At first, I thought maybe they’d connected better than they had with me until I realized it was a different connection entirely. I wasn’t sure what was holding Griff back. She was usually straightforward and not the least bit shy, but I hoped she got over it soon. I wanted my friends happy.
“Can we please talk about how hot you look?” Maeko gushed, pulling Griff and me out of our heads. “I’d say you look like a rock star, but that’s kind of a moot point. I wonder how much hairspray Yuri used to get your hair to stay like that.”
“Judging by how hard it still is to breathe in here, I’d say a lot,” Griff deadpanned while fanning the misty air in front of her with a frown.
Rather than shaving the sides of my hair to achieve the faux hawk, Yuri had braided the sides, leaving the larger mass of my hair drifting down my back. Sherri then amplified the edgy look by darkening my eyes with black liner and shadow and painting my naturally red lips with clear gloss.
Tonight’s wardrobe consisted of a black halter with crisscrossed strings holding the front together and electric-blue pants, both leather and so tight I wondered if they assumed breathing was optional. The boots adorning my feet were the best thing about the ensemble. I didn’t know if I got to keep them, and I didn’t care. They were coming home with me.
A knock on the door had my heart falling into my stomach as fear and worry sent my olfactory senses on a joy ride. I knew before the stagehand yelled through the door that it was time.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Maeko yelled while jumping up and down excitedly. And then, with tears in her eyes, she added, “My best friend is a rock star.”
“Not quite,” I denied with a weak smile. I almost choked on the copper and brine I knew only I could smell. “But keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya?”
I left the dressing room with my friends hot on my heels since there was nothing left to say or do. It was so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. Perhaps it was best for everyone. Backstage was chaos as the crew hurried to and from to get last-minute things in place. Our opening act would be done any minute and then…
I took a deep breath that shuddered out of me before looking around.
Where the hell were they?She didn’t see us, but we saw her.
We watched as one of our roadies handed Braxton the guitar she’d be using for the first half of our set. She then looked around again as soon as he was gone. It hadn’t been my intention to hide, but then I saw her and the last thing on my mind was the goddamn show. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against the wall and willed my hard-on away.
“Damn,” Loren mumbled. I didn’t need to see to know that he was referring to Braxton. “Maybe having a chick in our mix isn’t such a bad idea after all. She’s certainly nicer to look at. Smells good too.”
“Not wanting her in our band never had anything to do with her being a girl,” Rich claimed.
“Uh-huh,” Loren mocked dismissively. There was a beat of silence and then, “If you’re picturing your grandmother naked, I wouldn’t advise it. She’s kind of hot.”
My eyes flew open, and I found Loren watching me. “What are you talking about?”
“Braxton. You want to fuck her.”
Xavier found us sitting on the staircase even though there were empty couches just a few feet away. We were hiding. “Last I counted, I only had two kids. Why do you three make me feel like I have five?”
“Relax, pops,” Loren replied. “We’re kind of pros. No big deal.”
“Your guitarist isn’t,” Xavier snapped while pointing at Braxton. She’d given up her search and was now pretending interest in her phone while her friends asked our busy crew a million questions. “She has no idea what she’s up against.”
Loren shrugged before leaning back to rest on his elbow on the step above him. “Not our problem.”
“And when the people who paid to see you perform start demanding their money back? Get your asses over there and make sure she doesn’t choke.” Shaking his head, Xavier cursed more before storming off to yell at someone else. It was why we paid him the big bucks—to worry so we didn’t have to.
Braxton had gravitated toward the stage with her friends huddled around her for support. Sighing, I ran my hand down my face. What the hell did Xavier expect from us? To lie and tell her everything would be okay? We did our part and taught her our music. The rest was up to her, and if she wasn’t ready by now, she never would be.