Chapter 29
Cassie
“I can’t believe we’re actually here,” Hazel exclaims, for what must be the hundredth time since we took our seats in the Clovelly Theater.
“I know, right?” says Eden. “I don’t know how you scored tickets to a Cold Neptune concert, Cassie, but I fucking love you right now. I can’t wait to see the guys perform live. A part of me is tempted to take my bra off and fling it on the stage.”
“Don’t you dare,” I order from my seat.
“Relax, I won’t. But I do feel like we need to leave our stamp on the night, otherwise no one will actually believe we were here.”
“No bras, no panties. Do you hear me?” I warn all three of them, pointing my finger at each of them in turn.
Both Hazel and Raya burst out laughing when Eden rolls her eyes like it’s a real inconvenience not to liberate yourself from your underwear at any given time.
We all stop talking when an overly enthusiastic voice suddenly announces…
“Give it up for Cold Neptune’s support act tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage the insanely talented, Miss Brinley Thomas.”
The stage lights come up, the house lights go down, the strobe lights go crazy, and the entire crowd roars with excitement as a stunning brunette with a guitar in her hands appears in the center of the stage.
Hazel grabs my elbow, leaning in closer. “Hey, isn’t that the chick who played open-mic night a while ago?”
My eyes narrow to take in the singer standing in the middle of the stage wearing tight black satin pants and a plunging white halter-top. “Yeah, it totally is.” I glance across at Hazel, nodding. “How the hell do you go from singing at a shithole like Leon’s, to scoring a gig like this?”
Hazel shrugs. Her mouth is moving, but I can no longer hear a word she’s saying because the girl starts singing, and wowsers , she’s amazing. The audience goes wild, cheering and whooping loudly, and the whole time she’s singing I can’t take my eyes off her.
When she’s done with the first song, she transitions seamlessly into the next one, and by the end of the third song, I find myself being carried away by the spellbinding sound of her voice. I can feel her music resonating deeply inside me, and if I had to guess, I’d say the entire theater is just as caught up in her music as I am.
Her set eventually comes to an end, the final lyrics fall softly from her mouth, and the crowd goes absolutely insane.
“Thank you for having me tonight, New York,” she tells the audience. “You guys have been great, and you’re in for one hell of a show. I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time with Cold Neptune, and they are going to raise the roof on this place tonight.”
The crowd erupts once more. The noise is almost deafening as Brinley leaves the stage with tears in her eyes.
“Oh my god!” Eden leans across Raya’s legs, her mouth agape as she slaps my knee. “I can’t believe what I just heard. She was absolutely brilliant.”
Hazel doesn’t even attempt to keep her voice down. “And she’s fucking hot, too. If I didn’t like cock so much, I’d totally switch teams for her.”
Eden nods absentmindedly. “And that’s saying something, because we all know how much you like cock.”
Hazel wiggles her brows, licking her lips, and I start thinking that maybe that’s enough cock-talk for the time being, especially when the guy sitting in the row in front of us turns around to eye Hazel up and down.
“What’s wrong with you?” she barks.
He glares at her and then thankfully turns back around again to face the stage.
Hazel flips him the bird behind his back, and then announces, “I need to pee. Who’s coming with me?”
Raya and Eden both jump to their feet, shuffling sideways down the narrow space in front of people’s legs to the very end of the row.
“No, thanks.” I wave them away. “I’m good.”
And I am good because some people actually remember to go to the bathroom before they leave the house and also because Cold Neptune is coming on stage next, and fuck it if I’m going to miss a moment of it.
Twenty minutes later—yep now I really need to pee because I wasn’t expecting it to take so long between the opening act and the real thing, but whatever, that’s totally beside the point—the entire theater goes pitch black, and white fog cascades over the edge of the stage like a waterfall disappearing into the deepest unknown.
Tiny silver lights begin flickering all around the theater like miniscule stars, and then the thick velvet curtain at the front of the stage slowly lifts.
The stage remains in complete darkness, but a spotlight beams down on Reed, and the women in the front row start screaming, stretching their arms out in front of them like they’re trying to crawl up onto the stage.
A bra goes flying, hot pink lace, and what the hell…was that a G-string? I spare a quick glance at Eden, who holds both hands out as if to say I told you so .
The spotlight disappears off Reed, sending the stage into darkness once again but only for a split second, before the spotlight beams down on Kael, who is standing closer to the rear of the stage for some reason.
