Chapter 7 #2
“Nope. It’s all or nothing.” Zack took a step back toward the rest of us, looking at both Braden and Cy before facing me.
“I decide who’s in my band, not some sleazy executive who just wants to make money off us.
You guys are my best friends and we’re in this together, win or lose.
” Placing his hands on my shoulders, he said, “That includes you. We make it together or we die trying.”
I managed a small smile as a feeling of guilt coursed through my veins.
While I appreciated his loyalty—because he had mine, regardless of my unrequited feelings—I felt like it might be misguided.
Maybe there was a reason why there weren’t many women in hard rock and metal.
And regardless of how I’d begun to chafe against a lot of male attitudes I’d encountered, this was a personal subject, affecting the livelihoods of people I cared about.
My second family…these guys right here.
In a gesture of solidarity, Zack let go of my shoulders and stuck out his hand. Like we always did before a show, we band members piled our hands on top of his. When Zack said, “Let’s do this!” we didn’t have a show to perform, but we did have renewed hope that everything would be okay.
And what did we know? Maybe the representative would talk his bosses into giving us a listen anyway.
It wasn’t long before we all headed out to the auditorium so we could catch part of the show. The house was packed, though, so we had to stand along the back wall. “I’m gonna get something to drink,” I said between songs.
The band playing wasn’t half bad, but the guitarist was the asshole who’d called me a roadie and a groupie earlier, so I didn’t want to like their music.
After making my way out of the crowd and into the lobby, I asked for water and they told me a ridiculous price.
This wasn’t a bar, I reminded myself, where I could get a glass of water for free.
This was a venue, and everything had a price.
Ultimately, it was how we got paid. Still, I hadn’t brought my cash from backstage—and if I went back there, I had access to free bottles of water anyway.
So I just said, “I forgot my money. Thanks anyway.”
But there were three guys behind me and one of them leaned forward and said, “Put it on my tab.”
“Oh, no—thanks anyway.” When I turned, I was nearly bowled over.
I’d hardly noticed this man before but now I took him in in all his glory.
Ocean-blue eyes framed by long dark lashes, the beginnings of a beard, and short-ish hair that was growing out—and the combination made him absolutely gorgeous.
He was tall too—not as tall as Zack, but still much taller than I, and he nearly took my breath away.
“Nope, I got this. Make it two, please,” he said, his debit card already out.
The cashier handed us both a bottle of water and I told the guy, “Thanks a lot. I—”
“Happy to do it.” As we turned away from the counter, he nodded at his friends but kept walking with me. “I know this is gonna be a weird question, but you look kinda like the drummer from the last band.”
Laughing, I said, “That’s not a question.”
He chuckled. “You’re right. So are you or do you just look like her?”
It was then that I remembered this particular venue had asked for our picture and they’d displayed it on their website when promoting tonight’s lineup—so it was possible he’d seen that. Otherwise, even with the big screens, I found it hard to believe he would recognize me.
Still, he was right. “I’m her. My name’s Dani,” I said, holding out my right hand.
“Cooper.” When he took my hand, he shook it but then held it for a bit. “I have so many questions.”
“About what?”
“About you. About what got you into this business. Where you’re from, how long you’ve been doing this…”
“I could tell you all that, but don’t you want to get back to the show?”
His smirk was endearing, but his next words were what won me over. “No. I’ve seen Decadent Honey before. They suck.”
Although I thought the same thing but for entirely different reasons, I wasn’t going to say it. “I hope you don’t feel that way about the rest of the bands.”
“No way. I wouldn’t be here if I did.” Just a few seconds later, his friends came close, and he said to them, “I’ll meet up with you guys later.”
He and I wound up standing near one of the entrances into the auditorium, and I leaned a shoulder against the wall. He really did want to know all about me and the band. But it was loud enough that we had to keep repeating ourselves, especially when people would enter or exit the auditorium.
But I remembered my dressing room was quiet. Finally, I asked, “Do you want to go somewhere else?”
“Like where?”
“To the back of the house. It’s better insulated from the noise.”
Nodding, he walked a couple of feet to the trash can, tossing in his empty water bottle. “Yeah. How much time do you think these guys have left to play?”
“We had fifty minutes and then ten minutes to clear the stage and the next to set up, so they probably have the same amount of time.” The only thing I knew for certain was that the headliners got to play as long as they wanted.
As we made our way back into the auditorium, I noticed that Cooper didn’t check a watch or his phone, so maybe he just figured in his head he had a little more time.
