Stroke It - Brooke Page Page 0,26
Even then I only answered questions subtly or gave nods or shakes of the head. Raina was confusing as hell, and I couldn’t shake the feelings that emerged when we kissed. Why did it have such an effect on me? It’s not like I haven’t kissed women before. I’ve kissed a lot of them, in all different places. I knew how to control my emotions, but they were going AWOL with Raina.
It wasn’t until Gunner nudged me that I actually spoke. “Dude, you okay? You’ve been abnormally quiet.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Once this concert is done, yeah.”
Gunner kept his hand on my shoulder. “Maybe you should turn off your, ‘can’t fucking stand her’ button and try to have a normal conversation with her.”
Seb came rushing into our waiting area, pacing before it was time for us to do our, ‘before concert’ pump ourselves up routine.
Gunner watched him, his mouth set in a thin line. “I have this feeling, tonight won’t be the only night we have Raina Skye performing with us.”
A chill ran up my spine. “I sure as fuck hope you’re wrong.”
Gunner’s jaw tensed. “I overheard her manager talking to Seb. They were really impressed with your performance, especially for never singing together. They think this could be huge.”
I stood from my chair. “The only thing huge is that chick’s ego.”
“And my dick,” Chase chimed in. “Why is this one chick getting you so messed up?”
I shrugged, irritated I let myself be overheard.
“Because she won’t fuck him,” Rocket teased. “It’s alright, only ‘keepers’ have high standards.”
“Yeah, like your mom,” Chase smirked to Rocket.
Rocket scowled. “Damn right she does. Jet, don’t worry, if you really like Raina, you’re going to have to work for it.”
I threw my hands in the air and gritted my teeth. “I don’t like her!”
The three of my band mates took turns glancing at each other, probably debating if they should leave me alone or keep poking. It was rare for them to just drop stupid shit like this. Antagonizing each other was a part of the brotherhood we shared, but so was putting a stop to the teasing when it had become enough.
Thankfully, our stage manager cleared his throat and spoke up after my outburst.
“Alright, it’s go time! Let’s do this!”
Everyone huddled together, a little more pep to our steps. Roadies and stage hands came with us, a clap beginning. Chase began to rock to the beat we were making, preparing to shout his routine chant.
“Where my stagehands at?”
Whoop. The stagehands roared.
His voice became louder, the clapping growing faster. “Where’s my production at?”
Whoop!
“Where my managers at?”
Whoop! Rocket was bouncing up and down, using a mildly annoyed Seb to propel himself higher in the air.
“Where’s my sound crew at?”
Whoop!
Chase added a flirt to his tone. “Where my ladies at?”
Whoop! There was always a giggler in there. The ‘ladies’ weren’t always considered help, but more like groupies who snuck backstage.
Chase cupped his hands around his mouth to make himself louder. “Where my bandmates at?”
Whoop! Gunner and Rocket were both jumping now, and thankfully, the hype infiltrated my body, and I began to jump with them, the four of us merging together in the middle of our support.
“Where my brothers at?” He cheered louder, spanning his long arms around me and my other bouncing band mates.
Whoop Whoop!
“Where’s my family at?!”
Then we were surrounded by the crew, hands and arms touching as we huddled even closer together.
Whoop Whoop Whoop Whoop Whoop!
“Who are we!”
Then one roar surrounded us. “ADDICTS UNITE!” It was the love that the four of us had searched for, the strength we needed when our families gave up hope, shipping us off to a place that would ‘fix’ us. These people were a new brand of family, and I felt grounded again, ready to take on the crowd and do what I was born to do.
Chapter Ten
Raina, Present
I chewed on my lip while pacing my dressing room. I always got nervous before performing, but tonight was different. Tonight, I was singing in front of over twenty thousand people, who didn’t buy their ticket to see me. They were here to see Addicts Unite, and although it was their manager’s idea to have me perform with them on possibly their next single, I still had no idea how the crowd would react.
Rocket’s rap beats were the only similarity to our music styles, but even then, our music sounded completely different. Maybe that’s why Seb thought my voice would help jive a new set of fans.
Either way, I still had