Chapter 22
VAN
Iwas panicking.
It had nothing to do with the fact that I’d had been intimate with a man for the first time.
No, my anxiety was all about being locked in a room with no power and no means of communication. I was always in touch with someone on the crew. Hell, my phone was like another extension of my body at this point.
Without it, I felt naked.
And speaking of naked… I replayed my first kiss with Brodie. And everything that came after.
No question, it was the best sex of my entire life. And I wanted more with him. So much more.
But right now his safety was top of mind. It was the only thing keeping me grounded.
No matter what, Brodie’s well-being was my priority.
We managed to stumble around in the dark and find a couple of chairs to sit on. And I located the mini fridge in the corner. At least we had bottles of water and a few snacks.
I was confident that Regan would come looking for us in the next while.
I hoped.
Then again, I didn’t know if the power was off in the entire building or what the hell was going on.
“This reminds me of a time when I was a student and traveled back home to visit my folks,” I whispered in the dark. “Did I ever tell you about the infamous ice storm in Montreal?”
“No.”
I couldn’t see Brodie in the darkness, but I felt him all right.
Every delectable inch of him.
Instead of sitting in his own chair, he moved to my lap, and I wrapped him up in my arms.
“I’d come back home for Christmas break. 1998.”
“The dark ages, how appropriate,” Brodie teased.
I reached down and pinched his ass.
“Do you want to hear this or not?”
“Of course,” he replied as he wiggled in my lap.
My dick should be exhausted after two orgasms, but apparently not around Brodie.
“I could listen to the sound of your voice all day and night, Van. Never stop talking to me.”
The things he said.
This sweet side of Brodie was so damn adorable. I kissed his neck and worked my way up to his ear, gently biting the lobe.
“Don’t stop that either,” Brodie moaned.
I totally lost my train of thought.
“Calisse, I forgot what I was saying.”
“Montreal. You were nineteen,” Brodie hummed. “I bet you were hot then too.”
I chuckled as his compliment. “I don’t know about that. But I can dig out some old photos, and you can see for yourself.”
“I’d love that.” He squeezed my arms. “Now tell your story.”
“I was due to fly out of the city on January 4th, but the airport shut down due to a massive ice storm that blanketed most of the province and parts of the northeast. And it was just beginning. We had non-stop freezing rain for six days in a row. We couldn’t go anywhere.
The power was out for an entire week all across the city. Right in the middle of winter.”
“That’s really fucking scary.”
I nodded. “It was. But we were better off than most. Thank fuck my parents had a wood-burning stove and a full freezer. Others weren’t so lucky.
But people came together to help each other out.
My parents invited our neighbors over since they ran out of firewood after two days.
The community came together. It was an experience I’ll never forget. ”
“We only have enough food and water for a couple of hours.”
“We’re not going to be stuck here for days. I promise.”
I heard a loud creak, and then a tendril of icy air brushed the back of my head.
“Did you hear that?” I asked.
“It’s this building. It’s old, noisy, and drafty.”
“Yeah. But I could have sworn something touched the back of my head just now.”
“Don’t you start too,” Brodie muttered.
“What are you talking about?”
“Holls went on about this building being haunted by a ghost, some musician who died onstage back in the 70s.”
“Good thing I don’t believe in the supernatural.”
“Me neither. I think.” Brodie paused. “I felt the same cold draft earlier. There must be a vent in the room for the air conditioning.”
“There’s no air conditioning here in the basement,” I replied.
“Oh.”
Brodie and I were both silent.
“You know, on the other hand, weird things happened today,” Brodie declared.
“I hope you’re not talking about us.”
“As if.” Brodie playfully smacked my arm. “I mean, things were missing on stage after Ace double-checked them. And the power going out. You don’t think that maybe the ghost is trying to communicate with us?”
“Come on, Brodie. I know it’s New Orleans, but you don’t really believe in that stuff, do you?”
He paused. “Well, I don’t know. If the crew didn’t mess with our equipment, then who did? And what’s with the power outages and that strange feeling, like someone’s touching you with cold fingers?”
