by Green, Maree
As Aiden and I climbed on stage, the screaming from the crowd went up another decibel or two, causing Mr. Daniels to glare at us before stepping off the stage and stalking away. Fuck him.
Dean took one look at Aiden and me and pressed his lips together in a calculating snarl. “I know we agreed on ‘Tonight’, but by the looks on your faces, I’m thinking we need something a bit heavier. Wanna try ‘To the End’ instead?”
Fuck yeah. With the mood I was in, I could let it all the fuck out and leave everyone bleeding on the ground. “Sounds like a fucking good idea.”
We took our places and adjusted our mics. Dean walked up to his mic and smirked at the screaming crowd. “Good afternoon Westside High! We’re here to add our support to the most awesome fucking football team on the west coast! Even though we can’t be there for the game, we hope you fucking smash them!”
The crowd roared deafeningly.
“Who here’s heard our song, ‘To the End’?” he yelled to the crowd.
They answered by screaming and jumping up and down.
“Well, I wanna hear you sing it along with us. Come on!”
Matt counted us in and hit it hard, a smirk plastered across his face. To the End was his favorite of our songs. It had a serious fast tempo and he got to show off with some pretty fucking wicked beats.
My contribution was usually pretty straight forward, but I had a solo part in the middle, and when it came, I ripped it the fuck up.
Hammering it out, the crowd screamed the lyrics with us, and it sounded fucking awesome. That was another great thing about the song. It was easy for the crowd to join in. Hearing so many people singing along, knowing the words, made us feel like we were giants. We were fucking invincible.
The second the song came to an end, the crowd screamed out for more. They were fucking crazy for it. Dean yelled out our thanks, wishing the stupid football team good luck again, and encouraged everyone to come down to the GV after the game to hear us play some more.
That was another reason he was the front man. He was fucking good at that kind of shit.
I took off my guitar and handed it to Ryan, who’d agreed to be a kind of roadie with Cain when we played gigs. I wanted to just leave it to them and go find Mia, but I knew I had to help get the shit loaded into the van so they could get it over to the GV.
I decided to go help Matt dismantle his kit, seeing as that would be the real time killer. We were just loading the last of the gear in the van when Aiden turned to glare at me. “Just fucking go.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. I thought I’d been holding it together quite well. Guess I was wrong. Shrugging, I turned and headed straight for the parking lot.
Mia was sitting on the trunk of her car with Kaeli when I walked up. Her expression was guarded, and she looked more than a little unsure of herself. My heart instantly went into some weird panicked state. Kaeli jumped off when she saw me coming and left us alone.
I stopped right in front of her, placing my hands on the trunk, either side of her ass.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I blinked. The fuck? “I can’t believe you’re asking me that. I felt like a fucking low life shit for leaving you like that.” I stood up straighter and ran my hands through my hair. Unbelievably, I still had some angst left in my system even though I just played like I’d been possessed by the fucking devil.
Mia reached out and softly cupped my face in her hands while parting her legs a little to allow me to step closer. Needing to touch her, I ran my hands up the outsides of her thighs until they rested on her hips.
“I’m fine, Jace,” she said softly. Then her lips curled up a fraction, into a wicked little grin. “I can show you exactly how fine I am after your gig tonight if you want…”
I’d happily ditch the gig to go with her right now if she fucking wanted. It’d been too long. I needed to be inside her. I knew it was the only way I was going to rid myself of this guilty feeling.
Mia glanced down at my mouth and slowly pulled me closer. Jesus. Was she seriously going to kiss me? In the fucking parking lot?
I went with it, not knowing what to expect, but when her lips gently brushed against mine, I didn’t care if the whole fucking school was watching.
Her lips parted for me, pleading with me to taste her, so I slid inside, tangling my tongue with hers. I groaned. She tasted so fucking good. Sliding my hands lower, I gripped the sides of her ass and pulled her closer to me.
