“Tessa, are you insane?” Sindy already had her Strat across her shoulder, ready to rock. “This must have cost a fortune. Why didn’t you let me pay my share?”
“Because it was my vision. BGW Records paid for the stage set up and permits, so technically we split it four ways. I paid for everything else.”
Sindy pursed her lips to the side. “I’m not broke anymore. I can pull my weight financially.”
“I know. It has nothing to do with that. I wouldn’t let Lucas or Mason pay for the extras either. This is for two charities that I’ve supported for as long as I can remember. This is my baby.” Although Sindy was financially secure now that Prodigy had taken off, it hadn’t been that long ago that she was practically penniless, sleeping on Tessa’s couch. Production would have taken a nice chunk of Sindy’s savings, even split four ways, and she wouldn’t do that to her best friend.
The hum of the amplifier vibrated through the air, making their heads turn to the stage. Lucas rattled off a string of notes, just to rile up the crowd below, and their screams rose up to the sky like thunder.
The excited chatter of fans made their way onto the rooftop deck, escorted by security, and they screamed when they saw Mason, Sindy and Tessa between the railing and the stage.
Lucas rattled off a quick intro and screamed, “It’s showtime! Are you ready to rock?” into his mic, sending the crowd – both on the rooftop and on the ground – into a frenzy.
Tessa, Mason and Sindy walked up the stairs to join Lucas on stage, ready to start the show. Tessa picked up her blue-green Quantum Modulus bass from the stand and slung the strap over her shoulder, stuck her headset with the hands-free mic onto her ear and turned it on so the amps could broadcast her voice to the crowd. She approached Lucas and placed her balled fist on her hip. “What do you think you’re doing, big brother? I’m the frontwoman of this band. If anyone is going to get this fabulous audience riled up, it’s me.”
The fans screamed louder. “Hello, Long Island!” she yelled into the microphone as she walked to the center of the stage. “We’ve traveled the country for the first time as a band this year, but there’s nothing like playing a hometown show!”
The fans cheered.
“Let’s hear it Long Island!” she coaxed the crowd. “I want your voices to carry across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Connecticut!”
This time whistles sailed through the air, and someone blared an air horn. She laughed. “That’s more like it!”
Lucas leaned back, away from his mic to address Tessa and Sindy. “Hey, you two. Stay away from the edge of the stage,” he cautioned.
Tessa nodded, fully aware of the height.
Sindy, clearly annoyed at being addressed as “you two,” scrunched up her features and cupped her ear as if she couldn’t hear him, which made Lucas mime an imaginary line in front of him and then point to the edge of the stage, before he realized Sindy was only messing with him and he rolled his eyes at her. Tessa laughed again. She loved that Sindy always gave Lucas a hard time.
Tessa turned to look at Mason, and they paused to share a smile. It wasn’t just singer and drummer connecting on stage. It was two people who loved one another, doing what they loved. She nodded, and he counted off four beats on his sticks. The rooftop exploded with the high-octane energy of Prodigy’s latest platinum single, Rock God.
Tessa growled into the mic while she thumped out a beat. The excitement of playing live sparked new energy inside of her, but it was following Mason’s drum beat that always made her feel as if she was about to combust. This was the first live show they’d played together since they were a couple, and it somehow fueled her performance and freed whatever little bit of restraint hid inside of her. Strangely, they’d played together their whole lives, but never had she felt so connected to the music as she did today. She fed off the crowd and engaged them with the stomp of her foot, the sway of her body and by projecting her voice at them. She even knelt at the apron as she growled heart-stopping lyrics at the fans below, until Lucas, the ever-protective brother, pulled her away from the edge of the stage by the back of her guitar strap.
Playing in the light of day opened Tessa’s sightline into the crowd. She saw faces. A guy pumped his fist in the air, mouth wide in the midst of a war cry. Another guy was trying to throw roses on stage at Sindy’s feet, but they kept falling short. Finally, one landed on the apron and Sindy picked it up and threaded it into the head of her guitar. A girl screamed her head off on the other side of the stage, professing her love for Lucas Blade. Two guys at the center shot rock and roll horns into the air and shouted. Back further, faces were finally discernable. She saw people singing along with the lyrics. Smiles. Laughter. Shouting. Fists held high punching the air.
