Laying it Bare Backstage (Laying it Bare #10)

One | ~ Serenity ~

“I sn’t he amazing live ?” My best friend Ivy screamed in my ear from right beside me as we stood shaking our asses to an upbeat song from Teak Pierce’s second encore. God, that man had a beautiful, soulful, and sexy voice all wrapped into one. One moment he had me wanting to jump onto the stage to shake my ass and fist in the air because he had me pumped up on exhilaration and the very next second, I needed to gyrate to his erotic croon and grind on some hard body to alleviate the throbbing in my center and bring myself some relief. He was truly a gifted singer.

“I hate to hear you say you told me so, but yes, he sounds even more incredible live.” I yelled back at her over the crowd screeching; his band pounding out the ear-splitting beat; and his awe-inspiring vocals. I owned all five of his albums, each selling millions of copies and every single he released topped the charts. And he was no slacker in the performance department either. There was no question as to why his fans adored him. I loved his music and could agree he owned the crowd when he was on stage, but worshipped him? I didn’t get the appeal.

When Teak finally belted out his last word and he and his band raised their arms to the crowd, his fans went wild – the shrieking now deafening. The packed arena would soon start clearing out – those with backstage passes would be rushing back to get a picture or the chance to maul the sexy rock star while the rest of us would be hoping to be able to exit before they peed their pants. Could I be the only one in danger of wetting myself? I hadn’t wanted to miss a moment of his concert, although it was a good bet I would have been able to hear them from anywhere inside. But I liked watching him as he sang too. His expressions and body language told me he felt every single one of his words. Being a lover of music, but with no musical talent whatsoever, I treasured the opportunity to witness his potent passion.

I leaned into Ivy’s ear. “Before we go, I have to use the restroom. I’ll never last until we get home. But I’m not sure where they are in this arena.”

Twisting her head to smirk at me, she waggled her eyebrows. “We’ll go search for the restroom while I use that to my advantage to sneak back stage. I just want to run my hands down his chest, maybe lick his abs, and grab that fine ass of his. I might even try to steal a quick kiss.”

I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? Don’t make it so that security has to interfere and escort us outside. I don’t want to make the news. Especially with a full bladder.”

“Come on. Where’s your sense of adventure? And no worries; it will be my gorgeous face they’ll have on camera not yours.” She tossed some of her long black waves over her shoulder and shot me an exaggerated wink, her hazel eyes twinkling with her amusement. Then she grabbed my hand and dragged me down one of the aisles and into a hallway still rather jam packed with people trying to exit. And hopefully in the direction of the restrooms. At this rate, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it.

During one of the crowd surges, a couple people slammed into my side and jarred me loose from Ivy’s hand. By the time I got my footing, I had lost her in the sea of fans. “Ivy! Ivy!” I didn’t think she’d hear me above the noise, considering I didn’t hear anyone calling my name either, but I still attempted the feat. Although it wasn’t too much of a big deal unless she ended up finding the restrooms and I did not. Then I’d be pissed. Literally and figuratively. But I wasn’t worried about missing my ride home. If we ever got separated at big events like this, we always sent a text that we were okay and would meet up at the car. As long as she didn’t use this opportunity to try to sneak back stage.

I groaned as I glanced around looking for a sign that assured me I could unload my over filled bladder soon. Focused on my mission, I walked – well continued to be bounced among other concert goers, praying the next bump wouldn’t jostle my pee loose – until my plea was answered by the sign indicating there was hope yet that I wouldn’t wet my pants.

Ducking into the restroom, I waited as patiently as I could for my turn, feeling like a kid who had refused to leave her friends for even a few minutes to come inside to take care of business and instead waited until the last possible minute and was now in danger of embarrassing herself. Thankfully, a stall opened up and I dashed inside. While I was relieving myself, I was reminded of one of the scenes in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery . If you saw the movie, you understood my humor at my situation. After I finally finished and washed my hands, I stepped back out into the hallway. Since I was no longer preoccupied with finding a way to solve my dire emergency, I shot a text to Ivy.

