Page 43 of And Then There's You

He laughs into the kiss he places on the top of my head and then disappears somewhere behind the stage.

“I’m Maci. He left out that part.” I roll my eyes. “Why do guys always seem to mess up introductions?”

“Let this one slide. I already know who you are.” She winks. “But also because boys are idiots. Whatcha drinking?”

“Whiskey sour?”

“That is, like, the most old man drink you could possibly order. Let me make you a drink.” Her eyes are so blue and light up with her smile.

“Okay, as long as I don’t get too drunk before the show. I want to be able to tell Mack I loved it without wondering if I’m lying or not.” I laugh.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen them play? How long have you two been together?” she asks while pouring a chaotic amount of ingredients into a shaker.

I have a feeling she already knows, but answer anyway. “Ummm, I’m not sure we are officially together. I mean, I’ve known him since I was in middle school, but we just started hanging out. My best friend kind of set us up.”

“Ahhh, classic tale. Well, Mack is a sweet guy. L.A. isn’t always kind to newcomers, but he’s lucky he found me, and I’ll take him any day over anyone from around here.” Her words don’t have a hint of threat in them, giving me the impression there’s no romantic history between them at all. “Mostly it’s just the two of us sticking together.”

She pushes a very blue drink across the counter toward me. I take one sip through the straw and nearly choke on how strong it is. “What is this?” I scrunch up my face at her. It tastes like it has five different types of alcohol in it. I might as well just take shots.

“A chill pill.” She laughs. She’s sassy, and I can see why Mack is friends with her. I know I’m going to love her already. “Seriously, why do you look so nervous?”

I lean forward, resting my chin on my fists, hovering over my drink. “It’s nerve wracking, being in a city I don’t know…with someone I don’t really know.” I wonder how much Mack has told her about me.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve lived here my whole life and still don’t understand this city.” The spark in her eyes disappears for a moment, before she perks back up. “As far as Mack goes, that’s what this weekend is for, right? To get to know each other better?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I know we have time, but I also want to know everything at once. You know?”

“Not really.” She shrugs. “I don’t date. Mommy issues.” She squats down to pull freshly washed glasses out of the dishwasher.

“Oh. Well, it’s a roller coaster for sure.” I want to know more about her, but that’s a conversation for a different time.

“But what I do know is until a few weeks ago, he never mentioned anyone special, let alone brought them around. I’ve never seen him serious about getting to know someone until now. So, I wouldn’t worry.”

Once people start filtering in, Lexy gets busy making more drinks. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but if I keep coming back to visit Mack, it’ll be nice to know someone else in L.A. It’s crazy we are living completely different lives in different places.

I finally hear the slight screech of a microphone and look up from my drink. “Hey everybody, thanks for coming out tonight. I’m Mack, and this is Where We Are.” He turns to look at his band as the room goes dark and the lights shine bright on the stage. It's a fairly small venue so I can see Mack perfectly. He’s wearing the same jeans and a t-shirt I saw him in an hour ago, but now he’s holding a guitar in his hand. Instead of his backward hat, his dark brown hair is free and messed up a bit, in a sexy way. In a very sexy way. I can’t stop staring at him. Seeing him looking like that–on a stage–gives me feelings I never expected to have.

He plays a few chords, and that’s when I hear his singing voice for the first time. “Holy shit.” My mouth falls open.

Lexy must have been standing right behind me when I said it. “Get it together, Maci, you look like all the other love sick twenty-something year olds in this place.” She laughs, handing me another drink.

I shake my head to snap me out of my trance. “Thank goodness I don’t have to lie about him being good. But you could have given a girl some warning.”

“What? That your boyfriend sounds like an angel?”

I haven’t heard the term boyfriend in association with me in so long, but I like the way it sounded just now. “I mean, I was going to say like the American version of Jamie Miller, this singer who was onThe Voice UK. But yeah, same thing, because I’m equally as obsessed. How am I supposed to not jump him on stage?” Wow Maci, calm down.

“Chill out tiger, you still have a 90 minute set to get through.” She’s still laughing as her blonde ponytail swings over her shoulder, turning around to help the obnoxious guy throwing straw wrappers to get her attention.

The rest of the night flies by. I stop after my second drink because I have limited time this weekend to figure out if whatever Mack and I have going on is more than just comfort, attraction and really good kissing. That kiss earlier, it was something else, and I can’t help but let my mind wander to it. It was different from kissing Dean. With him, it was like electricity was running through me. But this, I don’t know how to describe it other than it just felt right.

I know there’s technically no rush, but living a plane ride away makes me feel like we need to decide when I leave here if this is worth pursuing or not. There I go again. Avery isn’t even here, and I’m putting pressure on this myself.

“Another one?” Lexy yells over the music?

I shake my head at her.

Half the crowd pays their tabs, while the other half filters out of the venue. I’m sitting antsy on the bar stool, watching Mack put his guitar away. When he looks up and catches my gaze, he jumps off the stage and heads my way.

---