Lighter

t w e n t y - t w o

Even though his answer had me swooning on the inside, I couldn't help but bark out a laugh. "You're lucky, and you're a liar." I looked back up at him now with a cheeky grin.

He simply shook his head, a contemplative look on his face as he searched my eyes. "That's definitely one thing I'm not," he said lowly.

There was nothing going through my head as a witty remark for that. It was just plain sweet. I bit down on my bottom lip to camouflage how giddy my smile was about to get, and Ronnie's eyes were hooked on the gesture.

My mouth parted when he ducked his head down and just barely brushed his lips against mine. I felt my heart flutter in my chest, the crowd getting rowdier right when he pulled away because the band had come back on stage.

And just like the kiss, the show was over in the blink of an eye.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

I didn't think it was possible for the band to have the same energy after the show as they did during it, but I was proven wrong the minute we all gathered backstage in their dressing room. It was a small space with a black leather couch against the back wall, Jayce sitting on one of the cushions and Hudson on the arm rest next to him. Cole and Jonah were standing in the middle of the room talking, a basket of laundry between their feet. Lastly, Cole and Jayce's oldest brother – the band's makeshift manager – was at the small table jammed in the corner on his laptop, who threw a wave over his shoulder to acknowledge us.

Jonah's head spun around, ignoring whatever Cole was saying when he realized people were coming into the room. His sweaty face lit up, the dark blue bandanna around his disheveled hair a little crooked. "I'm so happy you guys could all make it! This means so much to us. I love looking out to the crowd and seeing my friends," he started babbling in an instant, hugging all of us one at a time. I was the last one as he swung his arm around my shoulder after he pulled out of a hug and leaned on me.

"It really does," Cole noted, snatching two beers out of the mini fridge and tossing one to Jonah. Luckily, he caught it or else it probably would have bounced right off my head. "Having the place so packed solely for us was just... surreal."

"Seriously. You have no idea how nervous we were about people not showing up," Jonah said sheepishly.

"There's literally no reason for you guys to be nervous about that. You already have such a steady fan base and after tonight, I have a feeling it's only going to go up from here," Ronnie told the band truthfully, their faces all washing over with relief and gratitude.

Tommy plopped down on the couch next to Jayce and nodded his head in agreement with Ronnie, adding, "He's totally right. You guys are definitely gonna blow up soon."

"Just don't forget us when that happens," Kurt joked with a smirk, joining Tommy on the couch.

"We could never do that! You were our first fans," Jonah cooed as he squeezed me in his grip before he released me.

Cole put his beer down and grabbed the laundry basket, a defeated but blissful look on his flushed face. "I'm gonna throw these clothes in the van. Be right back," he dismissed himself, then he left the room with his older brother following right behind him on the phone.

In the meantime, Jonah made sure there were no silent moments while he explained that the club owner wasn't too strict on them when it came to cleaning up their shit and getting out. There wasn't any rush since the place was a mix of both a concert venue and a bar, so people usually hung around after a show to keep drinking into the night. He also mentioned that because of how big a crowd they drew, the owner wanted to book Patch for a show once a month from now on, which is a huge deal for the guys.