By the time I get myself cleaned up and back out to the bar, Will and the rest of the guys are already up on stage getting their instruments and equipment set up.
"Hey!" Sarah calls over the crowd. "What happened to you?"
Picking up my drink, I take one look at it and down the whole thing. I'm so pissed that I could cry, but I'd still like to have a nice time with Sarah, so lets aim for drunk instead.
"Sorry, I couldn't find the bathroom," I lie before shaking my empty glass at her. "Do you want another?"
"That's funny," she says."Adam and Alex were having some trouble finding Will too..."
She watches my face for any signs of telling. I know exactly where she's going with this, I'm screwed.
Sarah is relentless when she's suspicious. I once kissed a guy in high school and didn't tell her about it. A few weeks later I said hi to him at the grocery store and it must have came out a single octave higher than normal or something, because she would not stop questioning me about it until I told her everything.
I cock my head towards the stage, ignoring whatever she's implying.
"Looks like they found him."
"Yeah, but you know what?," she says, "I could have sworn that I saw him follow you to the bathroom Iz. But it must have been by chance that the both of you went missing at the same time right? I mean, it's not like he's been staring at you like a dog in heat all night or anything,"
Her eyes zero in on me. She's always so to the point.
"Your hair is a mess by the way sis,"she says, "someone have their hands tangled in it?"
Sarah takes a sip of her drink as a satisfied grin spreads across her face. She knows she has me now.
"My hair is fine Sarah!," I snap.
I quickly comb my fingers through it though, finding some more little knots and trying to loosen them.
"As for Will," I say, "I don't know what to tell you, he was probably somewhere with that girl."
"Nope," Sarah chimes, elongating the word needlessly and making a popping sound with the P.
"She was right out here with me. Oh you know what? You were right by the way, shes a delight!"
"Thats great, anyway, a drink,?" I ask again, dodging her digging.
"Ugh, yes!, she says. "We can get a drink Izzy, but only after you tell me what you think you're doing."
"I'm trying to enjoy my night with you," I say, "but you're not making it easy."
"I meant what do you think you're doing with Will?"
Damn she's insistent.
"I wasn't with Will," I tell her, "I'm not doing anything with Will, and I won't be doing anything with Will in the future. Happy?"
At least the last part is true.
Obviously Sarah's not happy, she wants me to spill my guts, but I'm not giving in, so there's little she can do about it.
I leave her there to chew on it and head to the bar myself.
My gaze can't avoid the stage as I wait to be served. I feel Will watching me, waiting to get my attention. When I give him a quick glance, he mouths something at me, I'm half sure it's 'talk later', but I scrunch my face up in disgust and turn back to the bar. He can't talk his way out of this, now or later.
I quickly make the decision that I won't be drowning any sorrows here either. I've promised Sarah a good time together and I'm going to deliver. This night should have been about the two of us anyway, so when I get back to the table with our drinks, I paint on a smile and make 'fun Izzy' my whole personality.
"Oh fantastic!," Sarah says. She takes her drink from me and begins to tell me all about some new position Mark was promoted to at work. Typical Mark, we ride here together, talk half the evening and he never even mentions it. The man couldn't boast if his life depended on it.
Mark works his ass off. He's a mechanic by trade, but he's moving towards electric vehicles now, so an opportunity came up for him to manage a few technicians and oversee the work they do. It's a nice step up for him, he should be bragging!
Sarah has worked part time at a publishing house for as long as she's had the girls. She likes it, so plans to go full time as soon as they're both a bit older. It's great to see things working out for them. It was a bit hectic for awhile when the girls first arrived, but they always said it was all part of the plan.
We cheers to Mark when he gets back, I give him a bit of a hard time for not telling me his good news, but I keep it to a minimum because I know that Sarah won't ask me any more questions with him here, so I don't want him rushing off.
Things are just about ready to start on stage. Mark tries to shush Sarah and I as if we're in a movie theatre, I'm undecided on it being annoying or adorable.
There's another guitarist up there with Adam and Will, I've no idea who, possibly the guy Will mentioned before, the one they're looking to try out.
All the voices and noise around me fades away as I hold my breath when I see Will approach the mic.
A single guitar begins to strum, the lights on stage stay low and Wills voice fills every speaker in the bar, completely surrounding me. It's soft and melodic, exactly as I recall it.
It drives me insane.
I want to be repulsed by him, I want to hate him. Instead I'm imagining listening to that voice for the rest of my life. Over these speakers, low moans in my ear, I don't care which.
Will pauses as the music stops, taking a look out at the crowd, a smile spreads across his face. He enjoys this more than anything else in the world and it shows.
The drums kick in as the lights go up and the whole place literally erupts.