He’s wearing sunglasses. Huh?
The light goes off again.
The atmosphere is absolutely electric.
The bright light shines down on Quinn next. Yes . He looks incredibly sexy in fitted black jeans, a white dress shirt, and a dark red vest with skulls emblazoned on it. He’s holding his guitar in position, but his eyes are focused firmly on the stage floor.
The lights go off again.
“This is fucking crazy!” Eden starts wolf-whistling.
After a few seconds, the spotlight beams down on Jaxon, who’s wearing nothing more than long khaki cargo shorts, and black combat boots.
This time the lights stay on.
Jaxon’s holding his sticks in his hands, and he slowly lifts his arms up on either side of him. The movement is deliberately drawn out, paced to perfection. His muscles quiver beneath his skin, and for a moment, it actually looks like he’s moving in slow motion.
But it’s all just part of the act.
Jaxon is deliberately working the crowd up into a frenzy. He finally raises his hands all the way up above his head, and then he holds them perfectly still.
The crowd screams so wildly it’s deafening.
Then Jaxon slams his sticks together, and the entire stage is flooded with bright lights. Cymbals crash, the snare drum taps out a measured beat. Kael’s bass provides a steady backdrop, and Quinn’s guitar wails an intricate canvas for the lead singer to paint his insanely gifted voice upon.
Reed snatches the mic stand in both hands and starts singing.
The song is a fan favorite, and everywhere I look people all around me are singing along while Reed amps up the seduction factor by about a million.
The guy really is sex on legs.
But it’s Quinn I can’t take my eyes off .
He’s standing to one side of the stage, an unassailable force about him. His hips move in time with the beat, one leg bouncing beneath his guitar, and while his eyes alternate between looking out over the crowd and then down at the strings again, there are no words to describe how I feel watching him play.
It’s the oddest sensation. It feels like the air is charged with a coming storm. And it’s not just the music he’s making that makes me feel that way. It’s more than that. So much more. There’s no point denying it. Lying to yourself is just as dangerous as lying to the rest of the world.
I have feelings for Quinn.
Real feelings.
Feelings that go way beyond just sex or physicality. I like him. I really like him. I can’t help imagining what it would be like to be in a relationship with him. And I mean a real relationship. The kind of relationship where you don’t have to hide in dark corners just to spend time together. The kind of relationship where you’re not made to feel like a dirty little secret, despite how much fun you’re having together or despite the stupid-ass agreement you signed on a fucking napkin when all this started months ago.
I hate napkins. Napkins suck.
“Okay! I’m not gay anymore,” Hazel screams in my ear. “Fuck me dead, but how can they all look so freaking hot on stage?” She throws her hands in the air when Reed starts belting out the second chorus. “I bet they’ve all got girlfriends.”
I shrug. “How would I know?”
“Well, then I bet they’ve all got massive cocks.”
My head jerks back. “Seriously? That’s what you’re taking from all of this?” I wave my hand in the direction of the stage. “They’re down there performing their asses off, and all you’re concerned about is the size of their dicks?”
She laughs, elbowing me hard in the ribs. “You bet I’m serious. Look at Quinn, for example. Tell me that blonde down there in the front row doesn’t want a bit of the man-monster he’s got shoved down the front of his jeans.”
Man-monster?
I don’t even know what to say about that.
Two hours later, my ears are ringing in the best possible way, and I can’t wipe the enormous smile off my face.
We’ve been standing backstage for what feels like forever, waiting for the guys to come out of the green room. Look at me, knowing words like green room. Sadly, however, I only know it’s called the green room because it says so right there on the door.
“How much longer?” whines Hazel. She’s antsy, fidgety. She wants to go out for a drink, and she’s tired of hanging out in the cold, concrete corridor.
The words have no sooner left her mouth when the green room door suddenly flies open, raised voices spilling out. Jaxon charges through the door, throwing a duffel bag over his shoulder as he storms down the corridor.
Raya jumps back against the wall before she gets bowled over.
Kael is next to come out, and he seems to be in just as much of a rush as Jaxon. He’s wearing a Yankees baseball cap pulled down low on his head, and the same dark sunglasses he was wearing on stage.
He barely acknowledges us as he pushes past, a quick chin tip at best, and then he disappears into the swarm of roadies with long hair and sweaty black clothes who are madly pushing around speakers and various bits of electrical equipment.
