Chapter 20
twenty
Soph’s unruly waves are piled up on top of her head like a crown of obsidian flames in the bright sunlight.
They bounce as she strides toward us across the parking lot, her long legs eating up the distance.
Sunglasses on, I shamelessly watch her approach.
She’s in problem-solving mode, talking into her cell calmly, while her free hand gesticulates, venting the frustration she’s feeling so it doesn’t creep into her voice.
When her outward composure coexists with her inner passion, she’s at peace.
But when they go toe-to-toe from the inside out, she’s fierce. And it’s sexy as hell.
“I love that Soph’s on our side, because I think I’d be kinda scared of her if she wasn’t,” Jess comments from the passenger seat beside me. “She’s so nice, but you just know she could tear someone limb from limb if she ever decided to break bad.”
I smile because he’s right. And that makes me fall a little harder for her.
Rolling down the window, I listen in as she approaches.
“Have you looked out front? Half of Tulsa is on your doorstep. I’m sorry, but we can’t park in front and unload.
From a safety and security standpoint, that’s a liability waiting to happen.
Can you please unlock the gate to the back lot so we can get a van in?
” There’s a pause. “Perfect, thank you. Maybe if you’re fully staffed, you could open the doors early and get people in and out of the heat?
May as well take advantage of a couple extra hours of drink sales and disperse the crowd outside before someone has a heatstroke.
” She listens and then says, “Great. If you can be flexible and work with us, we’d really appreciate it.
I’ll talk to the guys, and we’ll brainstorm ideas and try to make this a win-win for everyone.
We’re parked down the street. Shoot me a text when you get the back lot open, and we’ll figure out the rest when we get inside.
” There’s a quick pause and then, “Thanks, Susan. You’re the best.”
After she makes a call to Hannah and Ben, who are still at the campground dealing with mechanical issues on the RV, she climbs into the back of the van.
“The line is insane. Doors don’t open for another four hours, and there are easily a thousand people out there already.
And if past crowds are any indication, I would say most of them are here for Thicker Than Water. ”
“Fuck yeah. Ben who?” Jess says with a teasing laugh that holds no ill-will toward his friend.
“What’s capacity?” I ask.
Soph grimaces. “One hundred fifty. There are gonna be a lot of sad people in Tulsa tonight.”
“Shit,” I mutter. “Do you think they’ll be able to open early? This heat is brutal.”
Soph nods. “Susan, the owner, said they can open within the hour.”
It’s too hot for people to stand unprotected outside, and there’s no shade on that side of the street where they’re lined up.
“We need to give Ben’s fans the best chance to get in for his set tonight. He’s the headliner.”
Soph wobbles her head from side to side.
“First come, first served. There will be a mutiny if you mess with that. It sucks for Ben, but you hit the tipping point. You’re the bigger draw.
You guys have momentum on your side, and people want to be part of it.
They wanna be able to say, ‘I saw Thicker Than Water first.’”
I sigh. “It feels shitty to do this to Ben. Right, Jess?”
When I look at him, he shrugs. “Yeah, it does. It sucks for Ben, but it’s not like we’re trying to fuck him over. We need to find a balance that works for everyone. I think Soph’s right. We didn’t ask for this, but it’s happening.”
That’s what scares me. I’ve been on a train that went too fast too soon and got out of control. I look at Soph for guidance. Her perspective is different since she’s on the outside and not emotionally attached like I am. She’s logical and rational. “What do you think we should do?”
“I think Jess is right about finding balance, and this is an opportunity to make a lot of people happy if we can get creative. You get what you give, you know? Don’t pass that up.”
I look at Jess, and we both nod. I let a lot of people down the past few years because I withdrew. I did it to insulate, but it also robbed me. It would be nice to make up for some of that. And with these two by my side, it doesn’t feel so scary. I almost forgot what trust feels like.
Soph taps on her phone and begins scrolling before turning it to face us.
“It looks like they have a covered beer garden outside. I can’t tell how big it is, but it looks bigger than the interior space.
I bet it holds close to two hundred. If Susan gives us the green light, we can bring some of the overflow crowd in, and you can play a song or two and take some photos. Rinse and repeat.”
“That could work,” Jess says. “It’s worth a shot.”
Just then, Soph gets a text alert and says, “Gate’s open to the back lot. Let’s go.”
The bar staff are the friendliest we’ve encountered so far, and we take it as a sign that we need to roll with it and make this work.
After they check IDs and wristband the first one hundred fifty people in line so they can start processing cover fees to get them in the door, Jess and I both grab a beer and head outside with my acoustic.
It’s still hot, but the combination of shade and overhead fans to move the air makes it bearable.
I can hear Soph shouting instructions outside the gate, and within minutes the patio is comfortably full, while the remaining line waits patiently across the street at a park under the shade of massive cottonwoods.
Jess steps up on a picnic table, his head nearly touching the corrugated metal roof, so he can be seen over the standing crowd and shouts, “Hey, Tulsa! Thanks for braving the heat today! Y’all are crazy!
