The bar that Austin chose was your run-of-the-mill Irish pub. Flickering neon signs lined the length of the establishment, mounted TVs played soundless soccer games, cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air, and [url= https://youtu.be/qEnF6EB-yMs]Mississippi Queen[/url] was blasting on the jukebox. 

Jane felt the flutter in her stomach - the urge to have [i]just one beer[/i] - but she had found out time and time again that it wasn’t possible for her.

The band and crew pushed two tables together and ordered a few pitchers. Jane ordered herself a coke with lime, the closest she’d ever get to a ‘mock tail.’ It wasn’t long before a shy girl, boyfriend-in-tow, tapped her shoulder, shaking her out of the daze she was in.

“You’re Jane from In Bloom, right?”

She was invited over to their group, and to be nice, Jane obliged. They looked be around her her age, possibly a little younger, and they offered her a seat to get off her crutches.

“Your make up looks bomb!” one girl offered.

“Thank you, we had a video shoot tonight.”

“Can we get you a drink?” the boyfriend offered, and the girl who recognized her, Tess, shot an elbow into his side.

“She doesn’t drink.”

Jane winced. “It’s okay, I got my coke. So, are you guys new fans, or…”

Tess eyes widened. “My older sister was a huge fan years ago when you guys first got big. By proxy, I was one too. Been listening to you guys ever since.”

“That’s awesome,” Jane nodded, taking a sip of her drink. She was still just as awkward with fans as she remembered, and it made her think of Rob and how effortless it all seemed to him.

[i]Rob.[/i] God, she should be used to being interrupted by now, but this time she was hoping to have a genuine conversation with him. She only got out a sentence of what she wanted to say, but it was the most important one; she still had feelings for him.

She glanced back at the group she’d arrived with to see Rob and Austin in some sort of heated discussion.

“I’m so sorry,” Jane sighed, shooting back the rest of her drink, “but I should be getting back to my crew over there. It was so nice to meet you all.” She hated how fake she sounded. She needed to get better at this eventually.

Jane hobbled back over to Austin. “What was that about?”

“Nothing,” Austin grunted. “Got some fans over there?” He pointed over to Tess and her group, and they all looked away immediately.

“Yeah,” Jane replied. “Can we go now? I really don’t wanna be here.”

An expression of defeat washed over Austin’s face, Jane unsure why, but he nodded. “Let’s go.”

[center]***[/center]

Her plan was simple: go swimming with the boys, outlast Sam, then finish her conversation with Rob. Easier said than done, seeing as Jane was asleep by 9PM on a usual night. Tiredness tugged at her eyes as they poured out of their UberXL and into the house.

Jane didn’t feel up for a swim, so she opted for a pair of gray sweatpants and a large white t-shirt after scrubbing off the make up that Brenna had expertly applied earlier. Her hair was plopped on the top of her head in a messy bun.

Sam, since catching her and Rob kissing, seemed to be turning a new leaf with Jane. They were even reminiscing over a joint about a show they played.

“And then,” he choked on the smoke from laughing, “you puked through your nose as soon as our set ended.”

Jane grabbed the joint from Sam who was in the pool and took a big drag as she sat criss-cross on the side. “Fuck, I don’t know how I used to get so drunk and actually [i]sing.[/i]”

“I don’t either, but you always crushed it…well usually.”

She used her foot to splash some water at him. Austin was no where to be found. He seemed moody during the car ride home, so Jane didn’t expect an appearance from him, but still…what happened at the bar?

“Rob?” Jane exhaled a cloud of smoke and passed him the joint, struggling to make eye contact. He knew her secret and yet, she still had no idea how he felt about it, but she was trying her best to play it cool and not act awkwardly.

Sam made a face at her when they locked eyes, a [i]so what’s going on between you two?[/i] look, but Jane shot her own look back at him. One that read, [i]I don’t know, but shut the fuck up, Sam.”

“I gotta hit the hay soon, but it’s your turn Rob,” Sam said after fully submerging himself in the saltwater pool, “what was your least favorite set we ever played?”

Jane lit herself a cigarette. She had been doing so well at home, only smoking a few per day, but out here, she found herself going through nearly a pack a day again. 

“Yeah, Rob, your turn,” she added, offering him a cigarette and her lighter. “The more embarrassing the better.”