Chapter 34: Curiosity Kills

The whisper was urgent and sharp, yanking me toward the surface of consciousness like a fish finding itself hooked on a nymph. A groggy net of disorientation entangled me as I awoke. As I broke the surface, I was shocked to feel the warmth of someone lying beside me. The first light of dawn picked up the features of her face as she turned toward me in her sleep. I stared, wide-eyed.

Heather, in my bed? What the—

Then the events of the previous night crashed into my brain. Oh shit. Who just woke me up? The door was cracked open, but not enough to see the face of the whisperer. Can they see Heather? My mind desperately triangulated the lines of sight. Probably not.

“Who’s is it?” I asked, subtly adjusting the blankets to further hide her from view.

“It’s me, Lara!”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Could’ve been way worse.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Lara poked her head into the room. Everything looked grainy as my head struggled to cut through the threads of sleep.

“Mom’s getting up! You have to wake Heather up and get out of here!”

Evidently she wasn’t fooled by the blankets at all.

“We, uh, fell asleep. Lost track of time, and, the talking, uh—”

Lara interrupted my muzzy meandering. “It’s fine, Matt, I’ve had your back. But it’s time now, so you need to hurry. Like, really hurry!”

“Okay. Yeah. Uh, thanks, for—”

“Don’t worry about it.” She threw something onto the foot of my bed. “Here’s your coat. Now get moving!”

After the door clicked closed, I turned back to my sleeping girl and lowered the blanket, taking a moment more than I dared to watch her peaceful face. Finally, I kissed her forehead. Her eyes opened with a blink, soon focusing on me. As the realization of her situation dawned on her, she grinned. She seems much more relaxed about it than me, that’s for sure.

“Did I just... ?” she whispered.

“Yeah.”

“Mmm!” she murmured contentedly. “I didn’t mean to do that!”

“I know. But here you are, and my mom is awake. Time to make a quick exit, I think.”

“But it’s so warm under here, and it’s so cold outside!”

“It’s going to get a lot colder if my mom catches you here. Come on, Lara says we have to move.”

She pouted, then flipped the covers over her head. “No. I’ll just hide under here when she comes in. Not the first time I’d be nude under a blanket in front of your mom!”

I laughed, letting her hide for a second. Then I heard a muffled murmur as her hand strayed to my middle. I knew I’d be done for if I didn’t do something, so I jumped out of bed and scuttled to the other side of my room, pulling all of the covers with me like a giant cape. Heather lay on the bare bed, naked and wide-eyed. Then the cold morning air shocked her skin and she leapt up as fast as I had.

“You’re mean!” she protested, as she yanked the blankets away from me.

“I am,” I agreed.

For a moment, I was distracted by her naked body as she dragged the covers back toward the bed, intent on restoring her cocoon. I stepped to her and pulled her into a hug from behind. Heather seemed to melt, dropping the blankets as she pressed back into me with a contented sigh.

The hug was necessarily short lived, since we started hearing the first noises from the house. We hurriedly dressed, sharing happy glances as the situation became less dangerous by the second. After a last check around the room for anything out of place, I slid my window open and followed Heather out onto the snowy ground. Window closed, hats and gloves tucked in tight, and smiles broad, we tramped off into the woods toward the stream to reset our morning.

I had to let a grin cross my face. Escaping through the window again. The more things change...

The light was coming quickly now, so I offered a silent prayer of thanks to Lara. That had been way too close. I knew that both of our parents were cooler than most, but I wasn’t sure that finding Heather sleeping naked in my room would’ve gone over all that well. Then again, I wasn’t sure of anything, lately. Life sure was full of surprises, even from myself it seemed.

“What a beautiful day, yesterday,” Heather cooed as we held each other close and listened to the remnants of the creek, mostly locked away beneath stiff icy cascades now.

“Yeah. Amazing. Just wish I’d known you were at the show!”

“No way. This was much better. I got to see the rare and elusive Matt in his natural habitat!”

I grinned. “You’re such a voyeur.”

“Can’t be a photographer if you’re not!”

“True. So what’s the plan for today before we head to Jonah’s?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Your turn to decide!”

“I’d be happy with just hanging out by the fire all day. Playing games, drinking hot chocolate, singing songs.”

Heather smiled warmly. “I think I could be okay with that.”

“If anyone asks, we’ll be going to Brian’s tonight.”

