But after singing this song for so long, I had made new memories. Memories of me on stage with my band, cheering and chanting fans gathered around us. The lyrics no longer held as much heartache as they once did.
As the song wound down, I flicked my gaze to Liam, sensing his eyes on me. His head was cocked to the side, studying me closely with a concerned look on his face.
Without quite realizing it, the beginnings of tears had begun to gather along my lash line, turning my eyes shiny and glassy. Liam noticed.
I quickly turned my head to the front, focusing on the pretend audience in front of me.
Maybe I wasn't as unaffected by the lyrics as I liked to pretend. Showing emotion on stage wasn't a bad thing. It meant you were dedicated to the music. As long as I didn't let the tears fall, I could manage the feelings the music brought up.
The song came to a close. We put our instruments down.
"That was awesome," Seth said. "We completely rocked."
"Seems like we made a good choice," Nathan said. "We should go celebrate after. Drinks?"
"As if you ever need an excuse to go drinking," Seth laughed.
Gael was oddly quiet, staring at me.
If Liam had noticed my emotional reaction, there was no doubt in my mind Gael had as well.
My brother tilted his head toward me.
You okay?he mouthed.
I nodded sharply.
I didn't know why that song had affected me more today than it usually did.
"We were pretty good," I said out loud, "but pretty good won't satisfy our fans. We need to be fantastic."
I expected Liam to get offended with a blow to his ego like that. But he just nodded.
"We'll work at this until we're one hundred percent satisfied," Liam said. "I'm not afraid to put in some hard work."
"We'll be at it night and day," Gael warned. "This girl's a harsh task mistress."
Liam's eyes fell on me. "I have no problem with that."
The wicked smile playing on his lips was for me alone. My cheeks flushed pink. I looked away and busied myself with the cords and amps, not wanting the other guys to see me flustered.
If this was how I reacted to Liam when we were focused on playing and surrounded by my bandmates, I had no idea how I'd be able to keep myself together if he ever got me alone.
I would just have to make sure that never happened.
But from the determined look in Liam's eyes, I had a feeling that was going to be much more difficult than I thought.