Reed follows the others through the door. He’s changed into slouchy gray sweatpants, a white hoodie, and a black beanie. He’s also sporting a face that looks like a slapped ass.
Quinn and Nick follow after him, talking so fast I can’t make out anything they’re saying. But Reed apparently isn’t interested in anything they have to say. He shakes his head as he walks off in the direction of the stage door.
The instant Quinn’s eyes meet mine, his shoulders visibly relax, and he smiles as he rushes across the corridor toward me. Sliding his hands around my waist, he pulls me in close before planting a kiss on my lips.
And it’s not just a peck either. This kiss has some bones to it, slightly open-mouthed with just the hint of tongue.
“Fuck, it’s good to see you,” he breathes against my lips. His voice is soft, as is his touch, but when I freeze in his arms, not returning his kiss, his entire body suddenly stiffens, and it’s in that moment that he knows he just fucked up.
Fucked up, massively .
With a squeak of horror, I tear my mouth away and step back. Sparing a quick glance over at my friends, I find Raya, Hazel, and Eden all staring back at me with equally stunned expressions.
Nick, yeah, well, stunned isn’t the word I’d use to describe his expression. The little creases around the corners of his eyes intensify, and his lips are pressed into a thin, hard line.
Thankfully, Quinn snaps back to reality way faster than I do. He catches my eye and winks right before he walks over to stand in front of Eden. Taking a deep breath, he cups her tiny face with his massive hands and then proceeds to plant a big ol’ kiss square on her lips.
Eden just stands there, not moving. Her hands are hanging limply by her sides, and her eyes are wide open, almost cross-eyed, while staring back at Quinn’s face pressed against hers.
A couple of seconds pass, and then Quinn steps back.
“Fucking glad you made it, Eden,” he says in what I’m guessing is the most casual voice he can muster.
He moves deftly onto Raya, sliding his hand around the back of her neck. “You, too, Ray,” he says right before he kisses her also. His eyes close, but only briefly, before he steps away, putting on the most nonchalant face.
I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing.
Quinn then takes what I’m guessing is the deepest breath of his life before he takes a determined step in front of Hazel.
“Haze, it’s been too long.” He stretches his neck, rolls his shoulders, and then cracks his knuckles like he’s preparing for a fight. “Glad you could make it tonight.”
Before he can lean in toward her, Hazel throws herself at him and kisses the ever-loving shit out of him. Her fingers work wildly through his hair, her left leg slides up the outside of his thigh, and Quinn has to grab her waist just to stop them both from tumbling backward to the ground .
“Haze, I…” Quinn’s voice is garbled by Hazel’s lips and Hazel’s tongue. He tries to break off the kiss, but apparently Hazel isn’t quite finished yet.
She grabs the back of his head and pulls him back in again, smothering him with even more kisses, and for a few moments longer, we all have to stand there and endure what can only be described as a massacre.
It’s a horrendous assault on the senses.
An orgy, party for one.
“Jesus Harold Christ, Tanner! Take it out back, will you?” Bright purple hair appears, and look at that—if it isn’t my good friend, Rocker Knockers.
Dee’s sky-high heels come to a grinding halt when she finds Quinn and Hazel going at it like a pair of horny teenagers. Her eyes slide across to Nick. “The studio isn’t forking out for hookers, Nick. I don’t care how much more they’re putting up for the tour. Hookers are off the table.”
She sneers in my direction before storming away.
Wait. What?
Did she just refer to us as hookers?
She fucking did, the money-grabbing whore. Hazel, maybe…no offense, of course, but I can see why she might think that, considering her flimsy outfit and also the fact that her tongue is still lodged firmly down Quinn’s throat.
Jealous? Me? No, not at all.
Quinn eventually manages to wriggle free from Hazel’s tight grip, stepping back, breathing hard. His eyes find mine, and I can see the obvious sense of relief in his eyes when the corners of my mouth lift slightly.
Nick throws his hands up in the air, shaking his head as he pushes past us. “I swear I didn’t sign up for this shit. None of it! You’re all fucking nuts. I’m done with the lot of you. Get out of my sight.”
“Nick, wait.”
But Nick doesn’t wait. He doesn’t slow down, and he doesn’t come back.
Nick’s gone.
Phew. Bullet dodged.