Five Weeks (Seven Series #3)(118)

Jericho laughed. “Usually it’s the other way around.”
“A smaller crowd is more intimate—I can see their faces up close, and I feel like they can tell I’m an imposter.”
Jericho lightly tapped his palm on Trevor’s forehead and then collapsed on the crappy sofa next to him. “You’re not an imposter. It always feels like that at first, when fame is new. We’re regular guys, but they look at us as gods or something. Been there, done that, you get over it. Here,” he said, tossing Trevor a pair of black sunglasses. “Put these on. You’ll be surprised how easily you can become someone else hiding behind a pair of shades. Just pretend when you get up there that everyone wants to have sex with you. Funnel that energy into your instrument and make love to it.”
“I’m not humping my bass.”
Joker laughed from the other side of the room, tapping his drumsticks rhythmically on a footstool. “Dude, that might actually sell more tickets. Hump away.”
Ren ignored everyone, strumming a melody on his guitar from an armless green chair.
Jericho eyed Joker suspiciously. He had an impish smile on his face that meant he either just got laid, he was going to get laid, or he had a practical joke planned. Earlier, Jericho had searched the room and inspected the instruments for anything suspicious. It came up clean, but he knew Joker had something up his sleeve.
They heard Jake making the intro.
“Come on, boys. We’re up. Let’s sell the shit out of this music, and then we won’t have to perform as much. It’ll sell itself online.” Jericho rose to his feet nervously.
Yeah, nervously.
He’d been in front of an audience a thousand times, but this night was different. This night was special. Minutes before, Jericho had been watching Isabelle from the back of the room. She looked abso-mazing, even with her hair a little shorter. It drew attention to the lovely features of her face. When his heart began to race with desire, he’d disappeared backstage and hung out there for the rest of the evening.
No one knew Heat was about to make their debut. A new sound, new bassist, and their songs would be made available online. It was a great way for them to earn extra money without having to book as many shows. Jericho knew some of the audience might recognize his voice, but the way he was going to perform the first song would throw them off. He planned on singing with his back to the crowd, hair covering his face, with a sultry voice like he’d never used.
But that’s not why his palms were sweating and his mouth was dry.
Isabelle’s diamond ring rested at the end of a long silver chain tucked beneath his cutoff shirt. He had only removed the ring once since putting it on the necklace, and that was when he killed the Shifter who’d tried to drown Isabelle. Tonight, every note, every syllable, and every beat of his heart would be hers. Maybe he should have called her after that night in the motel, but he’d been so inspired by her that the band had been working day and night to write new music. He was going to let his music do all the talking, and it was something he’d been planning since the night he bought the ring.
The band made their way onstage as the lights cut off in the back. The stage lights behind them shone toward the crowd, creating a silhouette effect until an overhead blue light switched on above Jericho’s microphone. He turned his back to the crowd, and Joker tapped his sticks and kicked off the beat.
Jericho took the pick out of his mouth and sang the opening lines as Joker followed with a slow and steady rhythm. The bass rolled in next, and then Ren hit the chords. He peered over his shoulder and smiled when he caught a glimpse of Isabelle at the bar.
He’d die for that woman. Jericho proudly wore scars on his shoulder and leg. A bear claw hung on the outside of his shirt as a token of his kill. He’d taken it right after he and Wheeler dumped the Shifter on Isabelle’s car as an offering. They’d tried to get the carcass up the stairs but failed miserably.
It was a Shifter thing.
Trevor was killing it onstage. The audience ate up their performance like sweet cake, devouring Trevor’s sexy moves with his bass, and Ren worked the crowd on Jericho’s right. Even Joker was in rare form, playing at a level of magnificence they’d rarely seen. Human or not, that guy attacked his drums, and some of the girls were biting their knuckles as they watched him play.#p#分页标题#e#
Mid-song, Trevor fell to his knees and thrust his hips upward, creating a ripple of screams in the crowd. When he rose up and provided backup vocals, Jericho knew that Heat finally had a new audience. He had co-written a couple of songs with Trevor and planned to pass him the mic for a song or two. Trevor probably wouldn’t stick with them for long; the kid was awesome, but he wasn’t cut out for this lifestyle. So why not give him a few songs and let him in on their first recorded album? What an awesome memento. Their job required traveling, odd hours, no routine, lots of warm-ups, and the monotony of repeating the same act again and again, which wore out a lot of musicians. Still, he’d let Trevor enjoy it for as long as he wanted.