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"Dinner's served!" Sarah called out, carrying out the chicken paillard with pasta and setting it on the table, unknowingly saving me.
"Alright!" Grant said with glee. "The lemon chicken stuff!"
We filled our plates and sat down, eating as Grant talked a mile a minute about the show tonight. Somehow, he was still able to shovel in the chicken and pasta without missing a beat.
I sat on the recliner, eating more sedately and smiling at Grant's enthusiasm. Simon sat perched on the armrest of the recliner again. He seemed to have staked it as his spot, and I didn't complain. Even with his comments about my outfit, our earlier camaraderie put me at ease. I banished the moment of unease I had felt earlier outside my door as nerves. Simon had the ability to make me very nervous.
"This is amazing," Simon said, indicating his plate. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"I just picked it up," I said, feeling happier than I should be by his compliment. "My dad never used the kitchen except for the microwave, so it was either learn to cook or eat frozen dinners every day." It surprised me how easily I shared personal details with Simon.
"Well, I'm grateful that I've roped you into my kitchen," Simon said with a devious grin.
I saw Sarah watching us intently out of the corner of my eye. The others were involved in a conversation, but she just sat there watching us with a curious look on her face. She must have thought an alien had taken over my body. Even though I was good friends with Marcus and Grant, I knew I interacted with Simon on a totally different level. But I didn't know how to be any other way with him.
I gave Simon a small smile and said with a measured tone, "I'm always happy to help out my friends."
Simon frowned at my statement, but he was then drawn into a conversation with Grant, who was debating the merits of different amps.
**********
The guys left before us to prep their equipment and do sound checks. As soon as the door closed behind them, Jenny jumped at the opportunity for an interrogation.
"What the heck is going on between you and Simon?!" she squealed. "I could feel the electricity crackling between you two from across the room!"
"Nothing," I protested. "I just hung out with him today and we got to be good friends."
"Ha," Sarah scoffed. "If you two were any better friends, we'd have little Simons and Caitlins running around here."
"Sarah!!" I screeched as Jenny burst out laughing. "Don't even start!"
"Seriously," Sarah said. "I know you say you're just friends but there's some major chemistry between you two."
Jenny fell back on the couch, placing the back of her hand against her forehead and sighing dramatically. "I would kill for a guy to look at me the way Simon looks at you." She sat back up and looked at me. "Honestly. He looks at you like he hasn't eaten in a month and wants to devour you."
I had a childish urge to stick my fingers in my ears and hum so I couldn't hear them. Their comments weren't helping my already precarious balance around Simon.
"Guys," I warned. "There's really nothing between us. I think Simon just finds it funny to make me feel awkward sometimes. And this conversation is making me feel even more awkward. Let's stop talking about it, or I'm going to feel uncomfortable watching them play tonight."
"Okay," Sarah acquiesced grumpily. She turned to Jenny. "We better stop or the next thing you know, she'll refuse to come."
I smiled in triumph. Sarah didn't realize that nothing apart from a natural catastrophe would prevent me from going to watch Simon tonight, but she didn't need to know that.
**********
There was already a line forming when we arrived at the East End. It looked like an even bigger turnout than the Henchmen normally drew. It was rare that a line formed outside, which Joel only enforced when he was worried about exceeding capacity. Either Grant had done an amazing job promoting the show tonight, or word had gotten around campus about Simon. I suspected it was the latter.
Charlie waved us in from waiting in line and we each gave him a hug as we slipped inside. I ignored the glares from the people waiting in line. I didn't blame them. It was freezing outside.
We checked our coats and I surveyed the crowd. The bar was already packed. I saw the Henchmen's equipment sitting on stage but they were nowhere to be seen. Probably waiting to make a grand entrance.
We pushed our way to the bar. "Beer?" Sarah asked over the noise of the crowd. Jenny and I both nodded and Sarah leaned over the bar through an opening in the crowd and held up three fingers. Paul, the bartender, smiled and nodded a greeting to us as he opened three beers and passed them down, momentarily ignoring the other people flocked to the bar trying to get a drink. There were some perks with being friends with the band, as well as a regular at the East End.
"This place is a madhouse already," Sarah said, takin
g a sip of her beer. "I can't wait to hear them!"
"Let's try to get near the front," Jenny said. "I'm not going to be able to see over all these people."