Me: meet me at the car

Ivy: NO! (laughing emoji)

Good God. She had to have found some trouble to get into. Maybe she managed to sneak her way back stage. Well, the joke was on her because I held the car keys. Now if I could just figure out where the exit was to that part of the parking lot. The crowd had diminished a great deal, so as I walked through the adjoining hallways, I could more easily make out the signs on doorways and such. Being barely over five foot meant many times things were blocked from my view as well as my arm span. However, none of them mentioned the parking lot. When I reached the end of one hallway and had to choose a direction, I veered left. I could have asked for assistance, as some people still lingered in the arena, but I didn’t want to appear dumb, therefore I went with my instincts. Even fewer people strolled down this way, but hopefully that didn’t mean I had taken a wrong turn.

When I neared another door, before I could read the sign, it opened and holy shit! My body jolted to a dead stop in sheer shock, other than my eyes popping from my head and my jaw gaping in an unattractive gasp.

It was just my luck that Teak had taken that particular moment to step out into the hallway. He had on the same black t-shirt and black jeans he had worn on stage. His black hair hung in loose sweaty waves down to his shoulders. When my eyes finished their leisure tour of his body and landed on his ocean blue eyes; the hunger blazing in their depths indicated I was the solo lamb caught in the presence of the wolf. The idea sent a delicious shiver racing up my spine. No, no no. That was wrong. You are just another star struck fan to him.

Shooting me a sinful smirk, he closed the door and leaned one of his muscled arms against it. On stage he was huge, but standing in front of him with barely a foot between us, I could appreciate just how massive he was. He stood over six feet tall and was all sexy muscle. When I inhaled, I caught a whiff of his sweat, mixed perfectly with a musky and woodsy scent, so instead of smelling offensive, he smelled delicious. And for some reason, I had the unexpected urge to rub myself all over him so I could feel all of that hard body against mine and soak it into my memories. Good Lord, not me too. I mentally rolled my eyes and slapped myself. Snap out of it. It must be concert brain. Yeah, I’d blame it on that.

“Are you lost or trying to sneak back stage?” His deep voice washed over me like a lover’s caress. So, it wasn’t just when he sang.

“Um . . . lost.” Seriously, you had to think about that one?

“Uh-huh.”

“No really. After the concert, I had a hard time finding the restrooms and then I lost my best friend in the sea of the crowd and then I wandered down the wrong hallway I guess.” I shrugged. “But if you could direct me to the closest exit so I can get to the parking lot and my car; I’ll just wait for her there.”

“You know most girls would kill to get back stage to meet and hang out with me.”

“No murderous intentions going on here. I love your music and think you are incredibly talented and your performance was amazing. But I don’t have a place in my life for a bad boy rock star.” Could that sound any dumber? Just because most girls – except for me – could separate having sex from falling in love with someone, didn’t mean he was even offering that. What the hell was wrong with me? It wasn’t like he had pulled me into a room and was currently attempting to seduce me out of my clothes. He was merely acting like the charismatic, alluring, and approachable singer he portrayed in all of his interviews. Well, color me charmed because his presence had shorted out my brain circuits.

However, he didn’t laugh at my ridiculousness or scoff at my arrogance. He was a famous multimillion dollar singer and I was a simple graphic designer. Instead, his lips pulled into a frown and I got the sneaky suspicion I had hurt his feelings with my comment, but that made no sense. However, just as quickly, his expression returned to his normal cocky sexy god persona.

His fleeting reaction confused me so I rushed on to add, “Don’t you want to get a shower and get out of here?” And why did he care about my opinion anyway when he had millions of other girls throwing themselves at him? Well, not at the moment, but he most likely had a group hanging out in some room waiting for him to return.

“What? Do I smell? I know I’m all sweaty, but I don’t think I smell bad.” He lifted his arm and stuck his nose in his pit. His smirk indicated he wasn’t embarrassed at all, but instead was having a bit of fun with me.