“Are we staying at this kid’s house like you did last time?”

“I don’t think so,” I lamented. “Might be hard to work that out this time because you’re leaving in the morning. But we’ll have a good time. You might even get to meet Alana.”

“Alana?”

“The girl I met when I was fishing, that I—”

“Oh, yeah. The one you lost your pot virginity with!”

“What? No!”

Heather grinned as I continued to protest. “Who knows,” she interrupted nonchalantly. “Maybe there’ll be a chance for the three of us to sneak off into the depths of the mansion during a break.”

“Great. Now you’ve been taking teasing tips from Lara?”

“Not really. But you did say you had a bit of a crush on this girl!”

“I did not! I said she kind of looked like you and reminded me of you, that’s all.”

“And why wouldn’t you have a crush on someone like that?”

I was momentarily frozen by her challenging eyes. “Well, um ... Like I said last night, I would never act on it.”

Heather shrugged and smiled enigmatically. “I’m just giving you a hard time.” She leaned in and kissed me. “I’m just too happy to be here, so you have to suffer the consequences of that! But damn, how am I going to sleep alone from now on? That was such a nice night!”

I pulled her close. We listened to the damped sound of the forest as it struggled to wake up from under the weight of winter. The occasional clump of snow was freed from a bending branch, and the light puff of it hitting the soft forest ground peppered our ears every now and then.

“This is such a beautiful place,” Heather mused.

I had to agree.

We returned from our early morning walk to a fragrant house. Melissa had the No. 20 Griswold on top of the wood stove where it was caramelizing a horde of sweet potatoes and pungent onions with some rosemary and sage. Bacon and eggs were sizzling over on the kitchen range.

“What a difference a visitor makes!” Melissa sang, as we hugged her a good morning.

“Huh?”

“I haven’t seen you get up this early on a weekend in over fifteen years, Matt.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, that long, huh? Well, we have to use the time we have,” I added, giving Heather a squeeze.

“Of course. Since you’re here, can you pour a touch more balsamic into that hash? I need to add more bacon to this pan for you two, now that you’re up.”

“Sure.”

“Give them a turn first and then a quick pour, and then another turn.”

Heather and I tended to the tubers, equally grateful for the warmth of the fire and the herbed aroma of the breakfast.

“So did you change your mind about skiing today?” Melissa asked.

“No, we’re still staying home.”

“Just up early for love’s sake, then?”

I winced, but Melissa’s voice was sweet rather than suspicious.

“I’ll hit the slopes when we come back in a few days,” Heather said. “My dad just couldn’t wait, though.”

“Even, we’re going to Brian’s tonight,” I added. “Anyway, is Frej really going to go skiing?”

“Apparently. Should be quite interesting, no?”

Heather laughed. “I almost want to go, just to watch that.”

“Speaking of the devil,” Melissa said with a sly smile.

For a moment I wondered what she meant, but then realized Melissa was actually looking past Heather. Frej emerged from the hallway and clapped a hand on my shoulder in greeting.

“The devil?” he boomed. “What did I do to deserve this title?”

Melissa gave him a mischievous look, but said nothing. In short order, Mairead and Aongus joined us from the guest cabin. Sarah emerged from her room, wearing some dull orange snowsuit overalls that I’d never seen before. Their color went quite well with the sweet potatoes, but probably nothing else.

Melissa frowned at her. “Why did you pull out that old get up?”

Sarah chuckled. “I thought I might fit in better on the bunny slope wearing this.”

“And I thought we threw that out years ago!”

Sarah shrugged. “Let’s eat. I’m starved. Where’s Lara?”

“Still sleeping, or I’m buying a lottery ticket,” Melissa said, glancing at me. “Matt, can you see if she wants to join in?”

“You really want me to wake her up?”

“She might feel left out.”

“Fine. But if I’m not out in five minutes, send a rescue party.”

“Or an undertaker, at that point,” Melissa quipped.

I grunted and gave Heather a questioning look. “Help?”

“You’re on your own for this one!” she replied, smiling.

In the end I was fortunate. Lara was only half asleep, stirring even as I opened the door.

“Hey, you want breakfast?” I called.

She yawned and grunted. It sounded like a negative. Then the aroma of food reached her.

“Mmm. That smells damn good. Maybe I will after all.”

