He smiled and stood up too. Tsehay’s voice was sultry and did the song justice. I looked around and noticed most of the people had started gathering around the stage, swaying to the music. Within a few seconds the entire place was singing along and belting out the chorus. It was one of those moments that can only happen when you are at a great gig, with everyone in tune to the music.

After SZA, they did a couple of Bob Marley and Amy Winehouse songs, and some Ethiopian pop music too. By the time the first set was done, I was only feet away from the stage, in a knot of people cheering and singing along with Tsehay and her band. Elias was standing right behind me, and it was the first time I truly noticed his height. He was taller than me, so the top of my head was right under his chin. I was consumed with the thought of how it would feel to lean into him. To feel the heat of this body against my back.

I wanted to touch him so badly that I kept coming up with excuses to rub up against him.

By the time the second set started, the place was packed, and pretty soon I did feel Elias’s front pressed to my back. I looked up at him and he gave me a small smile as he ran a finger across my hip. Such a light touch, it could have been accidental. We were packed so close together. But with Elias against my back, a shiver ran down my spine at the contact. The impulse to turn around and push myself against him was so strong, I trembled.

When I looked up at his face, I could see my desire reflected there. As the band played and we moved to the music, we kept finding little ways to touch or brush against each other. Even a simple graze of his hand to my side felt erotic, and I was dizzy with wanting him.

After an hour of solid playing, the band was finally winding down and announced this would be their last song of the night. Elias bent down so he could whisper into my ear. “She always ends with the same song. That old Fugees cover of ‘Killing Me Softly.’”

I grinned up at him as I heard the first notes. “I love that song.”