by Vicki James
Two days of not thinking or feeling sounded like a heaven I hadn’t even known I’d needed.
“You’re leaving the decision to me?” I mumbled behind his thumb.
“It should have been yours to make five years ago.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Just stay with me until Saturday. Give me ‘til then,” he whispered.
With a soft nod, I closed my eyes and prayed for my survival.
Jules and Rhett had said their hellos when they arrived, neither one of them surprised by my involvement in the night. I even got to meet the band’s manager, Billie, who wasn’t exactly warm to my presence. With a curt nod and a flat smile, she’d glanced up and down my body before she’d turned back to the guys to talk them through the evening, alongside Jules… who didn’t look like she was all too keen on Billie herself. Where Jules was warm and beautiful, Billie was harder. Her hair scraped back into a tight ponytail that surely must have given her a tension headache after ten minutes. There was no battle of power, that much was obvious. Billie had her place, and so did Jules. The only person Billie smiled at the whole time she was there was Rhett Ryan, and he entertained her by sticking his middle finger in her face, grabbing his crotch and spinning around to kiss his Jules without care or concern who saw.
The guy was besotted with his woman, and that wasn’t lost on that once-romantic heart of mine.
Before I knew it, Danny and the guys had headed backstage to get their performance outfits on, and I was left standing with a woman who had only just arrived—after Danny asked me if I was going to be all right a million times over.
The lady looked like she should be a part of a band herself. Her boots were studded with metal prongs, and I had no idea how anyone could squeeze themselves into such tight leather trousers. Her vest hung low under her armpits, like that of Archer’s, showing her burgundy lacy bra with zero shame. Her shoulder-length, brown hair was poker straight, apart from two small plaits running through one side that had been pinned back, and she had the kindest eyes that didn’t quite match up with her grungy outfit.
She smiled at me and stepped forward. “Daisy, yeah?”
“Yeah, hi.” I nodded, resigned to the fact that everyone seemed to know who I was around here… which was definitely freaking me out in an entirely different way to all the other stuff.
“Man,” she laughed, rocking back on the thick heel of her heavy boots, “have we heard a lot about you.”
“I’m hearing that a lot.”
“Danny has it bad for you.”
“You think?” I inhaled, holding the air in my chest only to breathe it back out slowly.
“I know.” She laughed again, pressing her hand to her chest. “I’m Saffron. Saff, actually. I’m—”
“Archer’s girl,” I said with a smile. “Right. Theo was telling me about you.”
“Ugh, really? What did his little punk arse have to say?”
“Just that you were decent. Not like the other women out there.”
“Well, shit. I thought you were about to say he’d been insulting me.”
“You guys don’t get on?” I asked, taking a small sip of my beer.
“Oh, yeah, he’s just a cocky, sarcastic arsehole most of the time. He thinks his looks and his skills with a bass guitar give him a free pass to say whatever the hell he wants around here, but he has a lot of women to keep him in line… me being one of them. To return his compliment, though, he’s decent, too. I get on with all of them, actually. Especially your Danny. He’s a real good guy—”
“He’s… he’s not mine,” anymore. “Not like you and Archer, is what I mean.”
Saff jerked her chin. “You keep telling yourself that. It makes it easier, right?”
“What do you mean?”
She looked over at me with a twinkle in her eye that gave a hint of her wanting to say something she wasn’t quite sure she should as she tucked her hands into the back pockets of her trousers and rocked on her boots again.
“I’ve been where you are… kind of. Your guy finds a talent, runs with it, and it takes over everything. You, his girl, are suddenly bumped down the list of priorities. The first gig happens. Then the first opportunity to take it to a bigger stage. Just one more step, that’s what they tell themselves. They think they can have a taste of this musical life and then somehow just wake up one day and say Okay, well, I’m good now. I can give it up. I don’t want the band to go to New York, LA, or Paris. I’m not bothered about the album or a record deal. I’ll just do one more thing to feed this… this… this drive within me, and then I’ll give everything up for my girlfriend. I’ll go home, become a computer programmer or an electrician, and I’ll be happy with the few memories I made because no one really wants to chase the rainbow all the way to the end anyway. But that never happens. Instead, their ‘one more gig’ becomes a habit. An addiction they can’t give up, and they know that asking their girl to come along for the ride is fucking selfish. So, they do what they think is the honourable thing, and they tell you it’s over.”
I stared at her; my lips parted. “Archer did that to you, too?”
She scoffed, shaking her head and looking down at the toes of her boots. “Oh, that idiot tried his hardest. He got about four days away from me before I called him out on his bullshit and dragged his arse to a hotel room in Brighton to show him what I thought of his pathetic attempt at…” she raised her fingers to air quote, “salvation.”
“You went after him?”
“Of course,” she said, looking up. “What that fool didn’t understand was that, when you love somebody, even if you don’t have a damn clue about any of it, their dream becomes yours, too. You may not want it for yourself, but you sure as shit want it for them, right? And if you don’t, did you ever really love them? Or did you just want them to fit into your dream. The one you’d created, but they didn’t see themselves in.”
“So… you just sacrificed your life for his?” I asked, my voice small.
