Absolutely Unforgivable

chapter 10 - Happy 4th of July

The next morning I got up early to see Jeromy off. Before leaving he told me he left me some money on the nightstand. While I appreciated the sentiment, it still for some reason, made me feel kind of cheap and dirty, considering what we had just done the night before in the bathroom. It didn’t sit well with me how easily he just threw money at problems and expected them to go away.

However, today’s problem was mine, and my not wanting him to leave. But it’s too late; he is gone and I’m alone. I became overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness and despair.

Then for some reason my mind flashed to him saying he left me money and I got agitated. Sometimes Jeromy treats me as if it is my job to just sit around the house and look pretty for him when he has time to spend with me -- As if I shouldn’t speak unless spoken to. Like maybe I was just a doll to him that he took out and played with when he had time and then put back on the shelf, to wait patiently until he has time to play with me again.

I wonder how long I’ll be his favorite toy. Over the last year as I’ve noticed a pattern with Jeromy and his former girlfriends. I’ve learned a lot about them since he’s still friends with quite a few of his exes. He would lavish them with money and gifts, like he does with me. Then one day, I guess when he gets bored of them and is ready to move on to the next, he helps them get some great job. He either teaches them to do what he does or uses his connections to find a good job with another company. And then they are over and he can be satisfied that they are taken care of, at least financially.

Despite their breakup, I get the feeling that almost every one of his exes are still madly in love with him and that if at any moment Jeromy was to ever even hint that he would take them back, they would drop whatever they were doing, or dump whoever they were with, and run to him. Jeromy had this way of taking hold of people. His smile is infectious. But it’s really more than his smile; it’s his presence, his aura, his very essence. When he is around, you want to bask in the warm sunlight that surrounds him. I guess I can imagine that would be hard to let go of.

I wonder if I will be like they are when Jeromy moves on from me? Will we still be friends? Will I still secretly long to be with him years from now, even after I’ve moved on and started a relationship with someone else? I cringed at the thought. I don’t want to be like those girls. That’s just sad. Just thinking of them makes me feel awful.

I shook my head as if I can physically force these thoughts out of my head. I know that I’m just being silly, insecure because I’m upset that Jeromy has to work this weekend. I know that Jeromy loves me and I know he isn’t one day suddenly going to get bored of me and just toss me aside. I’m ashamed of myself for getting so worked up over it all.

With Jeromy gone, I made my way back upstairs to find the money he left for me and put it away. It’s not that I didn’t trust anyone in the house but I just didn’t the idea of money lying around. I was surprised to find the “some money” Jeromy left for me was actually about a thousand dollars in a large stack of twenty dollar bills. What in the heck did Jeromy think I was going to be doing this weekend that I would need that kind of cash?

My irritation soon went away when I walked into the kitchen and Mindy’s smiling face came barreling towards me and she jumped on me for a hug. “Oh my God! I’m so excited! Tonight is going to be so awesome!” That girl was always so damn perky, even this early in the morning. How did she do it?

I glanced over to Billy who was walking my way with a glass of orange juice in hand. “Hey,” he said as he handed it to me. I thanked him and then went to sit down at the kitchen table. Mindy followed me, never straying more than a few inches from my side.

“I’m sorry Jeromy couldn’t be with us today but you know that’s totally okay because we are going to have so much fun without him. It’s so going to be his loss. He has no idea what he is going to miss.”

Mindy is normally a sweet girl and very cheerful, but something about this whole thing didn’t feel right. It felt a little forced. I get the whole bright-eyed and bushy-tailed thing, but this was something else altogether. I looked over to Billy, who by now was leaning against the kitchen counter, drinking coffee. He didn’t say anything; he just shrugged and looked back down to the ground.

Mindy didn’t stop talking the whole time. “So you know that lady who did our hair and makeup at Rick’s before?”

I nodded letting her know I remembered who she was speaking of but I didn’t get a chance to actually say anything because Mindy was so excited she didn’t take more than a breath before continuing on.

