Gilbert fiddled with the paper tent. Reserved was written in the fanciest script he could manage. The table was near the front of the stage, pushed nearly all the way to the side. Not only was it right against the speakers, but the only person you could see on the stage from this angle was the bassist.

He was going to tell her. Tonight. If he wanted to go any farther with Maddie, he'd have to tell her.

"Hey."

The voice startled Gilbert the slightest bit. He looked to find a short girl with rich, dark auburn hair. She was pretty in a mad way and looked like she'd rather be doing anything besides talking to Gilbert.

"Can I...help you?" he couldn't imagine he could possibly be in her way.

"I'm looking for my husband, " she said. "Is he backstage?"

Gilbert still couldn't figure out why she was talking to him. "Maybe? Is he performing tonight?"

She glared at him. She then glared down to the table. "Is that supposed to be for me?"

"No?" What is wrong with this lady, Gil thought.

"Thank God, " she said and pulled out her phone. "If he stuffed me into a corner, I think I'd punch him in his sleep."

Gil was starting to rethink his seating choice.

"Lovina!" Another girl cried out. This girl was even cuter than the last. The resemblance between the two was too strong to be anything other than sisters. This girl had hair a shade or two lighter. Her loose curls were pulled back into a ponytail. She grabbed her sister's arm. "Someone touched my butt."

"Feliciana, I told you to stay close. You never know what kind of losers you'll find in dives like this, " Lovina scolded. She looked right and Gil when she said losers.

Feliciana gave Gil a small wave. "Hi. Are you playing tonight? You look like one of those musician types."

"Uh yeah."

Feliciana looked down at the table. "Oh, we're sorry. It looks like you're waiting for your girlfriend."

Gil couldn't fight the smile at the mention of the word girlfriend.

Feliciana started pulling her sister away. "Break a leg up there!"

Gil leaned against the table and looked around. He checked his phone one more time. He had gotten a text. He hadn't heard it go off in the growing crowd.

"We're here!"

He looked around more fervently. Sure enough, the blonde bombshell was at the bar flirting with the bartender. Maddie had brought Amy with her.

Gil eventually saw Maddie politely trying to fight the crowd unwilling or unable to force her way through.

Gil had no such problem. If people didn't move away he shoved his way through until he had the beautiful girl in his hands. He held her hips and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"Who was that?" Maddie signed.

Gil looked at the ladies he had been talking to. "A crazy woman and her sister. Thought your table was for her. I can try to get you somewhere else. I didn't know your sister was coming. She probably doesn't want to be right next to the speaker."

Maddie waved off his concerns. "She'll be at the bar the whole night. Do girls usually hit on you at your concerts?"

"Girls never hit on me." Gil brought her to the table. "Besides, crazy lady is apparently married."

"And the sister?"

"Not my type."

"You have a type?"

Gill rolled his eyes and pulled to the corner behind the speakers. He propped her up against the wall and kissed her. His blood raced as she responded positively, relaxing into putty in his hands.

"Understand?"

She nodded, dreamily.

He brought her back out to the light. "I'll be up soon. Meet me after? There's something important I want to talk to you about."

Maddie nodded again. She held Gil's hand until the last moment, and then let it go with a kiss.

Once Gil was backstage, Toni pulled him aside.

"Did you tell her?"

Gil brushed off his gripping hands. "Not yet. But how would you know anything about that?"

"I saw her come in."

"Who? Liz?" Gil felt his stomach drop.

"What? No! My wife."

"Wait, wait, wait... You're married? Crazy lady's your wife?!"

Toni's expression went dark. "What did you say about my wife, you piece of shit?"

"Whoa, dude, chill. I only thought she was crazy because she assumed I knew her husband. Turns out I do. So she's not crazy. Totally sane." Her husband on the other hand... Gil thought.

"She must have found out I was performing again. Shit, I haven't sung lead since she and I were dating. She made me promise to stop being center stage because she didn't like having to fight over me all the time. Plus, I'm out of practice..."