“What life?” She laughed again. “I was twenty-one. All I had was bad college grades, an underpaid job, and two nagging parents who thought I should have taken an apprenticeship I didn’t want. Hell, I admired Archer for knowing what he wanted at twenty-one. I sure as shit didn’t. So, yeah, I guess if that’s how people see it, I packed up my life for his. There wasn’t much to pack up to be honest because he was the grand sum of it.” She leaned in closer. “Don’t tell him I said that to you, though.”
In all the time I’d been apart from Danny, I’d never once looked at it the way Saffron had within four days of Archer having left her.
With a nudge to my shoulder, Saffron looked up just as a runner with an earpiece and a clipboard came closer to guide us to the stage.
But my mind was stuck on her words like a broken record, the scratching sound grating on the walls in there as I walked forward, half-aware, half in a daydream.
There wasn’t much to pack up to be honest.
He was the grand sum of it.
Twenty-Eight
The noise from the packed arena made goosebumps rise everywhere. Everything about the night was surreal, leaving me floating. I had no idea where the guys were as I stood next to Saffron in the wings of the stage, watching as the roadies got the last bits of equipment set up. The tension was building, and it made me dizzy with nerves and excitement for Danny, even if he was a pro at this by now.
A pair of arms slid around my waist slowly, making me jump, before his head rested on my shoulder. I glanced at him, suddenly calmer from his presence.
“I know it isn’t easy but thank you for not running. I know you’ve probably come close a thousand times already tonight.”
I smiled at him, unable to deny that particular accusation. “Thanks for wanting me here.”
With a small kiss to my cheeks, a rolling wave of intro music washed over the crowd; the lights dimming as the build-up began.
“Don’t go anywhere,” he ordered before he and the rest of the band walked out onto th
e dimly-lit stage and took their positions with their guitars, drums, and microphones. The crowd saw them as silhouettes, and the cheering began before they’d struck a single chord. I couldn’t look away from Danny as he settled into his place not too far away from me, readjusting the guitar in front of his body, and playing idle notes with his fingers that I couldn’t hear.
He wore the same skinny jeans he’d shown up in, but his T-shirt had been replaced with a sleeveless tank that was torn, black, and edgy, showcasing his tattoos for the world to see—especially that daisy.
With his guitar in place, he turned to me and winked, making the butterflies in my stomach roar to life on cue before the strobe lights broke out across the arena, and he struck his hand down across the strings of his guitar, singlehandedly bringing the show to life.
I’d seen him practice over the years. I’d seen him play in his garage, in his bedroom, and even to his parents before their untimely deaths. I’d caught glimpses of him during my short video research on the floor of my stock room just the other day, but I had never, not once, seen Danny up close and personal like this…
I’d never seen the determination in his creased eyes or the concentration on his smiling face. I’d not noticed the subtle movements of his fingers or the way he glided across the stage so effortlessly as he played.
I’d never noticed that his passion bled from him in ways he could never have kept to himself.
Out there, he was playing for his life.
Playing without guilt, only passion, and with the biggest, most confident smile on his face as he got lost in the first track with his bandmates.
Today, your mouth is crazy,
Running around,
Shouting things out,
Screaming you hate me,
Spreading your lies,
Tearing me up inside,
Girl, your deceit is abuse.
Today, I’ve been thinking,
I’ve been dreaming,
Turning things out,
Whispering I love you,
Deciding I want you,
Fixing your lies,
Girl, you’re getting my truths.
“Takes your breath away, doesn’t it?” Saff shouted over the noise.
I stared straight ahead, offering her a small nod with my parted lips and my heart racing wildly. “He’s… incredible.”
“Honey, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
She was right, too.
The first track did steal my breath.
The second made my heart restart.
The third brought my smile to life.
The fourth turned me on.
The fifth set a fire alight in my soul.
The sixth, seventh, and eighth made me forget any troubles or worries I’d ever had.
The tenth made me feel bold and daring.
The eleventh made me lose my inhibitions and dance.
And by the twelfth track, when Danny turned to me, sweaty and devastatingly handsome in ways I’d never seen him before, I couldn’t deny that I was ready to devour him again. Who cared about love and heartbreak when a man looked at you like you were the only woman he’d ever seen in the crowd?
Before the gig, I’d felt like I was out of my depth, drowning.
I understood now how music could feel like a lifejacket.
I saw how music could save a life.
The smile on my face hurt my cheeks, but I welcomed the pain of happiness, no matter how temporary. The buzz of the music tore through my veins, and I could see there and then why Front Row Frogs had achieved what they’d achieved thus far. I was on my toes, bouncing for more, despite being desperate to drag Danny off of the stage by his soaking wet tank and slam him up against the nearest wall I could find.
Every doubt and worry about seeming weak or too fragile didn’t seem to exist as I stood there, clapping my hands, begging for more with the audience.
Halo’s talent and charm with a microphone couldn’t be denied. His voice was rough around the edges, yet silky-smooth when they dropped from the faster-paced beats to the more intimate and seductive rhythms. Archer was a natural-born drummer, and Saff made sure to wolf whistle and shout out her praise to him at every chance she got. Whenever she did, he’d hear it and smile to himself, and she’d nudge me to shout in my ear, “See… that idiot needs me! He’s always gonna need me.”