“Well I got her card that night and gave her a call and set up an appointment for us to go see her today so she can do our hair and makeup. Isn’t that a great idea? But if we don’t hurry we are going to be late. Oh my God, this is going to be so much fun!”

Mindy led me upstairs to find something to wear and then we were off to meet this makeup lady. When we got there the makeup lady asked if we had anything in mind but I really didn’t. She told me not to worry. She had something that would be perfect. Trusting that she knew better than I did about hair and makeup, I relaxed and let her take charge.

That was until she pulled out a paintbrush and a strange bowl of gold thick liquid. “What’s that?” I asked as I sat up in my chair eyeing the strange fluid cautiously.

“Don’t worry. It dries clear. It’s just a body paint. It’s going to make you look fantastic. You will look like your skin shimmers in the sun. The boys won’t be able to resist you.”

“Will this rub off on people who touch me or my clothes? What if I sweat? Will it stain my skin?”

“It’s okay, sweetie. Don’t worry. You are going to look great. This stuff dries clear so even if it does rub off a little on your clothes you won’t even notice anything more than a few sparkles.”

“But what if I get hot and sweaty? Is this stuff going to run down my body?”

“No. It’s water resistant. You could go swimming and this stuff would probably hold up. Well at least it would for a short bit. I guess if you stayed in the swimming pool long enough the chemicals would start to break it down. But no, your body heat isn’t going to matter.”

“How do I get it off afterwards?” This whole thing was making me a little nervous. I had never had anyone paint my entire body before. What if it didn’t come off?

“That’s simple. You soak in a bathtub that you’ve mixed this stuff in,” she said as she handed me a large blue bottle. “This will remove the paint from your body with ease. So see? You have nothing to worry about, so relax and let me finish. Here, stand right here.”

She moved me over to stand under some lights that reminded me of heat lamps and then she painted my entire body from head to toe. The bright lamps not only helped me stay warm while I stood in front of her completely naked so she could paint all of me, but it also served to help set the paint to my body.

As the stuff finally dried she brought me in front of the mirror to check it out. My skin looked amazing. It was if I had a deep dark suntan that literally shimmered. I looked like a suntanned version of Edward from Twilight.

By the time we got back from having our hair and makeup done, I realized four hours had passed. I couldn’t believe it took so long. The band was already on location setting things up. Billy knew how much we would be drinking that night so he sent a car to pick us up. It was a big, four door Lincoln town car. It wasn’t as big as a limousine but it did still look a lot like one.

As the car dropped us off at Bimbo’s the driver handed us his card and said that whenever we were ready he would be standing by for our call to pick us up. I tucked his card in my purse and headed toward the crowds. Darla and Starla found us rather quickly. They had three friends with them. The first girl she introduced me to was Erica. She looked like she might have been part Asian. She had black shiny hair and large breasts and was really tall, easily towering over the rest of us. She also had a perfect hourglass figure. The next girl was a redhead named Audrey who had porcelain-like skin and loads of red curly hair. Her bright green eyes shone as she smiled with her full, red lips.

The last girl was a perky blonde named Bree. She was quite a bit shorter than the other two girls and had the cutest face. She had wide brown eyes, long blond hair, and a cute little button nose. I had heard the phrase 50 watt smile before but until I met Bree I never really got what it meant. She looked adorable and that matched her equally adorable personality.

I had always considered Mindy perky, but Bree was in a class all by herself. She bounced up and down as she flung her arms around Mindy. “Oh my God! I’ve missed you so much. I’m so glad you are here tonight. Wow you look so totally hot. Oh my God, I’m so jealous.”

Bree then turned her attention toward me. “And you. I really need to speak to you if you don’t mind.” She locked her arm in mine and started walking with me as we made our way to the band. She leaned in as if she had something really serious to tell me. “I was just kind of hoping you would do me a favor.”

I looked over at her, wondering what in the world she wanted from me. I didn’t even know her. “You see,” she said as she sighed and stopped walking. She looked me up and down. “I was kinda hoping you would stand in the background and maybe give the rest of us a chance to find a man. With how amazingly hot you look, the rest of us don’t have a chance of getting a man’s attention.”

