Chapter 2 #4
“Yeah, definitely. I’ll be right there.”
Of course, there was the issue of my make-out session. The look in my partner’s eyes said it all, but I needed to make sure he understood that we had to go back.
Just as it had been getting good.
“Danny, I’m really sorry, but I have to go. We’ve, uh—”
His response surprised me. “No, that’s cool.”
This felt too easy, making me wonder if maybe I’d been enjoying our play more than he had.
I considered telling him I had a chance to meet the headlining band and then thought better of it, just in case he expected me to bring him along.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like him, but I didn’t really know him.
Even if I did, my bandmates didn’t, and I was pretty sure they wouldn’t appreciate me bringing a guy I’d just met backstage at a venue.
“It sounds like something big is going down backstage and my band needs me there. Thanks for understanding.”
“Yeah. No problem.”
I felt awkward as we completely untangled ourselves and got out of his car. The walk back seemed just as long as our journey to his car had been. At one point, though, he said, “Damn, it’s fucking cold out here.”
Feelings of guilt reverberated in me. “Do you want your jacket back?”
His pause told me he did, no matter what he finally said out loud. “Nah, it’s cool.”
Taking it off, I held it out to him. “No, here.”
We were only half a block away. I could make it. “No, Dani. It’s all right.”
Sighing, I thanked him and picked up the pace a little more, draping it back over my shoulders.
I was grateful for the jacket, because my panties were wet and now they felt chilled, reminding me that I must have been more excited to have Danny’s tongue in my mouth than I’d realized during the actual act.
A little kissing and skin touching had aroused me. Although he wasn’t Zack, he was a proverbial port in a storm. A lot of cute guys could be that.
But why weren’t we holding hands now like we had been on the way to his car? Why weren’t we talking, his ruse for getting me out of the venue in the first place?
I could hear the punk band continuing to play as we neared the front doors, and, once inside, I took off Danny’s jacket, thanked him again, and told him I had a good time. He said, “Yeah. Me, too.” But I could sense he was disappointed.
I was too.
Still, he didn’t ask for my number—and I wasn’t going to give it unless he asked.
My insides were full of various, conflicting emotions, but I focused on the positive one, that I was about to meet some true rock gods.
It took a bit to get through the crowd, especially because Clara’s Dolls ended their set at that moment, and the crowd was pushing against me.
Fortunately, the burly guy guarding the backstage area recognized me as one of the members of the first band who’d played, so at least I didn’t have any issues there.
It was loud in the hall, raucous and noisy, but the feeling of life and intensity in there were impossible to deny.
No matter how weird I’d felt as I’d parted from my date for the evening, I couldn’t help but feel renewed and excited now.
As I made my way farther down the hall toward our dressing room, I saw Braden and Zack, but no Cy, no Fully Automatic members.
“What’s going on?”
Zack said, “We were only talking to one of the most epic bands around—and you missed it.”
I tried not to be upset, but my face gave away what I really felt. Worse, though, was the fact that I suspected Zack maybe wanted me to be bummed out.
Braden seemed to miss all of the unspoken subtext between me and Zack—and I hoped Zack could tell I’d been with a guy right before arriving.
Meanwhile, Braden said, “You would have loved them, Dani. I didn’t know till we were talkin’ to them, but they had a female lead singer for a long time while they were doing the indie—what’d they call it again, Zack? ”
“The indie circuit.”
“Yeah. The indie circuit. But when Zack told them our schedule, they seemed impressed by all the shows he has lined up.”
“They were just being nice, Bray.”
“Maybe. But they were cool dudes.” Turning back to me, he said, “But their old singer has her own band now—and she’s married to the lead singer of Fully Automatic.”
“Why are you telling me this, Braden?” I grinned. “Do you want me to join a different band?”
“No way. I just thought you might find it inspiring.”
Maybe. But what had lifted me up tonight so far as being one of few women onstage had been seeing the bassist in Clara’s Dolls.
I wouldn’t tell the guys, at least not yet, but I often felt lonely and misunderstood.
I wouldn’t complain about any of it, but these guys didn’t get what it was like playing while dealing with menstrual cramps.
They’d also never understand why I struggled to find the best waterproof makeup so I wouldn’t sweat it all off during a show.
And they definitely wouldn’t appreciate how I felt as a female surrounded by nothing but men.
They’d never hear any of these feminine complaints from me, but that didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate seeing another woman here.
“Here’s what Braden’s not telling you. Those guys said they loved our shit and they’re going to talk to someone with their record label.”
Braden’s beautiful eyes grew big as a grin spread across his face. “Yeah, they said we sound good enough to be on the radio.”
“Professional was the word they kept using. So I gave ‘em one of our shitty demos but pointed them to our YouTube channel. I just hope they check that out, ‘cause our best stuff is there.”
“Holy crap. You think something will come of it?”
Even though Zack shrugged, I could see in his eyes that it was something he’d expected all along.