[i]”Lighten up, huh?[/i]

The words were so…[i]shallow[/i]. Like there wasn’t a weight to them at all. Rob wondered about Jane sometimes. There were days when he felt like she really connected with him, and days such as today, where it sort of felt like there was this…this [i]void[/i] between them. And he didn’t just it any more than he figured Jane did. 

But, once again, before he could respond, Jane did what Jane always does. Disappear on him.

Rob nearly felt the wind brush past him as she ran off to the group of guys that had been singing the song she had picked out. 

Surprisingly, though, her seat was quickly filled in. 

“I’ll have what he’s having,” a feminine voice rang out next to Rob. As he looked to Jane’s former seat, he locked eyes with another bar patron; this one, appearing to be another one of the festival attendees. Her hazel eyes glared at him through her brunette hair. She wore a white tank top, and had the familiar flannel tied around her shorts. 

[i]Definitely another festival girl.[/i] Rob thought to himself as she smiled to him.

“I know you from somewhere!” She called out. Her smile beamed at him in a way that made it perfectly clear—she knew exactly who he was. That didn’t mean, however, that Rob wouldn’t play along.

“I don’t think you do,” Rob said politely, taking another sip of his beer. He watched as what remained of the golden liquid sloshed around in it’s glass as he set it upon the bar. 

“No, I totally do!” she said. “Jackson Pennie! You’re playing the festival tonight!” 

Rob winced. “Call me Rob,” he said, hiding his contempt. 

“Oh, don’t be too flattered,” the festival girl said, spinning in her seat. She angled her shoulders right at Rob, now completely facing him. “I do my research on all the bands. I have to.” The festival girl pointed to something Rob hadn’t noticed yet; the DSLR hanging around her neck, floating freely in the air between her bust and thighs. Next to the camera was a press pass. 

“The single’s great,” she continued. Rob looked up as fast as he could. “I’m looking forward to your set.”

“Well, we appreciate it,” Rob said, turning on his public mode. If there was a switch inside him that altered his personality from aloof and stressed to bubbly and happy, he had just flipped it. 

“Adrianna, by the way,” she had said, offering out her hand. Rob shook it. “I guess I’ll see you there, then?” Her eyes darted from his own chest and back to his eyes. Rob pretended not to notice. 

“Absolutely,” Rob said. “Any publicity is great for us. Let me know if we can help out in any way.”

Adrianna hopped off the bar stool, and turned to the door. “There are lots of afterparties in Phoenix,” she said. “Don’t run off too soon. El Paso can wait.” As she walked behind him, Rob felt a hand slide, ever so lightly, across his back. Just enough to illicit the suspicion that it might have been an accident. 

It was another moment before Jane came back to reclaim her seat; just enough time for Rob to finish his beer and order another. [i]“There’s an after party tonight. I think we should go. It’d do you good to cut loose a bit, yeah?”[/i]

“Sure,” Rob said through a smile. “Why not?” 

He gave her a smile as they locked eyes, and held up his beer slightly. 

[i]Alright,[/i] Rob thought to himself. [i]Maybe that was a little fucked up.[/i]

But maybe…it wasn’t. Rob knew that the tour would be long. He knew the parties were going to happen. And every one of his bandmembers always assumed Rob hated the parties, but it really wasn’t that. He had always felt like, for every night Jane remembered, Rob remembered the mornings. The hangovers. The headings that went on for fucking [i]days[/i]. But El Paso was a long ways away, and there was lots of time to sleep it off. Plus, if there’s any time to get fucked up, it might as well be tonight. They were on tour. They were gaining some traction.

But must importantly, they were in a fucking [i]rock band[/i]. And just the thought of that made him smile to himself. It was what Jane and him always wanted, really.