Chapter 18 Delilah
EIGHTEEN
Delilah
What do you wear when you’re about to see the rockstar who broke your heart? After trying on every single outfit combination I could think of, the contents of my entire wardrobe is littered at my feet. It figures I ended up settling on the very first one I tried on.
I put on a short denim skirt and my brown cowboy boots, pairing it with a cropped lilac tee that clings to my figure. I leave my curls loose, clipping a few cute bows in them.
“Why do you even care what you look like?” I ask my reflection. “He won’t be able to see you anyway.”
A soft knock comes at my door. “Delilah?” Faye’s gentle voice comes from the other side. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah,” I call back while hastily gathering up armfuls of clothes and hurling them back into the closet.
“How are you feeling?” She looks amazing in an autumn-colored floral dress with a layered skirt, her long golden hair styled in a loose side braid that trails down to her waist. “Everyone’s waiting downstairs.”
“Do you think I’m making a mistake by going?” I scrunch my curls, but that only seems to make them frizzier. “Maybe we should just stay home.”
“This is all about you,” she replies. “We’ll do whatever you want.”
“Let me check my horoscope.” Right now, leaving fate in the hands of the stars seems like the best option. I decide to read it out loud. “Today is the day to push yourself out of your comfort zone.” Nervous energy skitters through me. “I guess that settles it, then.”
“Are you—” Sabs appears, poking her head over Faye’s shoulder. “Woah, Del. You look fucking hot.”
“I didn’t want to go too dressy,” I say, momentarily reconsidering my outfit when I see she has squeezed into a sexy black dress that displays all her stunning curves.
“Good to show that asshole what he’s missing.” Sabs winks. “If I saw you, I’d be kicking myself.”
“This is about closure, Sabs.” Kady joins us. Her white dress with its sweet-heart neckline makes her look almost ethereal. “Stella balm time.”
She holds out the small, circular, golden box full of the cloves, sage, and amber-scented balm.
We pass it around, each of us dabbing it on our pulse points.
It’s tradition that we apply it before nights out to provide us with added protection and make it easier to scent each other in a large crowd.
When we’re all done, Kady frowns at her watch. “We better hurry, if we want to get there in time. I’ve heard the lines are crazy.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Unfazed, Sabs grabs a lipstick and compact from her purse to apply a touch-up to her glossy red lips. “Drax will make sure we get in. Plus, we have VIP tickets. We’ll zip straight through.”
“I didn’t think you and Drax were still talking.” Kady raises an eyebrow at the mention of Sabs’s childhood friend who has been forever crushing on her. “I thought he’d been avoiding you since you and he had the ‘just friends’ discussion?”
“He was never avoiding me. Okay, maybe he was a little…” Sabs stows away her lipstick and compact, suddenly deciding to pay close attention to the strap on her purse.
“But we saw each other at home over the holidays. No big deal.” For Sabs, who usually divulges every little detail of her life, she’s being uncharacteristically cagey.
“Anyway!” She claps her hands. “Chop, chop! We’d better go. ”
Usually, I’m excited for a night out with the girls, but I’m a ball of nerves. I can’t even focus on the details as Sabs relays a funny story about her volleyball practice where someone dressed up as the mascot.
Faye checks her cell phone, shaking her head as we climb into the cart while Kady gets into the driver’s seat.
“Looks like the guys are having fun.” Before we set off, she shows us a photo of Riven and Laz kicking ass on Dance-Dance Revolution.
Kady’s eyes soften when she sees the photo.
Her blonde Viking alpha can be a little socially withdrawn, so seeing him let loose is great.
“Laz bullied everyone into going to the arcade club. Well, except for Damon. He’s working Jagger’s concert. ”
“I swear, he asks for jobs just to keep an eye on you,” Sabs teases Faye.
“He doesn’t!” Faye squeals, although there’s probably truth to it. Her alphas are all protective, but Damon is more so than the others. “He said he’d rather poke pins into his eyes than listen to something that isn’t heavy metal.”
Kady snickers. “Sounds like Damon…” Her eyes widen as we come to a stop before getting onto Main Street. “I think we better walk from here.”
I’ve never seen it so busy. There isn’t just a long line to Club Knotty; there’s a whole sea of people. Every other person seems to be wearing a Pack Fire T-shirt or holding a sign that says something like, “We love you, Jagger!” or, “Be mine, Jagger!”
Sabs’s hand finds mine and squeezes. “You’ve got this, boo.”
