Wondrous Place (Milex)

2. Is This What You Wanted?

The group's melodies and being very drunk, made Alex and Miles excited and they began to sing some of the few songs they knew (covers of British and American bands) in the front of everyone.

The band finished playing and everyone applauded. As the musicians began to leave the stage to mingle with the audience, Alex and Miles looked at each other for a moment, as if trying to read each other's thoughts. They understood each other immediately, and in a matter of seconds they knew what they wanted to do. It didn't take long for them to find Vera and Joana to check if it would be okay, and the guitarist of the band, who did not hesitate to lend them his instrument when he discovered who they were, and who they had to buy him several beers so he would not reveal it.

They wanted to play, yes. But they had no intention of causing the stir they normally did. They wanted to have a good time, enjoy the moment as lesser-known groups do, without paying attention to the cameras with which they were constantly being recorded or photographed. They thought that in a place like that, they could perhaps go completely unnoticed, and went on stage with the borrowed guitar and a couple of microphones, despite the fact they both knew they would only end up needing one.

Indeed, the local public did not recognize the two international musicians, perhaps because of their drunkenness and they would not expect them to play in such a small venue. No-one would ever imagine Miles Kane and Alex Turner themselves singing without prior notice in a seedy bar on a Sunday at one in the morning in Barcelona.

They started with a cover, knowing that Is this what you wanted? never failed, that it would keep the audience excited and feeling the music, even if they weren't the kind of audience that normally listened to Leonard Cohen. Miles played guitar as they sang in two voices, alternating verses, and they received an even better response than they expected, considering no one knew who they were. Everyone was very excited and Miles tried to keep his eyes on the audience despite Alex's attempts to get his attention, by making the eyes at him while he sang, directing each of his phrases towards Miles. Finally, Alex managed to distract him by putting special emphasis on some verses, getting closer to Miles progressively as he sang:

You were the sensuous woman
I was the very reverend Freud
You were the manual orgasm
I was the dirty little boy

uttering this last line almost into Miles's ear, brushing lightly against it, then walking away as if nothing had happened.

Finishing the song, Miles finally reached out to the needy Alex, wrapped his arm around his back and trailed his hand down to his ass, pulling him closer, pressing his crotch against Alex's body. He immediately turned his head to Miles, who gave him a particularly lustful look as he whispered in his ear, "Is this what you wanted?" Alex couldn't help the nervous laugh that came out of his mouth and filled the entire club, as he still had the microphone close enough.

They played some more songs, both their own and those of other artists, like The Beatles and David Bowie. It had been quite a while since they started, and they knew the time was coming to finish, so they decided the last song would be The Meeting Place. They had mixed feelings, because they were enormously enjoying the moment, singing and playing together without worrying about the audience recording on their devices. The caresses, the hugs, the looks and the physical contact between them had been increasing as they spent time on stage. And despite the fact that a part of them didn't want the moment to end, they had a feeling that the intensity of the performance-coupled with what had previously happened on the beach-was going to lead to something else. They could feel that that night was going to be different from those of the other concerts, that the closeness and complicity between them had only just begun and perhaps it would open unexplored paths. They longed to know what the rest of the night would bring....