Licentious(7)

 

I stand up from the piano bench, walk around the baby grand, and take a bow for the applauding and screaming crowd before exiting the stage.

 

All of the performers are left to keep swallowing the vomit that threatens to make an appearance for a good twenty minutes before the top three contestants are called back on stage. Two contestants have already been called, and I feel my shoulders sag in defeat. I knew it. All I want to do is cry, but I refuse to let them see me defeated. There’s only three people in the world I let see me like that, and even then, it’s far and few between.

 

As I turn to make my way out to the audience, I hear my name ring out before screams echo from the crowd. My body freezes, my heart stops, and I struggle to catch my breath.

 

“Joey Delaney!” they announce again.

 

Holy shitballs! “Oh, my God,” I whisper in awe as I turn toward the stage and make my way out to stand next to the Indie Rock guy, who, to be honest, I bet money will be the winner. He was fan-fucking-tastic.

 

“Well, ladies and gentlemen, we want to thank you for coming out to show your support tonight to all of the crazy talented songwriters in our area. Are you all having fun tonight?” Tim the Zack Morris look-alike shouts into the microphone enthusiastically, causing the entire crowd to scream, clap, and whistle. “Tonight. Tonight is huge for the winner of this contest.” He pauses, turns to look at us, and then smiles before he continues. “The winner will receive not only ten thousand dollars, but the song they performed tonight will be bought by the top leading label in the country! And—they will automatically have a meeting with the top three labels about writing songs for them.” The crowd goes wild. People are shouting and whistling so loud that Tim just stands there in the middle of the stage smiling until they all calm down enough for him to continue.

 

“These three all did an amazing job tonight. But,” Tim pauses, holding up a finger, “there can only be one winner. So, let’s get to it.” He smiles. “And the winner of the first ever, Monsoon’s Songwriter is… Joey Delaney!”

 

My jaw hits the floor. So fast and so far that I have to bring my hand up to make sure that I don’t have drool dripping down my chin. My body feels numb and yet alive all at the same time. Butterflies flap in my stomach and my breath grows rapid. I can’t believe I won. Part of me wants to ask Tim if this is a joke, but by the sounds of the uproar coming from the crowd, I know it’s real. I hear my other half over the deafening noise of the crowd yell my name followed by a string of expletives, instantly bringing tears to drip from my eyes and a huge smile to spread across my face.

 

Holy shit. Holy shitballs. I did it. I fucking did it. I won. I did it!

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Four

 

 

“Oh, my God! Joey! You did it! I told you that you could!” Eve shouts as she throws herself on me, hugging me so tight I can barely breathe. “You left us all speechless,” she says as she pulls away and smiles at me. “Why have you never played that for me before? It’s so beautiful and… raw.”

 

“It was a work in progress. I just finished it a few days ago.” I shrug as I turn toward the table she was occupying. Two similar looking guys take up two of the four seats. My eyes rake over them, taking them in. They both have dark black hair. The one next to my seat has longer hair that barely reaches his brows with a slight curl at the ends. The one sitting next to Eve has his hair cut so short that you can’t even run your fingers through and he has a set of near black eyes. They’re brown but so dark that they appear almost black, whereas the other man has chocolate brown. Both have square face shapes with a wide set jaw and nose with a set of full lips. Their skin is bronzed as if they tan on a regular basis, yet they have an olive undertone to it. Besides the hair and eyes, they could pass for twins. There’s no mistaking that these hotties are brothers.

 

Eve’s voluptuous laughter pulls me from my thoughts, making me realize that I’ve been obvious in my attempts of checking them out.

 

“I’m sorry.” I laugh as I take the empty seat. “You two must be brothers. You look nearly identical.”

 

“That we are,” the man next to me offers with a panty-dropping smile. “I’m Vinny, and this is my younger brother Tony,” he says, with a nod of his head toward the man sitting next to him.

 

“Aren’t they sexy?” Eve asks dreamily.

 

“God, Eve! Can you be any more obvious?” I laugh as I roll my eyes at her.

 

“It’s okay,” Tony beams, “happens quite a lot, actually.”