What the…
Lowe lifted his guitar over his shoulder and sidled up to the mic. He looked the same, rimless glasses, lip ring, tattoos. Except not having seen him for five months made him more attractive. I’d missed him and the guys. Lowe’s eyes swept the bar and as soon as they hit our table, his shoulders seemed to lose some of their tension.
Our eyes locked and he smiled. “Thanks for having us at The Brewhouse. It’s nice to be here. We’ve got some friends in the audience, so tonight is for them. Charley, Claudia, The Stolen missed you this summer.”
Beck’s eyes were on Claudia as the band started and when I turned to question her, I found her staring right back at him in total surprise. Okay, then, so she didn’t know we were going to be hijacked tonight, either.
“These are your friends you met in Edinburgh?” Alex said, confusion and curiosity in his tone.
Claudia tore her gaze from Beck’s. “Yeah. I told Beck months and months ago that they should play here. Obviously he didn’t forget.”
Sharon’s brow wrinkled. “I thought they went to Northwestern.”
“They do,” I answered, willing my heart rate to slow. If The Stolen was here, then…
“It’s a bit of a trek just for one gig.”
“Uh…” Claudia gripped my arm hard and gestured toward the bar with her head. “That’s because this isn’t about a gig.”
My heart was full-on galloping, trying to burst out of my chest.
Jake.
I braced myself against my chair as he strode through the crowd toward our table. His eyes were on me but his face held no expression whatsoever.
Honestly, I felt like the world dropped from beneath me.
He stopped at the table, towering over me and all we could do was stare at each other. I drank in everything about him. His hair was a little longer, like when we were kids, and he needed a shave. His skin seemed paler than usual and he looked tired.
I wanted to stand up, wrap my arms around him, and feel and smell him all around me. Every muscle in my body ached with how much I missed him and I didn’t know if I should cry or curse or scream. Until that moment I hadn’t realized how much I truly, deeply missed him.
He was so much a part of me.
“Jake.” Alex stood, holding out his hand. “Long time, man.”
Giving nothing away, Jake shook Alex’s hand. “Alex.”
“Uh,” Alex looked down at Sharon, “this is my girl, Sharon. Sharon, this is Jake.”
She stretched out her hand with a congenial smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” he replied quietly, shaking her hand.
“Jake.” Claudia’s chair scraped back and she rounded the table. She walked right into him, hugging him tight.
Jake cracked as he enveloped her, his eyes squeezing shut as they hugged.
I blinked away tears.
He was sad.
I’d made him sad.
And I should’ve known that I wouldn’t get off that easy.
“Can we take a walk, Charley?” he asked loudly over the music.
Looking back up at him, I saw Claudia had shuffled away to give us space. Jake’s expression was unreadable again.