sang this one because it most definitely required a second singer. He leans into me during his part, and I lean toward him during mine. We sang this in rehearsal, but we never did what we’re doing now—not even close. At the end, when we “make up,” he runs and slides over on his knees, begging me with his lyrics. I forgive him with mine, and he climbs up my body so we sing the final chorus together into the same microphone.
The crowd goes wild, begging for more when we walk offstage. Liam, Brad, and Garrett look ready to run back out for an encore. Crew hesitates.
“Come on, brother,” Liam says. “They fucking love us. When have we ever played an encore? Let’s give ’em what they want.”
Crew looks indecisive. “‘Revolving Door’,” he says.
I don’t sing on that one. It’s all Crew. I pretend I’m cool with it. “Fine by me.”
Everyone, including me, goes back onstage. Instead of getting a tambourine and perching on a stool, I sit at the keyboard. Crew doesn’t see me, since he’s busy with the mic. Garrett counts us off. When Liam and Brad start to play, I join in. Crew spins toward me and blows out a long breath. We hadn’t practiced this song, and he wasn’t aware I’d learned it. But not only did I learn it, I adapted it for the keyboard.
I shoot him a snarky grin. Thought you were gonna do this one without me?
Liam smiles at me. I’m not sure why he likes that I challenge Crew, but he seems to get off on it.
I’m a little weirded out, though. The whole time we were singing, Crew and I had a connection. I’ve never felt this with anyone I’ve worked with before. But the minute we stopped, he turned into a different person. It’s like he remembered he’s no longer the sole lead singer of Reckless Alibi. Not that I’ve been offered a job yet, but with how well things are going tonight, I can’t imagine any other outcome.
The encore ends, and we leave the stage. The owner of the bar greets us with a tray of drinks. “I want you back here every Friday night for a month—maybe longer. Can you do that?”
Liam, the unofficial manager of the group, steps forward. “We might be able to accommodate you, but based on this crowd, I’d be doing our band a disservice if we didn’t ask for fifty percent more.”
The owner smacks his lips together as he thinks about it. The crowd is triple what it was when we started playing ninety minutes ago. No one has left. “Twenty-five percent more, and I’ll give you five percent of the profits during your set.”
“Make that from an hour before we play to thirty minutes after, and we’ve got a deal,” Liam says.
“Deal. You kids really got something.”
“Thanks,” Liam says. “We’ll see you next week.”
The owner walks away.
“That was amazing, man,” Brad says. “Looks like we don’t need a manager. You handled that great.”
“This is a bar,” Liam says. “It’s going to be a whole lot different when we play bigger venues and go on the road.” He turns to Bria. “Shit. I didn’t even think to ask—are you good with this? His offer was for the band he heard tonight. That includes you.”
Crew is brooding, and I feel bad. What’s going on with him?
“We might as well make it official,” Garrett says, lifting one of the drinks off the tray. “What do you say? Did Reckless Alibi just become a party of five?”
“We’re not even going to talk about this?” Crew asks.
“What’s there to talk about?” Liam says. “You two were phenomenal. With both of you, we’ll pull in male and female fans. You should have seen yourselves. Mark my words, we’re about to take the world by storm.”
Crew backs against the wall and slumps.
“Give us a minute,” Liam says.
The three of us find a table as the two of them talk.
“What’s with him?” I ask. “I mean other than not being the only one in the spotlight anymore?”
“You were pretty hot up there,” Brad says. “And the two of you together were on fire. Maybe that makes him uncomfortable.”
“Why?”
He shrugs. “Maybe he thinks you’ll want to date him, like you did Adam Stuart.”
“That’s crap,” I say. “He had a stick up his butt long before now. And who says I want to date him? I mean, I learned my lesson with Adam. But what would it matter if I did? I’m