Do I?
We have to drive around for quite a while until we find a place to park before joining the throng of people waiting outside.
It isn’t until we reach the large barricade that’s been set up to organize the lines that I realize how many people are here, the volume of the excited fans nearly deafening.
I knew he regularly sold out concerts, but I am shocked by how many students are literally pleading and offering all sorts of things in exchange for tickets.
To my relief, I spot Damon at the door. As soon as he sees us, he abandons his post and comes to Faye’s side, putting his arm around her before ushering us through the barrier into the short VIP line.
“This shit is crazy,” I somehow hear him grumble over the noise. “All this for a fucking asshole. I don’t get it.”
“Thanks for getting us inside.” Faye leans on her tiptoes to peck him on the cheek as soon as we’re through. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
Grinning down at her, the tension leaves Damon’s shoulder for a second before his attention is drawn to a situation where two students are about to have a fist-fight over tickets.
Now that we’re in the right place, we see Drax at the door. He’s wearing the standard security uniform, what’s visible of his bare skin, including his neck, covered in ink.
“Dr—” Sabs frowns as Drax turns in the other direction as soon as he sees her. Her smile slips, then she shakes her red curls, getting back to her usual self.
With Drax busy helping someone else, another security guard checks our tickets before letting us inside.
Since we’re VIPs, another security guard personally escorts us all the way down to a small area cordoned off on a slightly raised platform.
Aside from the four of us, there’re only about fifteen people in here.
Including Tae, who looks as frustratingly gorgeous as usual.
“Oh no,” I groan.
“What is it?” Kady asks sharply.
“It’s—”
“Delilah!” Tae rushes over to greet us, his beaming smile displaying his perfectly straight, white teeth. “You made it. We didn’t think you’d… I’m so glad you’re here.”
Sabs’s eyes thin to slits as she gives him the once-over. “You’re the barista?”
“The best barista,” Tae chirps brightly, attempting to keep the mood light.
“Who isn’t a good judge of character,” Kady adds snarkily.
“Ah, you must be Kady.” Tae’s smile broadens. “The co-editor of The Valley Voice, right?”
She sniffs. “Yes.”
“I’m a big fan of your paper,” he continues. “After your interview the other day, you’re the last person I expected to see here.”
“I can assure you that I haven’t had a change of opinion.” She looks down her nose at him. “But we’re all here for Delilah.”
Not meeting his gaze, I see Tae shove his hands in his pockets in my peripheral vision. It’s hard to believe that his cock was buried deep inside me last week.
“And we’ll do anything for her,” Sabs chimes in. “Including blending up body parts.”
His eyes widen. “Uh, did you say body parts?”
Faye tugs on her arm. “Sabs, maybe now’s not the time for threats.”
Suddenly, the lights dim.
“It’s starting!” someone shouts.
A single spotlight shines onto the stage. I’m surprised to see that there’s only a microphone and stool on there. Pack Fire shows are usually filled with special effects. The rest of the crowd must feel the same as curious murmurs sweep through the audience.
I watch with bated breath as Jagger heads onto the stage clutching his guitar, a bright light following his every move.
His eyes stay fixed on the floor as he gets into position.
It’s hard not to drool at the sight of his tattooed chest, only partially covered by his mostly unbuttoned, plain white shirt.
As he takes a seat and adjusts his mic, a strand of brown hair falling over his eyes, my eyes home in on his inked hands, covered in various silver rings.
As hard as I’ve tried, I can’t forget how good he is with those hands.
I’m mesmerized, forgetting that I’m in a public place, surrounded by my friends.
With the spotlight shining on him, he’s my sole focus, the rest of the world fading into nothingness.
I drink in every minute motion—how his Adam’s apple bobs after he clears his throat, how his fingers softly caress the strings while tuning them, how he shifts to get comfortable.
He pauses then looks up, saying nothing. His mouth morphs into an unreadable, somber line as the crowd goes wild. He scans the audience, gaze roaming over to the VIP area where I’m standing.
Somewhere nearby, Tae shouts, “You got this, man!”
I swear, the corners of Jagger’s mouth twitch upward.
He taps the microphone twice then leans in, his slight hint of a British accent sounds even more pronounced as he says, “Tonight we’re going to do something a little different.”
The crowd claps and hollers while I remain fixed in place, arms clamped by my sides.
“We’re going to start with one of my brand new originals,” he says. His eyes stray over to me, but I look away. “This is for someone very special in the crowd.”