“Okay, go!”
The door flung open and Chris sprung from the bus as fast as she could. The last thing Wade saw was her tight little ass as it disappeared into the mass of buses. Such a picture made him smile.
“Nice view, huh?” Joe remarked as he stared out the window, smiling too.
“The hell’er you lookin’ at, perv!?”
Wade punched Joe at half-strength, while his friend did his best to defend himself.
“Dude! I meant the view outside! Fuck, man! The fucking sunset!”
“Oh…sorry.”
Wade chuckled to himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He rubbed his fingers across the keypad thinking about his direct link to Chris.
One hour. He’d be on pins and needles for a whole hour.
“Oh and hey, man. Just so we’re clear?”
“Yeah. What’s up?” Wade said without looking at him.
“You hurt her? I’ll kill you.”
Shocked by the sudden seriousness in his statement, Wade slowly peeled his gaze away from the window, but he could tell that by Joe’s expression, he was far from joking.
Nearly out of breath, Chris finally reached the double doors that led into amphitheater. The competition started hours ago but a few people still trickled in behind her. She held out the all-access pass that Wade gave her to get in, and the security said nothing as she walked through the double doors. As soon as she stepped inside, the building was ablaze with screams, cheers, and the lovely sound of drums. And what Chris saw next took her breath away.
A warm feeling of euphoria seeped into Chris as she followed a trail of people that led her to the biggest on-stage setup she’d ever seen. Her senses teemed with excitement, and already, her hands and arms tingled with the addiction that she wanted to feel - would feel, very soon.
The massive auditorium loomed before her and this one put all others that Heretic had been to, to shame. It easily accommodated several thousand people and she could make out the tiny figure of a man sitting on stage way in front, buried behind a drum kit.
Projector screens loomed everywhere and she could see the drummer from Art of War and the blur of his sticks, even from way in the back. People filled every seat, crack, and crevice and the room had three levels, all filled to the brim with adoring fans that cheered and screamed for their favorite drummer.
She spotted one of the box seats high above on the third level that held the five judges. She recognized them all immediately as they all held ties to the metal community in some way. A former death metal singer, three drummers of bands long past and, of course, the host of Metal Madness: Axel Freeman. They were all scribbling notes down on a clip board and bobbing their heads slightly in tune with the drum play on stage.
She smiled as she thought about her panel, making her way with some difficulty through a mass of hot, sweaty bodies. It was only about eight o’clock in the evening, but people everywhere had their shirts off and drinks in hand as they thrashed about uncontrollably in mosh pits everywhere.
Chris carefully avoided flailing arms and floating bodies as she eventually made her way to the front where it was no less crowded. People all around her were screaming at the top of their lungs as one drummer came off and another took his place. She stole back at the judge’s panel as Axel used a microphone to introduce each drummer saying their name, the band they were from, and the drum solo from which song they would play. To Chris, it seemed simple enough.
“Please…”
Chris sneered out from under her breath as she saw the drummer from Darkness Superior miss a beat from their most popular song: Dead Time. But no one else seemed to notice. Either they were too drunk, too beat up from most pits, or they were too damn busy jumping up and down spastically while others flashed their cameras and cell phones on stage.
Chris studied the stage she would soon be on. The entire drum kit was surrounded by microphones and amplifiers in order to give fans and judges alike the best possible advantage at hearing every note they hit. She strained to see other band members watching from beyond stage left and right as they cheered on their own drummers.
They were doing the same thing she was - sizing up the competition. Chris remembered the schedule that Wade showed her and when she would perform. She would go last, but that didn’t bother her. The only person that would go before her was Dark Water’s drummer. Wade explained to her that they set it up that way on purpose - to psyche her out. But she blew it off and shrugged her shoulders. Daddy may have owned the building but the judges were left alone.
Wade didn’t seem too worried. He explained to her that such tampering would create a bad name for Dark Water forever.
Chris stayed long enough to listen to three drum solos before she realized she was pushing her time limit. She turned to leave but found it was more difficult to get out than it was to get in. As she shoved her way past hundreds of people, men everywhere shot remarks and sexual comments before she broke free. She looked one last time at the small clock attached to the wall before walking out. She had five minutes to get back to the bus.
“Shit!” she hissed.
She high-tailed it back to the parking lot while looking everywhere to make sure no one was watching her. Slowly, Heretic’s bus came into view. She was so close, practically arm’s length away and then, she’d be safe.
“Why, hello there.”
Chris stopped dead in her tracks as a dark figure appeared from out of nowhere, deliberately stepping in front of her. She clutched her chest and thought she would die of a heart attack when she realized she was looking at none other than Rick Delanost - lead singer and front man for Dark Water.
“H-Hi,” Chris stuttered back.
She never saw him up close and in person before. If she didn’t hate his guts so much she might have actually thought he was model material with all of the wildly long, blonde hair he had complimented by a five o’clock shadow. The heavy eyeliner he wore magnified his crisp, blue eyes, seemingly intent on holding her hostage.
