City Lights by Aerial Bard

"Did you really expect us to have all of this?"
"Not in a million years." I glance up at him slowly and smile. His arms are spread wide, taking in the city skyline as if he could hold it all in his grasp. He doesn't answer me, staring out at the flashing lights, and I don't mind, because this is when I love him the most.
When he turns back to me, smiling still, arms still spread, I wonder for a minute if he will take me into his arms the same way, but they slowly return to his sides and I plaster on a smile almost as wide as his. "Some view, eh?"
"All of Sydney is ours, Dan." He whispers and shivers run marathons down my spine. "Look at it, down there. A million voices are whispering our name, raving about that concert that we just gave. Us. You and me. We inspired all of that."
"And here we are, standing like lunatics in the middle of the street at midnight," I hear myself say, and I know he will laugh at my cynicism. "What inspired that, Dar?"
I'm right. He looks back at his car, parked quickly on the side of the street, wheels tilted under its frame in a hasty parallel attempt, and he laughs. "Have you ever seen lights this bright?"
A corny remark pushes at my lips, daring me to tell him that his eyes are always this bright, or that the city is pale compared to him, but instead I laugh and he joins in, still delirious from the concert and the chill in the air. "Only a few hours ago. The concert lights. All those sequins that you wear. The purple and blue and yellow that reflects off of them."
He shakes his head. "Nah. Nothing compared to this." His arms sweep over the city again. "Our next tour, we should have this."
"Sydney?"
"No. The lights."
I nod. He turns to me again and this time his arms close around my shoulders, and for the briefest second I can smell his aftershave mingled with lemony soap from the concert hall showers. His hard chest is pressed against mine, and the city lights catch my eyes as they must have caught his, blinding me together with the feel of Darren. And then it's gone. He moves away and the frosted night air takes his place, and I almost spin, still dizzy. "I don't think we should have a Valentine's concert next year." His eyes are back on the city lights, his arms wrapped around his own chest now and I move closer to him, wondering if he would want my warmth if I offered it. I settle for my jacket, taking it off and draping it over his shoulders.
"Why not? The whole place was sold out."
He looks up at me, tugging at the lapels of the jacket to pull it tighter around himself. I wish he would pull my arms around him instead.
"You missed Valentine's Day." He says in a small voice. "You didn't go out to dinner, or see Michelle, or call your parents or anything."
I shrug. "Michelle has other people she could see, and my parents would much rather spend the day with each other than on the phone with me." The lights catch my eye again. "We could still go out to dinner."
He doesn't answer.
"You should be spending today with Colby." I finally say, knowing that's what he's upset about and knowing that I should be acting like a best friend instead of inching myself closer to him. I take another step anyway.
He shrugs and stares at the skyline. "It's not such a big deal. But I'm sure the band would rather be with their partners than us."
"Hey, what's wrong with us?" I smile and see his cheekbones rise, a sure sign that he's trying not to smile. My hands brush against leather and I realize I've hugged him. The light glitters off the shiny surface before I let go.
"Well not everyone loves being in our company as much as we do." The smile ends up on his face anyway and I shiver.
"Shouldn't have given up your jacket." He says, somehow seeing my reaction even though he's still watching the skyline. And misinterpreting it. As always.
I tousle his hair. "Yeah, well, laugh it up fuzzball."
He rolls his eyes and reaches for my hand. I realize that my fingers are ice cold compared to his.
"Do you think we'll still be doing concerts next year?"
I rub the back of his hand with my thumb. "Of course."
"We should play Sydney again on Valentine's Day."
"I thought you didn't want to do this concert next year."
He's staring down at the city lights again. "It wouldn't be so bad, I guess. We could come here after the show again."
My eyes shift to a streetlight somewhere along a street, nothing more than a bright dot along a black line. I trace the line back up to his face. He's looking at me again. Waiting for an answer. I shrug. "Sure."
"You don't mind spending your Valentine's with me?"
I realize that our hands are still joined together, and I squeeze his. "Well, maybe I won't procrastinate so long on getting a date next year..." I tease, but his face is too serious. "No, I don't mind."
A car turns a corner somewhere not too far below us and the headlights blind me for a moment. In the next moment Darren's arms are around me again, and the spots fade slowly from my eyes.
"Dar?"
His thumb brushes over my lips softly before he pulls away. "Maybe by next year we can have all these lights on tour with us. A whole backdrop of them."
I'm still feeling his touch. "Sure."
He turns to me, suddenly serious. "Do you think we could? Put all of this into a show?"
I look out at the city again and notice how the neon shines softly off of my leather coat, still draped across Darren's shoulders. "No."
"We could try."
"We could come back after the concert next year, and see how close we got." As I speak my body moves closer to his.
"It'll be different then." He puts distance between us again, black air turning gold in the shine of the street lamp.
I close the gap. "How will it be different?"
"You'll pull away."
"From you?" Despite the cold, my body warms at the thought of his touch only moments ago. I'd thought I had imagined it. I turn to him, but he's looking away again.
I look below us, trying to see what he's seeing, and am swept away in the flashing green and yellow and blue that dots the city. His touch on my neck sends white heat singing down my spine, and he moves in front of me.
"You won't?"
Our lips touch, and my eyes close. The color of the city is replaced by black oblivion, as his mouth scorches me more than the blinding lights could have. I sway as my knees buckle and he wraps his arms around me. His mouth slowly parts and my tongue slips inside, the heat of his mouth warming me as much as his hands around my waist do. He pulls away first.
"Maybe we should go get dinner." He turns toward his car. "Most places won't stay open very late on holidays."
My hand catches his arm, stopping him with no effort. "It's midnight. Most places are already closed."
He nods, almost imperceptibly, and wanders back down the street, stopping a few feet in front of me where the light of the street lamps can't reach. "D'you think we'll have new music by next year?"
I stay where I am and play along. "Maybe not by next year. We'll have to write new stuff first."
"We should start that. Tonight. Or tomorrow."
The seriousness in his voice, the hint of question at the end of each sentence, becomes too much for me and I laugh. "Good idea. You're getting a tad rusty at our old ones."
He turns around and my smile grows. Helplessly he smiles back. "What are you talking about?"
"You so screwed up the words to Violet tonight." I egg him on, our closeness moments ago weighing on my mind like a weight that couldn't be dropped. I try to distract myself and the silence breaks with our laughter.
A light push against my arm. "You threw off my groove. Bopping around like you didn't even know what song we were on."
I wrinkle my nose at him and he laughs.
"Sometimes I think you've gotten Chuck to rig up a walkman in your earpiece, and you're listening to U2 or something throughout the whole concert."
"Do I seem that out of it?"
"Yes."
"It's the lights." I gesture at the city. "I can't believe you'd want all of this in our concert. I think I'd fall of the stage."
"I'd catch you."
It's cold again and the lights below us are shining too brightly for me to concentrate. His eyes shine and he looks feverish. Too cold, too bright. I turn back to the skyline.
"I'm so selfish, Dan." I realize he's holding me again as his breath warms my ear and the back of my neck. My eyes flutter shut.
"No you're not." It's too late to wonder if I should be pushing him away before it becomes impossible to tear myself from him. I know it already is.
He pulls me closer. "I should've let you go after the concert. But I wanted to spend tonight with you." I'm shaking now, still wrapped in his arms. "I needed to spend Valentine's with someone I love for once," he whispers and my resolution to play it safe shatters.
I pull him closer and our lips meet again. This time he doesn't pull away.