The friends were at opposite stages of their nights. Gwen had just returned from her mother’s retirement dinner, and Raven was preparing to leave for Doc’s concert.
She was perched on top of her motel bathroom counter, applying lash strips as she detailed her frustrations with Silas and their two make out sessions.
“I’m still stuck on how you went all TV medical drama and hooked up with him at work.”
“Listen. It was so fucking hot, but I don’t want the lines to get blurry,” Raven said.
She was already having trouble figuring out how to behave around him.
“You need to have a clear and honest conversation to keep it professional, then,” Gwen said. “Recommit to those boundaries.”
Raven groaned. It was a more reasonable solution than what the Beach Readers had given her, but it would require a conversation she didn’t know how to broach.
“Okay, enough about Silas. Tonight, I’m going to drink, I’m going to dance, and if anyone catches my eye, I’m going to go with it.”
The friends’ call ended shortly after that, and the next notification from her phone was a text from Bodie letting her know the carpool had arrived. She stepped out of her motel into the dusky evening and spotted Silas’s parked truck when he flashed his headlights.
“Excited for tonight?” Raven asked everyone as she hopped into the back of the vehicle, joining Bodie and his girlfriend, Tess.
“So excited!” Tess replied with a small clap while Bodie did a slo-mo head bang and stuck out his tongue.
“My daughter is at my mother’s, and I’ve taken a nap and an antacid. I’m ready,” Halo said from her place in the passenger seat. Raven’s eyes then briefly met Silas’s in the rearview mirror, and a tingling sensation skated across her skin.
He asked, “Good to go?” to which she nodded and fastened her seatbelt. Light conversation circulated throughout the hour-long journey. When they arrived at their destination, the sky was totally dark and the venue was packed. They were forced to park at an odd angle close to an embankment.
“Thank God for four-wheel drive,” Halo said as they hopped out of the truck. Together, dressed as if attending different concerts, they walked into the small building.
“Doc!” they all shouted when they saw their friend waiting for them near the doors with their tickets. He looked bashful as they approached and showered him with hugs and excitement. He’d lined his eyes with dark liner and messily slicked back his hair.
“I can’t wait to hear you guys live,” Raven said.
She’d redone their website, and in the process had listened to their music. A lot of Desktopia’s songs off their EP had mellow verses that built into shouty, emotional choruses.
“I probably won’t get to see you after the show,” Doc said. “But thanks for coming.”
When they were let into the actual concert area with stamps on their hands, it was full of people milling around waiting for things to start.
“First round of shots on me,” Raven said to the group, raising her voice to be heard over the din.
“Need help?” Silas asked her.
“Sure,” she answered automatically but regretted it right away.
While they waited their turn at the small bar at the back, she thought maybe this would be the time to bring up the kiss and set some boundaries, but she quickly realized the space was too loud to have any meaningful conversation. Instead, to mitigate awkwardness, she asked, “How many of Doc’s gigs have you attended?”
She had to lean in for him to hear her, and he similarly had to when he responded, “Five or six?”
His warm breath coasted over her ear and neck, and if she pressed a little closer, she would feel his beard against her cheek.
“What kind of music do you listen to?” he asked her.
“I’m more of a top-forty pop and R&B girl, but I’ll listen to anything,” she said. “You?”
“Hip hop, mostly, but also country music is unavoidable in Cedar.”
Thankfully their uninspired conversation concluded when the bartender shouted for their order, and they soon returned to the group and doled out the drinks.
“To a fun night and to Doc,” Raven said before they tossed their shots back. The warm liquid flowed through her body as the lights dimmed, and a heavy strum of an electric guitar reverberated through the room.
