Chapter 19
Y Sioe Agoriadol - The Opening Show
Lucy
My walkie-talkie crackles, disturbing me from the last five minutes of my break. I must have forgotten to turn it off, but that’s okay. I always want to be available should Cai need me.
‘The dragon’s landed backstage, lads.’
Rhys’ low baritone, gravelly from a long day of bossing people around, creates a chain reaction in my body.
The hairs on my arm stand to attention and I’m transported to the breathless moment on the doorstep last night.
If I’d have leaned in a little more, coaxed him towards me, then perhaps we could have…
I’m down bad. Turned inside out. I’ve almost, almost started wishing Cai was staying somewhere else. That he wasn’t hanging around, waiting to ruin a romantic moment.
But that’s not fair. He didn’t know what was going on. He wasn’t aware of what he interrupted.
Rhys and I have been on different paths all day, hurrying to get Cai ready for his opening show.
I’d hoped the distance would give my brain the chance to calm a little but Rhys occupies most of my thoughts.
I want to get him alone again, even though once we’re there, I’m not entirely sure what I’d do with him. It’s been a while.
Whatever else happens, I need to clear the air with him. The brief moments I’ve managed to get near him have crackled with thick sexual tension. Untampered, the storm will grow until one of us explodes.
Tonight, then. I’ll be brave, put my big girl panties on and do something about it.
Cai will return to The Rectory after his show.
Beth’s staying with him for company. I don’t think it’ll be too hard for me to persuade Rhys to show his face at the after party then slip out with me for some time alone.
‘Luce, what’s your location?’ he asks.
I push off from the large window overlooking the darkening city and scramble for the button on my walkie.
‘Heading to the control centre,’ I reply.
‘Not gonna watch the show with us?’
Oh. I can do that here. The protocol with Topaz was always for me to remain somewhere central, but out of the way. Somewhere I could be found if needed, but hidden away if not. Like I wasn’t really wanted there.
But to be invited to watch the show with everyone, to see what all my hard work contributes to, is alien. Old habits die hard, though, and hesitance lingers under my skin. ‘I don’t know.’
Another crackle enters the chat. ‘Go have some fun, Lucy. I’m in the centre, and it’s not like it’ll be difficult to find you.’
Gethin’s permission signs the deal. I take one last glance at the crowds flocking along the streets towards the stadium, then leave the empty meeting room, turning the light off and closing the door behind me.
‘On my way.’
When we arrived this morning, the operations manager gave us a tour.
Not that I needed it. I know my way around stadia and arenas better than I know my way around my London flat.
On instinct, I take the first left corridor.
Another left, right, down two flights of stairs and straight through a set of crossroads.
The music from the support acts grows louder, telling me I’m on the right path.
My march through the venue only falters when I reach the last corridor before the security check.
A man leans against the grey-painted walls, one knee folded up to support his skinny body.
His leg jiggles in time with the music pumping through from pitch-level, rattling the metal chains dangling off his leather-studded belt.
Black hair hangs over his face in curtains.
This guy is absolutely at the wrong show, and there’s nothing about him to indicate that he’s here to work. No passes or high-vis vests. No wires lead from his belt to his ear for his walkie talkie.
I twist the lanyard of my Access All Areas pass around my fingers as I step closer.
Even though I shouldn’t. Even though I should call Rhys to deal with this.
But it’s only a lost fan. We’ve already been reported for manhandling someone out of a venue – even though Jasper Reynolds fully deserved it.
I don’t want another mark on my record when this guy might have done nothing wrong.
‘This is a staff-only area.’ I drop my spare hand to hover over my walkie-talkie. ‘Sir, can I help you?’
He lifts his head at my approach and pushes off the wall.
Straightening up reveals Cai’s face smiling at me from the stranger’s black t-shirt.
A fan. Most of Cai’s following pick pastels, bright beads and pouffy dresses.
It’s no wonder I was a little confused. But I’ve seen weirder outfit choices at a pop concert, and who am I to judge fashion choices. I’m not exactly leading the catwalk.
His leather jacket creaks. ‘Yeah, I’m a bit lost. Took a wrong turn looking for the loos. Won’t hear the end of it from my girls when I finally make it back to them. Teens, ‘eh?’
I stop playing with my pass.
‘Easily done,’ I say, raking my gaze over him to gather as much detail as I can, just in case.
