Front Row

by Rebekah N Bryan

  ***

  To pass the time during classes and work the next day, I tried to imagine different scenarios for how the night would go. For some reason, they all ended up with Alex and me at a party and me sitting on the couch while she gave lead singer Jesse a BJ in the next room. I felt I was doomed to repeat the last outing the two of us had together, which could not have gone worse. However, I got to have a little bit of a heart-to-heart with Jacob, and I wouldn't trade that. Would I? Giving Gabe a BJ didn't sound like too bad of a deal either. Then I remembered that Alex had slept with Jacob in a way that seemed so out of character for both of them. I had to redeem myself at these upcoming shows. Something more exciting needed to happen to me next time. Maybe not with disinterested Gabe, but with someone. My brain looped back to Taj. I couldn't get him out of my head even though I had only seen him for less than an hour total in my life.

  Although the Face Rake show didn't start until 9, I hurried home and changed back into my jeans that I had worn to class earlier that day and hopped in the car to drive to Alex's. When I arrived, she had also just gotten back from work and was in the midst of re-straightening her hair and touching up her makeup. I made myself comfortable and sat cross-legged on her bed.

  "Did you talk to Face Rake at all when you were in Florida?"

  "Well yeah, they got us into the show, so I figured I should at least say hi. I talked to Will between theirs and the Towners' set. The Towners went on really late, so we probably talked for at least a half hour. Shelly talked to Jesse and Malcolm a little. They're such a riot. Oh, and Taj asked where you were."

  "He did?" My cheeks heated up.

  "Mmhmm."

  ***

  We left Alex's house and arrived at the venue, which turned out to be a bar, a few minutes after nine o'clock. As we walked up, we couldn't hear a band playing, and we were glad we weren't late. I walked up the few steps to the door first.

  A man in a black T-shirt and a no-nonsense look on his face blocked our path. "IDs."

  My mouth went slack. "We're 20. I didn't know this was a 21-plus show."

  "Sorry."

  Through the cracked door, we could see Will and Jesse sitting at the bar and tried to get their attention. They didn't notice us right away, but Taj and Malcolm, who were coming out the door at the same moment, did.

  "Hey, thanks for coming!" Malcolm pulled us each in for a hug. Following his lead, Taj hugged us after Malcolm did.

  "Unfortunately, we can't get in. We're not 21 yet," said Alex.

  Taj released me. "Wait, how old are you?"

  I giggled a little. "Don't worry, we're 20. Legal except in the drinking sense." I blushed and giggled again, thinking about what I might have implied with that statement.

  "I'm really sorry, guys!" said Malcolm. "Man, this sucks. We really should put that information on our website. I wish we could sneak you two girls in. I'm sorry about this." He pulled some Pez candy out of his pocket to jokingly console us. Although I didn't really like Pez, I took some anyway. After apologizing one more time, he ran back inside to retrieve a Face Rake T-shirt for each of us.

  Will followed Malcolm back outside and stopped over to talk to us until the man by the door informed us that we couldn't block the entrance. Alex and I wanted to keep the guys outside longer, but they had to go inside and get ready for their set. Hoping we could find a side entrance, we walked around the building and pulled at a couple of the doors we found. Nothing budged. It sounded like the show still hadn't started, and my hands were turning red and stiff from the cold. A little desperate, I threw my new Face Rake T-shirt at the window to try to get the guys' attention. When that method failed, we walked up to a guy who had come from inside and asked him to ask Malcolm if we could maybe sit in their van to warm up.

  Malcolm emerged from the bar with an amused smile playing on his lips. "Some guy just came up to me and was like, 'There are two young ladies outside, and they want to know if they can sit in your van. Does that mean something to you?'"

  "Yeah, we were getting pretty cold. Sorry about that," I said.

  Malcolm unlocked the van for us, and he, Taj, and Will joined us inside.

  "I thought you guys were supposed to be on stage," said Alex once we were all huddled inside.

  Will edged closer to her. "Nah, there's one band before us. We don't go on until 10 or so."