A quarter of the way through Live Fast, Lucas went down on his knees at the edge of the stage, causing near pandemonium as a group of girls pushed to be closer to him. He rocked back on his knees, his long blond hair falling down his back, and let the music fly from his fingers. The air carried the notes high into the sky and the ocean pulled them across the sand. Tessa looked toward the beach where a huge crowd had formed on the boardwalk, enjoying the concert at a distance. She jumped onto the drum riser and shouted. “I see you Lido Beach!” while waving a hand at them high above her head.
A cymbal crashed next to her and pulled her gaze to Mason. He beat his drum skins with so much force she felt the breeze his sticks created and the vibration knocked against her chest. He knew she was next to him, but he was lost in the beat. His eyes were glazed over with enjoyment perpetually etched on his face in an open-mouthed smile. This is where Mason was most comfortable. Where he let go of all his troubles. Where nothing else mattered except the beats that his mind created. It gave his hands and feet the power to turn the beat in his head into tangible sounds that he could share with the world.
Mason twirled a drumstick, threw it high in the sky, caught it and bashed it into his tom. All of a sudden, his foot rose above his kit and he crashed the side cymbal with the heel of his boot several times in succession, causing the sound to shatter through the air with angry defiance. He abruptly stood up, knocking his stool over which then slid off the riser and onto the stage floor. From a standing position, he pounded on his drums then he leaned toward Tessa and hollered the lyrics back at her – something he’s never done before. The stagehand brought a mic to Mason’s lips and they shared an unprecedented hardcore duet. The showy drums, combined with the impromptu vocalization, were met with loud cheers of approval from the crowd. Even Lucas and Sindy were watching them in awe.
The stool returned to the drum riser, courtesy of the stage crew, and Mason continued assaulting the drums from a sitting position. “Mason Wilder!” Tessa screamed over the roaring crowd and bestowed him with a prideful gaze. “He’s incredible!”
She jumped down from the riser and walked to the apron. “We have a surprise for everyone tonight. A new song and you’re the first to hear it!”
Cheers rose from the crowd below.
“This is Dirty Little Secrets.” It was harder than anything they ever played, and she saw the faces below light up with surprise. Her voice took on an added layer of grit and her hips gyrated into the body of her Quantum bass.
Lucas transitioned into a mind-blowing solo at the front of the stage. His fingers ran up and down the fretboard while notes wailed into the air.
Fans screamed.
Two giant inflatables rose from the left and right of the stage in the shape of Prodigy’s logo – a huge guitar pick with crossed drumsticks behind it, broadcasting the band’s name.
Stagehands threw blow-up beach balls into the crowd and big balloons over the roof to the fans on the ground, all bearing the band’s logo.
Lucas suddenly marched across the stage, directly at Sindy. She took a few steps back and let his magic intimidate her. Then she raised her chin and glared at him. She stomped on her guitar pedal, turning up the wah-wah sound effect. Returning an electrifying h
um, she leaned forward so they were face to face, her flaming red hair glowing in the bright sun, and challenged him with her talent on the guitar.
Lucas rattled off a riff in return, and Sindy retaliated. They went back and forth several times, until they joined in harmony and played the chorus with their backs pressed against one another.
Lucas and Sindy stepped to the front of the stage, on either side of Tessa. The three of them stood shoulder to shoulder at the apron – lead, bass and rhythm – and mesmerized the crowd. When the last lyric of the song left Tessa’s throat, and the last note was played, the crowd went crazy.
At the same time, Tessa, Lucas and Sindy turned to face the drum riser in order to reveal the back of their guitar straps to the crowd which were embellished with their names in rows of large Swarovski crystals, thanks to the one-of-a-kind design by Jessi Blade. Tessa lifted her gaze to the video screen behind Mason. The image projected on the screen showed them the way the audience saw them – from the back with Mason looming above them, facing the audience on his drum riser like a king on his throne, while the sun hit the crystals on the guitar straps and sent prismatic starbursts all over the place. “Look at us,” she told Lucas and Sindy, pointing to the video screen behind Mason.