“So, what’s a pretty little thing like you wandering around alone back here?” Rick asked, closing in on her. “You know, this is restricted area…” he purred.
Chris tried to think of something to say, but her heart raced a million miles an hour as she began searching her pockets for her phone, but instead, her hand found something else.
“I-I uhm…I have this.”
She held out the all-access pass that Wade gave her, but Rick hardly seemed to notice it before he turned his attention back to Chris. She swallowed audibly and mentally kicked herself for taking the stupid chance of being on her own and now, she was paying the price.
“Ahhh. Well, then I’m sure you’d love a tour of Dark Water’s band bus,” he said, closing the gap between them both.
But when Chris tried to back up in kind, she walked backwards into something hard. And when she looked behind her, she found herself almost wedged between two buses.
Panic-stricken, she looked at Heretic’s bus over Rick’s shoulder.
“I….I uhm….I don’t think I-.”
Rick lowered his head in a predatory manner and narrowed his eyes.
“You from around here?”
Unsure of what to say or do, she broke into a sprint before he completely cut off her escape route again and grabbed her by the wrist.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…where’er you goin’, gorgeous?”
He grinned and licked his lips, and to her horror, he started to back her into the corner again.
“I-I’m here to see Heretic!”
Chris had hoped that her random comment would strike a chord with Rick, and to her surprise, he stopped in his tracks and sneered at her. But he still held onto her wrist tightly.
“Heretic?" he spat. “Why the hell would you want to see them when you could see a real band?”
“CHRISTINE!”
Both Chris and Rick’s head snapped in the direction of a booming voice.
“Wade,”
Rick said snidely. “Me and…Christine, was it? We were just talking about you.”
Wade stood a short distance away with looks that could kill. Each step he took towards them was purposefully slow and methodical, like he had every intention of snapping Rick’s neck if he got close enough. She couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that Wade had appeared just in time.
“You really think man-handling Joe Bedden’s little sister is a good idea?”
“His what?” Rick asked.
"You heard me," Wade warned. “And you and I both know he’s got one helluva temper.”
Wade fixed his threatening stare permanently onto Rick without so much as blinking. Rick, however, seemed unfazed by Wade’s intimidation while Chris understood the necessity of pulling her off as one of Joe’s siblings.
Without taking his eyes off Chris, he motioned to the bus behind him with a nod of his head.
“Christine? Joe told you not to wander around alone. You should head back to the bus.”
“O-Okay,” she said timidly.
She glared at Rick, trying to pry her fingers from her sensitive wrist, but he sneered back at Wade, determined to win the staring contest. When Rick saw Wade making a balled fist, he finally let her go.
Chris rubbed her wrist and looked at Rick with utter disgust. But Rick just smiled and winked at her.
“Jerk,” she mumbled and ran past Wade.
“I’ll see ya around!” Rick called out, but she ignored him.
Chris didn’t stop until she was safely on board her home of steel. She plopped down in her seat and from there, she watched from the window at what reminded her of a Texas shoot-up.
“Mmm-mmm-mmm,” Rick moaned. “Now that is what I call a nice piece of ass.”
Wade stared down his rival, determined to burn a hole through him.
“I wouldn’t know,” he fired back.
“Really? Oh, I dunno man. She looks incredibly fuck-able. How do you think she’d look at the end of my dick?”
“Not half as good as you’d look at the end of my fist.”
Rick laughed, goading Wade into a fire-hot temper, mildly unaware of how close Wade’s statement would come to fruition.
“Oooh…harsh, man. So, you have fucked her.”
“Well, that’s something you’ll never really know either, Rick.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. If you hadn’t come along, I almost-.”
But Wade had enough. He stepped fearlessly into Rick’s personal space causing him to back up in surprise. Wade could have easily throttled him, but he was very aware of the contest rules. If he threw the first punch, Chris would be disqualified. He had to be careful not to take Rick’s bait.
“See? That’s the thing with you, Rick. Your band? Your music? Your singing? Compared to Heretic, Dark Water will always be…almost.”
Wade took his index finger and thumb and put them together in Rick’s view with hardly any space between them. Rick narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Wade finished and left Rick in his dust.
“Oh, I’ll be there Wade! Just make sure you bring your cute little lady friend!”
“I’ll bring her alright,” Wade said under his breath.
As soon as Wade stepped onto the bus, Chris busied herself with the shades, turning the inside of the bus into nothing more than a dimly lit cave.
“What the hell were you guys talking about?” she asked.
“Nothing. Look: from now on? You either step off this bus as Chris Rebman…or if you’re wearing five layers of clothing.”
Chris tried to contain a fit of giggles but it only contorted her facial features. She just hoped Wade wouldn’t notice just how funny all of this was to her.
“Sorry,” she said with a frown.
“Not yet you’re not. I let you out of my sight for one hour and you’re already hittin’ on the enemy? You’re lucky I came out of the bathroom just in time,” Wade teased.
“Hey! He was the one that pounced on me! As if I really need a ‘tour’ of Dark Water’s bus,” Chris said, mocking Rick’s voice.
