As we turned to go to our separate rooms, Andie looked at me one last time and said, "Good night. Baby! I'll see you in the morning!"

"I can't wait!" I replied, and then turned and went into my room, closing the door behind me. I walked into my room and sat down on my bed and just smiled, amazed at all the things that had taken place in the past twelve hours. I had a new and very beautiful girlfriend that seemed like she was crazy about me, not to mention the fact that she helped set me up with some really good musicians that I couldn't wait to jam with. But, if the truth were known, I think I was more excited about that than anything.

I stood up and began to take off my clothes, preparing to go bed. I turned off the lights, got into bed and then rolled over and before long, dropped off to sleep. I dreamed that Andie and I were lying on a beach, basking in the sunlight. I could actually feel her body cuddled next mine. I smiled to myself in my dream and began to feel something I'd never experienced before. Suddenly, my dream became all too real as I could literally feel someone or something behind me. As I slowly woke and my eyes became accustomed to the small amount of ambient light pouring through my window, I found Andie lying next to me, cuddled against me, her arm draped across my chest and her nose buried in the space where my throat met my chest.

I looked over at the clock which sat on the table next to my bed and saw that it was only four in the morning so; I slowly leaned over and very tenderly kissed her the top of her head. She stirred, and then opening her eyes, sleepily said, "Mmmm! Hi!"

"What're you doing here?" I asked smiling.

"I got lonely over there across the hall, all by myself. I hope you don't mind," Andie replied, snuggling closer to me.

Here I was, wearing nothing but my underwear, and she lay next me wearing nothing but a long tee shirt. I could feel the softness of her body and the sensation of her breasts, unfettered and pressing softly against me so, who was I to mind. "I don't mind at all," I replied.

"Thank you, sweetie," said Andie, and then she drifted back to sleep, with me

following closely behind her.

*********************

The next morning I awoke to find the bed empty and Andie gone. I looked over at the clock to discover that it was nearing nine-thirty. I got out of bed and headed for the shower. The hot water felt good as it soothed the aching muscles of my back. It was going to take only a short time for my back to get used to sleeping in a different bed, hence the reason it was aching. I had just dunked my head beneath the spraying shower of water let it wash over me when, suddenly, I heard Andie's voice right behind me say, "Good morning, Handsome! Hurry up in there because I want to go get something to eat before we go over to Bryan's house. Okay?"

"JEEZ!" I shouted, and turned around to Andie's head sticking through the shower curtain and a seductive grin on her face.

I was trying by best to cover my exposed body and never felt more embarrassed in my life till she replied, "Yum! You look great. Too bad we don't know each other a little better. But, I guess we've got time," and then giggling as she slapped my bare ass, she added, "I'll meet you in my room once you're dressed!" Then as quickly as she appeared, she was gone.

Once I was finished with my shower and was in my room getting dressed, I opened the door and shouted for Andie. As she opened her door smiling, I grinned and said, "I've still got to get my gear loaded into my truck before we leave. That way we won't have come back and get it. We can go to Bryan's house from wherever we eat!"

I went to put on a shirt and the moment I got it over my head, Andie was right there to kiss me on the lips and then said, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in the shower!

One look into those beautiful blue eyes of hers, and any misgivings or resolve that I might, or might not have had, melted straight away. I finished pulling my shirt down, put my arms around her waist, and then tenderly kissed her on the cheek, teasingly near her lips and replied, "Don't give it another thought, Beautiful!"

"Oooo, Mark! You better not do that again or we really will be late....for everything!" Andie said, giggling yet, I could've sworn I felt her slightly shiver in my arms again.

She pushed me away grinning, but blushing brightly. I could tell that I embarrassed her, but I wasn't about to push it any further. So I walked over to my keyboards, and picking up a nearby empty box; I held it out to her and said, "If you'll put the cords I give you into this box, it will go a little faster!" I could see obvious look of relief written on her face as she walked over to me smiling and took the box from my hand.

As I was taking the cords from each module of my main synthesizer, I noticed Andie looking oddly at me. I continued working until she scratched her head, and looking at my synth, said, "How do you remember what all that stuff does?"

Not really knowing where it came from, I just looked at her blankly and replied, "I don't know, it just kinda makes sense I guess!"

*********************

Once Andie and I had finished eating our breakfast and were on our way to Bryan's house, it must've been written all over me because she smiled and asked, "Are you excited, Sweetie?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," I replied laughing, and added, "I've wanted to play in a band since forever!"

"You played in band when you were in high school, didn't you?" asked Andie.

I smiled and said, "Well, yeah, but I always wanted to play in a rock and roll band when I was younger, but my mother wouldn't hear of it!"

Andie lightly squeezed my arm and said, "Well now's your chance, darlin. Besides, I already told you that I think you guys are all going to get along famously. Something else I know is that ya'll are gonna sound better than anything anybody's ever heard!"

When we got to Bryan's house, he was waiting for us at the door. As we pulled into his driveway, I saw him look back inside his house saying something while motioning toward the door with his hand. Less than two seconds later, a group of about twenty guys appeared in his front yard. Bryan made his way to my side of the truck and greeted me with a hand shake. Then looking at all the people around us, he grinned and said, "I heard you had a little more gear than the usual keyboard player so, I called our road crew!"

"I'm a usual keyboard player," I stated worriedly.

Looking at all my gear that everyone was unloading from my truck under Andie's strict supervision, Bryan laughed and replied, "If you're even half as good as I think you are then, we're going to see some history in the making today." Then with a motion of his head, he added, "Come on, man. We're gonna rock in the back yard."

