Beast Brothers 2

“Throwback’s about to come on,” she says, practically bouncing with excitement. She notices my blank look and turns to Eric. “She’s never seen Throwback!” Eric shrugs and takes a drink of what looks like Coke.

The chanting stops abruptly and the crowd erupts into loud cheers as four figures walk out onto the darkened stage and pick up their instruments. I look around to either side and behind me; still no sign of Aidan. I hope he’s not out on the deck looking for me. Just the thought of him has me biting my kiss-swollen lips. I can still taste him.

Notes from the guitar sound out over the room and the fans quiet down in anticipation. The first few soulful chords already sound better to me than the opening band, but maybe I’m just caught up in the energy of the crowd, or affected by the afterglow of my make-out session.

Megan squeezes my arm. Cheers sound again as the stage lights up and the lead singer starts his first number. His deep, husky voice instantly commands attention, and I stretch for a better view.

Tousled hair, open shirt revealing a well-muscled chest, ripped jeans over strong thighs ... am I still high from that kiss?

He moves under the spotlight, and any doubt I had is gone.

Holy fuck.

Aidan isn’t out on the patio looking for me. He’s right in front of me, singing to a packed house.

Chapter 4

Amber

At first I’m too stunned to think clearly. Why didn’t he mention he was in the band? Why did he ask me to wait, instead of telling me he was going off to perform? After a few seconds, though, it doesn’t matter; I fall under his spell just as surely as I did out on that patio.

Aidan performs with the same sexy intensity as he kisses, and for the longest time I can’t look away. I’m as mesmerized by him at this distance as I was when he was standing right next to me. He owns the stage, and his performance has me convinced that he feels every single word of the bluesy rock ballad he’s singing:

Well it took one time to know her

Gonna take two times to show her

She’s all that I need, all night long

His voice exudes desire and longing; he sounds exactly like he made me feel a few minutes ago. At first I feel like it’s only him and me in the room, even though I have no indication he’s spotted me. But when a verse ends and the band briefly takes over, my tunnel vision expands and I notice his fans.

The crowd pressed against the stage is almost all women. Packed two or three deep, the group is fixated on Aidan’s every movement. And when he starts to sing again, the women scream for him and reach for him, and he responds.

He struts, he stoops down to be closer to them, he looks into their eyes; it’s clear that he’s aware of their adoration and plays it for all it’s worth. When the first song ends and a faster tempo song begins, Aidan lets out a loud “Oh, yeah!” and tears off his shirt in one fast motion. The squeals and shouts are nearly deafening.

Megan is among the screaming fans; I hear her yelling right beside me, but I don’t look her way because did I mention he tore his shirt off? What I’d gotten a glimpse of earlier is now fully on display, and it’s a thing of rare beauty, the likes of which I’ve never before seen. It looks like his six pack was on special, buy one get one, because the tight ripples of his abs do not stop.

My god, he’s even sexier as he performs, and I didn't think that was possible. Why on earth was he talking to me, when he has all these rabid fans?

His arms, one flexing as he holds the microphone, the other frequently reaching out to the women crowding the stage, are lean, solid muscle, and I want them wrapped around me again so badly that it almost hurts to watch him.

I have the urge to push my way through the crowd to get closer, but as much as I’m enjoying his performance, what I really want is to be back on the deck with him right now. I want to run my hands over him and find out what it feels like to

touch a body that looks like that.

A dark, swirling tattoo covers his left arm, all the way up to his shoulder. I want to see it up close, and trace its lines with my fingers.

Did they turn up the heat in here? I’m getting really warm.

Their second number segues into a third and I get a little dizzy just watching the sweat bead on Aidan’s body and trail down to his jeans.

When the song ends, he breaks to talk to the crowd, but I can’t hear what he says because Megan yells into my ear. “Pretty hot, huh? See what you’ve been missing?”

I nod and try to listen to Aidan, but she continues, “He’s a great singer, but with his body, I’d watch him stand up there and read my poli sci book.”

My roommate seems like she’s waiting for a response from me about Aidan’s hotness, but I’m too preoccupied to answer. My surprise at seeing him onstage is quickly turning into a much less pleasant feeling.

When he kissed me, I thought I felt a special connection with him; but he’s clearly experienced at playing to his fans, and he sure does have a lot of them. Maybe I was just part of his pre-show warmup.

The band starts another song, but that doesn’t stop Megan, who seems to already be feeling the drinks she had. “I wanted to find a spot up front, but Eric made me stay back here.”

She rolls her eyes in Eric’s direction and I feel a flash of sympathy for him. From the way he watches Megan when she’s not looking, he obviously has it bad for her, but she has him so far in the friend zone he might as well be her brother.

On stage, Aidan growls out his lyrics:

Come on, baby

Give me what you got

You know I get impatient

And you’re so damn hot

Megan squeezes my arm again and leans in, stumbling a little on her heels. “I hear he takes a different girl home every night. Some night, I wanna be the girl.”

A stab of jealousy hits me; then the pain comes. A different girl every night? Ever since I saw him up on stage, an ugly suspicion has been roiling in my stomach, and now I know: he’s a player, through and through.