Heartstopper(23)

"Yeah, what James Bond said," Hannah jokes. "You performed great last time. There's nothing to be scared about."

I gulp, taking deep breaths as John leads Hannah and me through the back  of the club. He leads us to a dressing room, opening the door. Jake's  inside, and he gets up, looking so fucking handsome in his black suit,  emerald green shirt, and blood red tie. "You look amazing," Jake says,  even though I'm wearing a trench coat. "But what's wrong?"

"Can you please tell Miss Heart Attack here that she is beautiful and  she can sing the face off any diva?" Hannah says. "She's been gargling  cock all afternoon she's so nervous."

Jake looks at me with concern. "Should I be jealous? Do I need to beat someone up?"

I smile, and he pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me and  kissing me gently. His lips pressed against mine cut off my worries in  an instant, and I feel myself melt into him. He pulls back, looking me  in the eyes, his voice low and comforting. "Go out there and kick ass.  I'm rooting for you. I know you're going to be great."

Looking into his eyes, all I see is sincerity. He truly means it. His  words and his touch and presence calm me down and my heart rate  steadies. I feel safe in his arms. "I'll do my best."

"Oh, so that's all it takes?" Hannah mock complains. "Fuck, next time,  I'll lay a kiss on you back at the apartment. It'll save me some  stress!"

I chuckle, looking up at Jake. "I don't think so, Hannah."

Jake smirks and lets me go. "Come on, Hannah. I reserved a spot in the  VIP section for us to watch from. Let's get up there and get ready."

Jake and Hannah leave, John giving me a nod as he closes the door. I  take off my coat and get ready, checking my makeup and sipping some  water. Just as I finish stretching out, I can hear Nathan in the front  of the house, getting everyone hyped.

There's a knock on my door. It's John. "Miss Price? You ready?"

I grin. For the first time, I see his face change expressions when he sees me in my stage outfit. "Let's Rox."

I go to the wings, swallowing my nerves as Nathan turns toward me. "And  now, Club Jasmine, by popular demand . . . she's baaack. Roxy!"

Swallowing my nerves, I go out on stage, waving to the lights. I can't  see shit. The lights are dazzling, and the crowd goes silent.

The crowd stares at me expectantly, and sweat beads my brow. Oh, my  fucking God, I've never had stage fright in my life. I even worked the  stage like it was nothing on karaoke night, but now I'm standing here  like a petrified tree.

I clear my throat. I can see Jake and Hannah seated up above, Hannah  giving me come on motions with her hands. I feel like I'm about to pass  out when Jake gets up, strides to the railing, and calls out, "You got  this, Roxy!"

There's something in that voice, and I don't know what I'm doing when I bring my mic up. "Okay, boys . . . hit it!"

The first song hits, and I feel lifted by the notes and by Jake's eyes  as I start with my first number, a club remix of the Tom Petty classic  American Girl. The song's fast. Even with a dance bridge where I shake  my ass, it's only four minutes, but it breaks the ice, and when the last  notes hit, I feel it.         

     



 

I've got the crowd.

"Okay, guys, thanks for the patience," I joke, and they cheer as I grin  out at them. "Now, I've been racking my head, thinking of good songs for  you guys. I started thinking about my roomie. So this one's for the  second baddest bitch in the building, Hannah!"

It's not as well-known as most of my set, but the pulsing bass and  lyrics of the RnB classic Freak Like Me gives me plenty of chances to do  my thing, and the crowd is digging it. It's a little dirty, sure, but  damn if they're not singing along until the very end.

The crowd dances as I move through my set. About halfway through, I gesture to Jake and Hannah, waving them down to the stage.

Jake's grinning ear to ear when I spring the little surprise that's been  buzzing in my head. I whisper in Hannah's ear, and she grins, nodding  as she runs to the side of the stage, pushing Nathan and Jake. Nathan's  grinning, and Hannah comes back with two chairs, plopping them down.

"Now, I want to dedicate this next song to the guys who bring us this wonderful club."

The music starts, and the crowd cheers as Rhianna's Rude Boy starts  playing. It's a little slower than some of the stuff I've done, but I  pour myself totally into the performance, ignoring everything but Jake  as I circle him, grabbing his tie and pulling his head between my  breasts before practically giving him a lap dance as I sing.