Andie and I followed Bryan into his back yard where I found all my gear neatly stacked on the patio near where the rest of the band was set up. I looked all around me and there were roughly forty or so, guys and girls in his back yard, the guys that were in the front yard included. A very pretty girl with blonde hair was mixing Margaritas behind a bar that sat on the patio near the back door of the house. Trying not to sound anymore overwhelmed than I was, I looked at Bryan and said, "It's gonna take me a few minutes to get set up!"

Bryan walked over to watch me as I set up my gear stopping me only to ask a brief question here and there. I noticed different people closely watching me, but I still kept at it until I was finished. Then after walking over and grabbing two of the five drinks that sat on the bar, Bryan, followed by Tommy, Philip and Danny, who grabbed a drink each, all walked over to me. Brian handed me one of the drinks he was holding, and raising his glass, said, "Here's to rock and roll," and then at the top of his lungs, he yelled, "ONE O'CLOCK, YEAH!" Echoes of his toast could be heard all over the back yard. I raised my glass then drank.

After I had all my gear set up and ready to play and the other guys took their places, Bryan looked at me and said, "What do you want to play, Little Bro?"

I looked and all the guys and asked, "Do you guys know any Emerson Lake and Palmer?"

Danny grinned and replied, "Aw man! I like him already!"

"You got the chops to play "Lucky Man"?" asked Bryan.

"If you're waiting on me, you're backing up, bro," I replied, grinning devilishly.

The guys all began laughing and in no time, Danny began the intro with Bryan bringing the vocals in right on time. When Tommy and Philip came in, I felt as if I were floating on a cloud. Up until now, I had only ever heard music played at it's purest and finest solely on records or the radio, and when it came time for me to come in; I began to live the day dreams I had entertained as a boy. With every note I played, a felt as if a small piece of my soul was part of it. As the song began its main crescendo and my synthesizer began making its presence known within the music, I took my lead amidst the cheers and loud applause of the crowd there. I looked over at Bryan and the rest of the guys, only to find all four of them grinning from ear-to-ear. And when the song finally came to its end, every single person in the back yard were on their feet, applauding wildly. However, nobody cheered louder than Andie. It was at that moment in time that I began to realize that I might be developing feelings for her and I simply smiled at the thought of it. We spent the next two and a half hours playing everything that we in the band, as well as the people there, all could think of. I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel as if I were in heaven, because every song that we played ended up being keyboard driven.

We played a while longer and then we took a break. People came up and introduced themselves. I'd been drinking margaritas for the past two hours, and I'm sad to say that I couldn't remember all their names. Suddenly, this one girl walked up to me and said, "You're going to makes us all sound great this year! Glad to have you, man!" I thought I was just there to jam with the band when I realized that something was amiss. I heard someone laughing behind me, causing me to turn around.

I saw Bryan looking at me grinning, and asked, "What?"

"Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag now," he replied, still grinning.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, now thoroughly confused.

Waving his hand amongst the crowd that was in the back yard when I first got there, Bryan smiled and said, "Please don't be mad at us, Mark. But when Doctor Breeden told us last year that you were coming, we were all worried that you'd either be some child that played well, or some arrogant anti-social asshole. We had one of those last year but we hounded him so bad that he transferred to Berkeley!"

"You're going to have to forgive me, but I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about," I replied.

Andie appeared out of nowhere, then took my hand and looked at Bryan and said, "Tell him, Bry!"

Bryan grinned and loudly replied, "Eighty percent of the people that are here today all play in the One O'clock Jazz Band. They, we, all wanted to check you out and make sure you weren't an asshole before we all played with you in class!"

I had never felt so humiliated in my life. The anger in my face was quite apparent when I glared at Andie, and saying it loud enough that only she and Bryan could hear me, I asked, "So, all this, you, it was all a set-up, wasn't it?"

Andie looked at me and sheepishly and replied, "Yes, in a way, but not....."

I jerked my hand out of hers, and interrupting her, coolly but politely said, "I think its time for me to go!"

Andie looked at me with fear in her eyes and said, "Mark, honey you've got it all wrong!"

"Boy, do I ever!" I said, and then staring coldly into her eyes, I stood up and loudly enough that every one could hear, I added, "All any of you needed to do was just come and talk to me. I'm not a bad guy ya know!"

I began to unplug and pack my gear up when, with Bryan right behind her, Andie walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Mark, please give us a chance to explain!"

I jerked away from her and said, "I'm trying very hard to be an adult about this even though I wasn't given the consideration of being treated like one. Please, just leave me alone and let me leave in peace!"

"I can respect that, man. I don't know if it means anything right now, but I'm really sorry, Mark," said Bryan, as he and Andie slowly backed away from me.

You could've heard a pin drop as I packed and loaded out my gear, refusing all offers of help. As I took the last piece out to my truck, Andie ran into the house through the back door crying. I got into my truck and started it up. Right before I put it into reverse, I caught a glimpse of Andie looking at me from out of the front window of the house, tears raining down her face and weeping bitterly.

There were four days left until classes began, and in that time, I stayed in my room, only leaving to eat. During the days I would play and study, and at night I would sit in my room alone and read or watch T.V. Each night I could see Andie's reflection in the floor as she would pause by my door, then turn and go into her room directly across the hall. On the last night before classes began the next day, I was sitting in my room reading when I heard a knock at my door. I knew it was Andie, but I still wasn't ready to talk to her yet so; I didn't answer. She knocked a little louder the next time and said, "Mark! Mark, I know you're in there!" Then she knocked again. I still refused to answer. Suddenly I heard her begin crying as she walked away.

*********************

My first day in college consisted of sitting in different classrooms taking notes, and filling out the different papers that pertained to each class I was in, for the whole morning. I discovered that Andie was in one of my classes, and when we made eye contact as I walked into the class room, she smiled but I politely ignored her. Thank God that class only lasted for an hour. When the class ended, it was time for lunch, and I made a hasty retreat as soon as possible in order to avoid having to talk to Andie.