I looked at her trying to figure out what was going on. She did have a dead serious look on her face but no way could she really mean what she just said. Then she burst out laughing and hit my arm playfully. “Silly! I’m just teasing.” As she bounced her way back over to Mindy she said, “I just love her!”

I looked around just a bit still trying to figure out where Billy was, but he spotted me first. He took one look at me covered in the head to toe shimmering body paint that the makeup artist had applied, and his mouth dropped open and the microphone he had in his hand dropped to the floor. It let out a loud thump, as it hit the ground. This got the rest of the band’s attention and mine. I walked up to the stage just in time to hear Travis say, “Holy f*cking shit.”

Billy didn’t say a word, he just stood there like a statue watching me walk onto the stage. His eyes were intently watching my every move.

“Hey there, rock star. You getting everything set up?” I purred.

He paused for just a moment as if thinking of something to say and then, just as he always did, he tilted his head back and said, “Hey”.

Bree and Mindy walked up on stage next and then Darla, Starla, Erica and Audrey soon followed. We hadn’t told Billy of our plan to dress alike previously, we wanted it to be a surprise and he did indeed seem surprised. It took it a moment for it to register as his eyes darted from girl to girl, taking in all that stood before him. Finally he came to and a big smile worked its way across his beautiful face. “You did all of this for me?” He had such a boyish charm.

It had really been no effort at all, but by the way he reacted it was like we had offered to give him a kidney or something. Billy grabbed my hand and pulled me a little closer to him as he looked me up and down. “You look gorgeous,” he said and then he winked at me. I immediately transformed into my shy yet flirty mode as I smiled back at him as I plucked up the courage to kiss him on the cheek.

Billy said, “Hey let’s go” while he slid his arm around me, and rested his hand on my hip as he pulled me closer to him. We were so close that I could smell his cologne. It was heavenly. He led me back to the band’s table and then waved to the waitress to bring us some drinks.

“I can’t believe how incredibly hot you look.” A smile tugged at my lips, while I noticed his eyes working their way up and down my shimmering body.

“It’s shimmer body paint. The lady painted me with it all over.”

“All over?” he said as he raised an eyebrow.

I leaned in closer so that only he could hear and whispered, “Yes. All over”.

Billy shifted uncomfortably in his seat so I gave him a flirty smile and leaned back in mine. I crossed my legs, shifting up my skirt slightly so that it revealed my tanned and shiny legs. Billy’s eyes immediately shot down to look and then quickly back up at my eyes as if he was embarrassed by what he had done.

I didn’t recoil. I just sat back and enjoyed every minute of him wanting me. Billy eventually turned in his seat so he could force himself not to look. He took my hand, and started fondling my fingers, which I enjoyed immensely. I tried to ignore the tingling sensation, but to no avail as I still ended up smiling and blushing.

Unfortunately our special moment was broken when a very loud and boisterous Travis; a hyper Bran; and a very cheery Zander came to the table. They had ordered drinks to be brought to them, and were now taking their seats. The girls soon followed and took their places around the crowded table as well.

“Damn girls. If your intention was to be so hot tonight that we would be too f*cking horny to play, I think you might have accomplished your goal.” I rolled my eyes at Travis as Darla rubbed his arm sensually and Starla leaned in to kiss him.

I wondered for just a minute what it must be like to share your boyfriend with your best friend. I wondered if I could ever do that and then quickly shook that thought out of my head, realizing there was just no way I could. I would be far too insecure and jealous. Still, it seemed to work for Darla and Starla. I wasn’t sure how, but they always seemed to be perfectly happy sharing him.

When I turned my head away to avoid looking at Travis, Bree caught my attention. I thought she was giving Zander the once over which then made me turn my head to check him out. I looked down to the other end of the table where he was sitting without anyone special by his side so I stood up and took Bree by the hand and walked her down to Zander.

“Zander, this is my friend. I think you two should meet.”

He cocked his head back like Billy and greeted her. “Hey. I think we met before, at Billy’s house.”

“Yes. That was me! I’m Brianna but my friends call me Bree.”

