Both of them looked skeptical.
"Fine but can we play it first? Get it out of the way before the hits?" Razor asked with Sully's immediate approval. It took quite a bit of begging them for me to be able to convince them that it needed to be played later, much later in the set. I wanted to be sure she was there to hear it and she did have a reputation for being late. It wasn't something I was willing to risk.
Vida let us be while I went over (and over) the song with them, showing them the chord changes and making sure they knew their cues.
I'm right here baby,
I won't leave you again
Sully stopped me on one pass. "Whoa, you really got it hard for some chick or did Vida write this?"
My writing was apparently very transparent and they wasted no time in calling me out on it.
"Let me stick to the lyrics, you just make the loud noises happen."
That sounded way more mean than I had meant it to but Sully didn't seem to care. He liked his job behind the kit and was proud to make those loud noises happen.
After we shored up and agreed upon the setlist, I left the guys to go wander off and check out the crowd. The doors had opened and there wasn't free space anywhere on the floor, a full house. Somehow the promoter had managed to pack the place way out here in the boonies. No sign of Allie though. Scanning as many faces as I could, I didn't see her anywhere. Just to be sure she would be let in, I went and arranged for Allie to have a VIP backstage pass waiting for her. She'd have a view from the stage as I sang the most confessional song I had ever written.
And I'd be singing it to her.
*****
Chapter Twenty One
Allie
Dakota was dying to get there as early as possible but I did my best to school her on the importance of not appearing too eager. We'd get there in due time; we're professionals, not groupies. My laid back attitude almost backfired though, as we walked up to the doors of the club (bypassing the line of people waiting to get in), I could hear SharkFin already playing.
"We've already missed some!" Dakota whined but stopped once I shot a stern glance her way. She knew she had a lot to learn and my patience shouldn't be taken for granted.
I had expected just to be let into the club once I gave our names but it turns out that Finn had arranged for a little more. Instead of being ushered inside, both Dakota and I were handed special passes to stick to ourselves as well as two separate wristbands, one orange, one lime-green.
"You have the run of the place," the incredibly large bouncer let us know as he pulled the door open. "Don't cause too much trouble."
Though I wanted to squeal with glee along with Dakota, I kept it in check so that she would believe this kind of thing happened to me all of the time.
One step inside and we were almost bowled over by SharkFin's thunderous collective sound. The bass and drum worked in concert with each other to dictate the beating of my heart, their rhythm rattling my entire body as I tried to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other inside the dark hallway. Finn's guitar layered on top of their work, cutting in, out and around like a fighter plane jutting through the clouds in impressive loops and turns. I thought I had sensed some sort of dysfunction among band members but here, on the stage, these guys were working together perfectly and proving they deserved all of the attention and praise they had been getting.
SharkFin's efforts weren't going unnoticed, from the back of the packed-to-capacity club I was able to watch the sea of arms and bodies lurch towards the stage and move along in rhythm to the pure rock coming from the speakers. Their hands reached for the band, trying to touch the guys on stage to prove they were human after all. Finn was eating it up, grinning wildly as he tamed his wild guitar and looked down at the adoring masses.
My chosen uniform for the night wasn't anything flashy; jeans and a plaid button-up top, my trusty green army jacket on underneath the knapsack that crossed my body, old-school blue and white chucks on my feet. The kind of getup that wouldn't make me stand out at shows in New York City and, as I was learning, not here either. It was the perfect camouflage to blend in among the other girls and be able to observe the show without feeling like everyone was looking at me. Finn could carry on and probably wouldn't even notice I was there.
Dakota motioned for my attention and I leaned my ear to her face, needing her to repeat herself a few times. She was itching to use the passes to go explore the V.I.P. area to make use of our privileged status.
"Go ahead. I'm going to stay here," I shouted loudly into the poor girl's ear. "I want to watch the show with the crowd. I'll find you later."
Who knows what words she was able to hear but she got the gist of what I was trying to say. Dakota quickly made her way across the club to find out what doors she could go behind, proudly displaying her sticky pass and dual wristbands to each and every person she encountered.
Even though they had been apart for some time, SharkFin was playing like they had been performing every day together for years. Most importantly, they seemed like they were having fun. This was a no-pressure gig, no industry big-wigs to impress (besides myself, of course) and nothing to do but leave their fans wanting more. Finn teased the crowd while showing his prowess with his guitar, like a wizard with perfect mastery of his wand. He was making magic happen at will and everyone in attendance watched with stunned amazement.
Finn's banter with the crowd was mainly directed at the ladies, telling them stuff like how hot they all looked, and how he'd like to get to know each of them better. More than a few took that as an invitation to flash him, something Finn and the rest of the band did not discourage at all.
When things had settled down, I watched Razor and Sully walk off the stage, leaving Finn up there all alone. The crowd hollered and whistled as he dragged a stool out to the center, picking up an acoustic guitar, trying to get comfortable as the only one on stage.
