1
Roxie
“Come on!” I said over my shoulder. “I want to get closer!”
My friend Meghan let out a groan. “Rainknife isn’t coming out for a while. We still have the opening band to wait through.”
“Fine,” I said, stopping before we reached the crowd that had gathered by the stage. “But you’dbettercome with me when Rainknife comes out. I didn’t pay for floor tickets just to stay all the way back here during the concert.”
“Deal,” Meghan agreed.
We toasted our drinks, then gazed around the concert venue. We were down on the floor, with stadium seating rising up around us in every direction. The cocktails we had purchased were watered down, which wasextradisappointing since they cost twenty bucks each. Concert prices had gotten ridiculous in recent years.
But it was worth it to see Rainknife!
Back in high school, they were our favorite band. We played them every morning on the way to school, and had seen them live six times over the past decade. Their first album was even playing in the car when I lost my virginity. My memories ofthat boyfriend weren’t exactly happy, but the song still made me smile in memory.
Meghan and I had made a pact to see them whenever they came to Austin, and we hadn’t missed them yet.
“How’s work?” I asked.
“Boring.” Meghan rolled her eyes. “My boss is still being an asshole about that promotion. I don’t want to talk about it. What about you? How’s the freelance graphic design world? Got any fun gigs lately?”
“Nothing particularly fun,” I replied. “The number of gigs I’ve gotten has slowed down, but that happens every year. It’ll pick back up around the holidays.”
“Are you good until then?”
“Oh yeah, I’m making ends meet,” I reassured her. “And I have enough in my savings to cover if things don’t pick up. But this concert is the last big purchase I’m making until next year.”
“At least you don’t have to go into an office. When we aren’t busy, I still have to sit in my cubicle andpretendlike I’m busy. It’s the worst.”
“That does sound awful. How are your hormones? Are the fertility drugs still wreaking havoc on your body?”
“The mood swings have mellowed out,” she answered. “Honestly, the toughest part has been cutting out all caffeine, alcohol, and junk food. Jeff did it too, since it’s supposed to boost his sperm count.”
“Please don’t ever make me think about Jeff’s sperm again,” I said with a laugh. “But also… are you sure you’ve cut out all alcohol?” I lowered my eyes to her drink.
“My fertility diet is on pause tonight. It’s Rainknife, Roxie! Of course I’m drinking! But don’t tell Jeff.”
Suddenly, the lights in the arena cut out and the crowd cheered. Four shadows walked on stage and picked up their instruments, thethrumof a bassline filling the arena.
“It’s just the opener,” Meghan said, disappointed.
While they began to play, I glanced at my watch and did some mental math. If the opener was just now starting, they wouldn’t leave the stage until ten. Which meant Rainknife wouldn’t come out until ten-thirty at the earliest. I wasn’t going to get home until after midnight.
Fortunately, I could sleep in as late as I wanted tomorrow. The benefits of being a freelancer who could choose her own schedule.
“Stop looking at your watch and thinking about when you’ll get home!” Meghan complained. “You’re twenty-nine. You don’t have a bedtime.”
“You’re right, sorry.” I glanced toward the stage as the music grew in volume, the lead singer beginning to sing in a voice like deep velvet. “They’re pretty good.”
The song rose with a pulsing bassline that we couldfeelmore than hear, like a heartbeat waking up under the floor of the arena. The guitars slid over it in bright, chiming strokes that sounded both dangerous and dreamy. The lights above snapped into rhythm, the shirtless drummer locking in with a tight, confident crack.
Now the whole arena shifted from talking to listening. At first they swayed, cautious heads nodding like they were testing the temperature of the music, but the chorus hit with a clean, soaring hook. Then the crowdreallygot into the music, raising their hands into the air and screaming with excitement.
It was a wholevibe.
“Theyaregood!” Meghan said in surprise.
