“You did great,” Lucas said.
She threw her arms around him in an excited hug. Just when she thought her body couldn’t be more alive or her head couldn’t get any higher, her excitement catapulted to the next level at the closeness of their bodies. She pulled back and gazed at him in the shadowed darkness. His golden hair glowed in the sliver of light surrounding the stage and his gorgeous eyes caught the reflection. The angles of his jaw and cheekbones accentuated the handsome features of his face, as well as the taut muscles straining under his Metallica T-shirt. They stared at one another, forgetting that they were surrounded by a half dozen people. He smiled back at her, softly, without saying anything, but she could read his eyes, and heat filled her cheeks and invaded her chest.
“That was wonderful!” Angel Garcia put his arm around their shoulders, breaking the spell, and guided them off stage. “I’m going to introduce Prodigy. Get ready to make an entrance.”
She made eye contact with Lucas. The moment may have been broken, but the sentiment lingered and it consumed her with an array of emotions. But, she couldn’t think about that now, because Prodigy was making their debut on stage in a matter of seconds.
Everyone except Angel vacated the stage and the lights came up. The audience roared when they saw him, but quieted at the empty stage. “Get ready to rock, because tonight we have a special treat,” he said into the mic. “Throw your fists in the air! Raise your horns and rock the fuck out for Prodigy’s first appearance on the big stage!” He extended his arm to the side of the stage as he introduced each member of the band. “On lead guitar, the brilliant Lucas Blade.” Lucas played a few chords while he walked to the left side of the stage as the crowd cheered. “On rhythm guitar, we have the unrivaled Sindy Cavanaugh!” Sindy didn’t have anything to announce her entrance like Lucas, so she simply waved at the crowd as they hollered for her while she took her spot. “On vocals and bass guitar, with a voice that rivals my own, the incredible Tessa Blade Garcia!” Tessa was a ham and practically danced across the stage while she thumped on her bass and rocked her head, hands-free mic clipped to her ear. It incited the crowd and they shouted loudly as they welcomed her. “On the drums, someone who needs no introduction.” The fans roared for Mason even before Angel said his name. “World renowned drummer! The original child prodigy! The incomparable Mason Wilder!” Deafening screams sliced through Sindy’s eardrums at the reception the fans gave Mason. He smiled brighter than the stage lights, his dimples proudly on display, as he jumped onto his father’s kit and raised his sticks over his head in greeting.
“THIS IS PRODIGY!” Angel yelled into the mic.
“One. Two. Three. Four,” Mason chanted, and the arena came alive with the high-powered beats ofDriven. Tessa delivered the vocals like a powerhouse, guiding the rhythm with her baseline. Sindy followed Lucas’ lead, playing each note perfectly. She didn’t overpower him or throw in any spur-of-the-moment effects. She was so nervous she didn’t dare deviate from the song and played it exactly like they had at rehearsal. She looked up at Lucas for reassurance, and he returned a confident smile. He nodded once, the overhead light brightening his eyes. She watched him as he played. He was bold and assertive, never wavering or doubting himself or his ability, and it bolstered her self-confidence. She started to relax and forgot that she was in front of an audience, and began to have fun, just like Lucas and Tessa had both said, and it fueled her performance. When Lucas strutted over to her, they had a little face off with their guitars. Although it was rehearsed, it made her giddy, and an excited laugh bubbled from her throat. Lucas smiled in return, before they pressed their backs together and played in harmony.
Tessa jumped on the amp and jutted her hips provocatively while plucking her instrument. The crowd screamed for her. A minute later, she jumped down, ran across the stage and hopped onto the drum riser. She sang to Mason, snarling her lip and growling like a tigress. His grin stretched the width of his face and he watched her with bright eyes as his hands moved of their own accord across the drums.
Tessa commanded the crowd from the moment she set foot on stage to the very end of the song. “Thank you! That was our debut singleDrivenavailable next month!” She opened her arms for her bandmates, and they joined her at the apron. The cheers were incredible. Everyone was shouting their names. Sindy couldn’t believe she heard her name being called alongside someone as famous as Mason Wilder! Her life was truly a dream come true.
Her head was still reeling as she walked off stage, a little dazed at the euphoric high that engulfed her. Tessa suddenly yanked her out of the way just as a rolling drum riser, which held Mason’s Tama kit, almost collided with her. She’d forgotten that Mason and Jimmy were having a drum off, and the excitement about Prodigy’s performance was instantly overshadowed by the anticipation of watching this father/son duo. Tonight was truly one euphoric high after the next.
“Pay attention,” Tessa warned with a laugh. “These guys’ll run you over with the equipment.”
Lucas was already waiting at the side stage. He leaned over and stuck a kiss on Sindy’s cheek. “You wowed them tonight, and me too. Get ready for insta-stardom.”
His lips on her cheek sent a shiver down her spine and her face flushed, making it feel a thousand degrees hotter even though they had escaped the blaring stage lights.
The crowd screamed when the lights came on to reveal twin drum sets on stage, drowning out Sindy’s feeble, “Thank you.”
Lucas’ lips were at Sindy’s ear again as he pointed to Mason and Jimmy. “Get ready to witness magic. These two together are unsurpassed.”