"Dude." Gil gripped his shoulder. "You never get stage fright. You'll be fine. If she asks, just say I told you she was here and you were singing for her. And if it's really going to bother you, I can sing."

That got Toni to smile. "Not a chance."

"Hey, Francis!" Gil caught sight of his friend. "Did you know Toni's married?"

"Mazel tov, now are you guys going to get ready or not?"

They finished setting up on stage. There were of catcalls from ladies in the crowd as they check out the band. Gil snuck a glance over to Maddie. She blushed when she noticed him looking at her. He gave her a wink.

Before he could get caught up in performance jitters, Francis started counting off. They got through the intro of the first song. Gil looked at Maddie, judging her reaction. The look of pure delight on her face was breathtaking. Gil's laughter was drowned out, but he got the drive to throw himself into the music.

It may not have been the perfect show, but it was pretty damn close. Fans were nearly throwing themselves onstage. You could barely even hear Toni at the end of it. After three encores, the three bandmates shuffled offstage utterly exhausted.

"That...was awesome!" Gil panted.

"Yeah, " Toni croaked. "Did you see my wife? I've never seen her look so hot."

"She was definitely swooning, " Gil confirmed.

"Wait, that wasn't a joke?" Francis said. "You've been deceiving us this whole time?"

Toni pulled on the chain around his neck, revealing a wedding band beneath the deep V of his shirt. He slipped it off and put it on his left hand. "Only for the sake of the band." He winked at his mates. "I better get out there. I imagine I'm going to have a busy night."

Gil saw a flash of the crowd as Toni can out from backstage. The girls were absolutely swarming, but Toni half out his left hand in self-defense.

"What about you? You secretly married too?" Francis asked.

Gil laughed nervously. "No. No, you're crazy. It's waaaaay too soon to be thinking about anything like that."

Francis snapped the last latch closed on his drum kit. "Well, if Toni's taken that means less competition for me. I imagine I'll have a busy night as well." He looked at Gil meaningfully. "Make sure you have one too, for once."

"Hey, don't say..."

"Ladies, ladies, no need to make a single file, " Francis said as he walked out from backstage.

Gil sighed. He was really getting nervous now. He secured his bass and took his turn walking out from backstage.

Much to his surprise, there were several girls waiting for him.

"You played the bass, right?! You were so cool!"

"Those bass lines were hot..."

"Can I buy you a drink?"

"Whoa, hold on. I've already promised to meet someone. Maybe at the next show, okay?" Gil tried to brush them off, but they were surprisingly clingy. He tried to search among their faces to see if Maddie was among the entourage. A hand suddenly reached through and pulled him through the thrall with a surprising amount of force. He found himself chest to chest with Amy. He heard some whines as she held his head down close to her mouth.

"I just wanted to say you were really good up there, " she whispered in his ear.

Gil had no idea that a girl like Amy could be quiet. It sent an uncomfortable shiver down his spine.

"Now that I've helped you ditch these bitches, pay some attention to my sister. She may need a little bit of encouragement after that."

Gil was surprised at the comment. He looked around to find Maddie still sitting at the table, looking like a sad puppy and gazing longingly at Gil and Amy's embrace.

"Good call, " Gil whispered back. He broke away and went straight to Maddie.

"What's the matter?" he signed. "Did you not like the show?"

"I did, " she signed back. "I can see why you have so many fans."

Gil scoffed. "Them? See how quickly they ran off? They aren't my fans. You on the other hand..." He sat down across from her and looked at her dreamily. "You're all I'm interested in."

That finally got her to put on a small smile. "You were really cool up there. And the music felt amazing."

Gil grinned. "Can I buy you a drink?"

Maddie nodded. He took her by the hand and led her up to the bar. He nabbed some prime real estate and a drink menu for Maddie. She studied it as he ordered the bar's beer special. She ended up pointing to it as well, so he made it a double. He waited to see a satisfied look on her face before he got to the point.

"I want you to read something that may change your opinion of me. I think it's important for you to know the real me. I want you to know the real me, but I'm afraid you won't like me anymore."