“Hey Brianna.”

“No, silly, you can call me Bree too,” she said while playfully hitting his arm. I noticed he flexed when she did that. He liked her!

Feeling giddy with accomplishment, I went to take my seat near Billy when I noticed Brick, Patrick and Tiffany joining the mix. Everyone was here now; well except Trista who I had no doubt would be arriving any minute to give me more evil glares. Why was she such a bitch to me? What did I ever do to her?

“One, two, three, four ... yeah, this will work.” I turned towards Billy to see what he was talking about. It was female bodies he was counting. “Eight of my little flag girls tonight.”

Before I could respond though Trista came up behind me and stuck her head over my shoulder. “Nine. That would be nine.”

I jumped, surprised at her touch. Then turned around to see she was dressed up as well, like the rest of us. I was shocked. She was normally so conservative and always did her best to distinguish herself from the rest of us in the group. Tonight, however, she was one of us. But unlike the others, she somehow found a way to make her slutty American flag outfit look classy. She had a flag shirt on that came down just below her breasts and exposed all of her well-toned stomach. Man that girl must spend some serious time in the gym. Her skirt was solid white, short and frayed with fringe around the trim. Her boots were also white with matching fringe. I hated to admit it, but she looked hot.

Even Tiffany had joined us in our little dress up game, only she didn’t exactly wear what the rest of us had on. She had some skinny jeans tastefully dyed to look like an American flag with bright red heels and a white shirt that tied in the front, exposing only a small part of her stomach. It was cute and sexy but not over the top erotic, like the rest of us.

Trista put a shot glass in front of me. “Truce?”

I looked her up and down, thinking carefully about my next move. On one hand I could pick up the glass and throw my drink at her and tell her to kiss my butt, and that was an option I was seriously considering, but when Billy put his hand on top of mine and squeezed it tightly, I opted to agree to the truce. We drank to our new found friendship and then Billy leaned in to speak to me. He told me that tonight they would be playing two sets, one at around six and then again at midnight to close the show. In between, several other lesser-known local bands would take the stage.

“I want you and the girls up there with us tonight.” I looked around at all of us dressed in our matching outfits and I could totally get that. It would be pretty cool idea to have us up there with him. “There is no way in hell I’m letting you out of my sight tonight,” he said with a grin on his face.

I leaned into him to whisper seductively in his ear, “If I agree, do you promise to behave yourself up there?” I ran my hand down his chest before pulling away and sitting back down in my chair all of the way.

He raised an eyebrow and said, “Do you really think I’m going to give you a choice about this?” I knew he was only teasing but still, the way he said it was so commanding and sexy. It sent a chill up my spine.

I sighed and begrudgingly agreed. I didn’t really want to be in the spotlight but I also wanted to make Billy happy and I also liked that at least Billy was trying to include me in his world. He made a real effort to bring me into the act. He wanted me to be up there with him, near him. That and I also completely understood why we should be up on the stage with him, even if I didn’t exactly like being the center of attention. Although they may call me their superstar, it wasn’t my dream to be in the spotlight. I would be perfectly happy to sit in the background.

We had about an hour before Billy and the boys had to go on stage and we threw back as many drinks as we could in that time. That was probably not the smartest thing I could have done. The more I drink, the more I seem to forget myself and lose my inhibitions.

When it was time we made our way on stage. Before they started playing, Trista had positioned all the girls, in our cute little red, white, and blue outfits across the stage in various positions. Me, however, Billy wanted front and center near him. At this point I had enough drinks in me that I didn’t care. I was feeling great and ready to have a good time.

The set started with Billy screaming “AHHH YEAHHHH!” into the microphone. Everyone rushed to the stage. Those who weren’t already standing around watching us set up, that is. The crowds poured in from all over. It was an endless sea of people cheering Billy and the band on. I stood near Billy shaking my tambourine and my ass. Billy playfully turned my way to sing to me at various parts of the song.

