In Another Life

118

We all finished up eating, chatting a little about what we might encounter at the graveyard, and how freaky it would probably be. "I haven't actually explored a graveyard in a few years," I told them. "Last time I went, it was with Jonah back in my hometown. A small graveyard, that was set back in the woods behind a church. It was creepy as fuck, with graves dating back to the 1800's." "Jonah?" Colby asked, surprise coming through in his voice. I guess I had never mentioned anyone named Jonah. I could feel myself blushing again and looked back down at my plate. "Um, yeah. My ex. That was years ago though, before I even watched you guys, before I knew Denise even," I replied, looking up at my best friend and grinning. "You mean when your life was sad and boring, because you didn't have me in it," Neece replied, flipping her hair back with a smug grin. I laughed, and rolled her eyes. "Yes Neece, that's exactly what I meant," she replied, laughing lightly. I thought I heard Colby groan a little so I looked up to see him biting his lip looking down at the table. I nudged him with my arm to grab his attention. "You okay?" I asked softly. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink before looking at me. A soft smile crossed his gorgeous face as his blue eyes met mine. "Yeah, I'm okay," he replied, before looking around at everyone else. "Is everyone finished? It's starting to get dark." Everyone nodded, and we all stood and made our way outside, while Colby paid the bill. I looked out at the sunset, watching the gold, pink, and purple hues blend together with the blue through the clouds. I might not love living in Georgia but we really did have amazing sunsets. I jumped a little when Colby touched my shoulder. "Sorry," he laughed a little. "It's beautiful here, ya know?" I nodded, looking back out at the sky. "Yeah, it is...but there's more to life than beautiful sunsets," I replied. His face scrunched up a little, and he bit his lip, studying my face. He looked like he wanted to say something, but our waitress came outside just then, drawing his attention to her. "Thank you guys so much for letting me get pictures. This really means so much to me!" she gushed, getting her phone ready. The guys surrounded her, with Colby taking her phone because his arms were longer and they could all be in the frame. Then they each took a turn taking individual selfies with her. She was all but shaking by the time she got her phone back and they were finished. They each signed her hoodie that she had brought out. The old blue bando bros merch that Sam and Colby used to sell. Then they each signed her phone. I was surprised the girl didn't pass out, but I couldn't blame her. I kind of missed feeling that way. The amazement of having your idols being so close to you, and giving you some of their attention. Now it was just the amazing guy that I knew I was in love with, and the ones that I now considered my friends that lived far away. It was weird to move from one stage to the next, but I wasn't upset with it. I would much rather have them as my friends, than as those untouchable idols they had once been. I still looked up to them, greatly, but they were more human to me now. Just guys that worked their asses off and never gave up on their dreams. The girl hugged them all, then waved to Denise and I, before walking back inside the building. I had a feeling we would be seeing a little more of her while we were here. The guys walked back over to us, and we all headed towards the car. "Um, this is going to be a tight squeeze," I replied, looking at the backseat, and realizing that there was now six of us. The car would hold five comfortably, but six was pushing it. "It's fine," Colby replied. "We'll figure it out. Sam, do you want to drive?" He held the keys out to Sam, raising his eyebrows. Sam pursed his lips to the side for a second then rolled his eyes. "Sure, why not? But you've got it on the way back." Colby nodded, and grinned. "Thanks man." Sam nodded, and climbed in behind the steering wheel. "Jake, you can have shotgun," Colby said, pushing Jake's back towards the other side of the car. "Huh? why? You always ride shotgun or drive," Jake said, dumbfounded. "Just get in the damn car brother," Colby said, shaking his head. "This is weird," Jake mumbled, but he got into the passenger side of the car. This left me, Denise, Corey, and Colby standing outside the car. Colby climbed in behind Sam, while Corey opened the other door for Denise. She crawled in and sat in the middle, letting Corey take the last available seat beside her. Colby looked out at me, smiling his little devilish smile. "Climb in baby girl. Best seat in the house," he replied smugly, patting his lap. I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop the smile that crossed my face. I maneuvered myself into the car, leaning my back against the door, sitting sideways on Colby's lap, with my feet hanging between his and Denise's. It wasn't comfortable exactly, because my head was dangerously close to the top of the car, but we could make it work. I was more aware of Colby's arms going around my waist, holding me in place as his fingers locked down on my stomach. "Good?" he asked, looking at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. My mouth suddenly went dry so I cleared my throat, and tried to work up even just a little saliva to wet my tongue. "Ye-yeah," I stuttered out, holding his gaze.