THE TOUR
She sat on the warm concrete with her back against the brick building. The lit cigarette in her left hand created a slow wisp of smoke that curled and swayed in the small breeze that was blowing on the sunny Florida day.
She pushed her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and peered out over the top of them. Her car was dirty. But that was the problem, she thought, with getting a white car.
A noise to her left started her. The side door of the building opened and a man walked through. He squinted at the sun, and noticed her. He tapped the end of a pack of cigarettes as he walked toward her. She recognized him as one of the guys she was going on tour with.
"Gotta light?" he asked in a gravely voice. Smoker's voice, she thought with a smile, handing him her lighter.
"You work here? I don't recognize you," he asked. She nodded, taking a drag of her cigarette.
"Jive hired me for the Black and Blue tour. I'm the lighting supervisor."
"That's my tour," he said. She exhaled the smoke she was holding in her lungs.
"Then I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other." He took off his jacket and laid it down on the ground next to her. He sat down, put the cigarette in his mouth and inhaled. She noticed the tattoos that stretched down his arm.
"Nice artwork," she said touching the characters on his forearm.
"Thanks," he said. He reached over and touched the turtle tattooed on her ankle. "Yours is really well done."
"Thanks." She looked at her watch and stood up. She dropped the cigarette and stepped on it, extinguishing the flame. He watched her head toward the door he had come out of.
"What's your name?" he called out. She smiled.
"My name's Michelle, AJ."
"I guess then I'll be seeing you Michelle." He watched her continue toward the door.
"You better believe it," Michelle said walking into the building for another meeting. She could feel his eyes burning a hole in her back.
"This could make for an interesting tour," she said to herself, smiling, as she walked back into the conference room.
