Page 150 of A Duet of Darkness and Dreams

He shrugs. “Don’t know what the food situation will be like when we get there. You know I get moody when I’m hungry.”

“I swear to god,” Key pinches the bridge of his nose, “sometimes it feels like we’ve been married for fifty years.”

As the five of us head for the door, he shrugs. “Don’t know how we would’ve lasted that long. You never ask me how my day has been or give me snuggles.”

“I swear to—”

“Boys,” Becks cuts in. “This is a big night for everyone, so can we just, I don’t know,pretendlike we’re grown ups?”

I watch James smirk as his wife puts my two friends in theirplace, and with half-hearted nods, they mutter an agreement as we all pile into the gilded elevator.

For all Idreaded dressing up, I’m actually having a hell of a good time. There was beer and champagne in the limo and while I still don’t drink, it put everyone else’s anxieties at ease. Bright spot lights weave through the sky as we near the theater and my knee begins to bounce. Why am I so all over the place?

James leans over. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

“Sure,” he says. “You look fine.”

I close my eyes and tip my head back to rest on the seat. “Okay, you got me. I’m crazy nervous.”

“Did you talk to Izzy about the next album cover?”

Album cover? Oh, right. “Ah, yeah. She’s excited to do it on one condition.”

James frowns. “What condition?”

I grin. “That we send the first copy to that old hag who tried to fire her fromEarworm Magazine.”

He laughs and so do I. “We could definitely arrange that.”

“Then she’s in.”

“And you’re sure you’re okay with her being on the cover?” James asks me.

I rub my chin. When the guys first suggested we recreate Izzy’s leaked photo but with the band’s name on her instead of just mine, I wasn’t sure what to think. But when Izzy heard the idea, she was more excited than I’ve seen her in a long time. Part of the reason I’m sure is that she wants to stick it to everyone who has ever judged her. “Yes. I mean, I know I was jealous when that picture got out in the paper, but she wasn’tmine back then. Now she is, and I just want to show her off to the world.”

“As long as you’re both sure.”

I nod and realize my heart rate has slowed and my knee doesn’t bounce anymore. With a smile, I turn to James. “Thanks for the distraction.”

“No problem.”

The limo begins to slow down and join a queue of other limos that approach a monstrous white stone building. A giant black box from which the circling floodlights sits at the bottom of a grand outdoor staircase covered in a bright red carpet. When we pull up, I’m the first to get out. There are easily two dozen men in tuxedos with slicked back hair lining the sides of the stairs and helping ladies in long gowns traverse the steps.

“Wow, this is some fancy shit, huh?” Joel says, as he steps past me out of the limo.

“Way to class it up, mouth breather,” Key says, shoving him in the back.

I look at both of them, and they hold up their hands. “Swear to God,” Joel says, “we’ll be on our best behavior.”

With a roll of my eyes, I look back and watch as James helps Becks out of the limo in her long green dress. The limo pulls away and as the five of us approach the stairs, a man in an all white tuxedo approaches us.

“Can I help you?” he says.

Key narrows his eyes and opens his mouth, but I step in front of him. “Yeah, we’re here for the award ceremony.” I hand him the passes that were couriered to us and he looks them over before raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm.” He hands them back to me with a touch of disdain on his elderly face, like he doesn’t agree with the fact that the coordinators invited us at all.

---