Page 15 of Wish We Were There

Everything was silent for a beat, and Taylor’s fingers relaxed on Parker’s leg. He finally sucked in a breath, not realizing that he’d been holding it since Taylor had first grabbed his leg. Luckily, Angie gasped at the same moment Parker did, so it didn’t seem too obvious.

“Oh, what?” she exclaimed, a grin spreading across her face. “Taylor, that’s sick. Awesome!”

Parker blinked, still trying to process. That hadn’t been exactly what he’d expected Taylor to say, but it would segue into the rest well enough, he supposed. Taylor’s grip had relaxed, but his hand still rested on Parker’s thigh. Part of him wanted to place his own hand over Taylor’s to comfort him; but maybe that would only make it worse, so he clenched both his hands into fists and kept them firmly at his sides.

“Yeah, I figured a change of pace would be good for me,” Taylor continued, still sounding breathless. “And it was such a bummer when the Bridge closed... I heard Zed was selling it, and I knew I needed to act on it, you know?”

Kylie was watching Taylor, as if she too was unsure why this was what Taylor had led with. Angie was still all smiles, but Dean seemed to immediately pick up on how Parker and Kylie appeared surprised for a different reason.

“Seems like it might take up a lot of your time,” he said, his voice even. “Are you still gonna have enough time for the band?”

Taylor’s grip tightened around Parker’s leg again, somehow even harder than before—Parker could feel his hand start to tremble, could hear it in his wavering voice as he replied,

“Well, that’s the other thing. I’m... I think I’m done with the band, guys.”

This time the silence dragged on for several seconds with everyone’s eyes locked on Taylor, who was looking firmly down at his empty plate. His grip on Parker’s thigh was becoming painful; more out of reflex than anything, Parker’s hand went to grab Taylor’s and give a reassuring squeeze. Taylor tensed at the contact; but before Parker could pull his hand away self-consciously, the death grip on his thigh relaxed and Taylor’s fingers interlaced with his own instead.

Parker was sure the flush that rose in his face would be visible to everyone else if they bothered to look—but luckily, they all still seemed focused entirely on Taylor.

“Seriously, dude?” Dean finally scowled, and his sister reached over and smacked his shoulder hard. “Ouch! Angie, what the fuck?”

“Don’t say it like that!” Angie replied, frowning at her brother, but her eyes were suddenly glassy. “It’s not—It’s not a surprise, okay? We already talked about how this might happen. Don’t be a dick about it, Dean.”

“Do you know how many people would kill to be in our position?” Dean replied sullenly, glancing between Angie and Taylor. “Taylor, we made it. Do you really want to throw it all away now?”

“Zach was half the appeal of the band,” Kylie interrupted, making Dean roll his eyes. “I’m serious, guys. Without Zach, the band would never be the same anyway. That’s just the reality of it. Even if he didn’t write almost every song, it’s still all in his voice. There was no guarantee we were gonna make it past this, anyway. Taylor’s just seeing the writing on the wall.”

Angie wiped her eyes, sniffling loudly. “No, you’re right. And we had the same thoughts. Zach was... I mean, I guess all bands are like this. Yeah. I’m really sorry to hear that, though, Taylor. I love making music with you guys. I’m just sad it’s really over.”

“Well, Parker had a great idea for one last show,” Taylor said, his voice still shaking. Parker flinched at being addressed—so far he’d just been a fly on the wall, but Taylor saying his name brought him back into the conversation all at once. “Once the new venue is open... Maybe we could do a charity show, or something like that. One last hurrah to make sure everyone’s taken care of before we officially end it, you know?”

Angie smiled, but somehow Dean looked even more displeased at that.

“Everyone, huh?” he asked, and the mood in the room seemed to change completely. Angie’s brow furrowed, and Kylie huffed in annoyance, folding her arms across her chest. Both looked over at Taylor—some unspoken question in their eyes—who released Parker’s hand all at once, inexplicably shying away from him. Parker glanced over at him, confused, but Taylor wouldn’t meet his gaze. He looked askance at the others, but Dean and Angie’s expressions told him nothing—Kylie seemed to flinch at his gaze and gave a tiny shake of her head.

There was something going on only the band knew about—despite his curiosity, it clearly made Taylor uncomfortable, so he held back the questions brimming on the tip of his tongue.

“You know what I mean,” Taylor finally said, his voice small as he shot Dean a stern look. “Everyone, yeah.”

Dean scoffed, then shrugged.

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “One last show sounds good to me.”

“Definitely,” Angie agreed firmly. “Count us in. Do you have an idea of when?”

Taylor barked out a nervous laugh. “Not at all. I don’t even have the keys yet, and there are some renovations that need to happen before we can start thinking of booking shows. So don’t post or say anything about it yet. But I’ll keep everyone updated for sure.”

“Who will sing?” Kylie asked softly. Taylor glanced at her, then at the others.

“We all can,” he replied, just as faint. “We’ve all done backup vocals at some point, right? We’ll all sing together.”

Angie managed a watery smile. “Yeah. That’s sweet. Parker, that was your idea?”

“Oh, uh,” Parker stammered, taken aback. “The show was my idea, that’s all. Everything else is all Taylor.”

Angie smiled at him, her expression warm now. Somehow that was even more confusing—why was everyone flip-flopping about him right in front of his face? “It’s a good idea. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied, forcing himself to smile in response, despite his confusion. “I’m happy to help however I can.”

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