” He lifts his beer in appreciation, and they cheer.
“I’m Jess, and this is my little brother, Ever! ”
I’m sitting on the tabletop with my feet resting on the bench and my guitar resting on my thigh, but I raise my hand and wave to acknowledge them.
He continues, “We’re Thicker Than Water, and we’re so sorry you’re not gonna be able to get in for tonight’s show with Ben—”
A bellow from the back cuts him off, “Fuck Ben, we’re here for you!”
It catches Jess off guard, and he laughs and raises his beer again. “Like I said, y’all are crazy, but thank you! We appreciate it! We only have time for a song or two, but we didn’t want to let this opportunity to see you and say hi pass us by!”
We don’t have microphones out here, but there’s no need. His voice carries, the crowd’s endearingly off-key when they sing along, and my guitar is steady until a string breaks halfway through the last song—the imperfection is perfection. This is the way music should bring people together.
I usually dread photos, but we take several group shots, and everyone is so nice and so grateful that it’s impossible not to mirror it back.
After the crowd exits, the next enters, sweatier but every bit as into it.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
It takes two hours, but we get through the entire line. Soph was right, most of them showed up to see us, not Ben.
Soph joins us outside with pepperoni pizzas and water.
We don’t go on for another hour, so we have some time to relax.
Her nose and cheeks are pink with sunburn and dotted with freckles when she pushes her sunglasses up into her hair.
She’s beaming, and her beauty is a punch to the chest. Breathtaking.
“Okay, overachievers, they all left either wanting to be your bestie or marry you. And all your merch sold. Well done, boys.”
The picnic table is narrow, and our knees collide when I try to take a seat across from her. Reflexively, we both say, “Sorry,” and move to stand and readjust. But when our eyes connect, we sink back down, parting our legs. Her knee slides between mine, and mine slides between hers.
And just when I think this moment couldn’t get any better, she scoots her bench forward several inches, and her bare thighs wrap around my leg. Jess is talking, but I can’t hear a word over the blood rush. Height has its drawbacks, but not today.
I inhale deeply and school my features before I look at her.
She’s taking a sip of water, but she’s grinning behind the glass. It’s trouble.
And I am so here for it. I raise my eyebrows in question. Are we doing this? Because if she’s in, so am I. We both know there are boundaries, but that doesn’t mean we can’t push them to their fucking limits.
She sets the glass down and takes a slice of pizza. Before it makes it to her mouth, her eyebrows rise casually in answer.
Game on.
I wait for her to take a bite and then reach across Jess to grab my water. When I do, my knee slides forward slowly until it makes full contact.
She lets out a startled cough.
“You okay?” I ask, innocently.
She nods, swallows, and whispers, “It’s so good,” into a napkin as she wipes her mouth.
Slowly, I lift my heel off the ground and lower it, creating some friction. “And hot, right?” I don’t know how I manage to make that sound normal, but I do. Turned on Sophie is officially my new favorite.
The napkin is pressed to her mouth with both hands, and she’s holding her breath. When she finally blows it out in a rush, she agrees, “You have no idea.”
“Oh, I think I do,” I say without hesitation, before taking a swig.
I want to tell everyone to get the fuck out, slip her shorts off, lay her down on this tabletop, and show her exactly how good it could be.
“Pretty sure that burned the roof of my mouth.” She’s quick and I love it.
“Same,” Jess says as he probes the back of his front teeth with his tongue. “I’ve got a dangly thing now. I hate that.” Then he looks at her. “You sure you’re okay, Soph? You’re really red.”
I still my leg, and she smiles before looking at my oblivious brother. “Have you ever seen something that made your mouth water, and when you got a taste, it was even better than you hoped for,” she pauses and licks her bottom lip, “and you just wanted more?”
Jess stops and thinks about it, while he takes a gulp. “Yeah, I had some fudge like that once in the Ozarks on a road trip. I still think about it.”
She points at him with a piece of slightly burned crust. “Exactly. I’ll think about this for a very, very long time. I’ll probably dream about it.”
Same.
Hannah picks that moment to walk through the door and join us. The door slams shut, then opens again, and Ben walks through looking pissed. I know he’s Jess’s friend, but there’s something about the dude I don’t particularly like.
I sigh and mutter, “Fuckin’ shit,” quietly while I slide back in my seat.
Soph cracks a smile and bites the inside of her lips to hold back a laugh.
“What a waste of a day,” Hannah says while she helps herself to a slice and sits on the table behind us. “They couldn’t make the repair on-site and had to tow the RV to a shop. It won’t be ready until morning.”
“How’d you get here?” Soph asks.
“Uber,” Ben says, since Hannah’s mouth is full. “We’ve been on the phone with the rental company all afternoon, but they did book us three hotel rooms tonight for the trouble.”
“Three?” Jess asks, because they should only need two.
When he doesn’t answer, all eyes shift to Hannah. She’s shooting daggers at Ben. “Three,” she confirms.
Oh shit.