Montana stepped toward me, his light-blue eyes lax and observing me in my skinny jeans and white blouse Ben and I bought during our shopping spree for the tour. “Can I get a name?” he asked, pierced eyebrow lifting.
“Eliza Smith.”
“Eliza Smith,” he repeated, grinning as he rolled my name off his tongue. “I like that. Cute.”
I sighed and took a step back. Montana’s eyes narrowed as he stared at me. “What brings you backstage? Which one of us were you hoping to run into?”
Just as he asked, Gage came stumbling back with Dedrick Parsley, aka Deed P., the drummer, along with a whopping of screaming and shouting from the overly excited FireNine fans. As soon as Gage caught sight of Montana near me, his head slanted. “What’s up?” he asked, looking from me to Montana.
“I called dibs,” Montana stated, smiling. “She’s cute.”
“I’m not a pick for tonight, Montana,” I told him, lifting my hands and shrugging. “Sorry.”
“You aren’t? What are you, then?”
“I’m only back here because my dad is your manager.”
Montana’s eyes stretched and Gage chuckled, clapping Montana’s shoulder. “Step off, Montana. Even if she were an after-party groupie, I’d be the one calling dibs. Not you.”
“Oh, you think so?”
“Know so, buddy.”
Montana snorted a laugh and then took a step back. “Let’s hear it from Miss Eliza. If you were a groupie, who would you be waiting for right now?”
I hesitated as all eyes turned on me. Even Roy and Deed looked at me, waiting for an answer. I had to remain confident. I wanted to keep the teasing atmosphere going so I said, “Roy Sykes. I find him handsome and unique among you all.”
Gage’s eyes widened and Montana yelled, “Hilarious!” while chuckling.
Roy stared at me, his dark eyes wider than I’d ever seen them beneath his shaggy hair, and then he turned around, clutching his guitar a little too tightly, causing his knuckles to pale. My smile fell rapidly as he hurried for his dressing room and slammed the door shut behind him.
“She’s funny as hell. I like her,” Montana said, still laughing. “Don’t mind Roy. It’s been a while since he’s had a girl. He’s the weird one, if you haven’t noticed already.”
“Yeah.” I forced a laugh, but I couldn’t help but worry for Roy. I didn’t think I said anything bad.
Montana turned around and trailed off to his dressing room. “Time to get ready for the real ladies, then!” he hollered right before slamming his door behind him.
Deed and Gage were still standing in front of me, and as Deed realized how awkward it was becoming, he ran a hand through his cropped, gelled black hair and turned around, his drumsticks still in hand. Deed was more slender than the other boys. I was sure he had a nice body as well; he just seemed a bit more boyish than the others.
“Yeah, so, I’m just gonna… go.” He hesitated, switching glances between me and Gage. He then hurried down the hall and his door clicked shut behind him. Gage watched him disappear before chuckling and looking at me again.
“Did I say something wrong?” I asked.
“Like Montana said, Roy’s the weird one. He doesn’t like to deal with compliments… or girls.” He laughed. “He likes to remain ghostly.”
“Oh.” I figured that was kind of impossible since he was the lead guitarist and all, but whatever.
“It’s funny, though, Ellie.” Gage sighed, taking a step toward me. “I thought you were going to pick me.” He reached up, placing a finger on my chin, and as his skin connected with mine, my breath hitched. A zap of lightning struck my core, causing me to practically melt. I’d never known what it would be like for him to touch me, for his liquid eyes to only be on mine. It was a feeling I wanted to hang on to forever. He was so close I could smell his cologne—spicy, yet pleasing to the senses. Gage then tapped my chin twice, his eyes hard on me. “But since you’re a bigger fan of Roy… well… all I can say is good luck with that.” He winked, pulling his warm, slightly calloused fingers away. The fire that had ignited within me died down with each step he took.
His walk was dangerously sexy—his shoulders broad, hips swinging in a completely mannish way. He rounded a corner, disappearing out of sight, and I sighed, releasing the nervous air trapped in my lungs. He’d left me completely breathless with just the touch of his fingers. I didn’t know how the hell he did it, but I wasn’t going to deny the fact that I enjoyed it. I was just never going to let him know it. I didn’t want him to figure out how he could have any control over me just by being near me.