  I was glad I decided to get their attention. I wouldn't have liked standing outside freezing for another hour before their set even started. I shifted in my seat to give Alex more room. I was seated on the left side of the bench seat behind the driver's seat, where Malcolm was facing backwards. Alex was next to me, and Will was next to her. Taj claimed the passenger seat. The last row of seating had been removed to accommodate their equipment, but that area was now empty except for a stray drumstick, a blanket, a black and white composition notebook, and someone's glove. I swung my right leg closer to the door next to my left leg so that I was no longer straddling the duffel bag that sat on the floor beneath me.

  "How do you guys fit in here?" I asked.

  "The duffels and sleeping bags are normally in the back, but we had to move them to get the equipment out," said Will.

  "And the dead bodies." Taj smirked.

  I giggled once again. What was with my giggling? I knew I sounded like a complete moron, but I couldn't stop. The guys launched into a conversation about the tour and shot off several inside jokes that Alex and I could only chuckle at as we sat and eavesdropped. When the guys left to get ready for their set, I scanned the contents of the van in search of some entertainment. I located a bag of pretzels, which I helped myself to and then offered some to Alex. She scooped out a handful and then put the bag back where it came from, wedged between two duffel bags. "Good as new."

  After a while, we exited the van, figuring the show had started. We camped outside huddled in sleeping bags and blankets near a vent, where we could hear guitars revving up for the first song. This was the first time I realized how much I enjoyed Face Rake's music. Not only that, but I appreciated the men playing the music even more when we heard them do a dedication to the "lovely ladies who are listening outside because they're not 21." We cheered from outside, hoping they could hear us.

  In spite of our pile of sleeping bags and blankets, occasional chilly wind gusts penetrated the layers of nylon and flannel and made me shiver. We returned to the van and retrieved the rest of the blankets and brought them out to our spot. During the show, a few pedestrians had to swing wide to avoid our pile of blankets on the sidewalk, which was quite embarrassing and pitiful.

  When the show ended, Jesse and Taj came out to see how we were doing. "Thank you so much for staying, guys," said Jesse. "You really are some dedicated fans. You guys are just awesome. I think you need Face Rake swag," Jesse disappeared inside to the merch table.

  Taj dug his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "So did any bums come by and try and cuddle with you?"

  "No, people thought we were the bums," said Alex.

  Jesse came back outside and handed us each a small Face Rake button. I attached mine to my winter coat, and Alex pinned hers to her leopard-print purse.

  "Are Will and Malcolm coming out?" I asked. "We want to make sure to say goodbye to them, too."

  Jesse craned his neck toward the windowed door. "Last time I checked, they were doing whiskey shots with some fans. I'll go in and help them out with that." Jesse darted back up the stairs and into the bar while Taj went through another door to unload equipment. Alex and I picked the blankets off the sidewalk and put them back in the van where we found them.

  When Will made his appearance, his eyes were unfocused and swimming from the alcohol intake. He spotted the button on my coat. "Hey, you guys have buttons now!" Alex held up her leopard bag to show him hers when he looked over at her. "I like that on the leopard print. That's hot."

  "I really enjoyed your show tonight. The music sounded great from out here," I said.

  "Eh, it wasn't our best, but
thanks. Hey, if you girls don't need to get going right away, do you want to come get some food with us? We're going to find a diner for breakfast somewhere."

  I checked my watch. It was a little after midnight, which seemed either a little early or really late for breakfast. Before I could answer, Alex said, "Yeah, that sounds great."

  "Cool. I have to go load up the van. Hang out here, and I'll let you know when we're ready to go. You can ride with us if you want. We can bring you back here.

  I hoped Will wasn't going to be the one driving, but we agreed and tried to keep warm by rocking from side to side and hugging ourselves. When the van was packed, Will climbed into the back seat first with a wave in our direction, indicating that we should follow. Jesse stood by the sliding door of the car and held his hand out for Alex to get in before him. I lagged back and stood behind Taj, but I heard Will say "Alexandra" as he pointed to his lap and raised an eyebrow. Alex scooted onto his lap so that Jesse could squeeze in the middle with Taj on the end. A perky blonde girl I didn't know took the front passenger seat, and Malcolm took the position behind the wheel. I stalled for a second and wondered what to do as the last person who had to fit into the car.