The skiers’ breakfast turned into a family affair, despite the early hour. Lara looked a bit drained, but not unhappy at having chosen to rise. It was a temporary discomfort, though, since she returned to the sack after finishing her meal. As dishes started migrating from table to sink, Sarah, Frej, and Aongus made final preparations to depart for the slopes. I found myself feeling quite content. Despite a relative lack of sleep, what I’d gotten had been deep and satisfying. The past fifteen hours had been a dream. To end it with a tasty breakfast among happy and unsuspecting adults was oddly appropriate.

The morning passed with a low-key mix of food prep, games, and chatter. Heather and I spent an hour exploring winter photography in the woods, but eventually the cold drove us back inside. Hot chocolate was on tap while we played cards with our moms by the wood stove. Lara emerged to join us for lunch. When Mairead and Melissa slipped away to the resort spa for afternoon tea and massages, Lara, Heather and I made our way up to the cabin so that we could review a few songs for the evening gig.

“Party’s going to be fun,” I said, during a break.

“For sure. Are you two going to be able to stay awake, though?” Lara teased.

“Of course!” Heather chirped happily.

“I know you were up late,” Lara observed with a slight grin.

I sniffed, feeling a little heat rise to my face. “So were you eavesdropping, then?”

“No. But I was keeping an ear out for parents, that’s for sure.”

“Thanks for that,” I said gratefully. “How did you manage to come get us in the morning, though? Lucky bathroom trip?”

“I set an alarm.”

I stared at her. “Really? Why?”

Lara looked back at me as if I was daft. “So you two could make an escape, duh. I was up at five, reading in the living room.”

“Wow ... You didn’t have to do that.”

“I had a feeling you wouldn’t wake up in time.”

Heather giggled. “And you were right! It was very cozy in bed. Thanks for saving our asses. We owe you one!”

Lara shrugged. “It’s nothing.” She hesitated a moment as she looked at the floor. “But I guess I do have a favor to ask you.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s more for Heather.”

I shrugged. “Okay.”

Lara eyed me, debating something in her head. I got the impression that the favor wasn’t straightforward.

“Do I need to leave?” I asked.

Lara took a steadying breath. “No, I guess not.”

“What do you need?” Heather asked.

“I want to surprise Pete. I need your help ... with some pictures.”

Heather raised an eyebrow. “Of... ?”

“Of me. Kind of like, you know, like Matt took of you?” Lara explained, laughing shyly.

“A secret Christmas gift for him, huh?”

Lara shrugged. “Something like that. Just to keep him on his toes.”

“We can definitely do that. Did you have anything in mind for the shoot?”

“Not really. Nothing fancy. I was just thinking we could do a few quick snaps right now.” Lara glanced at me. “If you don’t mind.”

“Me? Why would I?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Forget I said that.”

“Okay,” I answered, shrugging it off. She seemed a bit anxious, so I didn’t press.

“I’d be happy to,” Heather said warmly to Lara. “Let me get my camera set up.”

Lara nodded as Heather went into her room.

“Thanks,” she murmured, looking at me with an odd expression.

I nodded as I stood up and grabbed my acoustic guitar. “I’ll let you girls get to it, then. I’m going to practice down at the main house. I’ll keep a lookout for the parents, too.”

“Okay. Any, uh, ideas of what he’d like, before you go?” Lara asked.

I frowned at her as a series of lewd images flashed through my head. I shoved them aside. “I have no idea. You know him way better than I do these days. Anyway, have fun! Remember, we’re heading out in a few hours.”

I slipped out into the cold afternoon, my head a whirl of thoughts. Was this really just a coincidental favor? Or was something else afoot? Were there other surprises to be revealed this weekend?

I spotted the girls ambling back down to the house after a long couple of hours during which I found myself vacillating between feelings of curiosity and arousal. Early in the period, Lara had returned a few times to grab some apparel, but was mum about any progress. I had to work hard to resist the temptation of sneaking up to the cabin to peek in on the session.

Now they were clearly finished. I’ll admit that there was some anxiety lurking in my thoughts as well. Not because of the shoot itself, but because it was a bit odd that Lara hadn’t wanted me to be there. I would’ve bet money that she would’ve jumped at the opportunity to tease me and make me uncomfortable. Instead, she seemed to be quite shy about the whole thing. Then again, it was a good opportunity for the two girls to bond, so I couldn’t complain on that front.

