Best Thing In Town

"...Shit," everyone seems to say at once.

Without missing a beat, however, Billie pops me off his lap and places me back into the chair before rushing up the stairs, telling everyone on his way "Chill the fuck out and don't break anything."

When I was sitting with Billie in this chair, I felt peaceful. Sitting alone, I just feel restless. I stand up, maybe a little too quickly because my head gives a terrifying whirl of dizziness before I have to reach down briefly and steady myself. Through the darkness, I am trying to find my way somewhere. Maybe into the kitchen to find some candles. Candles would be good.

After bumping into nine people, tripping over one, and knocking my shin into a coffee table, I find myself in the kitchen. And I also find two candles sitting on the window pane above the sink. I smile to myself and grab them to bring in the living room.

"Do you have a lighter?" I ask the person to my left although I couldn't remember his name quite clearly. Straining my eyes to see the outline of his shadow, I see his cheeks rise and eyebrows raise--turning into a silhouette of a smile. "Thank you," I smile back in case he can see me.

The candles give off more light than I anticipate and I smile while I see everyone's faces light up now that they can see. They may be drunk and dizzy, but at least they're not in total darkness.

"You're wonderful." I look behind me to see Billie. An acoustic guitar hung over his should, a cheeky grin on his face, and his lips on my cheek. Instinctively, I want to look down and blush, but something in me is changing. I don't want to be so passive anymore. With no awkward look-aways, no changing the subject, and no other bullshit, I thank him for thinking I'm wonderful and say "You're wonderful, too, Billie."

"Shut up, you're too goddamn sweet." He runs his hand over my hair and kisses my hairline. "Thanks for the help with the candles, too." He walks past me, leaving me in a happy daze, still facing the opposite direction. But I don't seem to notice until the music starts.

"I thought the power was never going to go out!" Billie shouted as he sat comfortably on a stool he had pulled into the living room. Everyone cheered for him and gathered around him, clapping their free hands to their red plastic cups. "Anyway," he chuckled to himself while looking down briefly. "Feel free to sing along so you can't tell if I forget the lyrics." He laughs again, louder this time while he looks at everyone in the candle light.

Grabbing another beer, I find a spot on the stairs to sit and listen to Billie. Looking around at everyone else listening to him, it would be debatable who was more enthralled: me or them. But he is oblivious anyway to everyone it seems. It's beautiful that way.

"If you're scared, say you're scared."

I look next to me to see Mike, his eyes glowing. "What?" I can't help but laugh at his sudden appearance and odd question.

He laughs with me. "When you look at him," he continues, "you look so scared."

"No, I don't." I sip my beer and look at him over the brim of the can.

He nods. "You're right, you don't." He sips his own beer for a moment. "But I can tell."

I continue to look at him, that's all I can do. I'm not sure what to say because I'm not sure how I feel about what he is telling me. "Like I said, if you're scared, say you're scared." Despite what he is saying, his smile is comforting.

"Actually," he starts again. "What I should be saying is if you like him, say you like him." My cheeks turn red immediately and I sip my beer to try and hide it. Mike notices anyway because Mike is simply Mike. He places his hand on my back and rubs it gently. "Although I mean what I'm saying, it's still fun messing with you."

We both laugh before he says, "I'm just saying, I know Billie and you're not hard to read. And by that, I mean, if you feel something, let him know and he'll let you know."

I look at him suspiciously over the brim of my beer can before he playfully nudges me in the arm. "Smile, he's looking over at you."

"What?" I stutter out before looking in the direction of Mike's gaze. I see Billie's back toward me as he strums his guitar and sings to the audience, his friends, who are still as intrigued with him as they were before. His presence never wavers.

I look back to Mike to see him grinning. "Made you look."