  Taj saved the day and said with a curl of his lips. "You can sit on my lap if you want."

  I tried to climb in without stepping on his feet and perch on the end of his knee. My tall frame didn't make any of that possible, so instead I muttered, "I really don't want to crush you."

  I felt his hands on my hips. "You're not crushing me." I was thankful that I was facing forward so that he couldn't see me fight back a smile and blush. Alex was situated sideways on Will's lap as if she belonged there.

  "You're really tall," said Jesse next to me, interrupting my thoughts and inner giddiness.

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. My height was a source of insecurity for me, and I had gotten comments on it my whole life. It wasn't something to say to get on my good side. "Yup."

  "Tall girls are hot," said Taj from behind me. I started to overheat and wished the attention would just turn to someone else.

  Malcolm started the engine. "Where are we headed?"

  "Just drive around until you see something that looks like a diner. I'm in no hurry." Will smiled over at Alex.

  "I'm Beth, Malcolm's wife," said the blonde girl over her shoulder.

  Alex and I each introduced ourselves. I wasn't sure what to think of Beth at first, or what she as a wife thought of us as groupies. But as we drove on, and she cracked jokes that made everyone in the car laugh or ribbed her husband about his driving all with a wide, good-natured grin on her face, I warmed up to her. Pretty girls who I hadn't been friends with forever tended to intimidate me, but Beth's warmth yet biting sarcasm put me right at ease with her.

  Beth pointed to the left. "There's a Domino's."

  "Pizza sounds good." Taj squirmed and adjusted his legs a little, but his hands didn't leave my hips. I thought I felt a lump underneath me, but I could've been imagining things.

  I turned halfway around. "Am I crushing you yet?"

  "Not at all."

  Will, on the other hand, had diner tunnel vision. "I'm more in the mood for breakfast. Let's drive around and see if we can find anything else."

  "Their cinnamon sticks are excellent, and they're kind of like breakfast." My stomach growled. Domino's CinnaStix were among some of my favorite indulgent college foods.

  "That can be the backup plan," said Jesse. With a harrumph from the front seat, Malcolm clicked on the blinker and spun around the block in search of a diner for Will.

  Will focused back on Alex with a dreamy look in his eye. "I could actually sit here all night. You're not heavy at all."

  Taj moved a little beneath me, and I was sure I felt a lump that time. I ignored it, leaned forward with my hands on the sides of the front seat, and peered out the window to aid in the diner search.

  Beth pointed again. "That looks like a diner."

  Malcolm agreed and pulled up to the curb to park. Parking in that area was unusually abundant for a Friday night, now Saturday morning, in Milwaukee. Taj continued to clutch my hips until Beth and Malcolm climbed out of the van. I pulled open the sliding door to let us out. Upon stepping down from the car, I unzipped my winter coat to let some of the chilly fall air in and cool myself off. I was tempted to confirm my suspicions regarding the bulge, but Taj's coat covered up any evidence. On the other hand, Will's shorter-waisted coat did not. I averted my eyes before anyone noticed me staring and walked into the restaurant through the door that Malcolm held open. There was only one other group of people in the restaurant, and the three of them were seated at a table near the window. We selected a table for eight near the back of the diner. Taj, myself, and Alex sat on one side of the table with Will across from her, Beth across from me, Malcolm across from Taj, and Jesse on the end between Malcolm and Taj. A waitress came by to hand us menus and take our drink orders. My eyes glazed over at the menu; my previous hunger was gone. Nervous butterflies replaced the vague hunger pangs in my stomach.

  "You wanna split something?" asked Alex.

  Oh good, she wasn't hungry either. We ordered a plate of blueberry pancakes because I seemed to forget at that moment that I didn't care for pancakes. I wouldn't be able to fit much in my stomach anyway with the butterflies occupying so much of the real estate. I scanned the rest of the menu, including the specialty drink section. "This actually looks pretty good," I said, pointing to a strawberry and cream-based one.

