Page 74 of Dark Verse

“Exactly. And before we even sing for you, you get to meet the rest of the band!”

“Like Cash is here?”

I nod. “And Via and Zeke. You want to meet them?”

“Yeah!” Leo nods vigorously.

I look up, and my eyes meet Zeke’s first. I wave him over, excited to introduce him to who has got to be our biggest and most adorable fan ever.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

RAVEN

TONIGHT I feel an extra buzz in my body that always settles in when a job is well done. I knew this concept could work, but even I’m surprised how quickly the location is set to start making a profit. To me, that’s just proof that this area has been hungry for high-quality live music. Alice is on board with maintaining seasonal contracts with bands and with retaining the current staff, pending the entire board’s approval. They have all proven themselves in my eyes, and that is exactly what I will be telling the nine-person board when I see them in a few days.

The Nightshades take to the stage right at 8:30. Tonight, instead of standing in the sound booth like I always do, I stand in the audience. I’ve always found standing in a crowd full of music lovers an almost religious experience.

The shared words in the form of lyrics. The band’s rhythmic pulse draws us all in as a community. The memories we are all making together will follow us for years to come and across lifetimes and distances. Knox, Zeke, Octavia, and Cash take the room full of people on a sublime journey that spans fifteen years’ worth of their lives.

The loud clapping and whoops calm as Knox leans back into the mic to speak.

“Wow, thank you for such amazing energy. You are all incredible.”

The crowd shouts, more clapping, more whoop whoops, more positive energy.

“We’ve got one more song to play for all of you, but before we do, please join me in thanking the amazing staff that makes all of this possible night after night. Our light and sound engineers…”

The lights flash and sparkle.

“Our bartenders and security staff…”

Behind me, I can hear our tenders clinking some glasses together like they are toasting.

“And will you all give me an extra special thanks to the amazing manager of this location, Raven?”

The sound intensifies. Smiling lightly, I wave at the audience.

“Raven, come on up here and take a bow.”

I shake my head vigorously, trying to communicate to him that I do not want to be up there. But a moment later, Jacob shines the main spotlight on me, nearly blinding me to my surroundings. I cannot believe how quickly I cave to pressure, sauntering through the crowd, past the security staff, and up the side steps.

“Now I promised you all an encore, but I can’t do it alone. I’m going to need a little extra backup.”

“Knox,” I say, my mouth barely moving, but he pretends not to hear me.

“Would ya’ll help me convince this amazing musician standing next to me to play one song with us?”

The audience’s volume doubles, and I hear cheers of “Do it! We want to hear! Come on!”

“Knox,” I repeat, keeping far away from the mic. “No.”

“You did not walk all the way up here just to disappoint all these people, did you? Your last official audience of the summer season?”

I turn at the sounds of movement, and I see Danica and Hendrix pushing out the upright piano, locking it into place. My heart rate spikes at the sight, hands suddenly clammy. I look back at Knox, and he must see my unease because he turns his back to the audience.

“You’ve got this, sweetheart.”

And suddenly I realize I do. I’m still incredibly nervous, but as I take a seat on the bench, I feel my focus beginning to narrow to what’s in front of me. The only other sights I allow myself to take in are the members of the Nightshades. I’m no longer listening to the movement of the crowd.