by Desiree Holt, Lisabet Sarai, Lily Harlem, Elizabeth Coldwell, Wendi Zwaduk, Imari Jade
“Five after one,” Axil said, showing her his watch.
He knew how she felt about punctuality. There had been many mornings she’d had to go to his house and drag him out of bed so he wouldn’t be late for school or rehearsal.
The driver drove away from the kerb.
“I’m glad you decided to join me,” she said, getting comfortable in the seat.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” He reached over and squeezed her hand tightly. “We’ve wanted to see Los Angeles since we were kids.”
He remembered. For now, everything between them was back to normal.
Collin watched the cab pull away from the kerb while he waited for Damon to finish his cigarette.
“Nothing is going to break up their friendship,” Damon replied, putting out his cigarette and rising.
Collin waved the offending second-hand smoke away from his face. “Yeah, I know, and it isn’t like I haven’t tried.” Let Bryanna have her little fantasy date with her childhood friend. Tonight she would once again be his.
“Jimmy and I are thinking about going on a tour,” Kurt said as he approached. “Do you guys want to join us?”
“Sure,” Collin said, suddenly feeling the need to get some fresh air. Seeing the town didn’t sound like a bad idea. “Where’s Jonathan?” he asked.
“In his hotel room,” Kurt answered. “He won’t be joining us. He’s checking plans and schedules for Seattle.” It was their next leg of the tour. “He said have fun and stay out of trouble.”
Collin smirked. He intended to be the poster boy for niceness today. “Let’s get one of these cabs.” He walked away and the other three band members followed.
* * * *
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art was everything the tour book said it was and more, Axil discovered as he watched Bryanna’s face light up as they moved from one exhibit to another.
“Look at this,” she said, pointing to an ancient sculpture. “It’s over three thousand years old.”
Axil looked down at the relic. It was hard to believe civilisation had been so advanced and skilled back then.
Bryanna loved visiting museums and everything else pertaining to ancient history. If she hadn’t become a singer, she would probably be a museum curator or an archaeologist, no doubt.
An hour later, they held hands as they walked to hear an outdoor concert…something he’d always wanted to do. They’d always shared each other’s interests, camped out in each other’s yards under moonlit skies and been there for each other through the good times and the bad.
Evening came too soon, Axil noted sombrely as they rode back together in a cab. They pulled to the kerb of the hotel and Axil paid the driver, then he and Bryanna walked up to the door. He stopped her before she could enter. “Let’s not end it just yet.”
Bryanna paused.
“Let’s just have a beer and talk.”
Bryanna nodded. “Okay.” She followed him to the hotel lounge. It was still early and the place swarmed with other hotel guests.
“Maybe this is not such a good place,” Axil said. “Let’s try the pavilion out back.”
Bryanna nodded and followed him out of the side door to the little garden area near the back of the hotel away from the smoking area. They sat on a bench amidst the freshly cut grass and the newly planted flower beds.
“Why?” he asked her before she had a chance to get comfortable.
Bryanna just shrugged. “It just sort of happened.”
Axil pulled her closer to him. “Do you love him?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “I’m so confused.”
“I can’t say I’m not jealous or envious. I’m just trying to say, don’t sell me off yet.”
Bryanna leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “That’s what I love about you. You always know the right thing to say. Too bad you can’t make this decision for me.”
“I would if you want me to,” Axil replied.
Bryanna chuckled. “We wouldn’t be Simmer without Collin.”
Axil sighed. “I know, and he knows it too. Even if we could find a replacement for him, it still wouldn’t change the way you feel about him. I just wish you felt the same way about me.”
“I care for both of you. You both bring something special into my life.” She sighed. “I can’t explain it. And if I could, I’d marry both of you guys.”
“But since that’s illegal, you decided just to date both of us.”
Bryanna nodded. “I know you’re hurt, but it’s all I have. It’s either date both of you or let both of you go. And since neither one of you is ready to just kick me to the kerb, I’m stuck here in the middle.”
Axil kissed her on the head. “I understand.” He paused. “Would you have slept with me the other night in Massachusetts if I hadn’t been drunk?”
Bryanna chuckled. “In a hot minute. But I want our time together to be memorable, not clouded by alcohol.”
Axil hugged her tighter. “I’ll never touch beer or alcohol again.”
“And for the record, sex and love is not the same thing.”
“But we will have sex one of these days?” he asked.
“Yes,” Bryanna answered. “I promise.”
Chapter Five
The events in Los Angeles were long forgotten by the time they reached Seattle. Everyone felt drained from multi-state touring. Jonathan, on the other hand, was the exception—in his glory basking in the glow of the band’s sold out performances and the great video footage.
It was raining and gloomy when they arrived in Washington. They spent their first day there practising inside the Dome, glad they didn’t have to perform in the rain, but a little concerned that Collin could blow out the windows or shatter them if he hit a high note again.
“I just won’t attempt it,” Collin suggested. “Or maybe we can just remove the song all together.”
Bryanna shook her head. “Fans are expecting for us to perform it, and they’re expecting you to give them your best performance. So a toned-down version might work if we let you sing your new song.”
