Chapter Eighteen
Gabby
After getting drinks, we make our way through the party, stopping to talk to people who make eye contact with Jonathan so he can introduce us.
As we make the rounds, Jonathan points out the single guys to Lauren. She’s polite to all of them, but she makes a special effort for the guys she finds attractive.
Everyone is friendly, and they include me in their conversations as though I’ve always been part of their group. Lauren split off from us after the first round of introductions. I catch glimpses of her now and again—talking to one guy on the couch, dancing with another a while later, in the kitchen getting a refill.
After an hour or so, we’re sitting on the couch talking to some of Jonathan’s friends from the English department. They’re all in Literary Criticism together and discussing their latest test, and even though I’m literally in the middle of the conversation in my place on Jonathan’s lap, I’m not really following it since I have nothing to contribute. From the doorway leading into the hall, I catch sight of Jake, guitar in hand. He meets my eyes, holding up the guitar and nodding at Jonathan.
I tap Jonathan’s shoulder, and he interrupts himself mid-sentence. “What’s up?”
Following my gaze to where Jake is standing, he sits up straighter, his chest expanding as he takes a deep breath. With a quick smile at his friends, he clears his throat and says, “It looks like I’m the entertainment tonight, and Jake’s apparently ready for me to play.”
I smile down at him as I stand up. “You got to hear me at my concert earlier this week. Now it’s my turn to hear you.”
He gives me a reluctant smile in return. But despite his attempts to get out of playing, he strides over to Jake and takes the guitar without any hesitation.
A glance at his friends still seated around me shows that they’re looking forward to this too. One of them, a tall, thin guy with flyaway blond hair, leans in close to me. “Does he play for you very often?”
“Um, I dunno. A few times a week, probably. He likes to get my opinion on his new songs.”
Blond guy looks at me with greater appreciation. “Really?”
I nod. “I’m a music major.”
Before the conversation can go any further, Jonathan clears his throat from his place on a large, fluffy ottoman in the middle of the living room. He pulls the guitar pick from his mouth that I know he had in his pocket. He always carries one with him, even though half the time he doesn’t even use it when he plays.
“So, Jake here is making me play. He says I have to play some of my new stuff tonight.” This statement is met with clapping, laughter, and a few enthusiastic shouts of encouragement. Jonathan holds up a hand, a self-deprecating grin on his lips. “Thanks. Okay. Well, at least I know Jake’s not the only one who wants to hear it. I’m going to save those for last, though, and start off with a few things I think you’ll recognize.”
Conversation is almost gone before he even starts playing. Laughter carries from the kitchen, a few people still in there unaware of what’s going on in the living room. But as soon as his fingers touch the strings, even that dies away.
He starts with “Paint the Town Green,” which he’s played for me before when I was feeling homesick for Texas. Then moves on to “Better Place,” which he slows down and gives a little more edge so it fits with the husky quality of his vocals versus Rachel Platten’s perkier female voice. He plays through a few more popular songs that I recognize from the radio and from when I’ve heard him mess around with them at his place.
With a smirk in my direction, he starts playing “Heart of Everything,” Brash’s biggest hit. Everyone claps and cheers when he starts in on the opening chords. This is apparently something he plays for them a lot. Next he plays one of the other songs off their album, “Think of Dreams,” the one I told him was my favorite. After a few of Brash’s more recognizable songs, he pauses, taking a drink of water from the bottle Jake gave him before he started.
Adjusting the guitar on his lap, he checks the tuning, twisting one or two of the pegs to bring it back to perfection after strumming hard on the last couple of songs.
“Now you get to hear some of my recent work. Gabby over there helped me fix this one when I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. So you have her to thank that you’re hearing it tonight. Or any of the others, for that matter, because I wouldn’t’ve been able to move on to something new until this one was fixed, and she helped me make those perfect too.”
A whistle, a loud “Whoo!” from the kitchen, and a smattering of applause greet this statement, and everyone glances at me where I sit on the couch. I feel much more conspicuous and out of place now that he’s singled me out, but I nod and smile at anyone who makes eye contact, hoping I don’t look as awkward as I feel.
Jonathan coaxes the melody from his guitar, his fingers caressing the strings, his head down. When the vocals start, and the guitar changes to strumming, he lifts his head, his green eyes catching and holding mine, never letting go as he sings his song. Directly to me. Even though I know the song as well as he does by now, my breath catches as those words take on new meaning, as he pours emotion into every note, every syllable, the consummate performer.
But is he just performing? Or does he really feel that strongly?
I have to blink away tears when he gets to the minor section, and I break eye contact for a moment, unable to handle the intensity. I catch Ben’s eye across the room when I look away, and he gives me a sympathetic smile. He’s sitting with his arm around his girlfriend, but he’s been watching me. Not like a creeper, or like he’s interested—I know how in love with Beth he is, so I’m not worried about that—but like he’s wondering how I’m reacting to what’s going on with Jonathan. Am I missing something here? I mean, I know Jonathan and I have moved pretty fast from just dating to a serious relationship.
Is Ben worried about me? Or Jonathan?
Turning my attention back to Jonathan, I push whatever concerns Ben’s sympathy has raised firmly away. It doesn’t matter. I like Jonathan, and he likes me. We’re enjoying spending time together. And I’m not going to think about what may or may not happen down the road.
I know Jonathan’s graduating in May. But it’s only October. We have ages to figure out what comes next.