“Get anything good?” I asked, as nonchalantly as I could manage.

“I think so!” Lara chirped.

She was clearly pleased with the two photos she clutched in her hand. From behind her, Heather wore a broad smile as she winked at me.

“Damn, you already printed the shots?” I asked.

“Just a couple,” Heather replied. “Couldn’t resist.”

“I might give them to him tonight, even.”

“Cool,” I said. “Hey, we should probably get ready to go. Shannon will be here in about thirty. Looks like your makeup is already done, Lara.”

“I know, right? But don’t you want to see what we did?” Lara asked me.

I shrugged. “I didn’t know if I was allowed to see them. If you want to show me, that’s cool.”

“If you want,” Lara corrected. “I’m willing to share. You shared your pictures.”

I rose from the couch. “Let’s see them, then.”

Lara passed me the pair of stills. I looked at them without lingering too much. I’d seen Lara naked numerous times, but this seemed different, somehow. Even as I maintained a cool posture relative to the photos, I had to recognize that Heather had shot some really hot pictures. In one, Lara was standing in a bra and heels, my electric guitar slung across her front and covering her middle. She was belting out a note, one arm high in the air. In another, she was nude, tummy down on the bed, looking back at the camera over her shoulder as she penciled lines onto a messy distribution of lyric sheets. With slightly more modesty, these could’ve come straight out of a risqué rock and roll magazine.

“Those are great. I’m sure Pete will love them.” I passed them back to Lara as I glanced out the front window. “Better hide them, though. I see Mom’s car coming.”

“All right. I’m going to get ready. Be out in a bit!”

Heather came over to give me a kiss as Mairead and Melissa made their way toward the house.

“Was it fun?” I asked.

Heather nodded. “Always. We had a good time. Sorry you had to be down here, though. I wish you could’ve helped me, but I wasn’t sure if Lara would be okay with that, so I didn’t say anything. She seems a little nervous about the whole thing.”

I sniffed. “Yeah, a bit odd. But it’s cool. I’m glad you could help her out. I missed you, though.”

“Me too,” she breathed. “But hey, time to party with my man!”

Jonah’s holiday bash was even more of a madhouse than the first one we played at. The influx of college students that had returned to their mountain homes for winter break added to the mayhem and generally upped the energy of the party by an order of magnitude. We had to shove our way through the throng to load in our gear. Jonah came out of the crowd and greeted us, grinning as he gestured to the insanity.

“You guys ready for this?” he yelled.

Carl threw a fist into the air. “Fuck yeah, man!”

“It’s going to be killer!” Bruno agreed.

I was a little less enthusiastic than my band mates, partly because I was wondering what Heather was thinking and partly because I was looking around for a certain familiar face. I made a second run to the car to collect my amplifier. Heather, Shannon and Jonah followed me out. I introduced Heather to Jonah properly, now that the noise level allowed for it.

“Welcome to my castle,” he said with a warm smile.

“I heard a lot about your last party,” Heather gushed. “Should be a blast tonight!”

“Most def!”

Heather got closer to him, glancing at me with an impish grin.

“Hey, is Miss Ellie here again?” she asked him quietly.

“But of course! What do you think this is, a third rate operation?”

We had a laugh at his offended demeanor and fake English accent.

“She’s here,” he continued, normally. “I’m sure you’ll see her inside, ready to please!”

“That is too funny!”

Jonah just winked at her.

“Anyway, Matt, do you need help setting up?” Heather asked me.

“Nah. Nothing you can do, really, so relax for a bit. I doubt we’ll start for another hour at least, right?”

“Maybe half an hour,” Jonah suggested, his lips pursed as he judged the scene. “Place is getting rowdy.”

“All right, then me and Shannon are going to do a little night photography,” Heather said.

I smiled. “Wish I could join you.”

“Maybe later!” she chirped. “We’ll be back in a little while!”

I schlepped my amp into the house and set it down in the same spot as last time. The space seemed smaller today, but it was probably just the extra density of people. I was a bit anxious because of the noisy crowd. I kept my mind on the setup, taking frequent chugs from the beer I’d grabbed from the familiar cooler. Lara came up to me, a smile on her face.

“What’s up?” I yelled.

She opened her mouth, but then indicated the hallway with her head. We headed through the door, stepping into the dark kitchen after a moment. It was quieter here, though loud voices were still required.

