When We Were Young

Three

5 Years Ago

"And now let's give it up for Second Rate!" The crowd cheered as Jacob and his band walked on stage. I let out a whistle, excited to hear their new songs.

After high school graduation, Jacob decided to take the year off and put all of his effort into his band while I took some classes at the community college. We were happy, content with our lives. Somewhere in high school, we made the decision to give up the stealing looks from across the room and finally be together. It was a decision we were both happy to make.

Jacob found me in the crowd and gave me a wink. I blushed and gave him a toothy grin, accompanied by two thumbs up. He never needed the extra luck, but I always gave it to him anyway. He started the first song on his guitar and soon everyone was dancing around to the tune. I wasn't surprised so many people were enjoying it, Second Rate was growing on everyone around town. They had gone from playing free community shows to being booked at most of the night clubs and small concert venues around the city. Of course, I was at every show, even missing out on some study hours to be there.

After their set, Jacob found his way over to me as the next band got ready to play.

"How was it?" He asked, pulling me into a sweaty hug. I didn't care. Not one bit.

"It was great!" I beamed as we pulled apart and he kept his hands on my waist. "Did you see how crazy this crowd was for you guys? I swear it gets better and better each time."

Jacob smiled at me, pulling me in for a thankful hug. We stayed there as if we were the only ones in the room.

"Yo, Jake!" One of his bandmates called behind us, breaking us out of our trance. Jacob and I found him yelling from the stage door. "Come on!" He waved his hand in a "come here" motion, and I noticed there was a tall man wearing a suit behind him.

"Oh shit." I heard Jacob say under his breath, and then his eyes found mine. "I'll be right back Em, I promise."

Before I could say anything, he pulled away from me and was gone, following his friend. The door closed, and I couldn't see him anymore. I made my way to the bar to wait for him and quickly realized that the "be right back," meant more like a half hour of me waiting and milking a beer.

While the next band was half way through with their set, I finally saw Jacob and the rest of Second Rate rush out of the stage door. I pushed off the stool, threw some money on the bar and practically ran over to him. He was already smiling when I got to him.

"What was that about?" I asked, clearly interrupting their conversation.

"Oh, Em, you won't believe it!" Jacob began.

"We're going on tour!" His bandmate chimed. I furrowed my brows and stared at Jacob. He waved his hand as if to throw the idea away.

"We don't know that yet." He turned back to me and laced his fingers with mine. We all made our way outside where the rest of his band started packing up their car while he stayed with me. "That guy," he nodded his head back toward the bar, "is from a record label. He said he just wants to bring us down to a studio in Nashville to record a little something. Basically, like a tryout. If the people he knows like it, we make a whole album, go on tour...who knows!" The excitement was just radiating off of him and I couldn't help but smile at him.

I gave his hand a squeeze. "Jake, that's so amazing! This is such a huge deal!" While I was smiling on the outside, a sliver of doubt and sadness ran through me.