I was sitting out on a stone ledge outside the venue the boys were supposed to play at tomorrow night.  Nate had gone inside to let them know we were here and to sign the paperwork for the show.  

I was freezing, but Nate didn't want me to go inside with him and I couldn't stand being on the bus any longer.  The guys in the band had been staring at my bruised face every time I walked into the room.  They kept trying to ask me questions and it was getting extremely hard to escape them without my body imploding from the pressure they were putting me under.  

The confined space and constant arguing that was going on inside the bus had my mind racing again. I had lived in this chaos for so long, I don't think I would know what being normal felt like anymore, but I knew I was not there right now.

I wrapped my arms around my knees and brought them to my chest to try to hold the warmth in as I shivered.

"You cold?"  A deep unfamiliar voice asked.  There was a middle-aged guy with long graying hair walking down the side entrance towards me, smiling.  He was a little on the plump side and reminded me of a shaggy teddy bear.

"No, I'm good." I mumbled, looking at my bare feet. 

The guy lit a cigarette and invited himself to sit down on the ledge next to me.  I wasn't in the mood for company, but it seemed like no matter how hard I tried to get away, I always had someone breathing down my neck.

"You look like you are hiding from someone."  He said softly.

"I've just been cooped up in that bus too long.  I can't look at it anymore."  It was the truth, not the whole truth but close enough.

"I get it.  Life on the road isn't as wonderful as the movies make it seem. I know from experience, I watch a lot of movies and have lived on the road for a while."  He laughed.

I nodded, silently agreeing with his very astute statement. 

We sat in silence for a few more minutes.  He was drumming on his legs in perfect rhythm as he continued to smoke.  If I had to guess, this guy was a musician at some point in his life. I don't think it was a coincidence that he was here hanging out for no reason. He probably worked here.

When he was done with the first cigarette, he immediately lit a second one.   This guy smoked like a chimney. I wasn't in any place to judge the man about his habits; I had some pretty gnarly ones of my own to contend with.

"Does a pretty girl like you come with a name?"  He asked, scooting closer to me. 

"Jessa."  I said quietly.

He looked at me a little strangely and then shook it away. I had no idea who this guy was, but I didn't get the instant creep factor I got with most other guys.  Even with him scooting closer to me, he felt like he was more paternal than a stalker.  Maybe it was because this guy was like my Dad's age. He had a very calm and nurturing vibe, which made me relax a little more.

"Hey, I don't want to put you on the spot, but what happened to your face?"  He asked, taking a puff from the cigarette before blowing another plume of smoke out. 

"I got drunk and passed out in the shower. I fell and hit my head."  I lied.

"That's rough.  Let me guess. The shower said it was sorry and it would never do that to you again?" The man said, turning his head to look me in my swollen, bloodshot eyes.

"No, the shower is a fucking asshole.  It made me apologize for standing in it."  I said, shaking my head.

"You should get a new shower."  The man said, taking another long drag off his cigarette. 

I snorted and he smiled back at me. 

We sat there in silence for a while longer next to the strange man.  I almost felt like reaching my arms out to hug him.  There was something about him that reminded me of home. 

"Are you going to be in town a while?"  He asked.

"The band I hang out with has a show here tomorrow night." 

"That's cool. I own half of this place.  I used to play drums in a band a long time ago and now I watch others play for a living. I never really grew out of this life."

"What kind of band were you in?" I asked curiously.

"It was kind of a blend of sounds, mostly heavy stuff.  We were good. We could have been something. Now, this is what I do to relive my dreams of being a rockstar." He scratched his beard. I could see him reminiscing about his glory days. 

"If you were so good, what happened to your band?"

"Well, we had this awesome guitarist for like five minutes until he went cuckoo for cocoa puffs over a girl. Once he lost his shit, the band just kind of fell apart and went our separate ways. It turned out that more than one person in the band had eyes for the girl. It was quite scandalous."

"What happened to him?" This was the best conversation I had been involved with in weeks.

"Last time I talked to him, the guitarist and the girl got married and were living in a Cul-de-sac." He cheesed back at me.

"Sounds like a happy ending." I said, mulling over his story.

"It was, chickadee, but even happy endings can start new sets of problems." He reached over and patted my knee gently. "Well, I better get back in there to prep for tonight. Take care of yourself, Jessa."

He stood up and began walking slowly back up the stairs.

"I will."  I said, tucking my head back down to lose myself in my thoughts.

He began to walk up the stairs when a gust of cool winter wind blew through the buildings. I tucked my body in closer, trying to fight my losing battle against the frigid air.

"Hey, kiddo."  He called.

I looked up and saw him shrugging his jacket off.  He threw it at me and I caught it.

"I don't..." I began.

"You're welcome. You can give it back to me tomorrow night."  He smiled.

He began to walk back in the door.

"Hey, I didn't get your name."  I called up to him.

"Mark.  My name's Mark. See you around, Jessa." He winked at me and walked back in the door.

I pulled the jacket on over my shoulders and took in the man's smoky scent.  The jacket was warm from his body heat and instantly made me feel like I was being hugged.  It was really nice of him to lend it to me. I would have to remind myself to thank him tomorrow when I gave it back.

Nate emerged from inside the building a little bit later with a huge smile on his face.  He beamed down at me and even bent down to kiss me, which was unusual.

"You're amazing. You really came through for me." He whispered into my mouth.

I looked up at him, confused. What did I do? I was just sitting here waiting for him to come out.  I literally did absolutely nothing for the last hour but shiver and complain to the voices in my head.

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a stack of cash and waved it at me. 

"Where did you get that?"  I asked with wide eyes.

"The other owner came into the office while I was signing the paperwork.  He just handed me the money and said it was a thank you to the girl he met outside who just showed him a nice time. You filthy girl, look at you.  We should have done this a long time ago.  We would be swimming in money if you charged for it."

"Nate, I didn't..." I began to explain. What did that Mark guy tell him happened?

"It's fine, sweetheart, you got what we needed. Now I can give you a real birthday party tomorrow.  You're going to love your surprise, Jess. I can't wait to see your face when we give it to you." His eyes were twinkling as he looked down. 

He pulled me up by my hands and wrapped his arm around me.  We slowly walked back to the bus parked in the back of the lot. I circled my arms around him and held on tight for the additional warmth. 

"First of all, we've got to get you to loosen back up tonight, Jess. You're turning twenty-one.  You are forbidden to be sober for the next twenty-four hours."  Nate squeezed my butt tightly in his hands.

"I think I can handle that."  I pulled back to look at him. 

"Jessa Miller, I am going to give you a birthday you will never forget."