For some reason my mind and body must have separated. Maybe it was all the drinks I had before, maybe it was the roar of the crowds and the excitement of being onstage. But whatever it was, something pulled me over to Billy and I started dancing seductively as he sang. With his hands firmly grasped on the microphone stand in front of me, I treated the rest of his body as if it were a stripper pole. Not to be outdone, Darla and Starla started to do the same to Travis. The crowd let out a deafening cheer as I bumped and grinded on Billy’s body. Amazingly, he never missed a beat.

When the song started to slow down, Billy reached out and grabbed me. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me into him. I, however, didn’t stop my erotic dance. I just slowed it down a notch. Then when the song sped up and he grabbed the microphone stand again with both hands I stepped back, getting out of his way and continued on with my sexy dance.

When the song ended, Billy turned his head my way and gave me a huge smile. I started to step back and take the spot on the side of the stage near Mindy and he shook his head and then pointed back to the spot near him. I shrugged and walked back to where I had originally been standing. I guess he wasn’t kidding; he really wasn’t letting me out of his sight tonight.

Billy rarely took his microphone off of the stand but for this song he did. That made me a little nervous. I wasn’t quite sure what he was up to. Behind us the band started to play a fast tempo and Billy walked over to me. I didn’t recognize the song. It must be a new one.

“I know a girl, she’s so fine. She’s one hot mess and for tonight she’s all mine. She looks so fine, maybe one day she really will be mine. She gives hot ass mess a new meaning.”

What the hell? Was Billy singing this song about me? I’m a hot mess? Seriously? I could feel the heat filling my cheeks. Is this really how he saw me? I did my best to shake off my irritation, reminding myself this was just a song and this was just an act. We are onstage performing, after all.

He stepped behind me and put one of his hands around my waist and sang, “All you want is just to hold her tight.”

He walked around me and back to my side. He pulled me into him and held me tightly in his arms. My pulse quickened and I started to breath heavily. Our lips were incredibly close. There was that sparkle in his eyes I had seen before. He loved being onstage. This was where Billy was at his best. As he looked into my eyes he continued to sing. I tried to pull away but he held me closer. Then he let go of his grip on me and sang the rest of the song as he walked around the stage, eventually making his way back to his stand and replacing the microphone on it.

When the song ended, I took a deep breath and put on my best fake smile. Normally he only tortured me with two songs in a set before moving on to something else, but tonight I wouldn’t be so lucky. I started to have a feeling I was going to be here in this spot for the entire set. Luckily the next song was much faster and easier to dance to. It had a fun, fast beat. I shook my tambourine on my hip as I swayed to the music and then something strange happened.

Billy turned his head towards me as if he was again singing to me and shouted, “I love you. I hate you. I can never let you go. No matter what you put me through, you always feel like home. You are here with me, but you’re not. I love you. I hate you. But I can’t f*cking let you go.”

I froze in place. I suddenly couldn’t breathe or even think. I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to be doing. Was Billy singing that about me? No. He couldn’t be. Well, maybe. Is he trying to tell me how he really feels? God, what is wrong with me? It’s just a song. I’m just imagining things.

Trista, being the constant professional that she is, noticed I was in trouble. As Billy turned back to face the crowds to sing the rest of the song, Trista came up behind me and started dancing with me. It helped me come out of my daze. When the song ended, she didn’t leave and we continued to play up the girl-on-girl thing. It was very much not like the Trista I had known before. The beat of the next song started and I did my best to shrug off what Billy had said before.

Luckily for this next song he didn’t turn towards me and sing directly. I think I might have lost it if he had -- Especially since he was singing Simple Plan’s Addicted to You. Trista continued to dance with me throughout the song and soon Mindy joined our little fray and before long I had forgotten all about the incident.

At the end of the song Billy took the microphone back off of the stand, walked over to me, winked and then turned back to face the crowd. “Everyone give it up for our little superstar, Stacy Keller.” The crowd cheered. Next he took Mindy’s hand and lifted it in the air: “Mindy.” He made his way over to every person on stage, lifted their hand and called out their name.