“I’m kind of really amped up,” she said. “Don’t know how much longer I can wait to start.”

“We can start in about twenty minutes.”

Lara nodded with resignation. In the main room there was a giddy cheer as something interesting happened. The electricity of the party had an extra edge to it.

“This is pretty insane,” I said, not sure if I completely liked it.

“Yeah, really. You want to smoke?”

I considered, wondering if I should wait for Heather. Then again, I probably needed it if I was going to survive the gig with nerves intact.

“I guess,” I agreed. “Might help us to stay chill.”

“I have plenty for later, don’t worry. Jonah gave me a bag full of fat joints as payment for playing!”

I raised my brows at the evidence she held before me.

“Wow. That’s cool.”

“Hey, let’s go in there,” she pointed.

Lara led me through a dark doorway, into a utility room. The closed door afforded some privacy and quiet, a welcome relief for ears that were already feeling assaulted. We sat side by side on a large box.

“How are you doing?” she asked me.

“Fine. Ready to play, like you.”

“Yeah. But I guess I meant with this afternoon, with the photo shoot. I hope that wasn’t weird.”

“No,” I dismissed. “I’m glad Heather could help you out. Did you give them to Pete yet?”

“No, not yet. I’m actually thinking he’ll be too out of it with the gig tonight to appreciate them.”

“Probably true,” I agreed.

Lara passed me the lit joint.

“So I’ll probably wait after all,” she added. “There’s some other good ones that we didn’t have time to print anyway. Maybe you can print them for me tomorrow?”

“Of course.” I took a long drag of the bone and passed it back to her, before contemplating for a bit. “You know, I would’ve taken the pictures if you asked.”

Lara looked at me sheepishly. “Okay, I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to cut you out. I just didn’t want ... I didn’t think you’d want to be a part of it.”

“Why?”

“Just because,” Lara said evasively. “You don’t always like it when I tease you about things like that, let alone do them. I know last night in your room, you were teasing me, but I’m ... Well, I wasn’t sure.”

“I would’ve helped. But I’m glad you and Heather got to spend some time together anyway.”

“Yeah. She’s so amazing. I was just thinking a couple of quick shots, flash a boob or something. She had different ideas, obviously. Anyway, thanks, Matt. I know it probably was awkward and boring and hard to hang out at the house by yourself.”

“Nah, least I could do, since you saved my ass this morning!”

“No problem. And next time, maybe I’ll feel okay about asking you. It’s just that Pete...” She cut off her statement again with a dismissive wave of her hand. “How was last night anyway?”

I sighed with contentment as I blew out another cloud of smoke. “So amazing! And so interesting.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“I’ll tell you some other time. But it was great.”

Lara narrowed her eyes. “So how many times did you make up for?”

“Just three.”

Lara giggled. “Nice! That’s the most I’ve ever done in one go, too.”

“Ooh, so we’re tied three-three?”

Lara laughed wildly. “Oh, I see how it is. Well, you might have a better chance of taking the lead for now.”

I frowned. “Why?”

Lara exhaled her hit. It turned into a melancholy sigh. “I don’t know what’s up with Pete. He’s in his own world lately. He’ll be cool one moment, but as soon as I try to get close, he closes up.”

“Nerves. He’s always been a bit shy.”

“He sure hasn’t been this shy in the past few months. Like I said, I’ve had some good times with him. He definitely isn’t shy when we’re alone. The whole band thing has been a bit weird lately. He was really wanting to learn Then She Did. We had a blast working that up together. He was intense, you know, saying all these things about how we were going to take the band somewhere big.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t really show it to anyone else. But he was really high on it with me. Then all of a sudden, in the last few days, he’s gone. I mean, he played great last night, but like you saw, something was off with his mood. I don’t know. We’ll see. Maybe he’s having his male period or something.”

I chuckled. “Maybe. Probably don’t tell him that, though. Anyway, after these gigs finish up, he’ll probably relax a bit. Cut him some slack.”

“Oh, I am, Matt. I’m not bugging him. I don’t even know where he’s off to, but whatever. Still, I can’t put my finger on it, but something is slightly weird. That’s kind of why I wanted to take these pictures. Try something new and different.”

“I’m sure he’ll like them.”