When Danny struck his last note, and Halo bled out the song, I was hungry for Danny to get to me.
My teeth sank into my bottom lip as I clapped them off the stage.
“Oh, shit,” Saff laughed. “You’ve got that look in your eyes. Silver is in for some gold!”
But I didn’t look her way, not even to laugh at her appraisal of that twinkle in my heart. The only thing I saw was Danny. New, hot, talented Danny.
Halo came off the stage first, his arms in the air and his head thrown back as he yelled out a gigantic “Yeah!” to anyone who would listen. Fletch and Theo weren’t far behind, leaving Archer and Danny to walk off last, but definitely not least.
Archer caught Saff as she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
“Jesus, you guys were on fire tonight!” she cried as he caught her, Archer laughing with happiness when he spun her around and walked the two of them past me.
I gave myself a one-armed hug and brought my thumb up to my mouth to try and hold myself back from throwing everything I had at Danny the same way. I rocked from side to side, unable to ease this built-up sexual tension that was making my bones ache.
He came to a stop in front of me, and he ran a hand through his soaking wet hair, pushing it back to reveal his red cheeks and his devilish smile.
“You stayed,” he breathed out, teasing me with his proximity but not touching me.
God, I wanted him to touch me. I needed him to lay those fingers across my skin and for him to bring me to life the way he’d brought four thousand others to life for the last two hours. I needed him to be as violent with his hands on me as he’d been with them on his guitar.
Danny dropped his hand, his eyes searching mine before they narrowed. “Fuck, Zee. The way you’re looking at me now. It’s—”
I pounced, the sexual energy within me charging me forward to close the gap until I’d risen onto my tiptoes, wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled his mouth down to mine so I could own it. I had to own it. His talent wasn’t just a hobby; it was in his veins, and who he was always meant to be. I understood that now. I saw it, and I hated myself for ever thinking that music could ever destroy a life just because he’d dared to follow his dream.
His hands caught my waist, and I leaned back as Danny pressed over me with a seductive moan that told me he was as into this kiss as I was.
My tongue slipped against his, massaging it with a desperate need for this to lead to more.
I wanted more.
Danny’s grip on me tightened, and I was about ready to beg him to pick me up in his arms and carry me to the first dark corner he could find when I felt him pull away.
“No… no,” I groaned, my eyes closed. I tried to pull his lips back to mine. “More… I want more.”
His neck strained, holding the distance between us until I was forced to look up at him. Danny’s face was alive, his eyes sparkling with nothing but happiness and arousal, while I no doubt looked like a petulant child who’d had her toy taken from her greedy hands.
“I take it you enjoyed the show?” he asked with a voice that hit the G-spot to my soul.
“I enjoyed you. Fuck the show.”
He raised a brow before he brushed his lips over mine. “Has the music turned my girl horny?”
“Not the music. Just you,” I breathed back, the knot in my stomach impossibly tight. “I want you. Right now. Any way I can have you.”
When he pulled back this time, his face had turned from playful to destructive, the heat in his eyes making me want to come right there on the spot. I was pretty sure that all he’d have to do was touch the seam that ran ov
er the crotch of my trousers and I’d climax.
“Please, Danny,” I groaned, desperate and pleading.
“Are you begging me to fuck you?”
“Yes.”
“Shit,” he hissed before he devoured me with one more kiss and then rolled my body up to standing with very little effort on his part. I stumbled and clung onto him, dazed and confused. “Shit, I… I can’t right now. I have to… ah… shit!” Danny closed his eyes slowly… right before the crowd roared to life again, and I heard someone shout into a microphone, “Who wants more?”
He looked in physical pain when he unleashed his perfect green eyes on me again. “I can’t believe this is happening. Fuck all of this!”
“Danny?”
His growl was feral. “I have to go play three more fucking songs, Zee, and I have the most ridiculous fucking erection I’ve ever had in my entire fucking life.”
Just like that, my face fell, and I had to clamp a hand over my mouth to stop the laughter from pouring free. I glanced down to see that Danny had, indeed, got the most beautiful hard dick pressing against his impossibly tight trousers. “Oh my—”
Halo ran past us, slapping Danny on the back and making us both rock forward. “Come on, fuck face. It’s time to make this one to remember!”
Theo, Fletch, and Archer walked past us, too, with a bounce in their steps, while Danny just stood there, his eyes closed again now, and his jaw tight and twitching. His mouth was moving in the smallest of chants to himself, and he pressed a hand over his dick.
“Say something, Daisy. Quick,” he hissed. “Something gross that’ll make this go away.”
“I… I…” had no words, and the laughter soon poured free without any restraint. I couldn’t help it. Dropping my head to Danny’s shoulder, I held on as he whispered curse words above me.
“Danny!” Jules cried, running our way. “Come on. What’s the hold up?”
I turned to face her with my lips pressed together, while Danny groaned above me. “He’s… erm… he’s got a little issue.”