Jimmy and Mason both stood behind their kits, sticks raised in one hand. They faced the audience, then they faced each other. Mason’s million-dollar smile met Jimmy’s billion-dollar smile. Cameramen zoomed in to capture the exchange. One focused on Mason, the other on Jimmy, and Sindy wondered if they had been filming Prodigy, as well. If they had, she hadn’t noticed, but she was so awestruck, lost in the moment, they could have been right in her face and she wouldn’t have realized it.
Both drummers sat and shared a synchronized beat as they pounded on the drums and cymbals. After about 30 seconds, they stopped at the same time and started twirling their drumsticks. Jimmy threw one of his sticks in the air and caught it, while still spinning the other. Mason did the same, mimicking his father. They spun their stools to face one another, still spinning a stick in each hand, then tossed them to each other. Jimmy caught Mason’s sticks, and Mason caught Jimmy’s. Jimmy rattled off a few solo beats. Mason answered with a round on his toms and kicks to his double bass. They went back and forth a few times, until Mason stopped drumming and let Jimmy have the spotlight, literally.
White light encased Jimmy as he moved with speed and fury. There was no defined technique or recognizable pattern. Jimmy freely hit every piece of his drum kit, arms flying wildly as if he had eight of them. Both sticks hit his snare, then he spun 360 degrees on his stool and hit the snare again before pounding on his rack toms. He crashed his sticks down on his side cymbals a dozen times, then stood with his arms raised above his head and pointed his sticks at Mason. The crowd went nuts, shouting and yelling and stomping their feet. Sindy covered her ears and glanced at Lucas, who just smiled. “Wait. Just wait,” he said.
It was Mason’s turn, and the audience let loose with another caterwauling wail in recognition of the younger Wilder’s talent. Mason started off slowly, playing around with both bass pedals, lazily adding a round on his rack toms and striking the crash cymbal. Then his smile widened. He was done teasing the audience. Spontaneous beats burst from Mason’s fingertips and he channeled his passion onto his drum kit. He moved faster than the eye could follow. His sticks were invisible, his arms a blur of colorful tattoos. Muscles pulled at the sides of his neck, across his shoulders and his biceps flexed from the force he exuded. His feet moved independently and then simultaneously. His cymbals splashed sound into the air around him. A cow bell, that Sindy didn’t even know was there, was the recipient of an assault that lasted probably 10 seconds, which excited the crowd and caused them to surge forward with their fists punching the air.
“He’s amazing,” Tessa’s voice was somehow squeezed between the drumbeats. She was staring at Mason with a starry-eyed gaze, enamored by the guy’s incredible skill and carefree, effortless drumming style. Sindy turned back to Mason, with the same look of amazement. She’d seen him play dozens of times, but he never had the free spirited bounce on the stool or sparkle of light in his eyes that he had right now. Even his smile was more infectious, which seemed impossible. It was the stage and the audience that made him shine. Mason suddenly stopped, stood up, and tugged his shirt over his head, which made the arena fill with a wail of female screams. Sindy thought that was it, the end of the drum solo, but Mason sat back down and continued as if it were just a rest between beats. He seamlessly picked up with his out-of-control wild hits to his toms, the splash of his cymbals and the deep thump of his double bass.
Jimmy watched his son, overflowing with pride and totally enthralled by Mason’s performance. Sindy glanced at Tessa, and then back at Jimmy. The two of them wore the same expression of wonderment, and Sindy imagined the same look was on her face, as well. Jimmy stood up and started clapping, then bowed at the waist toward his son with his arms outstretched in front of him. After another minute of Mason’s nonstop remarkable drumming, Jimmy waved his hand at Mason and started to leave the stage as if to say, I’m out. You don’t need me here anymore. Or, I’m not playing after that. But, Jimmy returned and stood next to his drum riser to watch the spellbinding showmanship and talent of Mason Wilder, along with the rest of the arena.
Playing with his dad on stage always left Lucas exhilarated. But the first time playing with Sindy, and playing together as a band, felt euphoric. It felt right, as if Sindy was the missing piece that propelled them one step further. He couldn’t imagine not having her in the band or in his life. His mind halted, as if he hit a wall, reminding him that she wasn’t in his life. Not the way he wanted her to be, and it left an ache in his chest.
He refused to let his bruised heart diminish this day and pushed his pain aside. He smiled as he watched Sindy, Tessa, and Mason laughing and hugging in the dressing room. “We did it!” he exclaimed, as he walked toward them.
Tessa was so excited she looked as if she was about to explode. “It was awesome!”
Mason slapped Lucas on the back. “Finally! I got to play Madison Square Garden with my family. I’ve played here more times than I can count, but it never felt this phenomenal. This real.”
Sindy looked shell-shocked. Her wide eyes held a dazed stare, and her cheeks were flushed a bright red that almost matched her hair.
“Are you OK, Sin?”
“I’m . . . I just . . .” Her hands went to her forehead. “I can’t believe I just played Madison Square Garden!”
“Believe it, hon. I didn’t want to tell you this, but there were some big name music journalists in the audience. I can’t wait for the reviews tomorrow.”
Her gaping mouth added to the disbelief displayed across her face. “Are you serious?”