"So, you may have heard we're gonna be putting out a new album soon..." Finn was professional enough to anticipate and wait for the explosion of cheers that came right then. He fiddled with the tuning knobs on the guitar as he waited for the celebration to die down. "Y'all want to hear another new one?" Another blast of wild cheers and happiness. The moment Finn detected that it was beginning to wane, he strummed the first chord of the song.
Gator's got teeth and she knows how to bite...
I was glad I was alone for the moment as I started to feel my knees give out and I thought I may just collapse into a heap on the floor. Having already heard the song a number of times at that point, I didn't think it would have much of an impact but right there, in the crowded club, Finn's beautiful voice filled the room as he sang something so heartfelt and personal.
What I wouldn't give, for just one more night...
All of the silly girls in the room appeared to believe that the song was directed right at them. They looked to their friends with wide-eyed amusement, some even fanned their face as though they may pass out, swaying along to his singing and swearing that they were in love. How was I any different?
After Finn mercifully finished his serenade, the crowd awarded him with loud praise and to distract myself, I got my tiny notebook and pen out of my bag to start taking notes. As SharkFin performed one last song for the adoring audience, I was lost in a frenzy, words pouring out of me as I started to write a real review of the band and the power they had harnessed, for real this time. My thoughts regarding their enigmatic front man were pushed aside and my notes indicated that I had just witnessed something special, something that was about to take over the world. This new maturity gave me some hope that I'd be finally able to see past Finn and move on.
Though the band had finished their last song, Finn found it hard to leave the stage, taking the time to interact with all of the young ladies throwing themselves at him. I'll admit I tried to catch his eyes when he looked out at the crowd but the lights shining right in his face prevented us from connecting. There was no use trying to cat
ch Finn's eyes, he had too much going on for him to even possibly see me.
"You have to come and check out backstage."
Dakota magically appeared at my side, blissfully bouncing around at her first taste of music luxury. For most, the perks that came with this type of job didn't typically reveal themselves until you had been at it for a few years. The extremely lucky intern practically won the lottery when she was assigned to come along with me, Finn's soon-to-be sister.
Backstage and VIP areas all tended to be the same; a large number of self-important people all cramped together in a small room. There would be the requisite deli tray, some fruit and thankfully a few odd beer and wine bottles. Through a crack in a door I caught a hint of the band, Finn and Vida giggling together was enough to put me back in a sour mood. Grabbing a nearby wine bottle, I interjected myself in the conversation Dakota was having with a group of young men. Swigging my dark red courage, I immediately tried to steal their attention away from the intern.
"Boys," I addressed the three, each looking younger and more nervous than I could've anticipated. Dakota scrunched up her face when the fresh-faced men immediately turned their attention towards me. I had nothing really to say to them, I just needed some adulation to take my mind off of Finn. That had been the game plan after all: a quick, dirty tryst to allow me the opportunity to move on.
"Sooo...Dakota tells us you're a real music journalist," the young man with the most nerve volleyed at me. He was cute, dimples and all, his hair and clothes perfectly in place. It was like he had just been removed from plastic. Brand new, fresh out of the box.
"Let's get into some trouble!" I suggested between swigs, my eyes getting big as I tried my best to excite this freshman class. It bothered me a great deal to find the whole group staring at me, waiting for me to give them instruction on how to go wild. It was depressing.
When the boys suddenly straightened up and tried their best to only steal glances across the room, it was clear something had changed. Dakota and I rolled our eyes when we saw what had their attention: the band was here. Vida hung on Finn's shirtless torso as he sauntered into the room, eating up the attention from everyone there. Even though I figured Finn probably wouldn't even notice, I latched onto one of the young boys, didn't even care which one, and purred into his ear. The boy was like a deer in headlights, nervous and trembling as he did his best to figure out what to do. The boy couldn't believe his luck but also clearly didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to meet Finn.
"Careful," Finn told my boy-toy when he finally came across us in the room, "she's a wild one."
Finn decided right then to dip Vida and the two began making out right there in front of everyone. My poor, inexperienced partner tried his best to follow suit, awkwardly positioning me until I took the reigns and planted my lips on his. It was like kissing a fish who was gasping for air and I had to do my best to sell it. When I finally had to push the boy away from me, I saw that Finn and Vida had disappeared, off to go make-out somewhere else.
Dakota didn't see my desperate plea for what it was and stood their with her eyes and mouth wide open, shocked at seeing her boss finally let loose. The young man whose lips I had just been pressed up against wanted more once he saw that Finn had left. He clawed at me eagerly, not picking up on my body language at all. After turning away from him several times, I had to physically remove his hands from my body and was thankful when that got through to him. An awkward silence hung in our group, nobody had gotten what they wanted.
Dakota finally broke the tension. "Wanna go find where the band went?"