“Great shot! We look damn good together,” Lucas said, brandishing a huge smile.
“We do look awesome,” Sindy replied, staring at the screen.
Mason was still pounding on his Pearl kit, even though the song had ended. It was becoming a signature move for him, and something that was born out of pure spontaneity. He ended with a heavy crash of his cymbals, twirled both sticks between his fingers so fast they looked like propellers on a helicopter, and then threw them down to the floor of the stage, much like Tessa often did with her mic at the end of the show.
Tessa watched Mason. Tight bands of muscle across his arms, chest and shoulders straining against taut flesh from 60 minutes of beating on the drums. His short hair was messy, and his labored breaths caused his spectacular pecs to rise and fall, making the colorful tattoos move on his upper body as if coming to life. The best part about watching him was the trademark Wilder smile that shown more brightly than the sun itself. His eyes suddenly met Tessa’s and he blew her a kiss. The camera feed picked it up and the crowd screamed with approval, which is something Tessa had worried about.
Lucas and Sindy were already a couple when Prodigy went mainstream, so it wasn’t an issue. Mason had been America’s most coveted rock star bachelor. Everyone wanted to make him their man – fans and celebrities alike. He could have had his pick of a Hollywood starlet or one of the top female rock chicks in the nation. But he chose her.
A small boom went off and ejected bright confetti from above, and it blew through the summer breeze like snow on a windy day. “You’ve been wonderful Long Island!” Tessa stretched her arm toward Lucas. “On lead guitar, my brother, the extraordinary Lucas Blade!” The fans went wild while he ran his hands up and down the fret board. “On rhythm guitar, the incomparable and super sexy Sindy Cavanaugh!’ Sindy rattled off something that rivaled Lucas’ piece and the crowd wailed.
Tessa waited to introduce Mason, allowing the applause to heighten to a deafening level as they waited for the world-renowned drummer’s name to be announced. She never tired of listening to the world celebrate his talent and loved that everyone loved him. His gaze settled on her and they shared a connection that made Mason’s enormous smile widen and his eyes sparkle brighter. She took a deep breath before she announced him. “On the drums,” she yelled into the mic, “someone who needs no introduction . . .” Tessa waited for the thunderous cheers to die down before she continued, but it only grew more intense, making her project her voice louder. “Mason Wilder!”
Mason did another crazy round of hits to his kit that lasted a full minute. When he was done, he threw his sticks up in the air, caught them and pointed them directly at Tessa.
“And I’m Tessa Blade Garcia.”
“Wait a minute. Hold up.” Mason was stepping down from the drum riser, quieting the crowd with his hand, a mic to his lips. “I got a little something to say.” He stood next to Tessa and looked into the crowd. They were going crazy at the sight of Mason Wilder addressing the audience at the front of the stage. The stagehand handed him a small towel and he wiped his face with it before he threw the towel to the throngs of outstretched arms. He waited for them to quiet, then kissed Tessa on the lips. Not just a small peck either. It was a soul-melting kiss that left her weak and earned a new set of cheers from the audience. This was another first. They’d been photographed together but had never given the public any kind of show of physical affection, and the crowd went nuts. She had no idea what Mason was up to, but if his smiled stretched any wider it would split his face in two.
“I have an announcement,” he said into the mic, silencing the whistles and cheers. He turned toward Tessa and just smiled at her.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, covering the mouthpiece to her mic.
He slowly got down on one knee. The audience roared, but Tessa covered her face with her hands as happy tears filled her eyes.
“Tessa Blade Garcia, will you marry me?”
She pressed her lips together to steady them. His original proposal was more of a question tossed out the moment it entered his head. The proposal at Cartier’s had been the traditional one she cherished, but this one – the third time he’d asked her to marry him – was the most romantic of them all and the one dearest to her heart. She realized that the air was void of noise and everyone was waiting for her reply. “Yes!”