Wills stage presence is enchanting. He has an unbelievable amount of charisma. That cocky demeanour makes all the sense in the world right now. He's a showman.
The bodies cramped onto the sorry excuse for a dance floor are short of crushing each other as they bounce around. There's a huge amount of people singing along, they know every word. That's what he said he loved most, its got be an amazing feeling.
The atmosphere is like some sort of stadium concert. There's loud relentless guitar patterns, wild drumming and a whole lot of crowd interaction. It's actually really exciting to watch.
If our positions were reversed, and I were up there knowing that he was watching me, I'm not so sure I'd be able to perform at my best. It really is a testament to how well he's mastered his craft.
The band plays a few songs of their own and then they start to pepper their set with a few covers. Of all the songs I expected to hear, an almost comical 'Let's Hear It For The Boy' wasn't one of them, but Sarah and I got to squeeze in some Footloose dance moves all the same.
At this point, we've both gotten a bit heavy handed with the drinks. I'm pretty buzzed, so I have zero qualms about getting up and dancing with my sister. I owe her a lot of my time, so I'm making sure she gets it.
We dance and sing together, making up for the last few weeks apart. Sarah pulls Mark up with us for a little bit until he backs away laughing, he's not a big dancer.
Eventually we move back to the table for a breather, almost worn out. We get another round of drinks and sing along from the table. I check my watch to find that Will and the guys have been on stage for nearly two hours already. Wills hair is drenched with sweat and his shirt is stuck to his body. It's impossible not to look at.
The music dies down as Will then takes centre stage and commands the full attention of the crowd in front of him. He pushes his hair from his forehead and pulls the microphone from its stand.
"Wow!," he yells to the crowd. "Thank you all so very much for coming out to see us, is everybody having a good time?"
There's a loud roar of cheers from the dance floor, followed by whistles and applause.
"We're Small Edit as you might already know."
More cheers follow on from that, Marks being one of the loudest.
"We have one more song lined up for you guys," Will says, "and then I'm afraid that's all from us for tonight."
There's an audible disappointment from the crowd that Will shamelessly plays up to.
"We've never done this one before, we normally finish with one of our own, but sometimes its good to get a taste of something a little different," he says as he smiles. People at the front shout up at him and call out names of songs they want to hear, but when he catches my eye and holds it just a little too long, I cant help but wonder what he's up to.
I suddenly feel a harsh tug on my arm. Sarah's there, her lips pursed, something tells me that look from Will just told her everything she needs to know.
"Oh you have some explaining to do lady," she says.
My mouth runs dry, oh no.
The stage lights turn up one last time and the starting cords of a very familiar song kick in. Sarah's eyes light up.
"Fuck it!," she says, "Tell me later, right now you're coming to dance with me!"
We're like two kids on Christmas morning, squeeling as she drags me into the depths of the dance floor right as the first few lines ring out.
"She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean,
She was the best damn woman that I ever seen..."
Drunken me couldn't be anymore excited right now. Sarah and I have loved AC/DC since we were kids, Will knows this, I know I told him. He couldn't have chosen this song for me surely? No way, he's been mad at me all week.
Whatever it was that made them pick it, I'll take it, because this is exactly what Sarah and I needed.
As we dance, Sarah leans in and tells me how happy she is that I came out. I pull her into a big hug as we sway together singing along. She half shouts into my ear that as soon as the song is over we're going outside, she wants to know everything.
Not in a million years sis.
I spot Mark and sloppily beckon him over, curling my finger at him.
"Here," I tell him, "dance with your wife!"
I twirl her around and hand her over.
"Marky!," she screams as he tries to protest.
My job here is done.
I sneak off to get my jacket and grab a cab out front so that I don't have to explain anything to Sarah just yet. I think I'd like to to hold onto this secret a little longer.
I'm probably at my limit here for drinks too, because the floor has a spin to it that I'm positive it didn't have earlier. I don't want to get too messy, the week has been a long one for me, so it's easier to get going and sleep it all off.
I hang back at the table for a minute more, watching Will and the band play out the rest of one of my favourite songs. The crowd here are eating it up, but the guys are just having fun with it. It's fantastic.
They finish up and I hear Will thanking every one for coming along again. He must be on cloud nine right now after that.
I quickly make my way out front, ready to get my ass home. It's a little too early to get a cab from out front just yet, so I request an Uber on my phone. I walk a bit further up the street, moving away from the bar just incase Sarah or Mark come outside looking for me, and then I shoot Sarah a message to let her know that I was feeling a little drunk so went home. I make sure to thank her for a great time too. We will absolutely be doing it again.
"And just where do you think you're going?"
That smooth as silk voice catches me from behind. Will. Still drenched with sweat, still gorgeous.
