beefy bouncers guarding the band. Zoe pulled Tanner forward again, and her beer sloshed over the rim of the red plastic cup she held.
They stopped in front of the bouncer, and even over the music that had started playing overhead, Tanner could hear the grunt of the bouncer as he mumbled something deep and incoherent. Zoe held up the backstage passes, and the bouncer moved aside and pushed the door open. Zoe looked back at her with wide eyes and an “Oh shit” look covering her face.
“This is it, Tanner.” Zoe tightened her hand on hers.
“Zoe, they are just the same old guys we used to hang out with, eat cold pizza with, and sometimes drink warm ass beer with.” But even after she said that Tanner knew that wasn’t the truth. They weren’t the same guys at all.
They walked through the door, Zoe in front of her and leading the way. Zoe hadn’t responded, but she could tell her friend was nervous as hell. Tanner’s palms started to sweat as she got closer to the lounge where she knew the guys were. She couldn’t see them yet, but she could hear the deep sounds of their voices, and the occasional laugh from Jacks that had her heart racing. But right before they rounded the corner and stopping in front of another bouncer, Zoe grabbed her arm and turned her so they faced each other.
“What? What’s wrong?”
There was this sudden wariness that covered Zoe’s face. “It’s been a long time, Tanner.”
She nodded and offered Zoe a smile. “Yeah, but I’m sure when we see them, and not in the whole concert setting, it’ll be just like old times.” Tanner said that mainly for Zoe’s benefit, because honestly she was feeling freaked out, too.
Zoe nodded, looked over at the bouncer, and nodded once more. “You’re right, I’m sure.” Zoe smiled, closed her eyes for a second, and breathed out. Then she turned around, and they moved past the bouncer and into the lounge where Twisted Feather, the most sought after, and one of the most talented bands to hit the world, were sitting.
2
Tanner stopped when she saw Jacks, Beats, Marcus, and Matty all sitting around the back lounge. Cases of beer were scattered around the floor, but it looked like Rosco, the owner of the bar, had brought in a portable bar for the guys. It sat in the corner, and a young man with white and black attire stood behind it.
Jacks and Matty were on the couch, which put their backs toward them. Marcus was sitting on a leather chair with a girl in his lap that had her boobs nearly hanging out of her top, and Beats was twirling a drumstick in his hand as he pressed his phone to his ear with the other one.
“Holy fuckin’ shit,” Marcus said, and when he went to stand the blonde that had been perched on his lap nearly fell right on her ass from the sudden motion. Marcus tipped back his beer bottle until he had consumed all of it, and then handed it to some guy with a pass hanging from his neck.
The other guys had since turned in their seats to look at them, and Tanner locked eyes with Jacks. He stared at her over his shoulder, and although he kept his expression stoic for several seconds, she saw something flicker in his eyes.
And then he stood, followed by Matty and Beats. They all walked over to them, but she and Zoe hadn’t moved. There was this strange atmosphere that had suddenly filled the space around them.
“You guys look exactly the same.” Marcus grinned, and his bottom lip ring glinted.
She would have said the same, but honestly they didn’t look the same, yet at the same time they did. There was this clear confidence that surrounded the guys. It wasn’t arrogance, but it was thick, heady, and mixed with something else. Tanner’s whole body became heated, and she cleared her throat when Jacks took a step closer.
Now he was standing right beside Marcus, with the other two guys behind him. And then as if that string that was pulled taut between them snapped, Marcus embraced Zoe. There was a flurry of loud voices, laughter, and movement from the other guys.
But Jacks still stood in front of her, only a few feet away. His shirt was still damp from sweating up on stage, and if she had thought the material had outlined his chest when he had been performing she