Page 50 of Rescue

Chapter Ten

Haylee

“Oh my God,” Paige yells a few hours later, barging into our dressing room. We skipped the Ransom sets for tonight, preferring to stay backstage and celebrate together. Apparently the show’s over, because Paige never misses a set. “I just heard about the concert!” she cries. “Congratulations!”

I allow her to pull me into a hug before she turns to the others, hugging each member of the band with equal enthusiasm. “The boys are so stoked about this! And it’s so well deserved!” She beams at us. “We’re going out to celebrate, and you’re all coming with us. No exceptions!”

“Paige, I don’t think you have to strong-arm us into celebrating tonight,” I say, laughing. “We’ll be there.”

“Excellent! Barcelona is supposed to have an amazing nightlife. We’re going to have so much fun!”

“I’m all about fun,” Dylan says, to a chorus of raised beer bottles from the rest of us. We’ve been toasting pretty much every word out of our mouths tonight, and I don’t see the practice dying down.

“We’ll meet you in our dressing room in twenty minutes, okay?” Paige says. She grabs me for one more hug. “I’m really so excited for you, Haylee. You deserve this.”

“Thank you,” I say, taken aback, and more than a little touched, by her sincerity.

We putz around for the next twenty minutes, Layla reapplying our makeup, until it’s time to meet the Ransome boys. They’re all waiting for us in their dressing room along with Levi, Paige, and Daisy.

“Hey!” Daltrey calls when he sees us at the door. “Congratulations!”

“Kick-ass news, you guys!” Cash calls. And then they surround us, giving us high fives, Daisy hugging us, Paige hugging us again.They’re genuinely excited for us, I think, remembering what James said that afternoon about them not being the way we expected. I file this under that same heading.

“The label thinks this is going to be a really big deal,” Reed says. “I’m so happy you guys get to be a part of it. You really deserve it.”

“Absolutely,” Lennon agrees, grinning down at me. My stomach flips at the expression on his face. He seems so happy, thrilled really. And he’s standing so close. “I can’t think of anyone else who better deserves an opportunity like this.”

“Thanks, Len,” I say, and I find I have to look away.

Paige has scouted out several clubs for us. “This is my special gift,” she tells me in the van, her voice very serious.

“Going to clubs?”

“Findingclubs.”

As soon as we’re inside, I know she had a point. The club is expansive, the majority of the floor space taken up by the dance floor. The ceiling towers high above us, a maze of catwalks and wire works, colored lights spinning madly over the crowd below. Platforms are set up around the room, housing professional dancers in black dresses doing their thing.

“Is it just me,” Dylan calls in my ear, “or is everyone in this room exponentially more attractive than we are?”

“Speak for yourself,” Layla calls, waving to us over her shoulder as she steps out into the crowd, her attention set on one of the many Mr. Dark and Handsomes currently on the dance floor. I glance over at Dylan’s crestfallen face and laugh. “Sorry, Dyl. I think you’re gonna have to give up the ghost on that one.”

He sighs. “She’s way out of my league.”

“Nonsense. She’s just a little too… distracted.” He doesn’t look much cheered, so I sling an arm around his shoulder. “Come on. I’ll buy you a drink. And we can people watch all the gorgeous Europeans from the bar.”

But Paige has other ideas. Apparently Ransom doesn’t hang out at the bar like some group of plebs. She leads us all over to a roped-off VIP section where a tall table awaits. “This is pretty swanky,” Lance says, sliding up onto the neon-green plastic barstool. “I could get used to this.”

“Me too,” Layla agrees, having rejoined us the moment she heard the word VIP. She adjusts her black corset top and takes the glass of champagne the waitress offers.

“A toast is in order, I think,” Reed says, holding up his glass. “To Intrigue. Congratulations, you guys.”

“To Intrigue,” the rest of them echo.

“I have a feeling you’ll be giving us a run for our money in no time,” Cash adds, and we all clink glasses before drinking.

“I want to dance,” Paige says, the moment she finishes her champagne. “Daisy, will you dance?”

Daisy makes a face over her sparkling grape juice. “My feet are killing me,” she says. “And I’m super bloated.”