She responded instinctively, wrapping her legs around me and burying her fingers in my hair. I deepened the kiss, hungrier for her than I’d ever been, and she clutched me harder to her, tasting me right back. Fuck, if she kept this up, I’d be taking her right there on the fucking trunk of the car.
The sound of laughing brought us both out of our cocoon, and we turned to see our entire group of friends standing a few feet away. Aiden had his back to us and was running his hands through his hair while Dean and Matt laughed at his discomfort and Amber and the girls grinned at us like idiots.
I wrapped my arms around Mia, hoping she wasn’t worried about Aiden’s reaction, but she linked her arms around my neck and held me close, so I figured she was okay.
She nuzzled into me and breathed against my neck. “Well, that was embarrassing.”
I chuckled and held her tighter. I hoped she wasn’t going to ask me to let her go because I didn’t think I could if I tried.
“Does Aiden look pissed?” she whispered.
I looked over to where the others were fucking around, laughing. Aiden met my gaze and shook his head. From what I could see, he just looked like he felt awkward. “Uh…I think he’s okay.”
She groaned and pulled away from me slowly, turning her head to look for herself. Aiden met her gaze with narrowed eyes. Mine instinctively narrowed as well. If he thought he was going to start some shit with her, he had another thing coming, because like fuck I was going to let that happen.
I wasn’t sure what he saw on Mia’s face, but I thought I saw guilt flash in his eyes, then his gaze softened and he smirked.
He sighed and started forward, coming to lean on the car beside us and crossing his arms defensively. “You know this is fucking weird, right?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “You’d think it was weird no matter who I was with because you’ve never seen me with anyone before.”
Aiden thought about that then nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right, but it’s weird seeing this one all soft over a girl too,” he said, pushing me lightly in the arm. “I should’ve fucking known. If anyone had what it took to hook Jace, it was you. You know you’re too good for him though, right?”
I groaned. “Dude! I’m trying really hard not to draw attention to that fact. Shut the fuck up.”
Mia giggled, making me smile and hold her closer.
Aiden sighed. “We should probably get going.”
I nodded. Yeah, we still had a heap of shit to get done before our gig that night. It helped having Ryan and Cain set most of our shit up, but we still needed to do the sound check and everything.
“I want to come watch you play tonight,” Mia said suddenly.
Fuck no. After seeing what happened to her not even an hour ago, there was no fucking way I was letting her go anywhere near our gig.
Aiden and I both scowled at her. “No fucking way,” Aiden said, saving me from having to get on her bad side.
She pulled away from me and sat up straight, her eyes narrowing into slits. “I don’t think it’s your decision to make, Aiden. I want to come.”
I needed to make her see reason. “Babe, you haven’t been to one of our gigs before. The crowd gets pretty intense – worse than the pep rally…”
When her chin lifted with defiance, I knew she wasn’t ready to give up yet. “I’ll sit in the corner.”
Aiden growled. “Jesus, Mia. Do you honestly think either Jace or myself would be able to concentrate on what the fuck we’re supposed to be doing if we know you’re out amongst our c
razy assed fans?”
The fight instantly went out of her and her shoulder sagged a little. “Isn’t there like a backstage area I could watch from or something?” Her voice was all sad and pleading. It made me want to agree to any fucking thing she wanted.
Aiden rubbed his hands over his face. It seemed he wasn’t immune to it either.
“Yeah, there’s a backstage area. I guess that would be okay,” he said.
He looked at me. I guessed it was to see what I thought. The idea actually sounded good. I’d love to have her there watching me play. I nodded.
“But I want you to have someone with you just in case,” he added forcefully.
Mia’s eyes twinkled. “Kaeli will come with me. Ooh! And Mom. Can Mom come too?”
Aiden smirked. “If she wants.”
Mia threw her arms around Aiden and squealed. I didn’t think I’d ever heard her squeal before. It was definitely different. “Let me go ask Kaeli.”
