Page 58 of Awestruck at Dusk
David was right outside as he said he would be and followed us as we made our way back through the corridors. I had a hard time keeping up with William’s long and swift strides. But we were almost there, making our way through the long passageway that led to the bathroom.
The DJ’s music that poured our way stopped dry, and the lights went out. Everyone cheered, screamed, and whistled.
“Can you run?” William asked without looking back, still pulling me.
“I’m already running!” It was the only way I was able to keep up with him. “Youshouldn’t be running!”
An electric guitar became audible, and ten seconds later, drums joined in, and they made up a song I instantly recognized. “William!” I increased the pace as much as I could.
We finally reached the event area, and William stopped, released my hand, and turned to look at me. It was Dave Matthews band playing “Bartender.” We shouted the first three words of the song at the same time: “If I go!”
“Thisis the jazz band?” I was panting.
“I’m afraid so.” He laughed. That explained everyone’s excitement aboutthe jazz band. Figures. “Your first concert.” His mouth twitched into a smile.
“It is,” I replied, not minding him wanting to tick off another first. William kept surprising me. And I couldn’t believe this was happening.
Everyone swarmed in front of the stage. Nathan saw me in the distance and walked my way. I turned to look at William, and my stomach shrunk. “William, I have to—”
“Go.”
First Concert
WILLIAM SHUFFLED AWAYtoward the crowd with his brows pulled down. And I was left there standing with a pit in my stomach.
“You okay, love? You were gone for a while.” He looked over my shoulder at William. “Where were you?” Nathan asked with a certain—tone. But his eyes looked weird. Drunk? Probably the first time I’d seen him like this.
And that little run from the kitchen back here had my head spinning a lot more. So I guess we were both sauced up, as Nathan liked to say.
“I—smoking. With David. William came looking for me. He was trying to make me come back for the show.”
“Amena told me you needed a bit of space,” he said, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear with a slow hand. “What’s wrong? No, wait … Let’s go. We’ll talk later. You’re going to miss the show.”
He threaded his fingers with mine and pulled me toward the crowd, where my friends’ faces began to pop up everywhere. Once we stood in the front and middle, Nathan wrapped his arms around my waist from behind me, our hands still holding.
He held me like that for the rest of the song as I sang “Bartender” to the top of my lungs. Ilovedthat song.
Cecile walked up and stood beside me just as the song ended.
“Hey!” We hugged each other.
“You okay?” she asked in French.
“Better now, thanks,” I replied in French too and kept it that way. “You’ve been keeping secrets from me.”
She raised her brow at me as a reply, and Jordan appeared behind her with drinks as the band played “#41” next. I raised my arms and let out a loudwoo! as many others in the crowd did. Cecile laughed, and Nathan pulled me in and kissed my cheek.
The music didn’t precisely cater to Cecile’s taste. But she seemed to be having fun with Jordan, who also kissed her cheek as he handed over a wineglass to her.
This only reminded me of how Tobias was furious at me. With good reason. Jordan didn’t seem to plan on letting Cecile go anywhere for the rest of the night.
“We have a lot to talk about tomorrow,” I told her. She nodded and squealed after Jordan basically snatched her away from me. Jordan mouthed “thank you” and winked at me. I shook my head at him in return with a smile.You’re welcome, I thought, but at what cost? At that moment, I couldn’t worry about Tobias because I was having too much fun. But the concern was stuck at the back of my head.
The band played “Satellite” and “Crazy” next. I saw my father standing next to Nathan’s boss with a big smile, watching from an uncrowded distance away. Nolan and Emily joined us and sang “Crazy” with Nathan and me. Nina, Aiden, and CJ approached us too and sang the last minute of the song with us.
“Where Are You Going” played next, and the slow tune made me feel all mushy inside. It’d been a roller coaster of a night, and it wasn’t over yet. Nathan hugged me from behind again, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“I love you,” he whispered in my ear.