A mole under his right eye. Two piercings in one ear.
‘If you go back along this corridor, take a right and head up the next set of stairs, you’ll reach door 56.
Find anyone in a yellow vest and they can point you back to your seat. ’
‘Thank you so much, Miss…?’
‘Oh, it’s Lucy. And no bother. Enjoy the show.’
The man gives me a small salute. There’s something about his posture, the too-white toothiness of his grin that’s one of the cheesiest I’ve ever seen.
I’ve met this guy before, somewhere, somewhen, but the finer details of our previous encounter hover on the outskirts of my busy mind, stuck behind schedules and lists.
Could have been someone at the food court yesterday.
Or a contractor from my Topaz years. I’ve dealt with a lot of people since I started in this profession what feels like a million years ago.
He doesn’t linger but follows the way I point along the corridor. He takes the right like I told him to, and disappears. See. Nothing to worry about.
I reach the security check and show my pass to the guard monitoring the entrance. She opens the door for me, but I stop before crossing the threshold.
‘Hey, Alina. I came across a fan lingering not far from here. He was lost. I’ll tell Rhys when I see him, but I thought it was worth mentioning to you, too. In case he gets relost or something.’ I pass his description to her, and she jots it in the world’s tiniest notepad.
She dips her head and replies in a Polish accent, ‘Thanks, Lucy.’
I push through the doors into the backstage area, and a hive of activity greets me.
Scaffolding towers over us, dark sentinels guarding us as we work, the metal flashing and fading in the support act’s colourful lighting.
Crew members zip all over the place, talking into their walkies on their own channels, preparing instruments ready to go on stage.
It’s a well-oiled machine; the epitome of efficiency, making me forget where I am for a moment.
My feet stop, and my hands fall to my hips as I gawk at it all.
Stuff like this never gets old.
‘Thought you’d never join us.’ Bitter coffee. Peppermint laced with the spice of Rhys’ cologne invades my nostrils, telling me he’s close.
I spin around, a little too eager to get a look at him and regret it immediately.
He’s wearing a pair of dark chinos, a black shirt tightly moulded to his stacked biceps and the broad expanse of his chest but straining a little at the belly.
My mouth waters. The more casual I dress – at the urge of Bethan, mostly – the smarter he gets.
If I were wearing my pencil skirt, we’d be a power couple.
My barrel jeans and flimsy blouse don’t cut it next to him.
Not that we’re a couple. Not that I’m sure I want us to be a couple.
Workplace romances are a minefield and I’m not in a position to test the waters.
My contract isn’t permanent yet. He’s so damn handsome, though, and I have to dig my boots into the concrete floor to steady myself so I don’t swoon.
Fainting would put the concert on pause so the first aiders can get to me.
It would be embarrassing – having to explain why.
It’s not like anyone would believe me if I said I forgot to eat.
I push a curl out of my face and try my best to sound calm, even though teenage me runs around my head squealing that it’s amazing I get to be close to such a beautiful man. Even if all I end up doing is looking but not touching.
Okay, say something cool to impress him.
‘Rhys, hi,’ I gush, all the air leaving my lungs. I summon it back, rearrange my thoughts and go again. ‘Dammit. Of course you found me as soon as I got backstage.’
‘Wasn’t looking for you.’ A flash of light across his face reveals red cheeks. Liar. He shoves his hands in his pockets. The left side of his lips twitch. ‘I’ve been hiding under the stage from you for the past hour. Who even knows where Cai is.’
‘Well, I know that’s not true since you’re the one who announced where he was less than ten minutes ago.’
‘You caught me.’ He nudges me with his hip, then tilts his head over his shoulder, gesturing towards the stage. Cai works with the stagehand, getting wired up. Bethan sits close by, head in her phone.
‘Phew. I wouldn’t want to report you to Gethin. It’s a good job I found you, actually. We need to talk.’ As much as I want to carry on with the banter and flirting, there’s business to attend to and we’re here to work.
My face must look too serious because Rhys steps back, frowning. No, bring back his handsome, handsome smile.
‘It’s not the time to discuss us, Luce. Not in front of everyone else.’ He can’t meet my gaze, and he lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck.
‘What? No. That’s not what I need to talk to you about. Not now. On my way down here, I came across a fan in a corridor close to the backstage and I—’
‘A fan was here?’ Cai appears out of nowhere.