Not much recognition, among the faces in the crowd. I can walk through them, and I got a few glances, like I might've been somebody, but they were unsure. I had towards the beer gardens. I'm definitely not going to drink as much as I had before, but one beer. That won't do much.
The bartender's my age. "Anything for you?" He smiles politely.
"Just a beer, thanks," I smile.
He fetches it out of the cooler and pops the top off. "That's four seventy five." I toss him a five dollar bill. "What is a pretty lady like you doing alone here?"
I laugh, despite myself. I take a sip of the beer. "That's a very vague question," I mumble. "What are you doing here?"
"Paying for law school, the hard way." He rolls his eyes. "Do you know how much college textbooks cost? It's horrible."
"Yeah, I do. Sorry buddy." He goes to talk to somebody else, nodding to me, and I drink my beer in silence. I listen to the bands. I know Alex is right backstage.
The crowd screams when AM sets up, the last band of the night. It's ten o clock, and it's pitch dark outside. That's my cue to come back to the stage. I pass through the security and head through to the stairs. A set manager ushers me quickly to the side, with a seat beside Brea and Katie. I wave hi to them and make pointless chatter.
I hadn't seen Alex since when we got on the bus. He's wearing tight jeans, a loosely buttoned white shirt, and a leather jacket. He doesn't see me.
Suddenly the lights all turn on behind us, and the familiar riff of Do I Wanna Know comes on. I smile slightly to myself as I hear them play. It's one thing in an enclosed space, and another when they're live.
After the song, Alex starts to speak. "Ello, America." The crowd cheers. Alex laughs. "I can say anything and you will all riot still, right?" More screaming, Alex laughs again. "This one is with my mates, Mister Miles Kane and Richard Hawley, everybody!"
Nettles plays loudly. Then You and I. Then Little Illusion Machine. Miles even played Colour of The Trap.
* * *
He looks at me halfway during the song, during Little Illusion Machine; "Send a letter to me, baby...I'm on the edge of my seat." And I swore in that moment we were the only two in the world. He was sweating, his hair messy on his head. I tried to supress my grin.
He smirked, then looked down at his feet. He finished the song with Miles.
When the show was over, after the encore and a few Arctic Monkeys songs, he walked up to me, looming over. "Hello, Leah."
"You played pretty good," I say.
"Good?" Alex raises eyebrows. "Just good?"
I nod, smirking. I bet it's ticking him off a bit. Set workers start to clean up the stage, people drift off on home. "I mean, it was alright." I shrug.
"Alright," Alex chuckles. He steps away and bows. "Well, if it isn't the expert."
"What can I say."