Conner agreed that he and Shane should stay with us. He also thought that Ethan should too, since he had some sort of martial arts training. However, Shane was completely against it. He wasn’t drunk anymore, yet he was still against Ethan being with me?
“Well, I hate to say it, but Tucker had a really great idea last night,” Conner said, wiping Lea’s tears away with his hands. Oh, he’s a keeper!
“That drunken fool had a lot of ideas last night, most had to do with Grace and him on the pool table, so which idea are you taking about, Con?”
Shane glanced at me and made a tight smile.
“We should definitely go up to his winter place for a few days to get away from here,” Conner explained.
Lea shook her head and cried harder. “I can’t take off of work next week. My boss is going on vacation and needs me to hold down the fort while she’s away.”
Shane was staring at me. “Tucker invited you to his winter house?”
I scrunched my face into a frown, “Yeah, Tucker thinks I will fall in love with him because of his house, his money, his jaguar, and his expensive bottles of champagne.”
“And what do you think?” Shane asked me.
“I don’t think about Tucker at all.”
I loved the way he smiled back at me.
The guys sat for the next hour trying to formulate a plan to keep us safe. Lea cried and whined, and then cried again. She was terrified. I eyed Conner. He caught the hint and ran over to Lea, who was by then in hysterics, soothing her with kisses and soft whispers.
I grabbed Shane’s hand and pulled him into the kitchen. “Leave them alone for a minute. She needs to calm down and he really seems to do it better than me lately.”
“Are you okay with everything? I didn’t know the right stuff to say to you before. I just tried to take your mind off it, but are you scared?”
“No. I’m not scared of Carl Sumpton hurting me. I’m scared of him hurting Lea, Conner, or even you.”
His mouth curved into a concerned smile. He lifted my hands and held them wrists up, between us. I raised my eyebrow at him. “You’re not scared of much, are you?” He rubbed the scars on my wrist again. “One day, I hope we become close enough friends that you’ll tell me about these.”
“That would be real close, Shane. I think you’re missing that get close to a women chromosome in your DNA,” I laughed. “I have to take a shower and get ready for the show tonight. Why don’t you call ahead and let those bouncer friends of yours know about Carl and let’s take the picture of him too?” I said, walking away.
I jumped into the bathroom ready to transform myself into Rock Goddess of Mad World. I was insanely excited and all the thoughts of Carl Sumpton and his secret whereabouts washed away from me the more I thought about going on stage. I showered with the most scalding hot water I could stand, relaxing every muscle in my body. I wrapped myself in a towel and bolted through the hallway to my room, hoping I wouldn’t be seen. I dried my hair and added a streak of temporary purple hair dye to it for a little funky feel. I polished my nails a deep purple to match the streak in my hair. While I was sliding a denim mini-skirt over my hips Lea knocked on the door and came in with a black bag.
A little time alone with The One and she’d forgotten all about the scary monster, she looked content and relaxed. Oh, I envied her.
“Wow. Your hair looks hot! And, I’m glad you’re not fully dressed, because I brought you a little surprise today on my lunch hour,” she beamed.
“Oh no, should I be afraid?” I giggled.
Lea tossed herself and the bag on the bed and gave me a naughty smile. “Before you open this bag, you have to promise that you will wear what I have in there! You cannot say no, because right now, I’m so freaked out about this stalker of yours that I want you to cancel the show. So any little thing you say might set me off crying.”
“Oh, shut up!” I laughed grabbing the bag. “You know that I won’t let anything happen to you or me.” I stopped talking the minute I pulled the tiny garments out of the bag. There was a black lacy see-through bra with matching underwear. Well, it was more like a piece of dental floss than underwear. I held it up to her, “What is this supposed to cover, really?”
Another wicked grin is all she offered me.
The last piece I unfolded was deep purple, and it was the most perfect top ever made in existence. The neckline daringly plunged to show more cleavage than I’d ever seen on one of Shane’s ladies. The back was almost bare and it just provided a thin lacy piece of material across the back to cover the strap of the bra perfectly. The material was silky and soft and I hugged my best friend as tightly as I could. “This is the most insane shirt I’d ever seen.” Yanking off the clothes I had on, I pulled on the new sexy undergarments and slipped the luxurious shirt on. It fit perfectly.
