“Nooooo!” Frog shouted and threw a paper missile in my direction.
“Hey!” I shouted and tossed it back.
“Everyone shut up,” Mac ordered.
They all ignored her as they fought to be heard over each other. I placed two fingers in my mouth and let out a piercing whistle. Everyone shut up and looked at me.
“Be quiet, assheads,” I ordered. “Mac has important news.”
I turned to Mac and rolled my hand down theatrically before moving through the throng and sitting down on the couch. Henry came and threw himself down next to me, placing a hand over my shoulders and hugging me tightly.
Mac brought them up to speed. Our scout wasn’t just anyone. It was Gary Gilmore of Jettison Records, one of the top labels in the country. He’d told Marcus he was coming in to hear us play because their record label was interested and Marcus had spoken to Mac.
The six of us jumped about excitedly until it somehow evolved into who could do the best flying leap and ended with Cooper crashing into a side table, earning a slight gash to the back of his head. We declared him the Grande Jete winner, and Mac was busy patching his head while I started warming up my voice.
A knock came at the door and Marcus peeked his head in, grinning when he saw our level of excitement. “I take it you got the good news?”
I nodded happily. “Sure did. We’re going to kick ass tonight, Marcus, thanks.”
“I don’t doubt it. I’ll leave you to it. Just wanted to let you know that Gary just arrived.” He winked at Mac before shutting the door.
All eyes swivelled to Mac and she blushed.
“Marcus, huh?”
“Maybe,” she muttered mysteriously.
A little under an hour later Marcus hit the stage to introduce us. As we stood off to the side, Jake ran out first to the cheering crowd and sat down and did a frenzied solo on the drums while they all whooped and hollered. I laughed when I heard a girl in the crowd scream out “Take your shirt off, Jakie!”
I nodded knowingly to Frog. He poked me in the shoulder before heading out next, holding up his hand and bowing as the girls screamed his name. He looked over at me pointedly, pulled on his guitar, and plucked a bass tune along to Jake’s drums. Cooper came out next to stand at his keyboard, running his fingers up and down the keys, and Henry gave my hand a quick squeeze and moved out next, putting on his guitar and taking it all in stride as the girls went wild.
I peeked my head around the corner to peer into the darkness of the crowd. I could see Mac, Jared, and Travis front and centre, whooping and clapping at the guys antics on stage, but no Tate.
Henry gave me the nod, and my heart thundered hard in my chest. My throat went tight and my stomach did a long, lazy roll. I wiped my sweaty hands down my pants, fluffed my hair, and strutted out into the blinding lights.
Fake it till you make it, I muttered to myself in encouragement.
The crowd roared and clapped as I pulled the microphone out of the stand, and Mac gave me two thumbs up.
“Hey, Sydney!” I yelled.
They clapped and hollered back.
“You’ll have to forgive me because I’m going to get serious for just a moment before we get started,” I said to the crowd conversationally.
They tittered and quieted down, and the band stopped fooling around, waiting to see what I was going to say.
“It seems there’s a bit of a problem. My boys here...” I waved an arm out behind me “...all seem to be single.”
The girls (and a few guys) began screaming madly, Henry laughed out loud, and Frog moved closer to the edge of the stage to offer a wink and a wave.
I nodded at the crowd in mock seriousness. “That’s right, see the dilemma? I just thought I’d put that out there in case we have people in the crowd who can help fix the problem.”
I shook my head playfully as a guy screamed out, “Are you single, Evie?” and laughed when another yelled that he’d “fix my problem.”
“Two more things quickly. Thanks, Marcus, for having us.” Marcus offered a little wave from the side of the stage. “And thanks to you guys for a hot shit welcome on our first night here a few weeks ago. We wouldn’t be back here if it wasn’t for you.” I finished on a shout and the crowd yelled and clapped as Jake hit the drums hard, leading into our first song of the night.
“This is our first song, Follow Me,” I said.
We worked through all our songs steadily over the night and rather than kicking back for a breather during our break, we worked through a cover song we’d chosen to do at the end of the show.
When it came time to wind things down, I brought the microphone up to my lips. “Last song people,” I said quietly and the crowd went silent. “We’re going to do a cover song, so I hope you don’t mind. We’ve chosen this song as thank you to our beautiful Macklewaine because it’s one of her favourites and we love her guts.”
I laughed as I glanced at Mac to see her pointing at me fiercely.
“I love you too, Evie!” I heard a guy scream at the top of his lungs, and I laughed again as the crowd tittered.
Henry was singing this one, so I handed the microphone over to him, picked up my guitar, and adjusted the strap over my shoulder. He was my backup vocalist when needed, but he had a fantastic voice, and I enjoyed watching him take the lead.
I nodded at the boys, then I began playing the brief solo intro to Drive By by Train. Glancing up as my fingers flew across the strings, I caught Travis and Jared grinning at me from the front of the stage. Travis put two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle.