I know exactly where I'm going, but what is he up to? He shouldn't be out here immediately after a show like that.
"I could ask you the same thing," I say, "why aren't you celebrating after that performance."
"Is that a compliment Isobel?"
"Am I not allowed to give those?"
"Well it's a far cry from calling me an asshole," he says.
"You are an asshole," I counter, "just an insanely talented one."
"You're going to feel really silly when you find out what Dan was actually talking about."
The reminder of my earlier embarrassment sends a hot flush to my cheeks. No matter how magnetic he was up on stage, I'm still mad.
"I think you've followed the wrong girl Will," I tell him. "Go back in and see if you can convince Ashley to fuck you backstage, I won't be."
"That's very crude Isobel," he says, furrowing his brows at me but keeping his smile in place.
My cheeks redden a little more, I have a mouth like a sailor when I'm drinking.
"Don't be embarrassed," he says, noticing my pink hue, "I like that you have a dirty mouth, obviously."
That wipes the sulk right off my face. I better steer this conversation to safer ground.
"I was trying to Houdini before Sarah gave
me a pop quiz on why we went missing together earlier," I say, "She's been at me all night.
"She noticed?"
"She sure did. Sarah would find a needle in a haystack in less than a damn a minute, she's like a bloodhound."
"Yeah," Will says, "Alex noticed too. Don't worry though, I told him I was gone so long because you were giving me the best blow job I'd ever had in the supply closet."
My eyes bulge, he didn't?
"I'm kidding Isobel!," he says with a laugh. "Well, not about it being the best I've had."
"If you think compliments on my technique will stop me being mad, you're wrong, I know exactly what I bring to the table in that regard Will."
"Wow, check you out," he jeers. "I don't think I've seen you cocky about anything before. I'm intrigued…"
"And you'll stay that way I'm afraid. You're running out of time to tell me this explanation that you mentioned," I say, waving my phone at him.
"I've just hailed an Uber, looks like you have exactly six minutes."
"An Uber? While drunk and alone? Do you not watch any true crime Isobel?"
"I'm not that drunk," I argue, "and I can handle myself."
We both know that's not exactly true, but thankfully Will stays polite and says nothing.
"Let me give you a ride home," he offers."
"I doubt Adam or Alex would be very happy if you just left them in the lurch to clean up all the equipment, or Mark for that matter."
"I'll talk to them. Frankie's in there too. He can help, they won't mind."
"Was that the guitarist you wanted to try out?," I ask.
"The very one. He was good right? I think we're gonna go with him."
"He was. Really good actually. He's a great choice, but really, you should go back in. I don't need a ride... or anything else."
"I'm not letting you get in an Uber when my car is right there Isobel," Will insists. "I'm taking you home."
He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys and pressing a button to unlock the red BMW that sits right beside me. How convenient.
"You've been drinking," I remind him.
"Non-alcoholic, just like every time we play," he says. "I don't want to mess up, so I don't touch anything until after."
That's dedication, I'll give him that.
"Don't you want to go back in and start your after then?," I say. "You guys were great, you should be celebrating, honestly I'll be fine."
"I've done shows like this one hundred times, I'll do it another hundred. I'll only get one chance to take you home right now though."
Oh god. Who could say no to that? Me, I can, I have to!
"No thanks Will," I say as I turn away and continue my way up the street. I hope that will be the end of it, but he follows in hot pursuit.
"I'll tell you why you shouldn't be mad at me," he teases.
I huff as I come to a stop.
"Can't you just tell me now?"
"I could," he says, "but I won't. Not unless you get in the car."
It's hard to resist that carrot as he dangles it infront of me.
"C'mon, just say yes," he says. "Otherwise I'll have to follow your Uber driver and that's gonna' be awkward for us all."
I begin to waver, I do really want to know what the barman was talking about, but I don't want to compromise myself anymore than I already have.
"No funny business?," I ask as I eyeball him. I'm not sure how much I trust him.
"Promise," he says, "just a ride home."
"Alright," I give in, "if you're sure. Thanks."
Will opens the passenger door of his car while I quickly cancel the Uber and climb in.
"Back in a minute," he calls over his shoulder, heading back inside.
I pull the tiny bag I took with me onto my lap, taking out my compact and touching up the powder on my face before reapplying some lipgloss. My makeup stayed in place pretty much all night with zero questions asked, that got to be a small victory.
I flip down the mirror on the visor, checking my hair before closing it back up and sitting back.
Did I just freshen up for myself or for Will?
When he gets back to the car a few minutes later, I notice Will has changed himself into a white t-shirt, and his hair looks like he's restyled it too. As he climbs into the driver seat, the smell of fresh cologne wafts through the car. Clearly he took a minute to clean up too. I smile to myself, knowing full well that if I did it for him, then he must have done it for me.
