Before & After - Nazarea Andrews Page 0,56
onto the stage a step ahead of me, and I let out a relieved sigh. The mood has passed and he's ready to perform.
***
"Gentlemen," a smooth voice says behind us. It cuts through Peyton's low murmur and Lindsay's excited chatter as they hug us and we order drinks. The set is over, just, and we're still surrounded by throbbing noise and the energy of the music. And the studio exec is staring at us with a smile on his face.
Real shit is scary as fuck.
"Hey, man," Scott says, disentangling from Lindsay and shaking the guy's hand. "Thanks for being here."
"It was a great set. I had a chance to listen to your demo. I don't think that last song was on it. What was the name?"
"Chosen," I say. Peyton's hand slips in mine and I smile at the dude, a tight, reserved smile, slipping easily into my role of quiet backup to Scott's cocky devil may care disregard "And it's new. We debuted it a few weeks ago."
Apparently, that was after the demo, but whatever.
"I think my bosses would like it. I'd like to arrange a meeting where you boys can play some for them and talk about what kind of future you have. Is that something you think you'd be interested in?"
Scott's tense and still at my side, and the girls seem far away. So does everything. Everything we've come from and tried to get past. He's not speaking, and I nod, for both of us. Taking that step that could change every fucking thing. "Yeah, dude. That would be fantastic. We'd love to talk."
The guy grins and slips us a business card and we exchange numbers, scribbling mine on the back of a cocktail napkin. He promises to call and then he's gone, slipping into the crowd and swallowed up, carrying the promise of so fucking much in his back pocket.
I look at Scott and laugh when I see the stunned look in his eyes. Sometimes, laughing is the only way to keep from breaking down.
It breaks the shock that's fallen over him and then he's screaming and I'm screaming, and the girls are laughing, shrieking as we pull them into the hug, celebrating everything that could possibly go right. She's got her arms around my neck, the scent of her hair in my nose, legs wrapped around my waist, and my best friend is happier than I've ever seen.
The real shit might be scary as fuck, but it's hella worth it.
“I love you,” she whispers, and my grip on her tightens.
Something I learned quick is that watching us perform turns both girls on. Sex with Peyton is always good—fucking fantastic—but when I’m coming off the stage, the girl can’t keep her hand off me. It’s the same as when we practice at home—they both love it and practice used to get cut short by one of us making out with one of the girls before someone ended up naked.
“When you’re rich and famous, you still going to want me?” she murmurs, and even though she’s teasing, it sends a fission of unease down my spine.
“Always, Fish. You’re it. My always. You forget me, and walk away and I would love you still.”
She pulls back, and stares at me, eyes wide and searching. “Do you think I could forget you?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll remember for both of us, and I’ll make you remember too.”
She kisses me then, that deep kiss that I fucking love, the one she controls with her hands in my hair and teeth nipping at my lips before her tongue tangles with mine and everything falls away in a wave of sunshine and sugar and everything that is her.
“Want you,” she pants when she pulls back.
It’s all I need to hear. I’m moving before she kisses me again, and I hear Scott laughing behind me, but it barely registers as I carry her through the bar to a dark hallway. She squeaks against my throat, her teeth digging in just a little as I bump into a door and then we’re spilling into a stockroom that’s almost pitch black, and I’m letting her slide down my body, cupping her ass as she falls.
I fucking love her ass in those skin tight jeans she wears when I perform. She’s got a corset-looking top on over the jeans, baring a smooth sliver of her belly, and my fingers skim it before I skate lower and cup her, grinding the heel of my hand into her through