He brings his hands up on instinct, but I wink and move away, teasing  him and making the crowd cheer more as I catch Hannah giving Nathan  almost as dirty a dance. He's got to be ready to have a coronary as hard  as she's grinding on him. I get through the chorus again before I work  my way back over to Jake, reaching down and pulling his shirt open,  allowing the whole club to feast their eyes on his pecs as I go back to  grinding on his lap. Oh, my God, he's so hard. I can feel him pressed  against my ass as I sing, and he's got me so turned on, if I'm not  careful, I'm going to be giving Club Jasmine another kind of performance  very quickly.

Love me, love me!

I reluctantly climb out of his lap and drop it low to the floor, letting  him see my hips sway side to side as the last notes fade away, and the  crowd goes apeshit. I glance back at Jake, whose face is beaded with  sweat, but at least he's not as pink as Nathan, who looks like he might  have come in his suit pants as he grabs both chairs and hurries off  stage. Hannah gives me a smirk and a wink as I thank the guys over the  mic for being good sports. Jake gives me a look too, one that leaves my  throat dry for an instant before I remember . . . I've got one last  song.

"Okay, Club Jasmine, now I've got a habit," I tell them, looking out at  the happy crowd. "I'm such a big sappy romantic at heart, I have to end  on a ballad. So . . . enjoy."

The first notes are almost soft and plaintive as they ring out over the  club, but as I start the lyrics, everything goes quiet . . . I have them  enthralled.

Maybe Celine Dion's made a whole career off power ballads, and sure, it  might not be her most famous, but Power of Love is amazing to me, honest  and poetic. I sing my guts out, and as I hit the high notes, the whole  club erupts into cheers and applause so thunderous it almost drowns me  out as I wrap up the song.

It's like a dream when I finish. The crowd is calling my name, wanting  my attention. Suddenly, Jake is at my side, raising my hand and leading  the applause. Getting off the stage, I'm almost swamped by people, Jake  protectively next to me the whole time. People are coming up to me,  giving me hugs, some even asking for my autograph. I'm barely aware,  still wrapped in euphoria from my performance. Before I know it, Jake is  taking me by the hand toward the back of the club. Luckily, I see  Hannah is preoccupied and doesn't notice, because by the way Jake's  moving, he has an idea in mind. The same fucking one I do.

Jake looks back at me, and the look he gives me is filled with need. I  swallow, nodding as he leads me to the back, the same place where we  were that first night. There's something magical about coming back here,  almost like we're fulfilling an interrupted destiny.

I turn to Jake, who's looking at me with so much intensity that my knees  weaken, and I sit down, unable to look away from him as he shrugs off  his jacket and undoes his tie.

"Now . . . now you can send me all the way to heaven," he says, pulling  his shirt off. He climbs onto the bed, urging me down, and I'm unable to  resist, not wanting to either. His lips find my neck and I nearly melt  into his arms. Should this be happening? I said it wouldn't, but as his  tongue flickers along my jawline, all resistance is futile.         

     



 

"Oh fuck," I moan, laying my head back as Jake runs his hand up my top  and under my bra, his fingers finding my right nipple. His lips mash  against mine again as we kiss hard, my hands pulling him down as he rubs  his thumb over my nipple. I'm left moaning, my pussy throbbing as he  holds me down on the bed, his greedy hands roaming over me and setting  my skin aflame.

Suddenly, Jake rolls, pulling me on top of him. I blink, half-stunned, and look down at him. "What are you doing?"

"You said you could take me to heaven," Jake teases, lifting my top. I  raise my arms, shrugging out of it and my bra, leaving me topless but  everything else on from the waist down. "I hope you weren't lying to  me."

I grin, leaning down and brushing my nipples against his chest as I  tease his lips with the tip of my tongue. "I never lie about that. Just  be warned-once you've been to heaven with me, it's all that will be on  your mind."

He smiles. "I have no doubt about that."

I grind on top of him, feeling the bulge of his cock inside his pants as  I roll my hips against him, nibbling on his neck. He brings his hands  to my ass, squeezing and massaging my cheeks and making me moan. He  pulls me up higher until my nipples are even with his lips, and I'm left  breathless as he sucks and pulls on them with his teeth.