The door Finn and Vida had disappeared behind was guarded by a very unfriendly looking large man but Dakota was well aware that she had been given a gift of complete access. The group of boys turned to her as their new favorite and quickly followed behind as she approached the door with glee. The security guard questioned her companions but stood down as soon as she confirmed, "They're with us." Though I wanted nothing less than to hang around the inexperienced rookies experiencing true back stage for the first time, I had nowhere else to go. With a pathetic smirk of defeat, I showed the security guard all of my access indicators and he waved me in right behind them.
Even from the bottom of the sticky, alcohol-stained steps I could hear the sounds from the party at the top. Climbing the stairs slowly, I knew that this back-back stage party would be much less rigid than the pretend one behind me. Journalists almost never got invited to this one due to the out in the open partying that was pretty much guaranteed to be going on. About three steps away from thrusting myself into the party, I was able to get a good look before they could see me. The living room type atmosphere was full of people bent over tables, snorting the white stuff up their noses as others waited their turn. Several guys, not just band members, had guitars on their laps and women pressed against them. I figured the intern and her friends were about to explode, getting a real look at the hard partying lifestyle of a true rock and roll band. Instead I saw them off in a corner talking to Vida and a very bored looking Finn. As Vida talked their ears off about something, Finn took swigs from a bottle and constantly scanned the crowd, as though none of this was good enough for him.
As I had figured, when my feet hit the top step and I was fully exposed to the raging party inside, nobody even noticed. No heads turned and no coke straws were put down. As I attempted to stealthy maneuver myself over to an unoccupied chair, I felt no eyes on me until suddenly I was aware that somebody was watching me. Looking across the room, I witnessed Finn staring at me intently.
"Hi," he mouthed when he saw I was finally looking his way.
My face must've turned four shades of red as I looked down and actively hurried to the chair, doing my best to not get locked in his gaze.
"I'm Allie," I shouted at the burly man to my right. The man, big, sweaty, bald man with a big mustache was not my type by any means but at that moment, I needed him to be my savior.
"Well, hello, Allie," he said with a big grin that made his teeth appear from under his bushy facial hair. He graciously offered me his drug straw which I soon regretted politely declining. Not that I wanted to partake but my refusal immediately gave off a vibe that I wouldn't be worth his time.
"Are you with the band?" I asked, pressuring him to please continue a conversation with me.
"Roadie," he gruffed while turning his attention back to his beloved drugs. I leaned in closer as he snorted, so close I heard the air and stimulants rush up the straw and into his face. Out of the corner of my eye, I looked towards Finn to see if he was watching. He was.
"That's fun. Tell me about your job."
This man took a minute to try and enjoy the rush he just shoved up his nose, staring at me blankly as he relaxed his face and released a deep breath. He stroked his red-speckled beard for what felt like forever before he said anything.
"You're not a writer or anything? Trying to get me in trouble?" His paranoia was within reason but he didn't know my actual motives.
"I am," I confessed, "but I assure you, anything we talk about is strictly off the record."
I wasn't prepared for this man to unload right then. He started talking, and talking, and talking about everything under the sun. It wasn't clear that he even took a breath. As he babbled on, I checked on Finn again and to my dismay, I watched him, Vida and the young group disappear behind another door, going who knows where. While I really wanted to go follow, my new friend wasn't ready to let me go.
"Where ya goin'?" he asked with just enough hurt in his voice to make me feel guilty.
"Bathroom that way? Too much beer!" I giggled and after a few moments, he did too. The second man I had used that night pointed me in the way of where the bathroom was, directions I ignored while I went to find a place to clear my head.
Though I wanted to go find where Finn went off to, a large part of me was screaming that I needed to run far away from him. What was I doing? Not only was the connection I had felt between Finn and I a proven sham
, not only was he the exact kind of person I didn't need or want in my life, but, and this is a big but, he was about to become my stepbrother. No mental gymnastics could get around these facts and I was going to have to retrain my brain to forget all traces of him. Forget the way he smelled, the way he smiled at me, the way he made me feel safe as well as recklessly wild at the same time.
While wondering around the VIP floor, I found a little, unoccupied room off to the side. Desperate for some privacy, I ducked in there in hopes of finding some. It didn't take long to figure out what I had found; it must've been Finn's dressing room, where he got ready to go conquer the stage. Before I even realized it, both of my hands were caressing the leather jacket draped over a chair, letting my fingers feel all around the contours of the rough and cool coat. Each hardened fold comforted me as my hands inspected where they went. Even though I should've known better, I liberated the leather from its perch and brought it to my face, pressing it against my skin as I inhaled deeply, welcoming the scent of the bad boy into my consciousness. The flavors he left behind danced in my brain as my eyes pressed closed and I envisioned him on stage, controlling the audience with his guitar and voice.
Bush League: New Adult Sports Romance Page 22