Chapter 25
Being back on stage felt just as good as spending my day off in Phoebe, exhilarating me for the night that was about to take place.
Following the movie, Van and I had grabbed food for everyone at this amazing sandwich shop that was down the street from the studio and brought it back.
The five of us, because Xoah had been back at the studio by the time Van and I came back, had spent the rest of my day off goofing around, bonding, and drinking a few beers.
Van had decided to drink the sour beer he’d been adamant about getting, solidifying for me that he was such a guy with sour tastebuds, allowing me to learn more about him.
Then we’d flown out of Phoebe and made the short trek to Charlotte. We’d all checked into the hotel that was going to be our home for the next few days and then gone our separate ways. Being able to have another orgasm with Van before the show had become my new favorite tradition.
But now it was the second Charlotte show, and I had big plans for it.
The first night had gone perfectly but I wanted to make this run of shows special.
And thanks to Blue and his quick skills, I was going to have a massive announcement for the fans tonight.
I’d been giddy to get to the acoustic set so I could unveil the news, but I’d had to get through the rest of the show first.
Once I was dressed in my usual rhinestoned rags outfit with the guitar strung across my shoulder, I made my way to the end of the stage. The piano was once again to my left as I stepped up to the mic stand so I could play the guitar song for the night that was always a Taylor Swift cover.
Leaning into the mic, I spoke with the widest smile amongst the cheers and loud screaming from the audience.
“Thank you guys for the energy you’re bringing tonight, it’s been amazing.
I’m from North Carolina, so I had high expectations for these hometown shows and you guys have not disappointed.
” The loud cheers soared higher at that mention.
Looking out into the crowd, I once again tried to soak up the moment.
I was still baffled that this many people cared about me and my music to have me standing on this stage.
I was so incredibly fortunate to be doing what I loved for a living, making music and having people consume it in a way that supported me financially.
I really was the luckiest guy in the world.
Van ran through my mind then, thinking about my luck. I’d already subtly dedicated a song to him on tour, but tonight I was going to be a little less subtle about it.
“This is the part of the show where I play a guitar song that’s a cover of one of my favorite artists, Taylor Swift, before playing a mashup of two of my songs on piano.
” More loud sounds came from the fans. I loved the formula of this tour so much, and knowing that some people knew about it and some had stayed as blind as possible to enjoy the show as it was intended wasn’t lost on me.
“Tonight, I’m kind of dedicating this cover song to someone in my life.
They know who they are.” Inquisitive explosions came from the crowd, but I just started strumming the chords and prepared to sing.
Once I started singing the opening lines of Wood, the crowd started to absolutely lose their minds.
It was one of my favorite Taylor songs ever, and I was thinking about Van the entire time I was singing it.
I hoped he understood that I was singing about him and felt flattered enough.
I also hoped it wasn’t a little too forward, considering one of the lyrics mentioned love.
I didn’t want him to think this was me confessing my love for him, even if subconsciously, I was definitely headed to feeling that way.
I’d face whatever consequence singing this song would deliver, because truthfully, I wanted Van to know how I was feeling and I was always better at expressing my feelings through song.
I coasted through the song pretty quickly, considering that the song was fairly short, and when I was done, the crowd was screaming their heads off.
I chuckled into the mic, smiling from ear to ear.
I’m glad they at least enjoyed it as much as I had.
I managed to take off the guitar and set it in the stand right next to the mic.
Normally, I would have just left it at that and walked over to the piano to get ready for the Rags / Riches mashup.
However, tonight was not going to be a normal show.
Instead, I grabbed the mic from the mic stand and started pacing between the piano and guitar areas, savoring the crowd reaction as the ones who knew the show by heart began to freak the fuck out, making others on edge.
I nodded before posing the mic in front of my face. “Before we get to the piano part of the acoustic set, I have a surprise for you guys.”
The level of screaming from that one statement, I feared was going to do my ears in. But I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, because I was excited about this. More excited than any other show I’d done so far. So once the yelling died down, I kept pacing.
“As I said before, these Charlotte shows are my hometown shows. I grew up in a town called Phoebe not far from here, and you guys have been so amazing tonight. I’ve seen you singing every word back to me, dancing from your seats, and it’s just really solidified that I needed to do something special for one of these shows.
” More skyrocketed cheers were heard, but I kept barreling through my speech.
Thankfully, every time I started to talk, the crowd would die down a bit.
“And to thank you for being here tonight, I have a little announcement prepared. So if you could just direct your eyes to the massive screen back here.” I gestured to one of the biggest screens that would show the crowd what they couldn’t see from the stage, and waited as my plan went into action.
I’d told Priyanka the plan after Van and I had gotten back from seeing the movie, and she’d been ecstatic.
She’d said now was the perfect time for me to make this move, which I guess was good because I wanted to do it anyway.
This wouldn’t have been possible without my team, and I thanked her and Blue endlessly for all their efforts to make this announcement possible since unveiling the plan to everyone. Of course, I thanked Van in other ways.
Ignoring the sudden bout of horniness coursing through my body, I watched as the black screen began to transform.
An image began to reveal itself on the screen.
It was one of the outtakes from the album photoshoot that I’d done for The Pressure To Cut Diamonds.
It differed from the original because I wasn’t laying on a car in this one.
But rather, I was standing on top of a zooming car with a baseball bat that looked like it was made of the same diamonds littering the hood.
I was posed looking at the camera with a look that said ‘don’t fuck with me’ and my hair whipping in the wind.
That’s when the text appeared on the image, saying The Pressure To Cut Diamonds Deluxe. The entire audience was a cacophony of thrills as they realized what I was announcing. I waited for a lull in the crowd before I started interjecting.
“Thank you guys so much for all the love you’ve shown Diamonds in the past few months. The deluxe edition of my album with three additional songs will be out tonight at midnight. I love these three songs so much, and I hope you’re as excited to hear them as I was to add them to the album.”
Through there magnificent hollering from the crowd, I started walking over to the piano as the screen transformed back into showing me on the projection. I laughed a little to myself, glad that my plan had worked out well and the crowd was ecstatic to be receiving more music from me.
I felt lighter and stronger than I had in a while.
I wasn’t sure if it was the regular orgasms I was having, the announcement finally being out, or just simply being back in North Carolina that was making me feel like the most authentic version of myself lately.
Whatever it was, I was chasing it for all it was worth.
Because this feeling? Yeah, I could really get used to this feeling.