“No, I think your deodorant is working fine. All I can smell is your cologne or body wash. Oh my God, could I sound any more like an idiot? And I can’t believe I said that aloud either.” Groaning, I slapped my hand to my forehead. He hadn’t just shorted out my brain; he killed all of my brain cells.

“Hey.” Placing his hand on my arm, he gently tugged it away so he could meet my gaze. “I think you sound real and that is so refreshing. You’re not tripping all over yourself being fake and trying to impress me. Actually, it’s me trying to impress you. You’re working to cover your tracks because you thought you insulted me. I’m really enjoying hanging out with you. Here isn’t the best place to do that, but could I get your number so we can go out sometime?” His endearing smile almost had me caving.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I promise I won’t prank you or give it to any solicitors or any of my band members. They’re all pigs. And I think it’s a great idea.”

“Aren’t you really busy with your music? Besides, I find it really hard to believe you are asking me out on a date. You can’t possibly have time to date. And I don’t mean to offend, so please don’t take this that way. But I want to tell you up front that I’m not one of those fans who can’t wait to rip off your clothes and then brag on all of her social media that she got banged by the sexy Teak Pierce.”

His grin grew wicked. “You think I’m sexy. But you don’t want me for my body.” His eyebrow cocked with his amusement.

I swiped my hand down my face. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m always this awkward. Ugh. Although I guess I should be glad I didn’t hurt your feelings again.”

He gave me a strange look I couldn’t decipher. There was no way he was interested. Or that my opinion really mattered. My lack of brain function was remarkable tonight.

“Tonight was my last concert for this tour. I’ll be hanging out at my home here in Santa Cruz writing songs for my new album and then moving on to recording. That means I have time to date if the person is worth my time. And I think you are.”

My cheeks heated with his admission. There was no way he was serious. But I couldn’t pick up any hint that he was playing me. Was he really that smooth? “You don’t even know my name. You don’t know anything about me. How could you want to date me?”

“Isn’t that the point of dating? I’m intrigued, interested, and attracted to you. I would love the chance to get to know you better. And I’m hoping to get your name and number before you leave here tonight.”

Completely rattled and so far out of my element, I merely stared at him, hoping my mouth hadn’t gaped open, again. My brain was no longer simply malfunctioning; it was mush.

Saving me from having to respond at the moment, Ivy stepped out of a room a few doors down. When she spotted me, she jogged up the hallway. Shooting me a smirk, she wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Oooh, I see you decided to check out the back stage area too? I knew you’d get curious. And since you wouldn’t leave without me, you figured you’d join the fun. And look who you ran into.”

“No. I got lost trying to find my way to the exit for the parking lot.” I scowled at my best friend.

Teak raised his eyebrow at her.

“It’s okay I’m back here. I’m Ivy Reyes. I’m kinda a big deal.” She held out her hand.

“I don’t think he’s fooled by your last name.” I rolled my eyes at her usual antics. “She thinks she’s entitled to enter into restricted areas.” Her step uncle or something was a big time lawyer.

Ivy stuck her tongue out at me. “Aanndd I know the drummer. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him at first. It’s only been seven years, but he’s changed a lot. He’s gotten hotter. Ascher and I went to high school together. We were catching up.”

Uh huh. Sure.

Grinning at her playfulness, Teak grasped her hand in his and brought it to his lips to kiss. “Nice to meet you too. I was just trying to get to know your beautiful friend here.”

“And let me guess, this blonde bimbo probably didn’t even give you her first name and I know for sure not her last. That’s okay. I’ll make introductions. That’s what friends are for.”

I groaned, but there was no sense protesting. She always got her way. However, if she gave him my number, there would be a murder in this arena tonight.

“This is Serenity Hayes.”

“Fuck. Even your name is beautiful.” He grumbled. “And I didn’t want to mention them at the start because I’m sure people are constantly making a fuss about your eye color and I didn’t want you to think that was what had first drawn me to you. Your violet eyes are stunning and complement your gorgeous features. But I really just find you intriguing and haven’t had this much fun talking to a girl in forever. Although I’m not going to lie, it doesn’t hurt that you are lovely. Besides, you have the warm personality to go with your dazzling looks.”