When I looked at myself in the mirror, I gasped loudly. “This is lethal. This outfit is going to cause a riot. Lea, don’t you think this is too much?” I frowned at my reflection; a part of me really, really wanted to wear this outfit, but another part was terrified.
“You look like a Rock Queen! It’s perfect. Besides, I think my outfit it even worse than yours!” She dashed out of my room, came back with another bag, and started undressing and throwing clothes everywhere.
I stood in front of the mirror spinning around to get the full view. My shoulders were bare and the way my hair cascaded down in shiny black waves, I felt almost naked. But, I think the worst of all of my thoughts at that moment was the excited idea of what Shane would think when he saw me. I needed to stop these alien thoughts when I was around Shane. I needed to focus on finding him and not worry about meaningless urges I had for Shane. Besides, it’s just this body’s hormones that were acting up, nothing more.
All thought flew out of my head when I turned to see Lea’s outfit. I looked like a nun compared to her. A deep red skin tight, shorter than short dress. It looked like it was made out of spandex and had huge openings to show off her waist. The color was brilliant, and the red accented her sandy blonde hair making her look like a vixen. Conner was going to be shocked.
We applied our make-up, giggling as if we were thirteen and up to trouble, and oddly that’s exactly how I felt. Lea did my eye shadow, because she was always better at it than I was. She made them look smoky and sensual; my light grey irises looked like they could glow in the dark.
Holding hands, Lea and I walked out into the living room. All I heard was Conner curse and start demanding that Lea take the dress off, but when I looked at Shane, all the commotion seemed to get lower and fade away.
He had been leaning against the far wall and then pulled himself away, standing at attention when I walked in. His eyes greedily examined every inch of my bare skin. He lingered on my eyes and lips the longest, which I did not expect. He slowly walked over to me and gently reached for my hand. He entwined his fingers in mine, lifted my hand over my head, and twirled me around slowly.
“I have never seen anyone more exquisite in my entire life, Grace. You seem to have this knack of making me completely...breathless.” He seemed shocked at himself for saying the words. He spun me around again, brushing the hair off my shoulders, his gaze sending shivers along my neck. His breathing stopped, caught somewhere in his lungs. Lightly touching the skin on my shoulder, he inhaled deeply, “You have another tattoo,” he exhaled in a whisper. I felt him trace the lines with his fingers. My most special piece of artwork, my broken angel’s wings. The very reason behind why I needed to step away from Shane’s warm touch.
The corners of my mouth quirked upward. “I bet that’s your signature line to try to pick up women, huh?” I stepped away; keeping the smile on my face, but inside I was dying. How could it be that every time he touched this body and I pulled away, it ached all over? I shook my head free from my thoughts and placed my hand on the back of my shoulder. “They are my angel wings.
To remind me and to honor what I’ve lost.”
Shane flinched and drew his hands back when I said the words. He tucked his head down and looked away, “Your family,” he murmured.
I didn’t correct his assumption. I tucked my lips between my teeth and clamped down tight. What would I tell him anyway? Gee, Shane, I was born thousands of years ago when the world was first created, in what people today call biblical times. When a small band of angels called the Watchers were placed on Earth to watch and protect the humans. Yeah, sure, that would go over well.
Should I tell him also that these angels, even though it was against their laws, took human women to be their wives? Each wife bore the angel’s children; the Nephilim. These creatures, part angel-part human, grew to be giants in our world. Giants of pure evil. They wreaked havoc on the Earth, tearing humans apart, and eating their flesh.
Should I tell him that I was one of the girls who fell in love with one of the angels and I was the only one who didn’t have a child? That we never got further than a kiss? The Watchers were exiled from the earth, thrown into the Abyss until Judgment Day. The punishment I was given was this existence. A lost soul searching for my angel on earth, forever banned from heaven.
