as everyone shifted gears. The tour had sold out, and right now, they were waiting. We didn’t need any more publicity.
The opening act finished, and immediately, the stage crew began to reset for us. Someone handed me a mic, Loren his bass, Rich his drumsticks, and Braxton a headset since she was backup vocals in addition to playing lead and rhythm. It baffled me that anyone could question why I rode her so hard.
When Braxton checked her tuning and headset, even though we trusted our crew to get it right, I caught my smile before it could slip.
She wasn’t sloppy. I’d give her that.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, scattering my thoughts to the wind. It didn’t matter how many times I took the stage. Each time felt like the first. With a new member, it was more like I was fresh out of my grandmother’s basement.
The apocalyptic backdrop we’d chosen for our stage loomed ahead when the house lights went out, and the screams of eighteen thousand people welcomed Braxton, Loren, and Jericho. I hung back as rehearsed, and while I waited for my cue from Jericho, I watched Braxton closely. No one would ever know she hadn’t done this a million times before.
Wisely, I knew nothing with Braxton was ever that simple. The subtle cues she gave were only obvious to someone who watched her too closely and too often. Right now, she avoided looking at the crowd. It was for the best since picturing them in their underwear was a sham.
Jericho didn’t wait for the screams to die before he started on the drums. He was my timekeeper, telling me exactly when to start and how to end. All the anger he kept inside, desperate to be the nice guy, he always let loose when he was on stage. Gripping the mic, I closed my eyes and let the foundation he set become my atlas. Loren smoothly followed with the bass and Braxton…she blew my fucking mind. Thirty seconds in, once the rhythm was set, I emerged from the shadows and lifted my mic.
How do I silence these whispers
How do I face what I’ve become
Castrated by your whims
I drown in my aspiration
Led astray by beautiful lies
You took my blood, sweat, and tears
Trapped in these walls I built
You filled your rivers raging
I’m so tired of feeding my enemies
I’m numb watching them grow
Why do I continue to kneel
No one’s keeping me down
Taking all of the good
You left me nothing but hate
You want all I have
Watch me start a revolution
We’ve waited (So broken)
To find change (Evoked it)
Do you feel it? (Emotion)
After three months of rehearsing, I thought I’d be used to the chemistry between Braxton’s voice and mine. I realized now how irrational that was—about as insane as being struck by lightning and expecting it not to hurt twice.
It was no wonder she ran her mouth all the time.
She was impossible to ignore.
Calvin had been good, but Braxton’s vocals were infinitely stronger. She had the rare ability to deliver both transparency and power. Our pithy guitarist wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable. After seeing her perform at that festival, I knew she was holding back so as not to drown my own.
As soon as we finished the first song, we launched into the next. The adrenaline had set in, and none of us were willing to lose this rush. No matter how many times my gaze strayed toward Braxton, she never looked out of her element. Eventually, duty was no longer why I couldn’t keep my attention where it should have been.
She had me under her spell.
Our gazes met and held as she played, and I sang along to her rhythm. When it was time to deliver one of our harder riffs, she did this thing with her hair, whipping it before dropping into a crouch and letting the crowd have it.
I preferred to think it was all for me.
Hell yeah.
Usually, I didn’t approve of the showboating, especially from an amateur since it made room for errors, but at this moment, I could deny Braxton whatever she wanted about as well as I could deny my heart its next beat.
I wondered if she’d feel the same if I dropped my mic and hauled her someplace secluded.
Would she deny me?
I wanted it so much that I convinced myself the look in her eyes was daring me to do just that.
Before I did something stupid, I shifted my focus to the crowd and getting through the set. Nothing else mattered except giving these