“Okay, okay, but before you go, we have something special for you.” Tobin’s grin is pure excitement, and Jed’s deep laugher rumbles through the room as he pulls an envelope from his back pocket and hands it to his boyfriend.
“We’re really serious about the whole keeping-in-touch, still-seeing-you-guys thing, so…” Tobin draws out the word.
“So…” Nix spins her hand in the air, urging him to hurry up.
“We bought you concert tickets!” he sings, struggling to open the envelope.
Jed laughs and gently takes it off him, handing us each a ticket for Electric Reverence.
“Oh my gosh!” My eyes bulge. “I love these guys.”
“Right?” Tobin dances on his toes. “And you want to know the best part?”
“It’s in Nolan!” Nix’s head pops up in surprise.
“Yes! The concert is here.”
“Why?” Tyrell asks, peering at the small print on his ticket.
“Because two of the founding members used to go here, and they wanted to do something nostalgic, so they’re performing here at the end of the summer, just before school goes back, and we all have to go. We even paid extra to attend the after-party.”
“No way!” Nix squeals. “We’ll get to meet the band?”
“Yes!” Tobin laughs. “We’ve already booked our flights back from New York, and everyone has to swear they’re going to be there.”
“Of course we will!” Nix laughs, tipping her head back and squealing. “This is so exciting! Thank you so much!” Skipping across the room, she jumps into Tobin’s arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and flashing us her skimpy underwear as her dress rides up. Tyrell blinks and quickly looks away while I try not to laugh as Tobin spins her in a circle.
“Thank you.” I get in on the celebrations too, going on my tiptoes to hug Jed.
He wraps his arms around me with a deep laugh. “Of course. We had to find an excuse to see you again.”
“This is going to be so fun!” Nix jumps out of Tobin’s arms and runs over to Jed. “I can’t wait to tell Ricky. He’ll be stoked. Thanks for buying him a ticket too. And after-party passes! You guys are legends.”
“Of course we are.” Jed grins, then kisses the top of her head. “We love you guys and wanted to have something really special to look forward to. We can’t wait for this reunion. It’s going to be epic.”
“So epic!” Nix raises her tickets in the air, darting across the room to obviously put them someplace safe because she returns empty-handed, humming an Electric Reverence song under her breath.
I smile at her, feeling that buzz as Tyrell hands me his ticket and I go tuck them into my nightstand drawer.
Amazing.
And so fun.
I don’t usually like planning ahead, but the idea of reuniting for this concert is such a good one. The band is performing in the football stadium, there’s going to be a massive crowd, and… we’re going to the after-party too. We’ll get to meet the band! So freaking amazing.
These tickets must have cost a ton.
I should seriously offer to pay some money, but they’ll no doubt tell me it’s a gift and refuse my offer.
Those two. I will love them forever.
And I love Ty.
My insides trill as I walk back out to the living room and take my boyfriend’s hand. He holds it all the way down the stairs, then on the drive to the party. I love the way he plays with my fingers, then lifts them to his lips to kiss the tips and my knuckles.
We end up having to park a block away, but I don’t mind the walk. The night air is fresh, the sky clear. Nix is chattering away, her guard completely down as we walk into the house, which is already pumping.
The house is palatial, a three-story monstrosity with odd angles and a mid-century edge. It was so obviously designed by an architect and must have been the talk of the town when it was first constructed. Now it looks kind of old and beat-up, probably turned into unofficial student housing years ago. I wonder how many rooms it has. At least six or seven, surely.