“Liza!” Ben’s voice called from behind me. I turned to find him marching toward me, a bright smile on his lips. “Don’t be upset with me,” he said, grinning as he stopped less than an inch from me, “but we’ve decided to rent a VIP room at a club for the boys. I have some business to handle while we’re in New Mexico so I won’t be there, but I thought it’d be fun for you to hang with them for a while.”
“Um, no.” I shook my head, staring into Ben’s eyes that would have been identical to mine if they were blue instead of warm chocolate-brown. “That’s not happening. I think I’ll just stay on the bus.”
“Um, no,” he mimicked, “you’re not. That’s not what you came on this tour for and it won’t be an option tonight. You came to live it up a little, am I correct? To have fun?”
“Yeah, but you know I don’t do clubs, Ben.” Plus, knowing Gage was going to be there was bothering me already. I couldn’t be at a club while he was around. I didn’t want to find out what else he could do with those hands.
“Well, tonight will be a first night for everything. I bought you a nice dress and it’s in my dressing room. I have the keys to the tour bus, and I ordered our driver to take you straight to the club no matter how much you beg him to take you to the bus. A pretty big tip came in handy.” Ben winked, but I gave him the evil eye.
“You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack, sweetie. Have some fun tonight.” He squeezed my shoulders, his eyes sympathetic. “You can legally drink now so I guess I can’t tell my baby girl to stay out of trouble anymore.” He pulled away, checking his watch before stepping backward and spinning around. “I have to get going, but you know where the truck is. Don’t get too crazy, and if you need anything, call me!” he called, winking over his shoulder.
I watched Ben walk down the hall and slip out the exit door. I couldn’t believe him. He was forcing me to stay out. Clubbing and partying was never my thing. I just couldn’t get down with the drinking and the jumping around. Seeing it on TV had always given me a headache.
I couldn’t understand why he wanted me to get out so badly and I wouldn’t have minded so much if I weren’t going to be in a VIP section full of guys—a fucking rock band! A band with Gage Grendel as the lead singer. I could only put up with his flirting for so long. My confidence levels weren’t high enough for me to endure it for an entire night.
I was definitely shit out of luck with this club situation.
DUO DANCE
I couldn’t have felt more embarrassed.
Even my driver was stunned by what I wore. Going from a blouse and skinny jeans to a skintight silver halter-top dress that stopped mid-thigh and revealed all legs was obviously shocking to him—hell, it was shocking to me! It was complete chagrin.
I wanted so badly to hide out in the dressing room. If the lights weren’t shut off and I wasn’t told the arena would be closing in ten minutes, I’d probably still be there. Had I not been chicken-shit and afraid of how dark and quiet it had become, I still would have stayed. But I swear I heard chains rattling at one point. I had to get out of the dressing room before a murderer showed up and strangled me. I guess the club was a better and safer place than a possible murder scene… maybe.
Tugging my dress down with one hand while gripping the door handle of the truck with the other, I sighed and breathed roughly through my nostrils. I wasn’t sure what was in store, but by the bass of the music and the long line of people waiting outside the door, I knew to expect what I’d always seen on TV and in movies… maybe worse.
“What time should I come back?” Marco, my chauffeur, asked before I could shut the door. His eyes scanned my backside and I scowled at him as he met my gaze.
“Don’t,” I muttered, slamming the door in his face. I had never worn anything this revealing in my life. I would have chosen my T-shirts and loose jeans any day over this display of skin.
The music boomed as I trudged forward in my six-inch heels. I finally figured out my dress wasn’t going to reveal my ass, so I stopped tugging on it as I carried myself across the pavement. I told the bouncer at the door who I was and who I was with, and after he checked his clipboard and nodded his head, I was inside the club.
Rave lights danced across the night scene. A few women wore glowing necklaces and held sloshing drinks in their hands. The music was loud and catchy—something I would most likely listen to during one of my fast-paced painting days. It wasn’t so bad… at least not yet.