Page 163 of Malice and Surrender
“Peaches, this is the band. You saw them in passing, but let's make this official. This smiling asshat is Marcus, the walking hardon.” I pointed at my drummer.
“Hey! Okay yeah, that’s fair,” he said, making Raine laugh.
“Damon, my bass guitarist. Stone is all over the electric and steel guitar, and lastly, Owen plays the piano, keyboard, and really anything else we need. He’s like a freaking wizard.” I pointed out the guys one at a time.
“Owen is just an overachiever,” Damon teased.
“You’re just jealous that all the girls want me instead,” Owen shot back.
“Eat shit,” Damon said, punching Owen in the arm.
Stone didn’t say anything. He was also the only one who wouldn’t shake Raine’s hand when she offered it. I glared at him, then he at least nodded and said hi. Raine looked up at me as the group moved on, and I knew she was confused by his reaction to her.
Turning for the stage, I held Raine back, walking slower until the guys were out of earshot. “Don’t mind, Stone. He takes time to warm up to anyone new. We’ve had our share of crazy ass groupies that attach themselves to the guys. He’s making sure we stick before he bothers getting to know you.”
“Oh, okay. I get that, but he seemed angry.” Raine hesitated, and I watched her while she stared through the slim crack in the stage wall.
“No, just an ass. He’s like that with pretty much everyone other than the band.”
The roar of the crowd was extra loud tonight inside the football stadium. These were my favorite venues. They always got my heart racing and the adrenaline pumping. Raine’s eyes were wide, and her mouth was hanging open.
“That’s a lot of people. Like a lot, a lot. It’s one thing to see it on television….”
“But a totally different experience in person.” I smiled wide and glanced through the crack. “Yeah, sometimes I can’t believe this is actually my life. Even after three years, it blows my mind that this is real.” I gave her hand a gentle tug. “Come on. The announcer is getting everyone hyped for us to go on.”
After squeezing her hand and giving her a quick kiss, I ran out in front of the insane crowd. The stage vibrated with the stomping of feet and screaming fans. I glanced over to where I’d left Raine at stage left and winked. This was the first time someone that meant something to me was at my concert. Avro never wanted to take the chance on his identity being discovered, so he had never come. I didn’t like admitting it, but it hurt.
He would be devastated to know he hurt me, which was why I never said anything. I knew he thought he was doing something to help us, but seeing Raine smiling off to the side of the stage made me warm all over, and for the first time in a really long time, my stomach flipped.
Raine
This was incredible. It took a few songs to stop being nervous about the thousands of people singing, screaming, and waving their hands in the air, but once I did, I fell in love with the entire experience. The energy in the building made it impossible not to fall in love with every second.
I never saw this happening. I wasn’t the kid that dreamed about being famous or meeting someone famous. I had dreamed about my parents being alive or playing a school sport. Making a team without worrying about moving to a different school cause I was shipped to a new home.
I’d listened to Jace’s songs many times. He really did have an amazing voice with smooth, sultry tones that broke at just the right times to make you want to wiggle in your seat in all the best ways. He was in his element, the cockiness and arrogance coming off as captivating on stage. I still couldn’t wrap my head around how this all happened, but I wasn’t going to let go now. I was all in on this entirely new me.
“Are you enjoying the show?” I yelped and jumped as Allen yelled in my ear. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.
He reminded me of an accountant who, at one time, was a bad-boy rocker himself. His hands and forearms were covered in tattoos, but he wore a tidy suit with glasses, and his hair was styled messy. He had a clipboard in hand, a pen behind his ear, and rings on every finger. It didn’t feel put together like some people pulled off. It was almost as if he couldn’t make up his mind who he wanted to be. It was the same when he was at Eclipse, but I noticed it more now, not in business mode.
“Yeah, the show is amazing.” I had to yell for him to hear.
“This thing with you and Jace, is this for real,” Allen asked out of nowhere. His eyes searched my face, and I didn’t like it. It felt like he was analyzing or maybe judging me. It was hard to tell.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“What do you mean?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I’m just trying to figure out when this sudden love of his life situation started. I mean, I’d never heard your name until I had to make arrangements for the band at the bar. When have you been spending time together? Did you sit out in the audience at other concerts? How did you sneak into the hotels without me knowing? When exactly did the two of you fall in love?” He yelled, and I swallowed.
I looked around at those behind the scenes working, and a few sets of eyes flicked my way. My brain raced, and then it hit what he’d said about Jace being in love with me.
“Fall in love?”
“Yeah, that was what Jace said, is that not how you feel?”
