fucked up, and she can't say a thing. I didn't even know if she knew that we weren't really brother and sister.
I walked back around. The coffee shop was filling up fast, so I knew I had to claim a seat quickly. James had been tuning his guitar on the left side of the stage and was already plugged into an amp, so I knew that he'd be over there. Luckily, there was one on the far left in the third row, and I snatched it up. The concert wasn't set to start for another 30 minutes or so, so I pulled out my phone and began to look over myFace.
Suddenly, I received an email from Tessa.
––––––––
D id you talk to him yet?
––––––––
I knew she was just looking out for me, but I also knew that I could look out for myself. Well, most of the time anyway. James had saved me from a guy named Dennis who didn't know that “no means no” just the other day. Still, I'd be fine for now. I emailed her back.
––––––––
N ot yet. His concert is going to start in a few minutes, then there's a party back at his place.
––––––––
T essa replied back almost immediately.
––––––––
H old onto your drink all night.
––––––––
N ow that was an eye-roll inducing statement. Did she think that James had roofied Audrey now? That was pretty unfair. I emailed her back as quickly as I could.
––––––––
I 'll let you know how it went.
––––––––
T hen I turned off my phone. I didn't need to hear any more from her after that. By this point, James was back on stage, tuning his guitar again. I expected him to occasionally look down at me, but he was completely engrossed in that guitar.
It kind of reminded me of the single-mindedness with which he pursued his business. Oblivious to the world around him, he made deals for the simple joy of making them. Now, he was oblivious once again to the world happening around him, concentrating only on the problem in front of him. I could tell he was enjoying it, that he took joy in making his guitar sound perfect. I felt like it gave me an insight into his soul.
A guy walked out on stage. I had seen him before, working on the sound system. What was his name? Ryan. He looked more confident now than he had been when James was yelling at him about his little sister's karaoke machine. His short hair was a sandy blonde, he had bolts in his ears, and I could see tattoos on his body. He looked like the embodiment of a bad boy rocker. It seemed a little strange, but he was holding a large reusable grocery bag.
He stepped to the mic, then looked at James. James nodded at him. Ryan smiled and grabbed the mic. “Who's ready for Lefty and the Sharks?”
A cheer came up from the crowd. It was hardly a huge crowd, maybe sixty or seventy people, but they filled this half of the coffee shop to the brim. However, a few of them were quite enthusiastic, sending a few hoots and hollers up to the band.
A drummer sat down at his set, and another guy had a bass guitar. Ryan didn't have a guitar, but I guessed he was going to be doing the singing tonight.
“Now, I know that you all know that I don't have a liquor license, so I can't sell you any alcohol. However...” He bent down and pulled a bottle of whiskey from the bag that he had brought on stage. “That doesn't mean that I can't give away some to my friends. With the purchase of a coffee, of course.”
Another cheer came from the crowd. He bent down and handed the bottle to someone in the first row. I saw Anne pull out the two bottles of whiskey from behind the counter and some disposable plastic shot glasses. I was pretty sure that it was just as illegal for him to give the alcohol away as it was to sell it, but then again, I'm sure James could buy his way out of any trouble here. Maybe he had even cleared it with the cops first. James was the type who would have all his bases covered like that.
Ryan took another bottle out of the bag, then opened it