It's been a year since Mimi left. Roger's playing at a club in the East Village. He just finished packing up the band equipment and decided to go to the bar to have a drink. A pretty blond got his attention and he intended to strike up a conversation with her. As he leaned over the bar to order his drink, she smiled at him, starting a conversation with him first.
"Hey, you're Roger Davis aren't you?" the young woman asked sitting on her barstool next to her friend.
"Yeah. You were here last week, right?" he replied looking into her deep blue eyes.
"Yeah. I'm Ashley McCoy. I'm a huge fan. And this is my roommate Kelly." she said holding her hand out to shake Roger's.
"Well thank you Ashley. Nice to meet you Kelly. Can I buy you ladies a drink?" he asked leaning on the bar smiling at her.
"Sure. Beer is fine, thank you." she said as she smiled back at him.
"Thank you Roger." Kelly said smiling uncomfortably at him.
"Did you like the show?" he asked shouting over the juke box.
"Yeah, you guys are really great." she said picking up her drink gazing into his green eyes.
"Well thanks. So tell me about yourself, Ashley." he asked drinking his beer.
"What do you want to know?" she asked taking a sip of hers.
"Where are you from? How old are you? What are you doing in a place like this?" he asked laughing as she looked up at him.
"Oh... um, well, I'm from Queens, I'm 24 and I heard there was this band whose lead singer looked like Jon Bon Jovi, so here I am. But you guys don't sound like Bon Jovi." she said laughing back.
"Really? They're saying I look like Jon Bon Jovi? Interesting." Roger asked amused by that statement.
"Yeah, but I don't think you do. Much." Ashley told him playing with her long golden blond hair.
"Thanks. I think." he told her laughing.
"I mean, your hair is sort of like his, but you're taller. I happen to think you have nicer eyes. Now it's your turn. Tell me about yourself." she told him touching his arm.
"Well, I'm 27, I'm originally from Upstate New York and I've been playing since I was 12, so I came here to try to get famous." he said smiling down at her.
"Really? Well with a voice like yours, it won't be long. You're amazing." she told him sipping her beer.
"Thanks. Um, do you feel like playing some pool with me?" Roger asked looking down at her hand which was still on his arm.
"Sure, but I'm not really that good." she answered smiling.
"That's OK. I'll teach you a thing or two." he told her taking her hand and leading her to the pool table. She stared down at his hand and smiled.
As he began to teach her how to play pool, she smiled each time he got close to her. He taught her how to hold the stick and line up shots. "Hey Rog. Who's your new friend?" Mark asked smiling as he approached them.
"This is Ashley. Ashley, this is my roommate Mark. Don't mind him. He films everything." Roger told her smiling before leaning down to help her make another shot. He could smell her strawberry shampoo. He didn't think she wore perfume, but she didn't need it. Her hair smelled so good. It was the first time since Mimi left that he had been this close to a woman.
"Hi Mark. It's really nice to meet you." she smiled at him as Roger stood close to her.
"You too Ashley. Well, I won't interrupt you guys. Have fun. Watch him, he's a shark." he laughed looking over at her.
"I'll keep that in mind." she laughed as Roger placed his hand on her hip. It made her heart skip a beat.
"Later, man." Roger laughed looking down at her. "Are you ready to get back to the game?"
"Do I look like I'm getting the hang of it, or do I just look like a total dork?" she asked laughing as they continued the "lesson".
"No, you're getting some of it. Do you want to go outside?" he asked before taking her hand.
"Yeah, that sounds good. Kel, I'll be right back." she said to her friend on her way out the door following Roger into the beautiful May night.
"You said you're from Queens. Where do you live now?" he asked leaning up against the wall taking out a cigarette and lighting it.
"I still live in Queens, but I love coming and hanging out in the city. The clubs are better and they have better bands." she said smiling up at him sipping her beer.
"Oh yeah? That's a long way to travel to see some band play." he said smiling at her taking a drag of his cigarette.
"Not really, I mean I work not to far from here, so I just get changed at work and meet up with Kel." she said standing in front of him.
"Where do you work?" he asked looking down at her.
"The clinic a few blocks away. I'm a nurse." she said flipping her hair behind her shoulder.
"That's really cool, Ashley." he smiled at her.
"Yeah, I really like it. I like helping people."
"So what was your favorite song that we did tonight?" he asked changing the subject.
"I liked that one you did talking about the girls eyes. It was really nice." she said flipping her hair back. He loved how her hair seemed to sparkle in the moonlight.
"Yeah, I kind of wrote it for a girl. It's a long story." he looked down at his feet, remembering Mimi. When he looked up, she was smiling at him. Her smiled knocked him off of his feet. Her blue eyes sparkled when she smiled, which made him fall deeper into them.
"Well, you do it really great. It's my favorite. But I like boy bands, so what do I know?" she said smiling up at him.
"Boy bands? Like New Kids on the Block, boy bands?" he asked looking at her funny.
"Yeah, what's wrong with boy bands?" she asked smiling at him.