Wade snickered while Chris looked around the bus. But besides the two of them and Pete, it appeared empty.
“Where’s Joe?”
“He’s grabbing something to eat. So, talk to me. What’s the setup like in there?”
“Well, you’re not gonna like it. But the projector screens are everywhere.”
Chris winced, bracing herself for another outburst, but Wade just rolled his head back and clasped his face with both hands. He took a few moments to collect himself before he looked back up at Chris and gestured for her to continue.
“Five judges, tons of people, and I only made out with a few guys.”
Wade’s eyes grew twice their normal size and his chest ballooned. “What!?”
“Just kidding!”
“Oh, so we’re funny now, are we?”
“Well it got you going, didn’t it!?” Chris teased as she poked her finger playfully into Wade’s chest.
But Wade was determined to one-up her, sinking into a predatory position while his voice became low and deep.
“I know what’ll get you goin’…”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” he said, giving her his best stare down. “Five…”
“Ahhhhh!”
Chris screamed and made a mad dash to her bedroom, but not before Wade grabbed her by the wrist and picked her up. She screamed and giggled uncontrollably as he carried her back to his room.
Finding that the door was already open, he walked through and tossed the squirming drummer down on his bed.
“That’s not fair! You didn’t give me enough of a head start!” she whined.
Wade closed and locked the latch behind him while Chris tried to put as much distance between the two of them.
“Like you would have gotten very far…”
Wade tore off his shirt while Chris clamored to hide beneath the covers.
“You’d better be getting naked under there!” he said hungrily.
She struggled to lose her pants, but before she could even get one button off, Wade ripped the covers off his bed completely, revealing Chris who clawed at the bed to get away. But in the small space of Wade’s room, she didn’t have much of an escape route.
He made a quick swiping motion with his arm and just barely missed Chris’ shirt. She squealed in both fear and excitement when Wade finally managed to grapple her with both his arms. As she wriggled about, she could already feel Wade’s growing bulge from behind his jeans.
“Dammit! Would you hold still!?”
She giggled as Wade made every effort to remove her from her shirt and jeans, and when he did, she slipped away again in nothing more than her black thong. She bounced onto his bed, purposefully exposing her delicious bottom to him and such an act drove Wade to the edge.
He went after her and grabbed her hips, and flung her on her back with little effort. But Chris kept her arms tightly pinned to her chest, depriving Wade of seeing her breasts. As much as it frustrated him, Chris noticed him struggle and teased him even more.
“C’mon, Wade! You want it? You have to work for it!” she laughed.
Wade growled again at her foreplay, but finally got the upper hand. Catching both her wrists, he held them to the side and teased her in return by gently biting at the soft skin just below her breasts. As soon as she felt his breath hit her body, she became limp and submissive under his touch but pursing her lips together couldn’t put a lid on her whimpering.
When Wade sensed that she stopped struggling, he moved his hand roughly over her hips and tore at her underwear, ripping it off completely and discarding it on the floor. Before Chris could gauge his next move, his head went down in between her legs.
“Shit!” she hissed to herself.
She tried to keep it together, but biting the hell out of her own lip wasn’t working. Her hands fisted the sheets as Wade moved over her sof
t tissues with his tongue. She was much too embarrassed in her nudity to look down at him and did her best to keep her eyes glued to the ceiling as she let out another long moan.
She bucked her legs in a weak attempt to get away from him, while Wade’s suckling lips grazed a certain spot, but he held her quaking hips firmly in place. Her body quivered, tensed and released over and over again, and she thought she’d swoon on this ride.
“Jesus, Wade! Stop! I can’t take anymore!”
Finally, she palmed his face and scooted away, unable to rid her uncontrollable shivers and laughed hysterically. Wade submitted and laughed along with her, undoing his belt and pants before his own monster lost control.
He mounted her and slid inside easily, praising his own prowess at working her into a foreplay frenzy. But Chris made no effort this time to hide her small cry as she accepted him fully inside her. He hovered just over her and pumped her relentlessly, feeding the monster that was hungry for her. He loved the way her breasts bounced on her chest with his rhythmic thrusts. He kept going, unable to rid himself of the euphoria that she placed him in until it climaxed in his groin and ended just as he pushed into her one last time.
As Wade fell to the side, they both huffed and panted, but he knew he’d want her again in fifteen minutes. He’d wear himself out entirely before he’d let her go. When tomorrow night rolled around, they’d both have to return to being serious musicians.
But he still couldn’t get the awful feeling in his gut to go away.
Chapter 21
For the last hour, Chris got ready in front of the bathroom mirror while Wade watched as she meticulously picked out the clothes she would wear - right down to the color of her boxer shorts. Wade helped tuck her hair under her beanie, but he didn’t envy her in all of her baggy clothing. It was a warm August night and even though the bus rested a safe distance away from the amphitheater, they could still hear the booming sound of the competition getting under way. It was worse than a ticking clock.
Once again, the parking lot was nearly empty and the concert was very close to wrapping up. After this evening, Wade thought, it would all be over. Everything would finally go back to normal.
No Holding Back Page 23