The Art of Loving

[6] The Goat

This time Ellie could hear that they had practised a little more because they sounded less bumpy that they had in Cornwall. It was actually quite good, and Ellie definitely enjoyed the show. Because Brian was really giving it all, and this time she could enjoy what she was seeing without constantly having to keep in mind where to stand for the next shot and all of that. She simply enjoyed how attractive her boyfriend was.

When they had finished their last song the audience all cheered for them and Brian stepped up to his microphone again. "Okay folks, that was all for tonight. Thanks a lot for coming by, we hope you enjoyed it! If you feel like sticking around we'll be going out somewhere, you're welcome to tag along," he informed them before thanking everyone again and disappearing off the stage with the other three.

Ellie turned to Mary and smiled widely at her. "They are so good.."

She nodded in agreement. "I know, and now I definitely know why you took those photos of Freddie because... wow.."

"I know right?" Ellie asked, laughing softly. "I didn't promise too much when I told you that it's better in reality, did I?"

Mary shook her head. "Oh no. Definitely not... now I think I'm definitely going to come to Cornwall with you."

Ellie only laughed more, shaking her head a little. "Good, good. It'll be fun."

While the two of them waited for their guys to join the crowd more or less patiently, Mary convinced her to mingle a little and see if there was anyone else they knew apart from the handful of people they'd talked to before the show had started. It seemed that a few people - probably closer friends of the band - decided to stick around to see what they'd get up to, but in the end Mary and Ellie ended up joining the girlfriends of two guys, Allan and John, both good friends of Freddie as it seemed. Jill, who they had talked to before and Margaret - called Megs - were both extremely curious to hear about Ellie and Mary's situation with Brian and Freddie, but before they could start properly talking about that, Ellie felt a pair of arms gently wrapping around her waist and a soft pair of lips on her cheek.

"Hey there, gorgeous," a familiar voice mumbled into her ear.

Immediately Ellie turned around and smiled widely. "Brian! Hey..." She wrapped her arms around his neck gently and kissed him very softly. "You did great, I really enjoyed it. You looked even more handsome this time, I never thought that would be possible."

Brian chuckled softly. "Really? I didn't think it would be possible either."

"You proved both of us wrong then," she told him, smirking at him.

Brian eyes wandered from Ellie to the small group of people who were watching them. He loosened his arms around Ellie's waist and smiled at them. "Oh hey, how are you? Did you enjoy the show? Where are Alan and John?"

"Around somewhere," Jill informed Brian and smiled at him. "And you did a great job, I really enjoyed it. Uhm, you said you'd be going somewhere. What's the plan for that?"

"Oh there's this pub not too far from here and I think Roger really wants to go there, so that's the plan. We'll be out pretty late, but like I said, you're welcome to join, the more the merrier," Brian told her, still holding Ellie close. Jill nodded with a smile before she disappeared into the crowd, probably to find her boyfriend.

Ellie looked at Brian with a smile and kissed his cheek. "I hope you're still up for the plan of not getting too drunk and not staying out too late," she told him and winked at him.

Brian smiled widely and leaned down to kiss her quickly. "Definitely. You're not getting away that easily, don't worry."

"Good. Now I have another question. Has Mike said anything else about Lynn? Is she going to join us later?" Ellie asked, still looking up at him. When Brian shook his head, she sighed a little.