Maddie sat there with a confused look on her face. So, Gil reached into his jacket and pulled out several pieces of paper folded together.

Maddie read them as she sipped her beer.

In the midst of Gil's troubled youth, there was only one solace for him. before there was music, there was Liz. Before he even understood love, Liz was the center of his world. They were the best of friends and the fiercest of rivals in everything. Their relationship was fire and passion.

In high school, Liz joined the orchestra, and so did Gil. She played the violin, so he played the upright bass. There was music and discovery and epiphany. Gil slowly came to understand what love was. And how much Liz meant to him.

As he explored and deepened their relationship, their friendship became complicated and physical. They fought frequently and made up almost instantly. That was always how they were. This continued to college. Gil would have followed her to the ends of the earth, and he thought she would too. Suddenly, she became enamored with someone else. He was talented and effortless and pretentious.

Gil never thought Liz would fall for someone like that. Gil found himself fighting even harder. He would play the upright until his fingers bled just to show her that he was better, that he could be better. At this point, their relationship was only physical, but Gil would have taken any part of her he could.

He came home to their apartment to find Liz gone. Just a note that she had dropped out to follow that someone else. Gil had immediately called her, pleading with her to stay with him. He wept as he professed his love. But this Liz wasn't the one he grew up to love. She was cold and unrelenting. She had never loved him. She had never seen a future with him. He was nothing compared to the next guy. He was mediocre at best and irritating. He was unsophisticated and a dick with an over-inflated ego. All of which was painfully true.

So, Gil withdrew. He dropped out and hid behind a persona. He would have ended it all if it weren't for the music. He sold his upright and got an electric one. He changed the genre. He roamed trying to find himself in the music. It got easier when he found his friends, his bandmates. But easy wasn't enough.

When he met Maddie, he got glimpses of the passion, but it was different than the burning fire that was Liz. It was flowing. Deeper. And new and unfamiliar. And bit by bit, the music started to mean something. But he knew it wasn't just the music. He could feel himself falling in love again. And it terrified him and yet he couldn't want anything more.

In the letter, Gil confessed all of this. His doubts, his inexperience, his faults. Maddie read them slowly. Two and a half beers later, she read and reread passages scattered through the pages of Gil's life story. Finally, Maddie looked up at Gil.

Gil stiffened like a bolt had run up his back. Maddie closed her eyes and ripped up the papers and put them in her half-full glass of beer.

Gil's mouth gaped open in shock. Whatever response he expected from her, he hadn't been expecting that.

"Take me home, " Maddie demanded.

Gil hurried to gather his stuff. As he walked her back, he begged her internally to sign something more. But before long they were alone at the threshold of her apartment building.

She buzzed herself in. Gil sighed, running his hand through his hair. Maddie caught his attention and waved him in. The further she led him, the more confused Gil got. When they eventually got to her apartment, Gil felt incredibly awkward. He could not read the situation at all.

She opened the door. "Come in?"

He followed her in warily. After she closed the door, he started to sign how sorry he was, but she held down his wrists, stood on her toes and kissed him. She wrapped his arms around the small of her back.

"I want you," she signed. "You are nice. You are smart. You are sexy. You are amazing. I want you. I want you. I want you."

She kept signing "I want you" until Gil's lips crashed against hers once more. He was overjoyed. He could feel the heat burning in his mouth and building in his groin.

Maddie was much less reserved in the comfort of her apartment. She pulled him closer by his jacket, then pushed it off his shoulders and arms. She took off her own shirt, and Gil could finally see what she had been hiding. She was every bit the bombshell her sister was and better. Her skin was flushed pink with dramatic curves. She was soft and warm as he touched her, kneaded her, longed for her. She let out an audible gasp as she would feel Gil's arousal pressed hard against her stomach.

Gil back off the tiniest bit, his face red with pleasure and embarrassment. "I'm sorry, " he signed. "I want you." he mirrored her own hands.

Maddie rolled her eyes and undid the zipper and button of his pants. She then proceeded to pull him by the belt loops into the bedroom.