Seeing Shadows (Shadows 1)

"Oh, fine," Jenny relented. "I'll have a diet coke. But my birthday is coming up soon. And then I'm going to blow it out!"

Janice chuckled. "Sure thing, little thing. But until then, diet coke it is."

As Janice walked away, Sarah leaned forward. "How much have you guys practiced together already?" she asked.

"We jammed yesterday and the day before," Marcus answered. "But like Grant said earlier, I visited him a few times this past summer and we practiced a lot then. It was easy since Simon lives so close to Grant."

Grant had mentioned earlier that he and Simon lived in neighboring towns in Connecticut and Marcus was pretty close by in New Jersey. In fact, all of us were East Coasters, although Jenny was much further down south in Florida. Sarah lived in Westchester, right outside of New York City. I had spent a lot of time at her house, since I avoided my home as much as possible. My father didn't make it easy to be under his roof and it was just easier to stay at Sarah's house. Her life was so normal. Her parents were normal. Her younger sister was normal. I appreciated normal as much as I could get.

"I'm so excited to hear you guys play," squealed Jenny with enthusiasm. Marcus smiled as he looked at Jenny. Her enthusiasm was as much a part of her as was his quiet demeanor. It really was a shame that Marcus couldn't get the guts to ask her out.

"Yeah," Sarah chimed in. "And I bet Joel can't wait to start raking in the dough again." She looked over at Grant. "All the girls have been missing your drumming solos." She smiled coyly. The flirtatious lilt in her voice unmistakable and Grant grinned, winking at her.

"What about you?" Simon asked with a half-grin, leaning slightly forward to look at me since Marcus was sitting between us. "Are you excited about hearing the reinvention of the Henchmen?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not. I'm sure you guys will be good," I said noncommittally.

"Good?" Grant exclaimed. "We're great! Even better than before. Abe was a great singer, but Simon kills it. Plus he blows Mike out of the water on guitar. Even Joel was impressed when we were practicing yesterday. And he's never impressed."

Simon smiled. "We don't want to build up their expectations too much and set them up for disappointment. Let's not make me the second coming of Jim Morrison. We make a good team, but we'll see how the fans react."

Simon's modesty was a strange mix with his arrogance. When I had just decided that he was full of himself, he would make a self-deprecating comment that would endear me to him.

Friends, I thought to myself emphatically. Just friends.

Janice interrupted the conversation by setting two pitchers of beer on the table alongside five glasses. "I'll be right back with your soda, honey," she said to Jenny and walked back to the bar.

Grant and Simon started pouring beers, joking about who poured the best glass with the least amount of foam.

"Here," Simon said, passing a beer to me, reaching over Marcus. "I promised to buy you a drink."

"Well, technically you haven't paid for the drink yet, but we'll call it even," I said with a smile. Friends.

Simon laughed. "Well, to make sure it counts I'll pay for all the pitchers tonight."

"You don't need to do that to impress Caitlin," Jenny said with a impish grin. "Nothing impresses her."

Sarah snorted and I shot her a dirty look. I turned back to Jenny. "Lots of things impress me. Your silence would impress me."

Simon grinned. "I'll have to think of some ways to impress you then."

I cleared my throat self-consciously. I needed to steer this back into the friend zone. "So, how's the apartment search going?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"Not so great," Simon answered. "Since it's already a couple of months into the school year, there doesn't seem to be a lot of availability. I've looked at a few places but unless I want cockroaches as roommates, I'll have to keep looking."

"I keep telling him that he can stay as long as he wants at our place," Grant said.

"Yeah, it's nice having someone around who actually does the dishes," Marcus joked.

"Hey, I do the dishes!" Grant protested. "I don't know why they need to be done the same day as I use them."

"Or the same week," Marcus deadpanned.

Simon laughed. "I really want to get my stuff out of storage and have my own space. I really appreciate Grant and Marcus putting me up, but I'm sure they want full use of their couch."

"If it ever gets too crowded, one of you can stay at our place," Sarah said, winking at Grant. Grant grinned in return. Although he never seemed to actively encourage Sarah's flirtation, he seemed to enjoy the attention.

"Sure," I said dryly. "You'll just have permanent back injuries from our couch." Our couch was a futon and was well worn. Although it was comfortable enough to sit on, sleeping on it was a different matter. There were a few strategically placed springs that jutted out, ensuring anyone who slept there an impending spinal injury.