I stopped myself from glancing over at the back wall to see if any of my bandmates were still there watching the show.
I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.
When we entered the backstage area, the brightness struck me.
The darkness of the auditorium made the light in the back almost glaring.
As we passed the green room, I again refused to look around but I saw several guys in my peripheral vision.
I was certain none of them were guys from my band, although they could have been.
There were several huge amps near the door to my dressing room, likely there to make it easier to get them onstage when the time came.
After we walked past them, I turned to my door.
Cooper said, “I had no idea it was so big back here.”
“Yeah,” I said, holding the door. “The stage is kind of small but with the balcony, they manage to get a lot of people inside and still have room back here for us.”
“It’s like the TARDIS.”
“The what?”
“Never mind.” After I closed the door, he got close to me and my nipples immediately tightened. This wasn’t why I’d brought him back here.
Or was it?
My breath quickened slightly and I searched his cool blue eyes, grabbing the first question I could think of. “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a welder.”
“A w—”
He took my face in his hands and kissed me gently.
I dropped my water bottle, not worried because the lid was screwed on tight.
Immediately, my entire body tensed up in anticipation—and then I decided that, yes, I wanted this.
While my body and heart got wrapped up in the process—my lips and tongue colliding with Cooper’s, my hands making their way under his shirt, my nerves tingling as he kissed my neck—my brain performed gymnastics to justify it.
This isn’t like before. I’m not drunk or high. I’m choosing this.
But my brain shut down as my body sped up as if on a treadmill and my consciousness seemed to return to the present. Lifting his shirt up, I kept my lips on his until we naturally separated—and he took the shirt from me to pull it over his head.
Holy shit. The tattoos. My pussy started vibrating as it desired his body—the beautifully formed pecs adorned with artwork, the firmness of his muscles under smooth skin tantalizing my fingertips…the way his hands glided up my back, causing shivers to speed down my spine.
We let our bodies talk. After he pulled my t-shirt over my head, his mouth descended to my collarbone, and he kissed his way down to my cleavage.
I ran my hands through his soft hair before gliding them down his neck and back as he unclasped my bra like an expert.
Soon my breasts were unfettered and his lips continued their exploration while a moan escaped my lips, my toes curling in my shoes.
Now that I knew we were definitely headed in the direction we were, I had no problems running my fingers along his waistband. When I got to the front, I slid one hand over the front of his jeans to confirm that he was rock hard, his cock straining against the zipper.
I could help out, couldn’t I?
After undoing the button, I slowly slid down the zipper as his mouth returned to mine.
We kissed feverishly, as if our lives depended upon the pleasure we were experiencing.
As I wrapped my hand around his cock still inside his underwear, he uttered a low sound against my mouth—and then mirrored my motions, unzipping my jeans before easing his hand inside.
Against my heat, his hand felt warm, and all my muscles tightened as they anticipated what would come next. His hand found its way inside my jeans. Although it was snug, he was persistent—and when he ran a finger down my slit, I sighed into his mouth, tightening my grip on his dick.
He began swirling that lone digit into the slickness below, and I felt a familiar ache.
But he didn’t let up, and as he continued rubbing that desirous spot, something switched on in my brain, a feeling that something was coming.
Like a storm gathering on the horizon, it got closer and closer until that sensation was all I focused on.
By that point, he was kissing my neck again as I tried but probably failed to give his cock attention.
Soon, the storm broke loose—and it felt as if my brain and body exploded. A pleasure I’d never felt before washed over me, enveloping me in warmth and comfort before it dwindled away. When I opened my eyes, he withdrew his hand. “You good to go again?”
I didn’t know if I could handle it—but I wanted to try. “Yes.”
Pulling a condom out of his wallet, he quickly unwrapped it before rolling it over his cock.
Until now, I hadn’t realized just how big he was, and I tried not to freak out about it.
When he eased himself inside me, holding me up under my ass, I remembered when Zack had told me how tight I was.
I didn’t believe I was anymore, but it felt the same way now because I was accommodating this man’s girth.
Soon, he was sliding in and out of me much like a wave laps at the shore—and that sensation washed over me again, that one of impending pleasure. Now I knew exactly where this was going and I relished it. I held on tight, biting his shoulder just before my brain exploded again.
Not long after, he finished too, and we stood in each other’s arms for quite a while as our breathing slowed. For just a couple of seconds, I felt giddy, ridiculously happy and satisfied. Holy shit. So that was what sex was all about.
But it wasn’t long before I found my mind racing right back to Zack.
Would I ever get over him?