I moved back so she could jump down and watched her bounce over to where Kaeli was standing with the other girls.
Aiden groaned beside me. “What the fuck have you done to my little sister?”
I smiled, still watching Mia, and decided it was wisest if I didn’t answer.
Chapter 33
Mia
It actually amazed me how good it felt to have everything out in the open. I’d always thought having a lot of attention on me would be too much. Overwhelming. What I hadn’t taken into consideration was how much having Jace beside me would counteract the anxiety. Sitting there in Jace’s arms like that, I really didn’t care who was watching. I just knew that as long as he was with me, I would always be okay. Knowing that now made me a little pissed that I hadn’t taken the plunge ages ago. Freaking hindsight.
Kaeli and I had left the guys behind so they could go set up for their gig, and went to go raid Kaeli’s wardrobe for party clothes. Jace had told me he’d come over around seven so we could all head over to the GV together, so we had a few hours to get organized.
Sitting on Kaeli’s bed, I waited for her to come out of her closet with whatever suggestions she had for me.
She emerged a few minutes later with a little red strapless dress. It was made of chiffon with ruching over the bust, and had two rows of rhinestones above the waistline and two layers of chiffon over the skirt.
I bit my lip. “It’s a little short isn’t it?”
She waved it off. “It just looks like it on the hanger. Wait until you put it on. It’ll be perfect. Trust me.” She pushed it at me then disappeared back into her closet. “Put it on,” she called out from the depths.
Dutifully, I stripped off and zipped it on. “Okay, it’s on,” I called.
Kaeli stepped out of the closet and grinned. “Perfect.”
I walked over to the mirror and took a look for myself. I blinked at my reflection. Shit. Was that really me? I looked so different. “It’s showing a lot of leg…” I said doubtfully.
“Yes, but you’ve got the best legs I’ve ever seen, Mia. You have to show them off at least a little. It’s not like it’s so short people are going to see your underwear when you bend over like most of the skanks that go to these parties.”
Yeah, she was right about that. I saw what those girls wore to school. I’d hate to think what they partied in. “You think it looks okay?” I asked.
“Mia, you look amazing.”
I scrutinised my reflection a little more, still unsure then took a deep breath. I had to start somewhere. “Okay, let’s go then.”
Kaeli squealed and clapped her hands. “Yay!” Then rushing back into her closet, she came out with a few more items of clothing and some shoes while I changed back into my street clothes.
Throwing everything into a bag, we jumped back in Kaeli’s car and drove to my place.
After checking that Aiden had actually invited Mom to come like he said he would, I went and had a quick shower to freshen up.
When it was Kaeli’s turn, I decided it was time to talk to Mom. It didn’t feel right that everyone else knew about me and Jace, and she didn’t.
Finding her in her room, I hesitantly sat down on her bed. “Mom?”
She looked up at the uncertainty in my voice, her mom-meter flaring to life. “What’s the matter, baby?”
I inhaled deeply, pushing back the nerves. “I need to talk to you.”
She came to sit at the end of the bed so she was face to face with me and waited while I worked up the courage to say what I wanted.
“Jace and I are dating,” I blurted.
The surprise on her face was more than obvious. “Oh...wow...okay. That was not what I was expecting,” she said, blinking a few times. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised after the way you both seemed so comfortable with each other the other day. When did this happen?”
I fiddled with my hands, twisting my fingers together, still way nervous. It was important Mom be okay with me being with Jace. “Well...I suppose we first realised there was something there in Aspen. Jace was really great after the avalanche. He looked after me – made me feel safe, you know? But I guess we’ve only been really seeing each other for a couple of weeks.”
She nodded. I could tell she was trying to look at it from an objective point of view – let it sink in. I decided to keep going while she thought about it.