“I hope so.” Lara stared off at something not in the room. “I’ll admit that I’m feeling a bit nervous about giving the pics to him. So this afternoon, it wasn’t that I didn’t want you to be there. I did, really. But I just wanted to keep it low key, just in case, you know ... So things wouldn’t be weird for Pete, in case he asked how, well...” Lara seemed at a loss to explain herself.

“Hey, no sweat, sis. Don’t worry about me. I told you it’s cool. Let’s focus on the gig now, and kick some ass again tonight. Pete will be fine. And I’m here for you, all the way. No matter what. You need anything, just lean on me, okay?”

Lara patted my thigh as she looked at me, her expression a mix of emotions. “Thanks, Matt. It’s probably the coolest thing ever that I’m in a band with you, you know?”

I smiled. “Same here.”

“Where’s Heather anyway?”

“Off with Shannon.”

“Oh yeah? Something going on there?” Lara teased.

“I don’t know. You think there is?”

“I was just kidding, Matt.”

“I know. So was I. They’re taking some pictures of the stars, or something.”

“Nice. All right, let’s go sound check while we can. I need to do something before I explode!” Lara cried.

I put a restraining arm on her rising shoulder. “Before we go, can I ask a favor?”

“Sure,” Lara replied as she sat again.

“There’s a slight chance Alana will be here tonight.”

“How do you know?”

“She lives around here,” I said vaguely. “Probably she won’t be here, but anything is possible.”

Lara considered my words. “You did tell Heather, right?”

“Yeah, I did last night. No problem there. And like I said, I can tell you more later. But the favor is that maybe you can try to be around if things seem weird.”

A frown crossed Lara’s eyes. “What are you worried about?”

“Not worried about anything. If Alana’s cool, like I think she is, then you don’t have to do anything. But if she starts acting weird, then, you know, just hang out and help keep things in line.”

Lara nodded supportively as she narrowed one eye. “Just let me know what you need.”

“Thanks. Like I said, probably no big deal.” I stood up. “All right, are we still going to do one long set?”

“I think that’s the way to go.”

I grinned as I opened the door. The party sounded less scary now. “Cool. Good call on the weed. I’m feeling much more relaxed!”

Lara gave a chuckle, following me as I pushed back into the chaos.

In the main room of Jonah’s house, people were crammed right up to the invisible line that made up our stage area. The colder air of December meant that even die-hard outdoor folk were staying inside, so the party was compacted. Pete was on stage, so Lara peeled off to talk to him. I took a deep breath and made for the cooler, ready to grab a second beer.

“Can I get you anything, sir?”

Heh, Miss Ellie! Her voice came from just over my shoulder, so I turned with a grin. There she was, similar Goth outfit, her eyes like sparkling blue pools surrounded by basalt sand. And the black lipstick, of course. For an instant, it was like greeting an old friend. But she wasn’t blonde this time.

Holy fuck. I was dumbstruck for a long moment as I realized that it wasn’t even Hayley. Not that it had to be the same girl, but I was definitely not expecting her to be Miss Ellie! Her lively eyes pierced me as I stuttered a series of half-starts.

Her reserved smiled broadened. “Miss Ellie, at your service!” She couldn’t help giggling, despite trying to stay in persona.

“What—I thought—Jonah—”

I stammered for a bit more. She just watched me flail about, a wide grin on her face.

“Need a beer, sir?” she finally interrupted.

“Uh, sure.”

She retrieved one from the cooler. When she was before me again, I regained some composure.

“How are you?” I asked. “Sorry for being so surprised. Last time, Miss Ellie was someone else. And I didn’t recognize you for a second, with the black eye shadow and lipstick and all!”

“Dude, it’s great to see you!” Alana said, as warmly as she could given the volume we had to yell at.

“Yeah, same here. Wow!”

“I’d give you a hug, but the servants aren’t allowed to touch the guests. Well, unless asked to,” she added with a wink. “Anyway, I’ll let you get set up. If you need anything at all, you let me know, all right? I’m here all night long!”

I nodded absently as I watched her disappear into the crowd.

“Hey Matt!”

I whirled around at Carl’s urgent voice.

“Let’s do a sound check!” he yelled.

Lara and Pete were still talking. Clearly she had not seen Alana, or at least she hadn’t recognized her. I shook out of my state and strapped on my guitar, but the echo of Alana’s face still distracted me.