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“I’ve never really played for them. I’m still learning, but I feel like I’m really getting the hang of it now; that I might be decent. I hope with a little more practice that I can grow the balls to show them and ask them their thoughts. Then I can focus on the drums more and maybe join a band. Or form one.”
My heart raced. For a split-second, I imagined Drew and me on stage. Him on the drums, me singing. I pushed the thought away immediately. No one had ever heard me sing, and there was no one to tell me whether I was any good at it. I shook my head and downed the rest of my drink to swallow up my daydreams.
“You must have good parents,” I said. “If they let you stay with them, and you think that in the future you can trust them with your dream. That’s not something to take for granted.”
Drew was about to reply when the group returned from outside. Emma rubbed her arms with her hands and then practically jumped intobothof our laps. Her hair was thick with smoke and an underlying hint of vanilla.
I scrunched up my nose as her long hair fell over my face. I liked the way Drew smelled more. As an excuse to get away, I got up and took mine and Drew’s drinks to the bar to refill them. While I was up, I drank a bit more water, too.
My entire body was hot. I chalked it up to the alcohol combined with sitting close to others along with the long night. After taking some deep breaths and some large sips of water, I felt better.
For the next hour or so, we all talked, laughed, and listened to Emma’s broad range of music. Goth Girl’s name was Courtney, not that we’d ever see her again, but it was nice to know her name. Emma explained her plans of a dual-degree in business and photography as she giggled, deep in her marijuana-induced haze. Sean and Drew talked music for a while after Drew found out Sean played the bass. They talked about playing together sometime, and I couldn’t help but fantasize what it would be like to be included.
Emma was the first to pass out, which Drew said was typical. He tucked her into the couch after retrieving a knitted blanket and throwing it on her shoulders, and then we sat on the ground so she could lay out fully. Next, we noticed that Ronnie had fallen asleep sitting upright with his head leaned back on the couch cushion. Sean and Courtney excused themselves to “talk” outside, which really meant they’d left to go bang in Sean’s van, which was fine by me.
Drew took over the music as soon as we were alone. He immediately played “Aliens Exist” by Blink-182, and turned the volume up a notch.
“One of my favorites,” I said.
“Me too.”
We listened for a while in peace. We could have moved to the vacant couch at any time, but we stayed put where we were until Drew asked, “Want to go get some fresh air?”
The contentment I’d eased into while sitting next to him on the floor evaporated and was quickly replaced with anxiety and excitement, and a different feeling that I couldn’t pinpoint, but had had on and off all night.
“Sure.”
Drew and I made one more drink each and poured them into a couple of empty water bottles. Drew said it would be necessary so we wouldn’t spill them. I didn’t understand why we would spill, but I didn’t question him. After that, he unhooked his phone from the cord that connected to the speakers and beckoned me outside.
The air was cooler than it had been when we’d arrived. I didn’t know what time it was, and I didn’t care to look, either. It was still dark, and the night wasn’t over yet. I followed Drew to the back of the house, careful not to trip as I walked. Drew shoved his water bottle full of liquor into the back pocket of his jeans and motioned for me to do the same. That’s when I figured out we were about to climb.
There were a few trees lining the back of the house, but one had branches that reached up to the roof. It would have been an easy climb had it not been for the lack of light.
“Climb up after me,” Drew instructed. He pulled himself up and began the ascent.
I took my time and climbed in the same way he had; careful to place my feet on the same branches and knots in the trunk. It became only a little easier to see in the dark as we made our way up and my eyes adjusted. It was miraculous that I didn’t slip and bust my ass.
Finally, Drew took my hand and helped me onto the sloped roof.There was something particularly intimate about taking his hand and trusting him to help me up. Like I’d known him for years rather than minutes.
“We just have to make it up this incline, then there’s a spot where the roof is flat up ahead.”
I nodded to him in the dark and I wondered how many times he’d done this. How many times he and Emma came up to the roof. Or, was this something he typically did alone?
Drew stopped abruptly after a few moments of silence. The roof became level underneath my feet, and I let out a breath of relief. Drew plopped down and patted the spot next to him. Before I sat down all the way, I reached in my pocket and retrieved my drink.
Drew pulled out his own drink and joined me in a silent salute to the stars.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and the last thing I wanted to do was look at it, but my annoying sense of responsibility kicked in. No one would have texted me so late if it wasn’t important.
“Sorry,” I murmured to Drew as I looked down at my screen. He smiled and waved me off, then proceeded to bring out his phone. He brought up his music again, and let the silent night above transform into a concert beneath the stars.
Sean: Yo. I’m taking Courtney back to mine. And Ronnie. Where u at?
Me: I’m going to stay. Cool?
Sean: Where did u go? I’ll hyu in the morning.
“Who’s that?” Drew asked. I realized he was closer to my body than he had been originally. His dark, wavy locks of hair fell over his forehead, only visible in the quaint light from the stars and half-moon above us.