“I guess I haven’t been very fair on him. I haven’t let him tell anyone we’re together. I just knew it would be a big thing, you know? Obviously, the guys are all really popular right now, and he’s always got girls throwing themselves at him.” I sighed. “Just the thought of people staring and talking about us made me anxious, but over the last couple of weeks I’ve tried sitting with Jace and Aiden at lunch for a little bit each day, and it’s getting easier.” I smiled, and Mom smiled too, knowing just how big that was for me.
My bravado slipped though when I thought of that afternoon. “I had a panic attack this afternoon.”
Mom’s eyes widened. “Are you okay? What happened?”
I swallowed. “I forgot about the pep rally, and I got caught in the middle of the crowd as they left the gym. Scared the shit out of me”
“Oh, baby, are you sure you’re okay?”
I nodded and a tiny smile came to my lips when I thought of how it ended. “Jace found me. He held me and got me through it. Aiden was there too, talking to me – and Kaeli.”
“Oh, thank God.”
“Mom?” I said softly. “I really like him.”
She stared at me for a few heartbeats before smiling gently. “That much, huh?”
I nodded. “He makes me feel safe. I don’t care about the people when he’s with me. After this afternoon, Aiden knows that we like each other – and I guess most of the school does too, considering they all walked past while he was holding me, so it didn’t feel right for you not to know.”
“Thank you, baby. I love that you can tell me anything.”
I swallowed. “So, you’d be okay with Jace spending some time with me? Here?”
“Of course, baby.” Then, after a moment’s thought, she frowned. “Maybe not in your room though...”
I inhaled deeply, working my way up to say what I really wanted to say. “I get that. I do, but Mom – I want to go on the pill.”
Her eyes widened a fraction. “Sweetheart, I don’t want you to rush into anything...”
“I know, Mom, and I won’t. I just know what I feel for him, and I’d rather be prepared.”
She sighed. “I really want to tell you no, but I know that’d be stupid. You’re eighteen, and I guess in this day and age, I’m lucky it hasn’t happened sooner, but baby, sex isn’t just a physical act – well not for women anyway. For women, emotion will always be tied to sex. Yes, you’ll get the occasional girl who says she just likes it, but more often than not, having sex is linked directly to some emotion – whether it’s making her feel wanted, or loved, or sexy, there’s always some underlying factor. I just want you to be aware of the e
motions that can come from it, because you, my beautiful girl, have a lot of buried emotions inside you. Having sex with someone you love will bring all of it out, and while it would definitely make it a beautiful experience, it could very well overwhelm you.”
I sat staring at my mother, stunned. She had no idea how right she was, but I couldn’t exactly tell her that. I nodded, letting her know I understood.
“But, we’ll go to the doctors tomorrow anyway, because I agree with you about being prepared, and because I always knew that when you finally fell for someone, you’d fall hard.”
I reached over and gave her a hug. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.”
I left her room, feeling happier than I remembered being for a very long time. I finally had a reason to get past my anxiety.
Kaeli and I spent the next hour getting ready for my first official night out. Mom helped me set my hair into more orderly curls and then went to work on my makeup, applying only the bare necessities that would apparently enhance my natural beauty. Whatever that meant.
When Mom left us to go get ready herself, I dug out my lacy, red strapless bra and panties, quickly showing Kaeli with a glint in my eyes before disappearing to put them on. When I came out, Kaeli was already dressed, wearing a black mini skirt with a vibrant blue satin top. She looked up as I walked in and clapped her hands with a grin.
I smiled and shook my head, just as I heard Aiden calling out from the lounge. Two seconds later, there was a knock on my door. Shit. I wasn’t ready. Physically, I was good. Mentally, not so good. Gesturing to Kaeli to answer it, I ducked into my closet and hid.
“Oh...um...does Mia still want to come?” I heard Aiden ask.
“Yep. We’re nearly ready.”
There was silence for a second or two. “You look really nice by the way.” I almost giggled hearing him compliment Kaeli, but then I wondered if he was ‘complimenting’ complimenting her.