“That might work,” Axil said. “We could do Baby be Mine.” Collin had written the song before they left Atlanta.
“Okay,” Collin said. “Let’s check the acoustics.”
Bryanna smirked. The two of them had been getting along surprisingly well since they’d left Los Angeles.
The boys cranked up their instruments and started the rehearsal, adding Collin’s new song. Midway through the song, he left his mark, travelled over to her and invited her to dance with him.
“What the hell?” She finally gave in to him, acting silly. She displayed some fancy footwork…something she’d seen on one of those teen dance shows. The band members really seemed to get a kick out of it. Sometime during the number, he danced her back over to her mark then returned to his without missing a beat. The song ended and a single round of applause sounded through the Dome…Jonathan.
“Great,” he said walking to the front edge of the stage. “The fans are going to love it.”
“We were just having some fun,” Bryanna said. “It’s not a part of the act.”
“It is now,” Jonathan replied. “I love the interaction between you and Collin. And what a spectacular movie video this is going to be.”
“What movie video?” Axil asked.
“The one Wayne just shot.” Wayne was their head video person.
“Where is he?” Kurt asked looking out into the audience. It was hard to see under the stage lights.
Jonathan pointed up to the balcony. Wayne waved to them.
“Shit,” Bryanna said.
“Bryanna, honey, you were wonderful and spontaneous,” Jonathan argued.
“And acting a fool,” she said. “Remember no air time without my approval.”
“Who is running this show, honey?” Jonathan asked arrogantly.
“Don’t forget I know where all your skeletons are hidden,” she told him.
<
br /> Jonathan paled and turned to Wayne, making a cutting gesture across his neck. Jonathan hurried backstage.
“Bryanna, darling,” Axil said, “one of these days you are going to tell us what you have on Jonathan.”
“No way,” she replied.
“I hope you don’t talk in your sleep,” he teased.
“No, she doesn’t,” Collin replied, hanging up his mic and walking off the stage.
* * * *
Rain did not stop the fans from coming out in droves to the Dome the next night. It wasn’t a hard rain, just the type to piss you off after you’d washed and waxed your car.
Axil leaned against a wall in Bryanna’s dressing room, taking up a lot of space while the makeup artist and hairstylist did their thing to her. He was quite obviously making sure she didn’t get any pushy, unwelcomed visitors like she had the last time.
“You’re going to have to leave so she can change into her costume,” Della, their wardrobe manager, told him. Della had been with them from the beginning and had no problem speaking her mind with Axil and the rest of the band.
Axil stood a foot taller than Della and outweighed her by many pounds. “Says who?”
“Says me,” Della threw back at him. “A lady needs privacy.”
Bryanna listened to the conversation while the hairstylist put a hot curling iron to her hair.
“Bryanna and I don’t have any secrets,” Axil told Della.
“Are you sleeping with her?” Della asked.
“Well…no,” Axil answered.
“Then she still has a secret.” Della pushed Axil towards the dressing room door.
“I’ll be waiting right outside, darling,” Axil said to Bryanna.
Bryanna smirked. Maybe he thought Colin would walk in and invite her to dinner again. She sighed. Axil had already made plans for her to join him for dinner after the post-concert party.
Collin, not to be outdone when he’d found out, had invited her to join him tomorrow for a tour of Seattle. One thing for sure—at this rate, she’d never make a decision.
The makeup artist and hairstylist left. Bryanna heard both of them giggle as they stepped out of the dressing room and found Axil still standing there like a big blond sentry.
“I like this costume better than the one you wore in Massachusetts,” Della said. “Sometimes I don’t know what Mr Jonathan is thinking. Pretty girls don’t need to advertise the goods. They need to leave something to the imagination.”
Bryanna looked at her black one-shouldered jumpsuit in the mirror. It did cover her legs, but it moulded to her body like a second skin. She also wore a pair of black boots that made her appear nearly six feet tall. Bryanna frowned. Maybe it was time for her to start designing her own costumes.
“You’ll have those two young men fighting over you for sure,” Della replied.
“Huh?” Bryanna asked.
Della nodded towards the door. “The drop-dead gorgeous blond I just ran out of here and the blue-eyed demon who is always watching you when he thinks you’re not looking. You know, the one with the sexy girly voice.”
Bryanna smirked. Were there no secrets in their camp? Did everyone know about her and her two Romeos? “I don’t know about this costume either,” Bryanna said, trying to stretch the material down over her hips and butt. “Don’t you think it’s a little too much?”
Della shrugged. “What I think does not matter. Mr Jonathan insisted you wear this on stage for the first half of the show.” Della said goodbye and left Bryanna to ponder what would happen once the fellows saw her.
A stagehand came to her door. Bryanna answered. The young man gawked, blushed and couldn’t look her in the face. “Five minutes to curtain call, Ms Trosclair.”
“Thank you,” Bryanna told the youth. God, he couldn’t be any older than eighteen, and Jonathan no doubt had sent him to get the kid’s reaction to her new outfit. The young man continued to blush as he walked away.