Jake thundered in with the beat before Cooper and Frog joined in. I walked to the edge of stage near the three of them so Mac would catch my wink. She laughed and I shifted back over to Henry, and he sang to me for a moment as I played close. Adrenaline pumped through my veins hard, and I hoped that wherever Gary Gilmore was, he was enjoying the show.
Met with a thunderous applause and foot stomping, I unshouldered the guitar and pointed my finger at Mac with Jared and Travis watching on with identical grins. I waved at the crowd before Henry grabbed my hand, had us take a bow, and we bounded off the stage.
We hit the backstage dressing room, beers were handed out, and I took a huge swig. I was hot, sweaty, and thoroughly high on the whole night.
“Group hug!” I shouted, and we all huddled together. “I only want to say one thing. I love you guys!”
They all groaned theatrically.
“Someone gag her before she drags us all down with her,” Cooper moaned.
I slapped him on the back of his head, and he shrieked like a girl when I made contact with the gash I had forgotten was there. Cooper tackled me to the floor, and my drink went flying across the room when the door burst open and Mac, Jared, and Travis came in.
“You guys!” she screeched and then gave Cooper and I a raised eyebrow. “I don’t even wanna know.”
I dusted myself off and reached for a new beer, popping the lid as Mac snatched it out of my hand and took a huge gulp.
“Hey!” I yelled, trying to grab it back.
She pushed her hand into my chest, holding me back. “I need it more than you right now. Thanks for trying to make me cry, asshead.”
I grabbed another three beers, passing one to Travis and Jared and keeping one for myself.
“Where’s Tate?” I whispered in Mac’s ear.
She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “He said to say sorry. He got called away.”
“Oh,” I muttered. Life of a copper. I was warned but I still felt a small sliver of disappointment. I forced a bright smile at Jared as he took hold of my hand and pulled me close. The feel of his body and the heat in his eyes was enough to smother the disappointment and the smile came more easily.
“Evie. Up there? Wow. I already knew you were the hottest f**king thing I’d ever seen in my life, but that voice of yours...” he leaned in close until the warmth of his breath tickled my ear “...makes me want to f**k you.”
The words, spoken in a voice that was both deep and husky, left me scrambling for air.
His face close to mine, I gazed up into the intense, unwavering green eyes, and I was floored. In that one single moment, high on adrenaline and life, I realised Jared’s words had led me to a fork in the road. Did I continue the cycle of dating and meaningless sex and the fight against the fear of being hurt? Or should I choose what felt right and for once, trust what my heart was trying to tell me—that this man was the one I wanted more than anything, more than Tate, more than any other man I’d ever known. This one, so smart and capable, strong and determined, relentless and funny, caring and gentle and so. f**king. beautiful. I was tired of fighting it, and the overwhelming relief I felt at finally letting it go threw me off balance.
I put down my drink, palmed both his cheeks in my hands, and set myself loose on his lips. The minute he felt the touch of my tongue, he dropped his beer and lifted my legs up off the ground until I was straddling his body, legs wrapped tightly around his hips. He turned and slammed my back into the wall―hard, and I kissed him with every bit of feeling I’d been bottling up inside for weeks, f**k that, years. He groaned as he ravaged my mouth, and I wound my arms around his neck, trailing my fingers through his silky hair. My body was pinned against him and the wall, and I was throbbing with heat as he sucked on my tongue. His hands, gripping the backs of my thighs as he pushed against me, dug in at my whimper. He tore his lips away, his breathing ragged, and rested his forehead against mine. Loosening his grip on my legs, Jared gently set me back to my feet and pressed his lips to mine for a last, swift kiss. I looked over his shoulder and realised the dressing room was levelled to silence.
“Uh…” Lost for words, I flushed.
Jared grinned and grabbed my hand in his. The warmth of his rough palm against my skin sent shivers down my spine, making me forget my embarrassment.
Mac cheered, looking elated. “Well let’s go f**king start this party, bitches.”
Everyone had left, but Jared and I chose to ditch the after party and head back to the duplex. He was tired from the painkillers, and I was crashing hard after the high, and honestly, I just needed him to myself.
I washed off the makeup and sweat under the warm spray of a shower and changed into my sleepwear, choosing a deep emerald green camisole and matching shorts with rose lace trim. Quiet music was playing in the background, and Jared was busy texting when I came into the bedroom.
“Drink for you over there.” He waved at the bedside table, not looking up as he tapped at his phone.
I picked it up and took a sip of icy cold wine. “Ah, that’s good,” I muttered and walked over to flip up the blinds and open the window to let the faint warm breeze blow through. I switched on the lamp and turned the top light off, making the room cosy and inviting.
“Did Mac tell you about Tate?” Jared asked as he put his phone down and looked up. He scanned my body, and this time I allowed myself to enjoy the heat in his eyes.
“What about him?”
“Why he left.”
I nodded. “Do we need to talk about Tate right now?”
“That depends. Are you still going to keep on seeing him?”