I noticed behind me that Trista gave a commanding look to Brick and a few moments later he was making his way onto the stage with two shot glasses in his hand, one of which he handed to me, the other to Trista. “Here drink this quickly,” Brick said to me as he put the drink in my hand. I downed it and then Trista handed me hers. I gave her a look but all she would say was, “Hurry up, they are about to start up again.”

I did as she instructed and downed the drink. It was a sweet thick drink, with a butterscotch and chocolate aftertaste. I handed the empty glass back to Brick and he quickly made his way off stage. Just in time for me to hear that ominous riff on Zander’s guitar. Damn it. They are playing Jessie’s girl.

Before I could turn around to look, Billy was behind me, dragging me back to the center of the stage. The crowd cheered on as I stood near Billy shaking my tambourine. Trista was a smart girl. She knew those drinks would help me relax and they really did.

Just as before, at the chorus of the song I leaned in to sing with Billy. As the song ended, Billy addressed the crowd saying: “Thank you. Thank you all. We are going to take a break now but we’ll be back later tonight.”

A really crazy-looking all girl band took the stage next. The lead singer had long brown hair with the ends died purple and hot pink. The drummer had a hot pink Mohawk and was covered in tattoos. The other three girls in the band had quite a few tattoos also.

When we made our way back to our specially reserved table, Brick had buckets of beer waiting for everyone and a round of shots which we all quickly downed. The all-girl band on stage was really killing it. They were pretty good but I didn’t really recognize any of the songs they played. Still, the crowd seemed to like them a lot.

The night went by quickly. Before I knew it, the fireworks were exploding overhead. I leaned back into Billy’s arms as I watched the show overhead. But as I did I felt his eyes boring into me. I’m not sure he ever took his eyes off of me that entire time. He never said a word, just stared at me. I could feel the heat of his breath on my neck and could tell his breathing was getting heavier. It was arousing and I felt myself get caught up in his desire.

I turned my body so that I could face him. My body tingled, and my head was spinning. I couldn’t think straight. He put his hand on my face and I looked down at his lips while licking mine. The sexual tension in the air was thick. At that moment I wanted him more than I wanted anyone or anything in my entire life.

And then, as I leaned in to kiss him, my phone started buzzing and I pulled back. It took me a second to realize what it was that I was hearing. When I did realize what the noise was, I grabbed for my phone and looked down at the screen. It was Jeromy texting me, “Happy 4th of July baby. I love you. I miss you.”

I jumped back, quickly readjusting my body with my back to Billy so that I could continue to watch the rest of the fireworks show as waves and waves of guilt flowed over me. What did I almost do? What the hell is wrong with me? Here Jeromy is thinking of me, sending me “I love you” messages and I’m about to make out with his best friend. I am officially the worst girlfriend ever.

When I was a child, I would dream of how life would be when I was all grown up. I was sure that one day I would meet the perfect man, who was handsome and strong yet still gentle and kind. He would have some sort of fabulous job and together we would live in a big house. I may not have pictured Jeromy’s face specifically but in every way he was my childhood dream, this perfect man that, together, I would have this perfect life with. And now that I have exactly what I always wanted, all I can do is think about what I can’t have.

After the fireworks show, I found our waitress and ordered a few more drinks. I wanted more than anything to drink away the horrible thoughts in my head. As I was throwing back shot after shot, I suddenly became amused by Bree who was softly singing, “One drink, two drinks, three drinks, four.” I couldn’t get what she was singing out of my head and I burst out in laughter. Bree took her own shot off of the table and walked over to me. She pushed back my chair so she could fit her body onto my lap. Once she had firmly positioned herself on top of me, she grabbed the back of my hair and pulled my head back, then poured the drink into my mouth. Some of it spilled over and she slowly licked it off of me.

“Okay, girls, let’s try and behave. You are starting to draw a crowd,” Billy said as he tried to separate Bree and me. I think I sensed a bit of agitation in his voice, but I was having so much fun I didn’t really care.

Before long it was time to go back onstage. The boys were busy setting up when Bree came up to me. “Wow that is so intense.”

I looked up at her, with my brow furrowed, having no idea what she was talking about. “What is?” Did she mean our little drinking game?

