The beat stops. “Hold up, fellas.” Tristan grabs his mic and steps down from the drums. “Looks to me like they need to be able to read the full menu before ordering.” He stops beside me. “Right, ladies?”
It amazes me the men who toss their women on their shoulders just to get closer to us. If that was me, and it was Stacy, I don’t think I could do it. I don’t think I could watch her drool and scream over a guy who wasn’t me. It’s also surprising that a good majority of our fan base is women. Who knew?
Tristan takes his turn and, of course, the crowd goes wild.
“Well, my beautiful wife is the only opinion that matters.” Kacen looks to the side-stage area and holds his hand out.
As if they share a brain, Logan slowly stands and walks toward us. He meets her halfway, kissing her before they go any further.
“You all have met my wife, right? Baby, meet this kick-ass crowd we have tonight.” Again, the roars fill the arena.
Logan gives a shy wave. “You heard it, ladies. Your options just dwindled down to three,” Gavin informs them.
The crowd eats this shit up and gives us time to catch our breath before finishing the show. Suddenly, an idea hits. “Make that two, my man. My girl is backstage,” I confess.
I look over at Stacy and she’s grinning. No matter what gets thrown at her, at us, she’s wearing that smile for me. I decide to push my luck a little and hold my hand out for her, just like Kacen did for Logan.
She shakes her head.
“They want to meet you, sweets,” I say into the mic. The crowd lets her know that what I say is true.
She shakes her head again and I can almost read her mind. “Logan’s a wife, I’m just a girlfriend.” But she’s more than that. Someday, I will convince her of the fact.
“Stacy,” I say. The microphone picks it up and they start chanting her name.
“Stacy, Stacy, Stacy.”
Reluctantly, she stands and takes a hesitant step. That’s all I need. I jog to her and wrap my arm around her shoulders. Leaning over, I kiss the top of her head as we join the group center-stage. “Here she is. Babe, meet tonight’s crowd.”
More cheers and chants of her name flow through the arena.
“Looks like our boy Cole is officially off the market. That leaves these two jokers.” Kacen points to Tristan and Gavin.
“Winner gets bragging rights,” I say, keeping Stacy tucked into my side.
“Now, let’s do this so we can get back to fucking rocking!” Kacen booms into the microphone. “When I point, you need to make some noise. Loudest is the winner, you know the drill,” he explains to the crowd.
I drown out the rest of what’s going on.
She’s all I see.
With my arm still around her shoulders, I guide her to stand in front of me. When I have her where I want her, I place one hand on the small of her back, holding her to me, and the other lifts her chin. I don’t speak and neither does she. It wouldn’t matter anyway; the noise of the crowd would drown it out. Instead of words, I give her actions. Bending down, I capture her lips with mine. Instantly, her arms wrap around my neck and I allow myself to get lost in her.
Mine.
When I finally pull away from her, I realize the crowd is on fucking fire, cheering and screaming. I look over at Kacen and he’s wearing a wide grin.
“Don’t stop on our account.” My eyes shift to Tristan. He waves over the crowd. “We’re enjoying the show.”
Stacy immediately buries her face in my chest and I hold her tight. Gavin smirks and hands me a microphone.
“What? You’ve never seen a man kiss the woman he loves before?”
Thunderous.
The fucking crowd is thunderous as they roar with their approval.
I kiss the top of her head, still buried in my chest, before bringing the microphone to my lips. “I’ll see you after the show, sweets.”
I feel her nod against me, and then she turns on her heel and runs to her seat side-stage. Logan winks as she waddles in the same direction.
Tristan is already behind his drums and starts the beat for our next song. We don’t stop again, playing six more songs straight through before calling it a night.
As it’s come to be my routine, I hand off my guitar and make strides toward my girl. As soon as I reach her, fucking Wilson shows up from God only knows where. I assumed he would be at the show tonight since he is in town, but I was hoping we didn’t have to be graced with his presence.
Stacy looks at him, then at me, then the rest of the guys as we’re all gathered in a circle.
“I-I-I have to g-go,” she stammers.
“Stacy.” I reach for her, but she’s too quick. She’s already running away from me.
Logan has her hand on my chest before I can move. “Let her go, Cole. They’re already with her.”
Looking up, I see that her guard has indeed caught up with her.
“I’m heading to the bus. You do what you need to do.” Logan motions toward Wilson. “We’ll see you guys soon. Let me talk to her.”
“I need to go to her.” I run my fingers through my sweat-soaked hair. I pull the tie off of my wrist and tie in a knot.