Jake leaned in close to my ear. “Magic time.”
As he started for the stage and his big entrance, I grabbed his arm. When I kissed his cheek, he gave me a quizzical look. “That’s for luck,” I shouted over the roar of the crowd.
A smirk curved at his lips. “Thanks, Angel, but I don’t need any of that.”
I smacked his arm playfully. “There you go being an egomaniac again!”
He laughed and gave me a wink. The stage lights changed again and blared red as Jake entered from the wings. The already frantic crowd went even more insane. The noise caused a ringing in my ears, and I fought the urge to stick my fingers in them.
When Jake took the microphone off the stand, his signature cocky grin spread across his lips. A thunderous roar echoed through the stadium. “Hello Indianapolis! Are you ready to rock?” Jake asked.
At their response, he glanced over his shoulder at Rhys and Brayden. They shook their heads. “Hang on. I don’t think I heard you. I asked if you were ready to FUCKING ROCK?”
If it were even possible to get louder, the crowd did. They stomped their feet, clapped their hands, and whistled and yelled. Jake grinned and nodded. “That’s more like it.” The lights went down and then the opening beat to their latest hit, “Unravel Me”, began playing. The song featured a lot of heavy guitars, and I was amazed by Brayden and Rhys’s skills. There was also the fact of the emotion that Jake emitted as he sang. One minute his voice had a hardened, bitter edge on songs like “Unravel Me” or “Twisted Reality”.
Then when it came to the ballads, he would instantly change over, and his smooth, velvety voice echoed through the arena. My favorite of theirs was “Never Before You”, which I knew from hanging around the guys that Brayden had written for Lily. I closed my eyes and swayed to the music. It was hard admitting to myself just how much Jake’s voice affected me emotionally and physically, especially hearing him sing about love.
When the song ended, I opened my eyes to find Jake staring at me. I must’ve had a pretty serious expression on my face because he winked and then ran his tongue over his lips suggestively. Even though I should’ve been pissed, I couldn’t help laughing. Only Jake would find a way to ruin a potentially romantic moment. I wagged a finger at him, and he threw back his head and laughed.
Next came the part of the show where they brought a fan on stage for Jake to sing to. My eyes widened when an older lady was led up by one of the stagehands. With wide-eyed wonderment, the woman stared up at Jake. When he grinned and winked, she blushed and giggled just like a young teenager as he began his way through “Your Smile.”
After a few more fast songs, the show was over, and the guys were coming off the stage, exhausted and dripping in sweat. I couldn’t help throwing myself at Jake. Wrapping my arms around him, I let him twirl me around. “I guess that means you liked it, huh?” he shouted into my ear over the crowd.
Pulling away, I stared at his grinning face. “Liked it? Are you kidding me? I loved it! You were amazing!”
“Yeah, and I’m sweating like a pig now.”
I snuggled closer to him. “If I get drenched in your sweat, I can probably make a fortune off this dress on Ebay,” I teased.
“Oh, I can think of several more things to do to get me even sweatier.” He waggled his eyebrows.
I pushed out of his arms. “No thank you! I think I’ll pass.”
“You would, Angel.” He glanced over at AJ and Rhys who were already surrounded by a throng of girls. “Give me five minutes to change and then I’m taking you to dinner.”
I glanced down at my dress. “I hope somewhere pretty low-key.”
“I was thinking IHOP or somewhere like that. Nothing too fancy, Angel.”
I laughed. “You sure know how to wine and dine me, don’t you?”
“Whatever,” he mumbled before he disappeared into the dressing room. True to his word, Jake reappeared in less than five minutes wearing faded and holey jeans and a black t-shirt. Of course, he could manage to make a burlap sack look hot and sexy. As we made our way to the exit, he asked, “You mind if Bray joins us?”
“No, of course not.” We eased into the Hummer limo. “AJ and Rhys not coming?”
Jake grimaced. “No, they’re busy.”
Suddenly, I got his meaning. “Oh, I see.” Thinking of them with random girls made me nauseous. “If I weren’t here, would you be busy too?”
Glancing out the window, Jake refused to meet my gaze. “Yeah, probably.”
“I’m sorry if I’m keeping you from something.”