“Billy. The way he looks at you. It’s like ... I don’t know. The way he watches you always. It’s like he’s your own personal bodyguard and he’s ready to jump in front of a bus for you or something. It’s really intense. Sexy but intense.”

I glanced over at Billy and she was right. At that very moment he was watching me. Thinking back he did that often. There was something arousing about knowing Billy was always watching me, there to protect me and that I was never alone, as he was always there for me, making sure nobody was ever going to hurt me. I think if it was anybody else I might be completely creeped out but with Billy it’s different. I trusted him and I knew he was just trying to protect me. No. This had to be wrong. I had to be mistaken. But still I couldn’t think of a single time tonight where I had been alone.

The realization of Billy’s watchful eyes sent a surge of electricity through my body. I liked this but still I would need to test this theory out and see if it were really true. I turned my head and saw Audrey near the back of the stage talking with Erica, Darla and Starla. I sashayed my way over to her and quietly asked her if my shimmer paint was still holding up. I spun around in front of her, giggling, and then she came up to me and forced my head back. She licked the front of my neck while Erica licked the side. “Oh yes, it is holding up nicely. And it tastes oh so good too,” Audrey said.

I squealed loudly and within seconds Billy was at my side, with one eyebrow arched upwards. “Problem, ladies?”

They released their grip on me. “No. They are just tasting my shimmer.”

Billy took me by the hand and led me back to the front of the stage. “Stay here and try and behave yourself.” Next he brought Bree and Mindy up to stand next to me. “Your three try and keep it clean.”

Bree laughed, grabbed my hand and Mindy’s, and bounced up and down. “Isn’t this exciting? I’m so happy to be here with you tonight. This is so much fun, don’t you think?” She never really gave you time to answer before she was off on to the next sentence.

Bree was a sweet girl but she tended to talk a lot. While Bree and Mindy were going on and on about God only knows what, I would occasionally glance over at Billy and each time found he was looking at me. Bree was right; he did have an intense watch over me. It was so exciting.

Soon the music started up. They were all on fire. Travis and Zander were even more animated than normal as Billy sang Never Again. Their energy was electrifying and the song was hauntingly beautiful. Well, beautifully tragic. Mindy, Bree and I stepped up our act and danced seductively to the music.

The boys rocked out a few more fast songs that lit up the whole place. Everyone was having a great time. Then it happened. I can still barely believe it. I was standing in the middle, with Mindy and Bree on each side. Billy had been singing the Nickelback song Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good. Towards the end of the song he turned his head to me and flashed his adorable smile.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, but still continued my dance with Bree and Mindy. He looked down at the crowd; then his expression changed. He put his hands down off of the mic and said, “What the f*ck?” It echoed loudly as he said it and a hush came over the audience. He was looking at someone in the crowd who was standing near the stage just below me. I glanced down to see who it was that had upset Billy so much. There stood a man with his cell phone, trying to take a picture up my skirt.

I jumped back, horrified, and when I did, Billy jumped off of the stage and started pounding on him. “What the f*ck do you think you are doing? What the f*ck is wrong with you? You stupid piece of shit!”

Zander and Travis dropped their guitars, jumped off of the stage, and started fighting him as well. They were just wailing on him, beating him over and over again. Travis was shouting, “That hot piece of ass is our piece of ass. You don’t f*ck with that!” A few seconds later Bran had jumped off of the stage and jumped in the fight too.

My heart was pounding and my mind was racing. I was trying to figure out a way to stop this. I looked to Mindy and Bree and they just stood there as frozen in fear. On the other side were Darla and Starla cheering the fight on. “Yeah! F*ck you, perv! Kick his ass, baby!” Erica and Audrey were cheering the boys on as well.

The man was on the ground now, covering his face and Billy was off to the side kicking him. “You sick f*ck!”

I screamed “BILLY!” and as he looked up to me I jumped down off of the stage, into his arms, hoping he would catch me. He did and as I landed in his arms I said, “Please don’t.” He held me tightly, but catching me caused him to lose his balance and he fell backwards and my head hit the corner of a nearby table. And then nothing. I was out like a light.