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“People keep saying that, but I’mnot.”
“You are,” he insisted, leaning his forearms onto the counter. “It’s not like you’re conjuring an entirely different personality. How Stella acts, how she responds, that’s all coming from you.”
I rubbed my arm ruefully, turning to stare toward the stage. I only caught glimpses of their heads as the crowd shifted and danced. “So, you’re saying I should tell him.”
“I’m saying that ‘different worlds’ thing is bullcrap, and I think you know that. If you like him, be with him.” Jonathan let out a sigh. “I’m living vicariously through you and Vindy, all right? My love life is tragic.”
I couldn’t help but snort. “What isVindy?”
“Vincent and Addy,” he said in an obvious tone, rolling his eyes. “I tried coming up with a cute name for you and Harry, but your names are hard. You could be…Harella—ooh, no, that one’s really bad.”
“Could be Stellarry.”
Jonathan looked at me like I was crazy. “That’ssucha mouthful.”
The crowd shifted enough that I had a straight shot to Natasha strumming her guitar. “She came with us yesterday when we got ice cream. Do you think that’s weird?”
Then again, theywerein a band together. It might’ve been weird if he left her out.
“Stella.” Jonathan spoke firmly enough that it had me turning back around. I almost corrected him—that when I looked like this, Iwasn’tStella—but he would’ve tried to prove his point again. “If he liked her, he’d be with her. But he likesyou. I think you should tell him,” he said, and leaned back when a customer stepped up to examine the menu, hurrying to add, “and let the chips fall where they may.”
With all the risks involved in that, I quickly began shaking my head. Destelle Brighton wasn’t a risk-taker. The mere idea made me feel panicked, as if I’d been dropped into the middle of the ocean without a life vest.
You know how to swim, Margot’s voice whispered in my mind, but I didn’t want to swim. I wanted to close my eyes and pretend it wasn’t happening.
Untapped Potential’s music was as good as ever tonight, but I couldn’t fully dive into the beat and atmosphere. I was too on edge. Every time the crowd shifted, giving me a glimpse of the stage, I turned so my back was to it. No way was I going to risk Harry spotting me.
“Capture my attention
Hold it with a gun
Just a game, risk it all
Aren’t we having fun?”
Once the gig ended, Untapped Potential spent a lot of time talking with their fans. Grace, who refused to leave without getting an autograph from each member, still lingered in the thick of the crowd. Some listeners had dispersed, but a lot remained, wanting to chat with the band as long as possible.
It irked Jonathan. “We’re technically closed right now,” he grumbled. “We can’t start cleaning if they stick around.”
“Maybe they’ll have to host a meet and greet specifically for talking to fans,” I suggested, watching as one group of people headed out into the night. “Looks like the crowd is thinning.”
Thinning enough that I spotted Addy at her booth, scribbling in her bullet journal. Her blonde hair toppled over her shoulder like a waterfall, and the way she held her head up with her fist hinted she was getting tired.
If I were Stella, I would’ve gone over there and talked to her about tonight’s set. Would’ve told her how great Vincent sounded. Would’ve apologized for leaving so suddenly last night. Instead, I swept my curly hair over my shoulder, bunching my coat tightly in my fists.
Come on, Grace, I thought at her as two more people disbanded from the group. I wanted to go before the crowd thinned any further.
As if hearing my thoughts, Grace parted from the group then, clutching her cell phone reverently. “They signed it,” she murmured, staring down as if she were holding a gold bar. “They all signed my phone case. I’m never getting a new one.”
“That’s fantastic,” I said as eagerly as I could, offering her coat out to her while hopping off the barstool. “We should get going before it gets any later.”
Grace looked up at me excitedly. “They play here every weekend, isn’t that amazing? We should make this a weekly thing!”
Behind me, Jonathan started coughing loudly, like he’d choked on a laugh.
“I don’t know, Grace,” I said, shoving my arms through my jacket as another group of people headed out.
The gap their absence created offered a glimpse of the band. They stood in a little group, mingling with the fans who’d stayed behind. Vincent and Natasha were talking to a group of girls, and behind them stood Harry, his head bent down over his own cell phone. His thumbs moved quickly, and a stab of curiosity had me wondering who he could’ve been texting.
