|Concrete and Gold||dave grohl|

Chapter Twenty Nine•A Matter Of Time

Eliza rolled out of bed and was startled to see Taylor, standing in her kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee.

"Hey, sorry, I just stayed here last night. Kind of crashed on your couch."

"No, you're good. I'd rather you stay here than loose on the streets."

Taylor poured another cup of coffee and handed it to her. She let out an awkward sigh, as neither of them knew exactly what to do in this situation.

He downed his cup of coffee and placed it in the sink. "I've gotta go. Band practice." He shrugged.

"This early on a Saturday?" She jokingly inquired.

"Never stops." He laughed as he put on his shoes. "See you same time next week?"

"You bet."

He shot her a wink as he walked out of her front door.

And, just as he said, a week later, Eliza found herself standing in the front of the crowd watching him play.

They made eye contact, prompting a wide smile to spread across his face. Julia looked over, recognizing what was going on.

"You're funny." Julia laughed, calling over the crowd.

Eliza just shrugged, happy to be there.

Taylor's band finished their set, and he found her at the bar just moments after he packed away his equipment.

"Funny seeing you here." Taylor said as he took a seat next to her.

"The only funny thing here are those pants." Eliza said, looking down at Taylor's hot pink cheetah print swim trunks.

"Hey, you better watch it. Who else is supposed to walk you back to your apartment tonight?"

Eliza laughed. "You're so right." She said, downing another shot.

And, just as Taylor predicted, he found himself walking her home many hours after the sun had set.

"Taylor, what are we?" A question Eliza never would have asked had she been sober.

"I like you a lot, Eliza. But I'm just not in a place for a relationship right now. I'm working on my band, now's just not the time. But I like you, don't forget that."

"So... friends with benefits?" Eliza laughed.

"Sounds good to me."

They walked back to Eliza's, hand in hand, looking up at the stars.

About a month went by, and Taylor and Eliza became closer than ever. The pair were true friends with benefits, but with strong emphasis on "friends." They became best friends, with both of them just trying to navigate their mid twenties in one of the biggest cities in the country.

"Can you drive me up to a buddy's house tomorrow afternoon?" Taylor asked one day over the phone. Eliza's teaching gig was going well, and she had enough money to afford a car. So, she became his personal chauffeur, driving him all across town.

"Is it another audition?" Eliza asked, trying to restrain the excitement from rising into her voice. Taylor's band had broken up about a month ago, and since then he had no stable job. He had been hunting for drumming gigs almost every single day, none of which proved to be successful ventures. Eliza was praying that he could pull a win.

"Yeah, but this one is kind of a crap shoot," he sighed. "Some new chick is looking for a touring drummer. Seems kind of high profile. I heard about it through a friend, so I figured I might as well give it a shot."