Will drives us out onto a busier street. The lights overhead blur passed me as I look out the window, I can't tell if I'm actually drunk or just floating on air by being here with him. It's annoying that he can make me feel like that.
He's completely unable to contain his excitement about the performance.
"So did you like it?," he asks.
"The show? Oh it was unbelievable," I tell him. "I feel like I've missed out on seeing you guys all of this time."
He rolls his eyes at how oblivious I am.
"Not us Isobel, the song!"
"Oh my god!," I practically gush. "AMAZING! Did you see the crowd?"
"I saw you," he says.
"Oh no, I bet I was like some sort of fan girl."
I cover my face with my hands, mortified that he caught a glimpse of Sarah and I dancing.
"No that's good," he insists. "We love to see people getting into it. I was worried that song wouldn't work out, but I really wanted to do it."
"You did a great job, I wouldn't worry. People were crazy for it."
"Thanks, I'm glad you got to see it."
He hesitates, taking a breath before telling me something.
"I actually knew you were still planning on coming tonight after I told you not to. Sarah told Adam a bunch of times. She was really excited to bring you along."
"I see… so, you wanted me to hear it?,"
I ask.
"Of course I did, I chose it for you."
Wow. To say that I'm bowled over would be an understatement, so much so that I have to try and hide the fact that I'm getting emotional about it.
"You... you're um... you're really talented Will," I say.
All other words seem to fail me. Nobody has ever done anything like that for me.
Will sits quietly, smiling to himself while I start to blabber on about how fantastic the night was.
"Did you see Sarah," I ask him, "Gosh she nearly pulled my arm off to get to the dance floor! I thought she was about to faint like girls used to do around The Beatles."
"Yeah? It was her sister I was shooting for, but a Tully is a Tully right?"
"Hey!" I say, playfully swatting his leg.
My stomach is flip flopping. I have to remind myself that I'm still mad at him just to make it stop.
"So what happened to that girl Ashley?"
I'm genuinely not trying to be a bitch when I ask, but I am curious.
"I think we both had our eyes on someone else tonight," he says, biting the inside of his cheek.
My eyes light up from the information he's just given me.
"No!?," I say dramatically. "You mean to tell me the great Will Mc Don Juan was being used to make someone else jealous? You must be distraught!"
"Remember the bassist she kept mentioning?," he says with a chuckle.
"Oh my, I take it you're heartbroken of course?"
"Sure, something like that," he says sarcastically. "It worked out in her favour anyway, I saw them leave together just before we started."
"Oh. Well good for her."
I'm not too sure how I actually feel about Will using someone else like that, even if she was doing the same thing. I don't know what kind of person it makes him, but as if he can read my mind, he answers the question I'm asking myself.
"I saw an opportunity to get your attention and I took it Izzy," he says. "If Ashley was someone that I thought was genuinely interested in me, I'd of never done it. I know I was being a bit of dick trying to make you jealous, but I dont know, I think I just needed to see if it mattered to you."
"Oh… I guess you got your answer huh?," I say.
"I did. And I think it's just made things a whole lot harder."
I go back to staring out the window as Will keeps driving. I've never felt so happy but so sad at the same time.
He's right. We did make this harder, and I hate it because now it feels like there's an 'either or' decision to be made.
Before tonight, there was a line, it was a little faded, but it was there. What I did back at the bar has moved us way passed that line now.
I had no entitlement to my jealously. Will is the single one of us, he can do what he wants, with that girl Ashley or whoever. It's me that's the issue here.
I should have controlled myself. It was only days ago that I decided I loved Jamie enough to try work on things, and now not even a week later, I'm the one that's messed it up. My whole heart feels like its sinking.
"Get out of your head Izzy," Will says, breaking my spiralling thought pattern.
He's trying to watch me and the road at the same time. I'm sure he knows exactly where my mind is. I attempt to take his advice all the same, the drive to my apartment is a short one, I can wait until I'm home to beat myself up about all of this.
Staring out the windscreen, all I can see now is a sea of black. I've no idea where we are. This isn't the route I'd of taken, there's normally streetlights and buildings just about all the way back to my apartment block.
"Where are we?," I ask, squinting to see if I can recognise anything.
"I'm taking you somewhere," Will says,
keeping his eyes on the road.
"What? You said straight home? I have to go."
"Did you tell him you were on your way back?"
"No, but..."
"Well then," he says softly, "we have time."
Will reaches across and places his hand on my knee, keeping it there as we drive and leaving a heap of untangle-able knots in my stomach.
Somehow, I don't think even an eternity of time with him would be enough.