"Nothing, but if I ever played a boy band type song, I wouldn't have an audience for long." he said laughing.
"Good point. So where do you live?" she agreed laughing with him.
"11th and Ave. A. It's not too far from the clinic. It's the huge building with the stained glass on the top floor." he said standing up straight.
"Oh my god, you live there? I love that building. I've been staring at that building. You go to the Life Cafe, right? Their burgers are amazing." she asked laughing.
"Yeah, my friends and I practically live there. I usually get a bacon cheeseburger." he told her smiling.
"I love their bacon cheeseburgers." she said finding it amusing that they had something else in common.
"Do you need a refill on your beer?" Roger asked drinking the last of his beer throwing out his cigarette.
"Yeah, let's go inside." she said smiling as they opened the door for her and stopping at the bar to order another round for them. Ashley felt bad for ditching Kelly, but she seemed to be talking to Mark, so she was happy.
"Isn't that your roommate with my roommate?" Roger pointed out with one hand on her shoulder. Her skin was so soft. She was wearing a backless shirt and he could see all her freckles.
"Yeah, go Kel." Ashley said smiling as she turned to look up at Roger.
"Go Mark." Roger said laughing as he looked down at her.
"Should we go over there?" she asked taking her beer off of the bar.
"Nah, leave them. It's about time Mark spoke to a girl. He's usually really shy, so this is a big step for him." Roger said taking his beer and leading Ashley to a table in the back away from the juke box speakers.
"So tell me about the girl you wrote that song for. Are you still with her?" Ashley asked sitting across the table from him.
"No, not anymore. She broke up with me last year." he said swigging his beer.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Roger." she said reaching over the table to touch his arm.
"It's OK. I'm over her. We had a lot of problems and no matter how much we tried, it wasn't gonna work between us." he told her looking down at the initials carved on the table of a couple he didn't know.
"I get what you mean. My ex liked my friends too much. He used to hit on all of them. Especially when we went out." Ashley told him smiling at him.
"Well, our problems weren't quite that simple." he said about to tell her his HIV status.
"What do you mean?" she asked as he peaked her interest.
"Well she was a junkie and I was an ex junkie, so that didn't work. And also we were both HIV positive, so that was a worry." he told her trying to read her reaction.
"I'm sorry Roger. How long have you been positive?" she asked concerned, but not scared off.
"3 years. But I take my meds and just live my life. Did I scare you off yet?" he asked half kidding.
"I'm a nurse, Roger and I like you. I respect you for telling me, but HIV isn't a death sentence anymore. I know that as long as you take care of yourself, you'll be fine." she told him smiling at him taking his hand in hers.
"Really?" he said smiling but a bit surprised.
"I know how you get HIV and I know to prevent it." she said smiling as he caressed her hand with his thumb.
"You're not..." he began until she cut him off.
"No, I'm not HIV positive. But I'm not afraid of you Roger." she said tilting her head smiling at him.
"I like you too, Ashley." he told her smiling at her.
"I really hate to do this because I'm having such a great time, but I gotta go. Kelly has an early day tomorrow and we don't like to ride the trains alone. I'm gonna give you my number, so you can call me. I really had fun with you." she told him looking at Kelly before writing her phone number on his hand with a pen from her back pocket.
"I'm… I'm sorry you have to go. I'm having a great time too, but I will definitely call you tomorrow." he said as they got up.
"OK. Then I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye Roger." she said as she went over to Kelly and they left the bar. As Ashley left with Kelly, Mark made his way to the table where Roger was sitting still staring at the phone number on his hand.
"What was that all about?" Mark asked sitting across from where Roger was.
"What do you mean?" Roger asked looking up at him.
"You've been talking to Ashley for 2 hours and the she just leaves. You don't kiss her or anything." Mark said with a smirk.
"Mark, I was just talking to her. I noticed you talking up her roommate over there." Roger pointed out smirking back.
"She saw me with you and decided to pump me for information." Mark said setting his camera on the table.
"Sorry man." Roger said looking up.
"Don't be. She likes me. She told me to get her number from you." Mark said laughing.
"Nice." he said laughing along.
"So are you gonna call Ashley?" Mark asked sitting back.
"I'm definitely gonna call her. I like her and yes I told her about my HIV. She's a nurse, and she said she likes me and she's not gonna let my HIV stand in her way." Roger said unable to get the smile off of his face.
"Cool. Are you ready to go home now?" Mark asked smiling back at him.
"Yeah, let's go." Roger said getting up as he set some money on the bar to tip the bartender and grabbed his guitar from the stage then he and Mark left.
"So what did you and Ashley talk about?" Mark asked as they walked home.
"We were getting to know each other. I found out that she's 24, she lives in Queens, she's a nurse in a clinic around here, loves the Life Cafe, Bon Jovi and boy bands." he answered laughing as Mark looked over at him.
"Boy bands?" Mark asked trying not to laugh.
"Yeah, she's really cool. I can't wait to call her tomorrow." Roger said picturing her golden blond hair and blue eyes.
"I'm glad." Mark said as they walked home the rest of the way in silence.