opened my mouth, and tossed back the shot. I started to speak. “Your traditions are—” I started to cough as my throat began to burn. Tears filled my eyes as my gut warmed. I wheezed out, “Your traditions are very important to me.”
Oh my God, what did I just drink? Pure ethanol?
It burned.
Now, at the side of the stage, I watched the opening act ready themselves. Up until last night, I hadn’t known there was an opening act at all.
“Hot stuff, coming through.” I jolted at the husky feminine voice, and when I made eye contact with the tall woman, she threw me a wink. Three other women followed, and I knew this was them.
The Ultra Violet Vixens.
The women looked utterly vicious.
Each of them wore leather in some way, shape, or form. They all wore identical army boots, and each of them had their hair dyed a different shade of purple. Actually, violet, I guess.
I’d never seen anything like them. They were awe-inspiring. And when they started to play, I quickly realized they were more than just a bunch of pretty women with purple hair.
I immediately liked them. Their sound was raw but feminine. Melodic but heavy. And when the petite lead singer screamed into the microphone, the entire stadium shook from it.
They sang eight songs, and forty-five minutes later, they were unplugged and thanking the crowd for coming out. As they passed me, I called out to their backs, “You guys were awesome.”
All at once, they turned to face me. The shortest member with the longest hair spoke first. “Thanks.” She glanced at my pass. “Who are you with?”
I held out my hand to her. “Left Turn. I’m their assistant. Hi, I’m Emily.” I don’t know why I added, “But you can call me Emmy.” It was probably because I’d unknowingly been christened with the nickname, more so because I actually liked it.
She took my hand. “I’m Beth. Nice to meet you.”
The tallest woman narrowed her eyes at me a short moment. Her hair was the most vivid violet I’d ever seen, and she wore it teased. “What’s up? I’m Cherry.”
A woman with striking gray eyes smiled at me. Her hair was short, almost buzzed, and the color was light lavender. “Hi, I’m Pearl.”
The last woman had black roots that blended into a darker shade of purple. Eggplant, I’d call it. She took my hand, shaking it with a grin. “Hey, how you doing? I’m Ettie.”
They seemed nice. “And you’re The Vixens.”
Beth nodded, waving her arms out to the women surrounding her. “And we’re The Vixens.”
“I’m rather new to the rock scene,” I admitted grudgingly. “But I love your sound. The crowd was lapping it up.”
When a crewmember came to speak to them, I was thoroughly dismissed, and when I went to turn back to the stage, a gruff-looking Cherry spoke up. “Hey.” I turned and she jerked her chin. “We’ll see you around, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Surprise shook me, but only momentarily. “Yes, definitely.”
I waved as they left and, for a single moment, all I could think about was what the people in high school would think of me now, hanging out with rock stars and doing shots with the most sought-after heavy metal band in the world.
I snorted, shaking my head. “They’d never believe it.”
Heck, I could barely believe it and I was living it.
From strict routine to unpredictable in less than a heartbeat. Who knew what tomorrow would bring?
Chapter Eight
Cum on Feel the Noize.
Emmy
Time on the bus was strange. Some days, it went by quickly and other days, it felt like we’d never reach our destination. Today, I lay on the floor in front of the TV playing the 3DS Lee gifted me. Connor on the sofa sat behind me, strumming on his guitar, while Noah sat at the booth, working on his laptop.
Hell was in the kitchenette, making himself a sandwich, and when I noticed, I frowned. “I could’ve done that for you, Hell.”
He paused mid-chew and when he responded, it came out garbled. “ ‘S okay.”
My frown deepened and I said a mildly affronted, “My job is to assist. You’re not letting me do that.”
His brows rose at my testy tone. “Sorry.”
I turned back to my game. “Next time, let me make the darn sandwich.”
Connor piped in. “You can make me a sandwich, Emmy.”
“No.” I kept playing my game.
I heard the amusement in his tone when he asked in mock surprise. “Why not?”
Ha. He thought I was stupid. “You just want me to get into the