Yeah, sure, and the next thing I’d see is the view from the back of the silly bus as they hauled me off to the funny farm. I could never tell someone like Shane my secrets.
The next few hours flew by as if someone had pressed the fast forward button on my remote control of life. We met up with the rest of the band at the bar; it was more packed than I’d seen it the first time I stepped foot in it. Conner was absolutely right when he said the auditions for a new band member would get them a lot of publicity. Everywhere you turned in the bar, people were talking about who would take Alex’s place. Alex sat in a booth as if his was royalty; his fans coming up to him, paying their respects.
Tucker walked in with his head held high. His Gucci suit was still on with his tie undone and the first two buttons open. He brought an entourage of people from work, escorting them all right to me and introduced me to each one. There was red headed Jimmy, who spoke with an Irish accent. There was also Cameron, who upon meeting me said, “Your girl has a great ass, Tucker.” Lastly, there was Bradley, who elbowed Tucker and called him the luckiest guy in the world.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Shane grimacing. His foot started tapping wildly against the chair he sat in and he had his eyebrows pulled together. When Tucker placed his unwanted hand on the small of my back and began moving it quickly downwards, Shane jumped out of his chair. Pushing himself between Tucker and me, he grabbed my waist and pulled me forward, “Okay. Almost time to go onstage, so let’s have a band meeting before we do this!”
Ethan and Brayden looked at him with raised eyebrows. Ethan chuckled and shook his head. Brayden froze in surprise, “Huh, why?”
“Just shut up and let’s go!” Shane snapped.
“You guys go ahead; I’ll be there in a few minutes. I think I need to talk to Tucker alone,” I said. Shane’s eyes widened and his lips pursed, and all I wanted to do was laugh at how beautiful he looked even when he was angry. “Go ahead, Shane. I’ll be right there.”
Tucker stepped forward and pulled me away from Shane, “Yeah, Shane. Give us a few. She’ll still be able to play when I’m done with her, I promise. She just might not be able to walk straight,” he laughed.
My face burned. Lea stepped closer to me, knowing exactly how hard I wanted to hit Tucker in the face. I stopped myself before I could pull my fist back. He was not going to ruin this night for me. I grabbed him tight around his forearm, digging my nails in. I didn’t stop, even when I heard him groan in pain.
I yanked him with me.
“Whoa, she definitely wants me right now!” Tucker disgustingly called to his friends.
Shane stalked off to the stage, followed by Ethan and Brayden.
I stopped only a few feet away, making sure we were still in view of everyone. I balled my fists tight and grabbed his suit jacket. I dragged his face a few inches above mine. His breath smelled like whiskey. “You are the most conceited, self-centered ass that I have ever met! Don’t you ever put your hands on me again, and do not talk to me about how you want to sleep with me, because it ain’t happening. Now, Tucker, I had enough class not to smack the skin off your face in front of all your friends over there, but if you disrespect me one more time, I will not stop myself from hitting you. Got it?”
His shoulders slouched down. “I really like you. You’re so beautiful.”
Feeling guilty, I let go of him. “Tucker, when you drink, you have a nasty habit of making people feel like they aren’t worth much. I’m more than someone who is just beautiful and you haven’t even tried to get to know me. I’m sorry, Tucker, you’re a nice guy when you’re not drinking, but I gave you a chance and I didn’t like how you treated me.” I walked away.
I got to the stage and looked back. Tucker was already talking to a group of other girls. Yes, I was just a pretty little bauble to look at.
Shane was plugging our guitars in when I climbed up. His eyes quickly scanned over me. “I guess Tucker’s pretty fast, huh?” he sneered.
If Shane were any other person, I would have said he was acting jealous, but this was Shane, and he’d never had feelings for anyone. I watched his expression. His forehead was scrunched together and his lips were tight. Four full shot glasses were on the amp next to him. He knocked back one and slammed it down empty, next to the others, glaring at me.
I shoved him lightly against the wall of the stage, behind the tall speakers, where no one could see. I left my head on his chest were I had pushed him. His heart raced below my fingertips.
