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Ellis told Perry, “I disagree with you, but I do know you’ve always been worried about how the band will be perceived.”
“Of course I care about those things,” Perry said, throwing up his arms. “I wish you did more—”
I cut him off. “Dude, fuck you. Just admit you stuck your foot in your mouth and move on. It’s not like we’re some hugely famous band or under a recording contract. Get over yourself.”
“Whatever.” Perry stormed off the stage, likely to smoke a bowl or take an edible, which he definitely needed.
“For the record, I’m with you on this,” Anthony said. “Just be yourselves, whatever that means. I’m happy for you. I don’t know what Perry’s problem is.”
“He’s always been uptight,” I groused, “but this takes the cake.”
“Nolan, let it go, at least for tonight. I know it cuts deeper,” Ellis said with a frown. He was always better at shrugging shit off and seeing the brighter side of things. I had a feeling we’d be going through more of this sort of scrutiny in the future, and suddenly I had a new appreciation for others with this struggle. Ellis added, “You love playing. Just enjoy it.”
“Yeah, okay.”
I’d calmed down outwardly by the time the show went on, but I let my emotions show through my vocals. Despite our tiff, we were on fire, and the audience was loving it. As Ellis and I stepped up to the mic to sing the refrain, we avoided looking directly into each other’s eyes, which was bullshit. But I took Ellis’s advice and let it go. For now.
Just as I turned the neck of my guitar away, Ellis briefly gripped my elbow. When I looked at him, a smile lined his lips, and fuck if I didn’t want to plant one on him right then and there. I didn’t know if some in the audience noticed or if it was only my imagination, but there were extra hoots and hollers, which was very interesting.
I thought about what George had said, that he could see the natural connection between us, so fuck Perry for trying to stifle it.
Things seemed back to normal during our break, though I was going through the motions with Perry as he talked about the crowd and ways to keep drawing them in. He wanted to produce our new music as soon as possible and hand out postcards with a QR code to scan. Good idea. He always had them, but tonight I just wasn’t feeling his energy.
The warm welcome from the audience when we returned to the stage reinvigorated me. Maris and her friend were up front with big smiles, and there were other familiar faces, including Shana, who’d shown up a few minutes before.
That set the mood, and it showed in our playing. We made few mistakes, and the vibe between us was electric. It erased some of the frustration I was feeling and helped me remember that we could be dynamic together.
“You’re listening to In a Funk,” Ellis said toward the end of our second set. “And this is our final song.”
I waited for what had become our routine since the band got together.
“We’ve got Nolan on vocals and guitar, Anthony on drums, Perry on keyboard, and I’m Ellis on the bass. Perry’s single but a grumpy fucker lately.” Ellis winked in that charismatic way that got my heart thrumming. “Though some of you might enjoy that.”
When Perry threw him the bird, people in the audience laughed. He counted us into our final song, and the buzz in the room swelled to a crescendo.
“Encore!” Maris shouted after our final note. She used the flashlight on her phone to mimic a lighter, and others followed suit.
I turned to my bandmates and shrugged. “Why not feed off the energy and try something new?”
“That’s straight out of the Perry playbook, right?” Ellis asked, but Perry didn’t bite, instead remaining strangely silent.
“What do you have in mind?” Anthony asked as I walked to the side to grab my acoustic guitar.
“How about one of the new songs Ellis and I have been practicing?”
“Go for it. I’ll keep a quiet beat on the snare drum.”
Perry looked dumbfounded, but I ignored him, instead turning toward the microphone. “You asked for it. We have an encore for you.”
The cheers from the crowd were thunderous, and I blinked in shock. Maybe we’d developed a better following than any of us realized.
“Let me unplug,” Ellis said.
“Actually, I have something for you. I was going to wait until we were alone, but now seems like the best time.”
“What’s going on?” I heard Perry ask as I slid over another case and presented it to Ellis.
His eyes widened when he opened it. “Holy shit!”
“What do you think?” I bit my lip.
“It’s amazing. Did you work on it yourself?”
“I did,” I replied, and his eyes softened. “I even tuned it for you.”