  "I'd split that with you," said Taj in his lazy voice. Every time he spoke, it sounded like he had just woken up from a nap. I love how laid-back and smooth it made him sound.

  I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the drink or not. "No, it's OK. Water's fine. I'm driving home anyway." Plus, I knew I didn't have enough cash on me for that $7 beverage plus half of my pancakes I wasn't going to eat any of.

  While we waited for the food, the guys spent most of the time trying to decide where they were going to sleep for the next couple nights until The Out of Towners show on Sunday. I was surprised to hear that they weren't doing too well money-wise themselves. I lent Taj my cell phone to make a couple calls to hotels since his was dead. I wished I could do something more to help them out, but my own financial situation at the moment was just as dire. When the food arrived, Alex and I consumed just under two pancakes between the two of us, and I only had a bite of the hashbrowns that accompanied them. Malcolm, who hadn't ordered much at all, polished off the rest of our shredded potatoes, and Will ate our third pancake as well as some of Taj's and Beth's leftovers.

  "Where do you put it all?" asked Alex. Will looked a little embarrassed, but he didn't need to be. His height was somewhere in between mine and Alex's, and he didn't carry any extra weight.

  Once we were all finished with breakfast and after some confusion trying to figure out how to split up the final bill, we filed outside to get back in the van.

  This time, I was walking in front of Taj. "I like your shirt." He appeared at my side. "It's really pink."

  "Thanks." I figured it was the fit of my shirt and not the color that was the appeal, which was why I wore it in the first place. I held my coat in my arms instead of putting it on before getting back into the van since it took up so much room on the ride there, and of course to give Taj more time to admire my shirt on the way back. We arranged ourselves in the same spots for the ride back, and I eased up a little and settled more into Taj's lap that time. The two of us still didn't look as comfortable as Will and Alex with Will's arms around Alex's waist, and her head resting on his shoulder while her eyes drooped. With all of us crammed in there, I could smell the faint scent of bacon.

  When the van dropped us back off at the venue, I could tell that Alex wanted to linger a little longer or maybe follow the guys to wherever they were staying, but I had an early albeit short shift at the bank to look forward to later that morning.

  "Before we go, would it be too weird to get a group picture?
Is that too fannish?" I asked.

  "Let's do it," said Jesse. "Hey, Beth, wanna grab my camera from my duffel bag? We can email you girls the picture."

  Will leaned up against the van and raised his left arm for Alex to snuggle under. Taj lined up to Will's right and Jesse and Malcolm to the left of Alex. I stood closest to Malcolm, so I sidestepped between him and Jesse even though I wanted to be by Taj's side. I could've sworn I saw a look of disappointment on Taj's face as he watched me get into position, but it was too late then as Beth held the camera up in front of her and snapped a picture.

  Beth checked the view screen on the camera. "That was a good one. You guys wanna see?"

  I peeked over the group assembled around the camera and caught a glimpse of the tiny preview of the picture. My eyes were half closed in the picture. "Oh gosh. I look wasted, and I didn't even have anything to drink tonight."

  Taj poked me in the ribs, sending electricity through my entire nervous system. "Maybe you should've gotten that fruity drink."

  I rubbed my arms, now covered in goose bumps. "Maybe I should've." My hand reached out to return the poke, but instead I pinched his shirt. "Can I get a hug? We really should get going." His embrace was warm, and he smelled like the beer he had drunk with his omelet at the diner mixed with the stale smoke smell from the bar. I also got a subtle whiff of cologne. I sniffed as we pulled away, not wanting to forget the scent.

  I next hugged the rest of the band and looped my arm through Alex's to pull her away from the group and toward the car. "I saw Will's boner when he got out of the van," I teased when we were out of earshot.

  "Yeah, tell me about it. It felt like I was sitting on a rock the whole time. It was great."

  I cackled. My laugh was no longer restrained to polite, nervous giggles, but instead it was the uninhibited chortle that only well timed, dirty humor could bring out.

  "You can't tell me Taj didn't have one, too. He was practically holding you down on top of him."