He looked down at my hand and slowly raised his eyes to mine, his hands reached out softly to keep me at a distance.
“Are you angry with me or Tucker, Shane?”
He shook his head and said nothing, but the hands that were keeping us apart were losing their pressure. “Did you fuck him?” His heart sped up. Was he afraid of my answer?
I bit my lower lip and smiled. “Yeah, right in the hallway to the bathroom. I just let him have me against the wall.”
His heart stopped, and then it started wildly drumming under my hands. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. This can’t be right. He can’t care about me.
He pushed against my hand, eyes desperate to get away from me. I almost let him pass, but I slammed my arms into his and pushed my lips to his ears.
“Is that what you think of me? Is that what you need to hear? That I’m like all the other girls? Tell me, Shane,” I whispered, pulling my head back.
We stood inches apart, breathing each other in. My whole body was on fire.
Glancing down at my lips, he gave me a small smile. His hand traced the contours of my jaw and down my neck; I shivered under his touch.
“No. I want you to tell me why you have a pair of broken angel wings on your shoulder. I want you to tell me why you cut your wrists and I want to know why and how you play and sing the way you do, but most of all I want you to tell me what I need to do to be a good enough man for you.”
I stepped back immediately, not expecting any of what he said. I grabbed one of the remaining shots and gulped it down, loving the burn. “Shane...” My mouth opened to say the words, but I couldn’t form a complete thought. “I don’t want to be just another one of your girls. I have other...things, too many things in my life.” Why couldn’t I just tell him I was with someone else? Because that would be a lie, I was alone, searching for someone else. “I really just need a friend right now.”
“Hey!” Ethan’s voice called from behind us. “You guys about ready?” he asked, coming over to stand next to us. Brayden followed. They took the last two shots and drank them. “Next time, we do them together,” Ethan said holding up the glass. “That will be how we start each show with Grace.”<
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I laughed. “Sounds good to me. Shall we amaze them?” I said, looking out into the crowd.
Shane smiled down at me. “Grace, trust me, they were amazed just by you walking in.”
I shook my head giggling and I walked to pick up my guitar, but not before I overhead Ethan say, “Shane, you break that girl’s heart and I swear I’ll rip yours out. She’s off limits.”
“Dude, I don’t know what the hell is happening to me, but trust me, right now we’re just friends,” was his reply.
The manager of the bar, Kelvin, was standing in front of us at the microphone as we walked out. His voiced echoed, “...new guitarist we’ve all been dying to see, and gentlemen, if any of your clothes make it up here, I’ll personally kick your sorry asses outta here! Here’s Mad World!”
The crowd roared when we were all visible. I ducked my head and laughed as a hot pink lacy bra sailed onto the stage. I plucked it off the floor and flung it at Shane, “I believe this is for you?” I teased into my mic. Howls erupted and Shane wore his sexy woman-eating smile. He tucked the bra into his jeans pocket, letting it hang down his leg.
“Hey, everybody!” Shane addressed the crowd. “I’d like to introduce you to the gorgeous Grace Taylor on guitar!” I never heard so many catcalls in my life.
Shane’s perfect lips stretched across his face and when he nodded to me, something danced behind his eyes. I locked eyes with him. Tilting my head, I took the cue and my hands started flying all over my guitar. The crowd detonated into shrieks and screams. Shane joined in and our harmony made us both breathless. We played as one, staring at each other, neither one of us looking away. The crowd was somewhere in the distance, but we were in a place all our own. If we weren’t careful, the fire in our eyes would cause an inferno, so I laughed and looked away. We matched each other’s intensity. It overwhelmed my body and made me ache; this friendship would kill me. Right at that very minute, I wanted to die a thousand deaths for it. Truth be told, I hadn’t felt this alive in years. My fingers pulsated along the strings and then my voice burst out in song, alongside Shane. It was more intoxicating than any drink or drug. It burned through my veins and blazed into my heart, giving it a reason to beat. Rapture enveloped my body and soul.