Her set came to an end, inspiring an appreciative and heartfelt roar of admiration from her audience, the raucous applause blocking out the humble thanks she was giving over the microphone.  I could hear her, though, the way the words caught in her throat as she fought against her adrenaline-induced tears.  She was overwhelmed by the crowd’s response, no doubt feeling she didn’t deserve their adulation.  She was wrong, though, particularly because I felt that night that she’d played the best I’d ever heard her play.  I woke from the spell her presence put on me to find myself applauding and shouting as loud as all those around me.  My feet began to take me towards the stage, my heart wanting her to see me but at the same time my head hoped she wouldn’t so as not to ruin the surprise I had in store for her.  She stood up with her guitar, ready to pack up her things, and as the crowd began to retreat from the quiet stage in favour of the stocked bar, I realised I too had to follow suit if I didn’t want her to spot me amongst the strangers.  As several admirers crowded round the stage, trying to catch her attention, I tore my eyes from her beauty and bowed my head, pointing my body in the direction of the bathrooms.  Only when I reached the door did I allow myself to look back at her. I regretted it as I felt my heart wrench at the sight of her smiling that beautiful grin of hers at some random person – that grin I felt she should bless me with, and me only.  I was relieved however, when I realised the direction of the smile was aimed at the guy who’d been mixing her sound levels and tuning up her guitars for her all night.  I cursed my jealous stupidity and headed into the quiet of the toilets, checking my reflection in the mirrors above the sinks before locking myself away in a cubicle.

I sat on the lid of the seat and breathed a heavy sigh, my head finding itself buried in my hands as my elbows rested on my quaking knees.  I was shaking in anticipation.  I couldn’t wait to find Ashley, to surprise her with my presence, to congratulate her on how amazing she was, and to take her in my arms in an embrace that I was scared to take further than the ‘friendship’ boundary.  I loved her so much it terrified me, and she didn’t have a clue.  I was just her goofy friend – her goofy friend that had travelled right across America to surprise her at her first big gig away from home – in New York, no less.  If that wasn’t enough to spell out how I felt about her I didn’t know what was, especially as I had orchestrated a surprise reunion with her father.  I was a long way from Ohio now.