“It’s drafty, and the power is hit and miss. And I’m pretty sure someone in the crew was playing a joke. Probably Holloway since he likes to prank everyone. He just told you that story to fuck with your head.”
“We prank each other but never on concert day. Shit like that can cause major disruption to the set and schedule.”
“Well, if it is a ghost, let’s just pray it’s a nice one,” I quipped. “Hey ghost, we mean you no harm. Please turn the lights back on and open the door for us, and we’ll leave you here in peace; thanks so much.”
Boom. The lights flickered on again.
Brodie looked at me with wide eyes.
“That’s just a coincidence,” I reassured him as we both sat up and reached for our phones. “And thank God, we now have cell service again.”
I tapped my phone and re-sent the message to Regan.
Then I walked over and tried the door handle again. It was still jammed.
“Well, I’m officially a believer.” Brodie looked around the room. “Thank you, spirit, for letting us perform here tonight. We might be back, but only for a short time. This place is all yours.”
“What are you doing?” I chuckled.
Brodie’s glare had me stifling more laughter.
“What does it sound like? I’m making peace with the entity that lives here.”
“The entity? Sounds like you need a rest, sweetheart.”
Brodie replied with a middle finger.
We were lovers now, but some things never changed.
I grabbed his hand and kissed his finger.
A knock at the door had us both startling.
“You guys, okay?”
Regan.
“We’re fine,” I replied. “But we can’t get the door open.”
“Let me try,” Regan replied.
The doorknob jiggled, but it didn’t budge. It took a few minutes, but finally, and with a loud creak, the door opened.
“Tell her what happened,” Brodie demanded.
“How about on the way to the party? We’re already late.”
“Agreed,” Regan replied and held the door open.
“Don’t think I’m gonna forget you making fun of me,” he huffed.
Despite looking annoyed, he placed his hand on my lower back as we stepped out into the hallway. Regan glanced at us again, but she made no comment.
Did it look like Brodie and I had been making out? Yes, yes, it did. I had no regrets.
“I was teasing. And you gotta admit, the ghost thing is a bit far-fetched.”
I turned and reached for the dressing room door to close it behind us, but it slammed in my face.
That was weird.
A chill teased my neck, and I shivered, looking around. “Did you feel that?”
Regan stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
I turned to Brodie, but he just smirked.
“Don’t say a word,” I warned.
“I can’t promise that.”
We made our way toward the ancient stairwell and back up to the main floor.
Ace and Colm were still waiting in the hallway, chatting away.
“Sorry for the delay, folks.”
Colm looked at Brodie. “What happened to your face?”
Brodie flushed. Pretty sure I blushed, too, but I pulled out my phone as a distraction.
“I mean, what happened to your makeup?” Colm continued.
“Oh, it started melting under the heat of the stage lights,” Brodie replied. “I would’ve re-applied it, but then the power went off.”
Colm stared at him and then glanced at me. I shifted from one foot to another.
“Are we ready to go?” I asked.
“For sure. Are you coming with us?” Colm turned to Ace.
“Nah, I don’t go to those things anymore. But thanks.”
“Come on, you have to,” Colm insisted.
I watched Colm smile at our engineer. And the way Ace was looking back at him… I never would have guessed that.
“Yeah, Ace, come on. You deserve to have some fun after all your hard work,” Brodie encouraged.
“All right. But don’t expect me to dance,” he grumbled.
“You can join Van on the sidelines,” Brodie quipped.
“Brodie—”
“Let’s move, people! We’re already a half hour late,” Regan interrupted and waved us on.
All four of us walked the line, Colm sliding in beside Brodie with me and Ace following.
“The whole show was amazing, but that song you guys performed together? That was the highlight for me. It’s going to be a huge hit,” Colm gushed.
“See?” Brodie looked at me over his shoulder. “I told you the fans would love it.”
“And I told Van he should record it with you,” Ace replied and nudged me with his elbow.
“That’s a great idea!”
I shook my head. “No way; that’s ludicrous.”
“I agree with Ace,” Colm nodded. “You two have something special.”
Brodie turned around and winked at me. “We certainly do.”