24
Just like I had suggested, Everly and Julian talked things out. He’d listened to her worries and they’d come to an understanding.
They’d all been working too hard, my sister and her fiancé had decided. The group of them needed to have some down time before they worked themselves to death.
That was why, the next week, I found myself seated inside a dank dive bar tucked away in a back alley, surrounded by a bunch of beefy bikers, skinny punk kids, and the rest of the Cherry Lips band members. Everly had invited me and I’d leaped at the chance to spend more time with Seth. We wouldn’t be able to act all couple-y around the others, but just being around him was enough.
“Why this place?” I whispered to Seth. “It’s so…”
Seedy.
“This place is kind of a secret,” Seth explained. ”There’s no fans, no media. The bar owner, Walt, wanted it to be a place where people could drink in peace, so it’s basically invitation only. You need to know someone who already drinks here.”
I looked towards the bar. A barrel-chested man, broad-shouldered with a small scar over one eyebrow stood there washing mugs, a grim look of concentration on his face. I had to assume this guy was Walt, the owner of the bar.
He didn’t look scary exactly. Intimidating was closer to describing him, but still not quite accurate. He simply had this presence, like he took up more space than his muscled frame would normally allow.
He barely said a word to the bar patrons who called out their orders. He simply nodded and went about making drinks. His movements were oddly smooth and fluid as he poured beers and mixed drinks, more graceful than I would have expected for someone as large as him. It looked like he was in the middle of an intricate dance.
“The others are here,” Seth announced.
Aside from catching a glimpse of them at the party, I hadn’t been properly introduced to the Nathan, the guitarist, and his girlfriend, or Gael, the bassist, who was also Cerise’s brother.
I had met Gael’s girlfriend Jessie at the youth center though, so that at least gave me one extra person I knew. Jessie worked part-time at the bar, but she had the night off to chill with the rest of the gang.
Everly, Julian, Seth and I had taken one large table, and as the others arrived, they each took a seat next to us.
“It’s nice to meet you, Abby,” Nathan’s girlfriend, Becca, said with a sweet smile. She and Nathan took chairs beside each other as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “You’re Everly’s sister? The one in college?”
I wondered if that was the only thing people knew about me. I supposed that was the only interesting thing about me, really. My one defining trait. How boring.
I tried to brush off those thoughts. Maybe I was surrounded by rock stars, but like Seth had said, there was nothing wrong with being a normal, regular person. After all, Becca was normal, too.
“What are you taking?” Becca inquired politely.
“English,” I said. “For now, at least. I’m not sure if that’s the major I’m going to stick with.”
“What else are you thinking of taking?” she asked. “Something in the arts, or sciences? Or business, maybe?”
I had no idea what I wanted to do. I’d fallen into English by default since I was good at it and nothing else had really appealed to me. It was like I’d told Seth. I’d probably graduate with a useless degree and end up getting a boring job at some office. I had no grand plans. No grand passion.
I was saved from having to answer by Seth approaching the table with two drinks in his hand.
“Virgin rum and Coke,” he winked as he set the glasses down in front of me.
“What’s the point of coming to a bar if we’re not going to drink?” I asked.
“We need to pace ourselves,” he explained. “Don’t want to get tanked before the fun really starts.” Seth settled into a chair next to me and casually rested his arm over the back of my chair. He looked around the bar, surveying the room. “Does this place look a little more spruced up than usual? Where’s the broken chairs and sticky floors?”
“Walt’s been thinking of trying something new,” Jessie said from where she sat across from us.
I had been surprised to see Jessie in a tight leather skirt with dramatic eyeliner, her hair falling down her back in sexy, tousled waves. It was nothing like the jeans, blouse and bun I’d seen her in at the youth center. If I’d thought before that she didn't look like a rock star’s girlfriend, she certainly did now.
“This area of town is a lot less sketchy than it used to be,” she continued. “Gentrification and all that.”
“I did notice all the stationery stores and cupcake shops,” Everly said.
“Walt’s thinking of maybe expanding,” she said. “A few of the businesses in this block are going out of business. The moms and dads who are moving in aren’t too keen on all those adult video stores. So he’s thinking of buying up some property and going legit.”