Bryanna peered down the hallway towards the men’s dressing room. She smirked. Axil had apparently given up and left his post. If she left now, maybe she could make it to the stage without any sarcastic comments.
Bryanna slipped out of the door and began walking down the hall. She had just about made it to the stairs when she heard a whistle. Bryanna span around. Kurt. He caught up with her.
“Are you trying to start a world war?”
Bryanna shook her head. “Another one of Jonathan’s brilliant creations.”
“I think I’d better get you on stage before Axil and Collin see you.”
“They are going to see me eventually.”
Kurt nodded. “But they won’t get the full effect of seeing you from behind like I just did. Girl, you have parts moving I didn’t even know you owned.” He growled.
Bryanna gently elbowed him in the stomach. “Are you sure you’re playing for the other team?”
Kurt nodded. “Sure, but that doesn’t mean I can‘t enjoy the scenery in someone else’s garden every now and then.”
Bryanna allowed Kurt to help her up the stairs. For some reason this had become his regular duty. She didn’t mind because she liked being in his company. He headed over to his drums just as Damon and Jimmy entered from the other side. Both men gave her more than just a friendly glance. She ignored them, concentrating on the sound of the crowd just outside the drawn curtains.
Collin entered from the left and Axil from the right. The lights were quickly doused and then the MC announced them. The curtain rose and the music began to play. The din from the audience sounded through the hall, but she blocked it out and waited for her cue. She began to sing and the spotlight beamed down on her. Any problems she had disappeared as she got into the song…a solo Collin had written for her. Her deep alto voice filtered out through the mobile mic as she sang. Axil and Collin sang the backup chorus. Bryanna glanced over at them. They were dressed in black like her, but they had room to breathe.
Bryanna moved away from her mark and the spotlight followed as she continued the sultry song. She had to strut across from one side of the stage to the other so she could give some attention to both sides of the audience. Her image appeared on big screens so the people in the upper balcony could catch every part of the act. She caught the look on Axil’s face when he finally got a look at what she wore. His gaze ran from her face to her feet and then back to her eyes again, locking with hers. His pupils dilated and his nostrils flared. Her insides vibrated. Axil looked primal, hungry and not a bit friendly.
Bryanna gulped and walked over to her mark only to catch the blue eyes of the keyboardist. Collin did not appear angry this time, just overly interested.
The song ended and Collin began his newest song.
Oh my God. She had to dance with him like she did yesterday in her form-fitting cat suit. Her band mates began playing the song with their eyes trained on them instead of the audience.
Collin did not miss the opportunity to garner the audience’s attention and participation. He got them clapping and stomping to the lively tune as he did his wicked little hip wiggling. His hips undulated and gyrated to the saucy beat. He left his mark and danced his way over to her. Bryanna accepted his hand and before she knew it she was deep into the number, acting silly right along with Collin and the crowd was loving it.
Collin moved behind her to hug her from the back, swaying seductively with her, pressing against her as they moved. Then the little tease released her. The crowd roared with delight. Collin danced her back over to her mark then moved back to his just as the song ended.
Bryanna’s heart continued to beat rapidly in her chest from the exertion of the dance. Before she had a chance to catch her breath, Axil began serenading her with his guitar from across the stage. A spotlight beamed down on him. His deep tenor voice filled the air as their third number began. She added her voice to his and the audience clapped when they recognised the tune. Fans shouted their names as their voices mixed and harmonised.
Bryanna began the nex
t chorus, belting out the soulful song, and a third spotlight beamed down on Collin as his soft voice mixed with hers. Bryanna left her mark and joined Collin and Axil at centre stage to entertain the audience with their signature hit. Both Collin and Axil went out of their way to sing only to her.
By the end of the number, all three were sweating from the bright lights and from the heat rolling off their bodies. The curtains were drawn for intermission and a costume change. The guys left the stage as Jonathan stepped up and detained her to rave about her costume and the crowd’s reaction to it.
“It’s too much,” Bryanna told him. “I’ll be choosing my own wardrobe after this tour.”
Jonathan’s smile disappeared. “Why?”
“You know why. These costumes are too provocative. Do you know what it’s like to have men ogling you? I look like a slut.”
“No you don’t,” he argued. “You have a sensational body and the entire world should see it.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. They’re too distracting to the other band members.”
“It sets you apart from the guys.”
“We are a group. It’s not the Bryanna show. Either you tone it down or I will.” She walked away from him, hoping he wasn’t watching her butt, and stormed back to her dressing room oblivious to the people around her. Bryanna opened the door and paused in the threshold. Axil was waiting inside. He breathed a deep sigh like a wounded animal and pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tight.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked, wiggling out of his grasp.
“Your costume…” he began. “It’s just too much.”
“Are you here to lecture me like Collin?”
“No, just the opposite,” Axil replied.
Bryanna looked him over. Great, the big lummox had a king-sized erection. She could just strangle Jonathan. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he was only doing this to antagonise Collin and Axil.
“Where’s Collin?” she asked as he swooped her into his arms again.
“In the dressing room. Kurt’s keeping an eye on him.”