Last update today. Thanks for reading!
I walk straight past the huge line of people waiting to get in and wave at the security guard, Sam, whom I'd met earlier when me and the rest of the guys were here for rehearsal. I motion towards Edward to let Sam know that he's with me. Edward raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment on our exchange, following me inside.
The whole place has a kind of old school vibe. It's dark and little bit dingy, with flyers advertising previous acts glued to the walls. It reminds me of CBGB. I fucking love it. A quick look at the stage lets me know that they were behind schedule, as the opening band was still finishing up their set.
Well, at least you made it.
"I'll be right back." Edward says, and walks towards a tall blonde guy standing close to the entrance with a beer in his hand. Blonde guy greets him with a smile and one of those manly hugs I never quite understood. Edward says something to blonde guy that seems to amuse him. Suddenly, blonde guy is looking straight at me with a huge, and in my opinion rather smug smile. He greets me with a nod of his head and I get the impression that if he was wearing a hat he'd be tipping it. Not knowing what to do, I wave and smile back at him, perhaps too enthusiastically because blonde guy throws his head back in laughter. He slaps a rather timid-looking Edward in the back, winks at me, and walks away. Edward makes his way back to me, the same timid smile still on his face. "Please excuse my friend's rude behavior, I'm afraid he's a little bit drunk already."
"Don't worry about it." I reply. "Listen, if you wanna hang out with your friend, that's fine. I could just go find my people."
"No, not at all. I was actually just letting him know that I was gonna go find somewhere to sit with you." He seemed to realize something then, and quickly added "Unless you wanna go find your friends! I mean, if that's what you want, that's fine, that's totally okay, I could go somewhere else, that's fine, that's-"
He's rambling. It's adorable.
I place my hand over his mouth. "Fine. I know. The thing is, I'd much rather stick with your plan. So what do you say we find somewhere to sit?" I had thought about it, and I knew I should make my way backstage, let the guys know I had arrived, help set up and all that crap. But the thought of leaving Edward didn't sit well with me, for reasons I refused to analyze at that moment. I just knew I wanted more time with him.
Edward answers my question by giving me a shit-eating grin, grabbing my hand and making his way through the crowd to where the tables were. Holding his hand is like holding a million tiny fireworks.
Jesus Bella, seriously?
Miraculously, we manage to find an empty table not too far away from the stage. Edward asks me if I want something to drink and I tell him I'd like a beer. I watch him make his way back through the crowd, towards the bar.
Just as I'm once again contemplating the smooth manliness of Edward's gait, I notice something popping out from behind the curtain at the side of the stage. Namely, a head. Leah's head. I see her scan the crowd until her eyes land on me. She grins and does this weird 'high-five meets fist pump' move, because Leah's a dork like that, and gestures me over. I laugh and shake my head, pointing towards Edward, who is now leaning over the bar counter trying to talk to the bartender. Leah looks towards where I'm pointing and, seeing Edward, smirks and mouths 'nice ass'. I reply by showing her a certain finger and mouthing the words 'fuck off'. She laughs, sticks her tongue out at me like the dork she is, and gives me a thumbs up before disappearing behind the curtains again. I'm still shaking my head at her antics when Edward sets a bottle of beer on the table in front of me.
"Hey, that didn't take you very long at all." I say.
"Yeah, I got lucky. Every other time I came here I had to practically camp out by the bar." He laughs and takes a swig from his beer.
I take small sips from mine, because I have business here tonight. "Now here's something I don't miss about America. Being under the legal drinking age." I say.
"How old are you?" Edward asks me, and for a second I wonder if he's scared I'm too young. But he doesn't seem overly concerned about it, just genuinely curious.
"Eighteen. You?" I ask him.
"Nineteen. So tell me, what's an eighteen year old American girl doing here in London? Besides getting lost, that is."
I laugh and start to tell him about the band when all of a sudden a loud voice coming from the microphone on stage interrupts me.
"Good evening ladies and gents, we are The Strangers and we're going to be playing for you guys tonight, just as soon as our lovely vocalist can get her sweet tooshie away from her man candy and up on the stage. Whaddaya say Bells?" Fucking Seth. I'm so gonna pay him back for that. Frozen underwear will be nothing compared to what I have in store for him!
The entire fucking club is staring at us. More than a few people are laughing. I set my beer back on the table and, lacking the courage to actually look at Edward's face after that humiliating display, just sort of lean my head towards him and say "That's my cue. I'll be back in a little while." I quickly hop out of my stool and head for the stage.
When I'm up there, it's like being home. I feel as if I belong, in a way I have never felt anywhere else. I step towards the microphone and, as the first strums of the guitar begin, I take it all in: The lights, the crowd, the energy that seems to take up the entire room at that moment. And then my eyes fall upon him. Edward is sitting there, still holding his beer halfway to his mouth, as if he was frozen. Except for his mouth, which can't seem to decide whether to open or stay shut.
Oops. Maybe the whole "I'm in a band and I'm here to play a gig" explanation should have come sooner rather than later…
For a second I'm worried that Edward is angry at me, that he thinks I deliberately kept this from him, but as Demitri joins in at the drums I can't worry about it anymore. This is my moment, and I intend to enjoy it. Explanations can wait.