Thunderous cheers and applause, whistles and screams, shouts of congratulations, all mingled together and made Tessa’s ears vibrate. She slung her bass to the back, wrapped her arms around Mason and he lifted her off the floor as he kissed her. Confetti was still blowing through the air, but now it turned to gold and silver with curly streamers, like something you’d see on New Year’s Eve. Lucas and Sindy hugged them while they were still embraced in a kiss. When they parted, Lucas handed Mason a bottle of champagne. He shook it, popped the cork, and sprayed the entire bottle on the crowd below. The video screens displayed, “Congratulations, Mason and Tessa!” in a heart, just like at a football game. “We got one more song for you Long Island,” he shouted into the mic, “And it’s one of celebration!”
A huge lump of emotion clogged Tessa’s throat. She tried to say something, but her voice was barely a squeak. Lucas was suddenly next to her with his hand on the small of her back. “You OK, Tess?”
She returned a teary-eyed smile and nodded.
“Let’s rock this shit!” Sindy screamed into her mic, just before Mason counted off the start of the last song.
The confetti returned to multicolored bits of paper. The stage crew threw rolled up T-shirts into the audience around the stage. The energy of the crowd and the love that filled Tessa’s heart were unsurpassed. It was incredible. There was only one thing that could top this moment – her wedding day.
MASON: I’m getting married today. Thought you should hear it from me instead of finding out through the media.
KENDALL: I’m so very happy for you. It means the world to me that you’ve made contact, Mason. I’ve checked my phone every day for the last 6 months hoping to hear from you, even just one word. Thank you. You’ve made an incredibly sad woman smile for the first time in a very long time. I’ve been in therapy and on medication. I’ve been attending AA meetings weekly. Edward, my husband, has been my rock. I don’t know what I’d do without him. I think I’m falling in love with him. I’m healing, but still filled with grief over the trouble I’ve brought into your life and guilt-ridden with regret. I don’t expect forgiveness. I’m not asking for it. I don’t deserve it. Congratulations on your wedding. I love you more than you’ll ever know.
MASON: I forgive you. Take care.
That was the extent of the exchange of text messages that he’d shared with Kendall this morning. He had gone back and
forth in his head for days on whether to reach out to her or not. In the end, he decided he still needed closure. When he originally read her text, he had felt bad for her. But, now, as he re-read the words, he wasn’t sure he believed her. The hard truth was that he would never know what her intentions were. She was manipulative. He knew that now. She had a compulsive personality and might be a little psychotic. He could never trust her, not when it came to Tessa. He would never put Tessa in harm’s way. He wouldn’t see Kendall again or try to fix their relationship. He had needed finality, that’s why he texted her. And he got it. He put his phone away, exited the bathroom and stepped into the large groom’s suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
“There’s the man of the hour!” Mason’s dad exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Mason’s neck and delivering a hearty squeeze.
Mason slapped his dad on the back and probably smiled wider than he’d ever smiled in his life. There was no toning it down today, and the exact same thing was true about his dad.
“Do you remember the day I married your mom?” his dad asked. “It was one of the happiest days of my life.”
Mason searched his memory. Man, he’d been so young. Barely more than a toddler, but flashes of it came back to him. Not vividly. Not the physical memory, but the emotional one. The feeling that accompanied the memory is what he recalled. He remembered thinking his mom looked like an angel as she glided down the aisle. He’d been so excited on that day, bouncing on the balls of his feet, because the wedding meant they would be a family. “Yeah,” he finally answered. “It was the day I realized that I had a family, like all the other kids. I had a mom, who was with me all the time and took care of me. Most importantly, for the first time in my life, I had a dad. I real father, who was the coolest guy in the world. Thanks, Dad. You’ve really been there for me my whole life. I’m everything I am today because of you. I love you, Pop.”
MASON WILDER: Radical Rock Stars Next Generation Duet Book 2 Page 27