#hyperion heights

Liza Whale was finally taking a night off.

It was well-deserved, she knew that, but she had been slow in taking it. Her little boutique on the corner in the heart of Hyperion Heights kept her busy, and she didn’t have anyone to help with it. Business had gotten a little lighter after the Christmas rush, though, so Liza had decided to just close early that Thursday and go out for a couple of hours.

She ended up in a bar a couple of blocks away. It was classy place—no blaring neon or loud jukeboxes, no peanut shells on the floor, no casual clothes. It wasn’t the kind of place she thought she might come back to often (a little neon and a jukebox never hurt anybody, after all) but it was nice for an evening of self-pampering.

Liza sat down at a table for one, laying her black wool jacket across the back of her chair and smoothing out a small crease in the skirt of her deep red dress. It was one of her own designs; the things she sold in her boutique were produced by proper brands, but she created most of her own wardrobe in her spare time. Her favorite thing in the closet she didn’t even remember making, even though it matched a lot of her other clothes: a long red cloak with a warm hood and floral embroidery. She had ripped it last time she wore it, and was planning on fixing it when she got home later that night.

As she waited for someone to come by and take her order, she glanced around the bar. Her eyes fixed on a man halfway across the room, seated at an elegant piano. He was blond, with striking blue eyes that sparkled in the light of the wrought-iron chandelier. When he caught Liza’s gaze, the corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile.

Liza couldn’t help blushing. He was cute, and if she was reading her signals right, he thought she was cute, too. It had been a while since she had had any romance in her life—actually, she couldn’t remember the last time, it had been that long—and she liked the idea of drawing the eye of a handsome piano player.

After about half an hour of them sneaking looks at each other while he played and she sipped at a drink, the piano player got up for a break. Liza’s heart sunk when he walked right past her table, then skipped a couple of beats when she realized he was just getting a second chair from nearby.

“Julian Wolf,” he said, setting his chair down and holding out his hand for Liza to shake. He had smudges of what looked like paint on the side of his thumb. “I play piano here a couple nights a week.”

“You’re brilliant,” Liza said, grinning. She liked that it took him a couple of seconds to release her hand. “What do you do the rest of the week?”

“Freelance artist.”

It was paint! Liza smiled a bit wider. “That’s cool,” she said. “I do some drawing, too. Nothing big, just for the clothes I make.”

Julian smiled too. “Well, now I know we’re both artists, but I don’t think you’ve told me your name yet.”

“Elizabeth Whale. If you call me Lizzy I’ll kick your shins—I like Liza, though.”

“Well, Liza, I have to go finish my set, but I’ll be off in about an hour. Do you want to go for a walk with me then?”

She nodded. “I’d love to.”

Julian returned to his piano, where he started playing again, soft and sweet. The music sounded…familiar, Liza thought, but she couldn’t bring to mind a specific instance of hearing it before. Maybe I heard it in a past life, she thought, chuckling to herself. The music made her giddy, like any moment something wonderful might happen.