Since it was Friday, the D-Bags were playing at Pete’s. Before we began the set, I told Evan we were adding in the song “Until You.” He looked at me funny, then nodded. “Until You” was the sappiest song in our catalog, and Evan was usually the one to request it. In fact, I think he had requested it every time he was swooning over some girl; Matt and Griffin had nicknamed the song “Evan’s Whipped Again.” Evan had written the bulk of it—it was one of the very few D-Bags songs written by anyone other than me—so I guess it made sense that it was his go-to romance song. It was weird for me to ask for it, but I couldn’t help it. Kiera had changed my life, given me something to live for, hope for, and as discreetly as possible, I wanted to let the world know.
I tried not to look at Kiera while I sang it, but I somehow hoped she knew the song was for her. Everything was for her. I spied her talking to Jenny during the song, but I couldn’t tell if she was listening to the lyrics, if she was somehow understanding the hidden meaning behind my words. I love you, and only you.
When we got to the last song of our set, I let the crowd know there wouldn’t be an encore tonight. I had a mattress to lie on and a sexy-as-hell girl to hold. I got the eager crowd’s attention by holding my hand up. “Ladies…and you guys, of course.” I paused for the screams and shouts. “Thank you for coming out tonight. We got one more for you; then we’re baggin’.” I peeked over to where Kiera was watching me. “Plans and all.”
It was hot under the lights, and sweat covered my forehead and dribbled down my cheeks. With the hem of my shirt, I wiped some of the wetness off my face. The fans watching my every move went nuts, and from somewhere in the back of the bar, I heard Rita yell, “Take it off! Woooooo!”
Amused, I grinned at her, then looked over at Kiera standing in front of her. Kiera seemed both embarrassed and intrigued by the thought of me stripping down. Laughing at the idea, I looked around at the guys to see if they had any objections to it. They seemed fine with it; whatever amped up the masses.
Since I was high on life, I decided to give the fans what they were craving. Reaching down, I grabbed the edge of my shirt and pulled it up. The sound in the bar grew deafening as more of my skin was exposed. It made me laugh. When it came to visual stimulus, men and women were more alike than they cared to admit.
Tucking my shirt into the back of my jeans, I turned to Evan. He eyed my half-naked body with an amused raised eyebrow. I shrugged and told him, “Could be worse. I could be in chaps.”
While Evan laughed, I told him the name of our closing song, “All You Want.” I signaled him to go and he immediately started the intro. Facing the front of the stage again, I gripped the microphone and ran a hand through my hair. The fans were in a frenzy. It was chaos, excitement, noise, and adrenaline. It gave me a rush, and I was already buzzing just thinking of my upcoming slumber party.
While I played with the crowd, stretching out to make contact with the ones near the front, I glanced toward the bar. The entire staff was back there watching me…even Kiera. She was boring holes into me, like she couldn’t get enough, and it turned me on to have her hungry eyes staring at me like that.
When the song was over, I took a small bow to thunderous applause. The crowd tonight had been very vocal. Maybe I should be half-naked more often. After I slipped my shirt back on, some of the girls started booing. I shook my head as I laughed. No, in some ways, girls weren’t that far off from boys. Kiera was still watching me at the bar, and I gave her a huge grin. I loved having her eyes glued on me. I loved that we were going to cuddle later…all night long. For once, I wasn’t going to wake up alone. I found that thought exceptionally comforting.
When Kiera’s shift was finally over, I felt giddy. I couldn’t stop smiling. Did love turn everyone into an idiot? Or was that just me? When she was ready to go, I led her out of the bar with my hand on the small of her back. It felt so natural to be touching her that for the moment, I didn’t even care if anyone saw.
Once we were outside, I grabbed Kiera’s fingers and started singing “All You Want” again. I thought she would enjoy hearing me sing it to her, but she frowned. “What?” I asked, perplexed.
She pouted, but I could tell it was a forced expression; she wasn’t really upset. “Didn’t we have a conversation once, about the nature of your singing?”
I laughed and gave her innocent eyes. “What was wrong with that?” Pointing back to the bar, I told her, “I was fully dressed for nearly all of the set.”
She tried to poke me with her elbow, but I scooted away from her. Then, because I was in such a damn good mood, I ran up behind her and picked her up. She squealed in surprise and tried to get away, but I had her tight. When I finally set her down, I kept a firm hold on her. You’re not going anywhere. Not tonight. Tonight…you’re mine.
As we walked toward my car, locked together, I told her, “I did that for Pete.”
She stopped moving and I ran into her back. She turned around to look at me and her eyes were wide with shock. “Oh…OH!”
I had no idea why she looked so startled. I ran through my words, trying to hear what she’d heard, and then it hit me. She’d thought I’d stripped for Pete. Literally.
Releasing her, I backed away. I had to clutch my stomach, I was laughing so hard. The image of Pete fawning over me was just too much. Priceless. “Oh my God, Kiera! No, that’s not what I meant.” I was tearing up now, and had to wipe my eyes dry. My natural high was making this moment even funnier than it normally would have been. If I’d been on cloud nine before, she’d just lifted me to cloud ten. “God, I can’t wait to tell Griffin about that.”
Kiera didn’t find the moment as funny as I did. Her cheeks were flaming red, and I realized I was embarrassing her by laughing so much. I tried to control myself; it was difficult. “Ahhh…and you think I have a dirty mind.” Sorry, babe, but you’re just as freaky as I am.
I slipped my arms around her and let out a slow, steady, calming breath. When I felt like the uncontrollable urge to laugh had subsided, I said, “Didn’t you hear the response when I did that? You watch, tomorrow the bar will be twice as full. He’ll have to turn people away. I did it to help him, Kiera.” Shrugging, I rocked her back and forth, savoring the connection I felt between us.
Her expression shifted from annoyance to understanding. “Oh…well, I guess that makes sense. You bring in more people, he makes more money, you get more exposure, and I’m assuming more money as well…”
I really didn’t give a rat’s ass about the money I made, but she had the basic idea down. “Something like that.”
Her lip curled into the sexiest half smile I’d ever seen. My breath caught in my throat. I wanted to taste her skin, feel her softness, lose myself in kissing her…
“I guess I’ll just have to allow it then,” she told me. Then she leaned over and kissed my cheek.
Warmth burst across my face where she’d touched me. Not wasting a second, I kissed her cheek in return. She blinked, surprised, and a euphoria-filled smirk curved my lips. “If you get to break a rule…so do I.”
I gave her a wink, then started pushing her toward the Chevelle. I was ready for the cuddling portion of our evening to begin. I was ready for a lot of things to begin.
As we got into the car, Kiera commented, “You’re awful perky tonight.”
I couldn’t contain my smile. “It’s not every night that I get to sleep with a beautiful woman.” Honestly, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d slept all night with a girl. I was pretty sure I never had. If a girl came over for sex, she left soon afterward. If I went somewhere for sex, I left afterward. Cuddling had never even been suggested before. Kiera didn’t know it, but tonight was a first for me.
As I started the car, I noticed that she seemed a little uneasy about my remark; she’d taken it as dirty again. She also seemed a bit…sad. To ease her mind that we weren’t doing anything overly wrong, I told her, “Hey, I said sleep, not fu—”
Her tone was sharp as she interrupted my coarse language. “Kellan!”
Her displeased expression was so distracting that I had a little trouble thinking up a different term to use. I sifted through F words until I found one that was slightly more savory. “Fu…or…ni…cate?” She had to give me props for trying.
Laughing, she scooted across the seat until she was pressed into my side, then she laid her head on my shoulder. Heaven.