"Don't Tell Me Twice": Chapter Thirteen

Ziggy put away her guitar and slung her guitar case over her shoulder. The band had gotten a lot accomplished, and they were only one song away from releasing their promotional CD. Ziggy wandered out of the recording booth and over to a nearby wall to wait for Buck. She needed a second to herself to clear her head before spending her night helping the other woman devise a plan to win back Olive.

Something inside of her was hesitant to help Buck with Olive. She wasn’t sure exactly what was holding her back, but the thought of the two getting back together didn’t warm her heart. From what she had seen, Olive seemed like she was selfish and going down a path that was going to jeopardize her future. Ziggy didn’t like the thought of Buck being in that chaos. However, at the same time, she knew that Buck’s heart was broken, and she wanted to see the other woman happy.

Ziggy hadn’t seen any more than a glimpse of what a happy Buck looked like since she met the other woman, but what she had seen had made her yearn for more. Buck was charming when she was content, and the abrasive countenance that she normally showed turned into an attractive confidence when she was in a good mood. Ziggy liked being around that Buck, and she knew that helping the other woman with Olive would bring her warm personality up to the surface.

“Hi, you ready?” Buck asked, startling her.

“Sure,” Ziggy said, pulling herself from her thoughts. “Where do you want to go?”

“Well, I figured that we could go back to my hotel room to talk,” Buck told her. “I want to change, and then, we can have some coffee and brainstorm a way to get Olive’s attention.”

Ziggy already had come up with an idea of how Buck could win Olive back but passing up a chance to hang out with the other woman in private was not in her plans.

“Alright,” Ziggy agreed. “Give me the address, and I will take a taxi there.”

“You’re not taking a taxi,” Buck refuted. “People know who you are now. That could be dangerous. You’ll be lucky if you can step in a small-town bar where no one knows who you are.”

“Well, how am I going to get there then?”

“I’ll drive you,” Buck replied simply.

Ziggy shrugged and followed the other woman out of the studio. The two talked the whole way to Buck’s car about the songs that they recorded that day and the lyrics that Buck had chosen for them. Ziggy enjoyed hearing how each song evolved and the story behind the lyrics. It also taught her a lot about Buck and how the other woman thought and felt. The conversation continued all the way to the hotel, and when they parked, Ziggy was somewhat disappointed. She enjoyed conversing with the other woman and learning about her, and Ziggy knew that as soon as they were in the hotel, their peaceful conversation would transition to one about Buck’s ex. Ziggy got out of Buck’s car and followed her through the hotel doors, and sure enough the other woman brought up Olive.

“What do you think I can do to show Olive that I’m still in love with her?” Buck inquired. “It would have to be something that took her by surprise, something so meaningful that she would want to drop everything and come back to me.”

Ziggy looked at Buck, wanting to tell the other woman how undeserving Olive was of this gesture, but it was her suggestion that she do it, and when she saw the vulnerability in Buck’s face, she didn’t have the heart.

“A song,” Ziggy finally answered. “It just makes sense. You express yourself best when you write and play music, so if you wrote her a song and performed it on stage, then maybe, she would come back.”

“I’ll have to call Dave so he can add it to our promotional CD,” Buck commented.

“No,” Ziggy protested. “In order to take her by surprise, it needs to be performed impromptu. We can get Spike and Jemma in on it. It can’t be on CD or a normal part of our line-up. It has to be a secret until we get on stage.”

Buck looked at her with a smile in her eyes. “I like it,” she replied.

“Good,” Ziggy said. She still didn’t like the idea of helping Buck romance Olive, but she enjoyed spending time with the other woman and found it as a way to grow closer to her.

The two headed to Buck’s room and as soon as they arrived, Buck started the coffee and sat herself in front of a blue notebook that was casually sitting on a nearby table.

“I thought that you were going to change,” Ziggy commented, watching Buck scribble on a piece of paper in the notebook and then ball up the paper and throw it across the room.

“No time,” Buck said. “Ralph showed me our new tour dates today, and Olive should be at our first show,” Buck told her.

“How do you know that?” Ziggy questioned.

“Viola’s band is opening,” Buck replied. “Olive’s bound to be there.”

“How come you know so much?” Ziggy inquired. “No one told me when the next show was going to be, what the line up was, or anything.”

“You have to ask Ralph,” Buck shrugged. “It’s hard to make plans in this business, so it’s best to get close to the man that does the bookings.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ziggy replied. At this point, Buck had created a stack of balled up papers by the table that was threatening to topple over. “So, when is the next show?” she asked, hoping to get in more practice before her first big debut with the band.

“In two days,” Buck said, focused on what she was writing in the notebook in front of her.

“Two days!” Ziggy exclaimed. “I haven’t done anything to prepare.”

“Relax,” Buck said, getting up and patting her on the back. “Everything will be fine. I’ve heard you play. You’re great. You have nothing to worry about.”

“You really think so?” Ziggy asked, realizing Buck’s hand was still on her back. She could feel her skin heat up as a blush crept its way onto her face. She looked back at the muscular woman in front of her and into her steely blue eyes. She didn’t have much else to say on the subject that they were talking about. Heck, at this point, she didn’t even remember what they were even saying. All she knew is that she wanted the moment to last a little longer.

As her eyes danced across Buck’s defined figure, Ziggy suddenly wished her hands were as free to roam. She made her way back to Buck’s eyes and noticed that the other woman was looking right at her. “Well, we better get started on that song,” Ziggy said, breaking the silence. In any other circumstance, she would have let herself fall into the other woman’s arms, but she knew that Buck still had feelings for Olive, and Ziggy’s heart couldn’t handle falling for someone that was clearly unavailable.