Chapter Four
Keaton
U SUALLY WHEN I’M on stage, I can block out everything going on in my life and everyone surrounding me backstage.
I keep my focus on the crowd in front of me for a few reasons.
The main one is to watch out for overzealous fans who try to jump up on stage just to get close to their favorite singer or band for a few seconds.
It’s happened before and I was almost hurt.
If Noah hadn’t been in the right position, I would have been knocked to the stage and landed on by the fan who got on the stage somehow.
Now, I’m extra vigilant so it doesn’t happen again.
Plus, I love seeing the reaction of fans to my performance and watching as they all sing along with me.
To me, that’s the best feeling in the world and I cherish every day I get to experience it.
It’s the only reason I’m still doing this and not throwing a fit to get out of this contract for some downtime like I want to do so bad.
Today, I’m unable to block everything out.
The feeling of someone watching me is overwhelming as I look toward the side of the stage and see some guy.
I know he’s one of the extra guys Jagger brought in for the festival and has some connection to the Knight’s Rebellion MC.
They’re the only ones Jagger will bring in when we need more people on us.
This man is sexy as hell and I thought that from the second I stepped off of my bus and got my first glimpse of him.
He’s wearing a pair of jeans that fit his body just right and a black tee-shirt showing off every hard ridge of his chest and stomach.
The same cut I’ve seen before on the guys covers his back.
What really captures my attention are the black glasses sitting on his face.
To me, it makes his eyes stand out even more than anyone else around us.
I can honestly say I’ve never had a reaction to a man the way I do this one.
Even when I was with Camden, I didn’t get those nervous butterflies in my stomach or want to pay attention to every single move he made or word he spoke.
Not that I’ve heard this guy speak yet. Now, feeling his eyes on me makes me feel as if I’m top of the world.
For the first time in a very long time, I’m nervous on stage.
That hasn’t happened in years and I kind of love it if I’m being honest. So, I put a little extra into every dance move and try to keep my eyes from straying to where this man stands, waiting for something to happen.
The second I saw this guy, my heart skipped a beat and it felt as if my breath was stolen right out of my lungs.
Everything stopped in the world around me for the briefest moment before it all started moving again.
The reaction was surprising and one I’m not sure how to feel about.
I literally just got out of a long relationship with Camden who did nothing but lie to me.
I’m not about to open myself up again to someone else who will pull the same bullshit.
He works in security so there’s no guarantee Jagger won’t try something else like that bullshit situation with Cam.
So, I’ll forget this guy ever existed and move on with my life.
I don’t need a guy by my side anyway. I’m perfectly content to be on my own and get through this tour before stepping into the recording studio once again.
When the tour ends, I’m back in the studio.
I know I’ll be back there before that because Jagger wants Memphis and me to record our new song.
I’m truly excited to record it with him and I hate studio days.
They’re long and it can take forever to record one song.
If one small detail is wrong, we start all over again until it’s perfect.
I get why and I love that my team understands my need for every song to be exactly how I imagine it in my head and how it sounds when I’m on stage performing for my fans.
However, it’s exhausting and that’s the part that took me the longest to get used to.
I have a feeling being in the studio with Memphis will be a blast and I won’t give a shit if we spend days recording the same song repeatedly because I love this song and can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
However, when I’m on my own in the studio it’s to record my next album.
Jagger and I have already been going back and forth about which songs to include because I’ve written way too many and I’m having a hard time selecting the best ones.
I honestly have enough songs to record my next three albums, but most of them won’t end up seeing the light of day unless I sell them to another artist or band.
When I’m ready to record the next record, I’ll have a new set of songs to include on it.
That’s what I’ve had happen in the past when I go through this process.
My songs are always changing and evolving depending on where I’m at in my life.
Each record reflects those changes and I hope my fans can relate to the songs in one way or another.
I give my head the slightest shake to clear my thoughts and focus back on the crowd in front of me.
They’re all dancing and singing along to the song I’m currently singing.
I see phones being held in the air throughout the crowd as they record the concert.
I give them my best smile as I sing the words I’ve memorized.
Today I’m singing a mix of songs from my very first album all the way to the latest one I released.
This crowd has been with me and cheered when I play their favorites. I love it!
When I start to end the song, I look to the side of the stage where I know Noah is standing in the wings and see Nora holding Bridger.
She’s got a large smile on her face as she sings along with me and dances gently with her son in her arms. I want to rush over to my best friend and pull her into my arms, but I remain on stage, doing my job.
Today just got better than I thought it would because I didn’t think Nora would show up.
She’s been so distant and I hope she finally chooses to explain what’s going on in her life to make her pull away from me.
If not, I don’t care because she deserves to have the time she needs to process everything.
Nora will come to me when she’s ready and I’ll do what I can to help her with whatever situation she’s found herself in.
“Everyone, I have a real treat for you today. As some of you know, Wicked Angels and I just took a small break from everything before the festival. I went home to spend some time with my family and got a surprise visit from Memphis. When we were hanging out, we wrote a song together. One I think you’ll all love as much as we do.
So, how many of you want to hear it today?
” I ask the crowd in front of me and they all lose their minds.
The entire crowd starts to scream, clap, and jump up and down.
Looking to the side of the stage, I watch Memphis walk up the steps and wave to everyone.
Today he’s not carrying his bass guitar.
He’s using one of my guitars because all the ones he owns are at his home and not on tour with him.
Memphis walks over and gives me one of his hugs I love so much.
When he pulls away from me, he doesn’t remove his arm from around my shoulders.
Memphis doesn’t usually speak when he’s onstage, leaving it to Knight and others in the band.
“Hey everyone! Ruby isn’t wrong. Our new song is amazin’ and we both love it more than we can tell you.
Ruby wrote all the lyrics and I helped out with the melody.
Personally, when we were workin’ on this song together, I felt as if it was the beginnin’ of my career all over again.
I loved sittin’ for hours in front of an instrument, workin’ out the next chord progression or findin’ the right notes to make the lyrics even more powerful.
We laughed, cried, got frustrated, and were filled with excitement every single day we woke up and got to work on this piece,” Memphis says while another mic stand is brought on stage and we remain standing close to one another.
The first notes of the song fill the air and the crowd goes completely silent.
This melody is slow and kind of haunting as Memphis plays the guitar for the acoustic version of the song.
I begin to sing as he plays until we get to the chorus.
Leaning closer to Memphis, we sing the words together and our voices once again meld together as one.
Still, there isn’t a single sound from the crowd in front of us as they dance to the music and listen to the words of the song we’re playing for them.
By the time our song is done, the crowd is still quiet. I can feel my body tensing from the lack of reaction. Memphis and I poured our heart and souls into this and it doesn’t seem as if the fans approve of it. Fuck! This is the last thing we wanted to happen today.
It only takes a minute after the sound of the last chord fades to nothing before the crowd loses their minds.
Everyone starts to scream, clap, and chant for more.
The smile on my face is so large it hurts my face.
I turn to Memphis and jump in his arms the second he sets my guitar in the stand someone brought out.
Together, we celebrate on stage in front of thousands.
“Told ya they’d love it,” Memphis whispers before he releases his hold on me.
Memphis leaves the stage and I take the mic in hand. He needs to get ready for Wicked Angels to come on stage now. There’s no way I can perform another song after what Memphis and I just did. It was the perfect way to end my show.