From the first kick of the bass drum, Vic knew this was different.
Bonnie’s music was raw, gritty, and full of fire.She attacked her guitar like it owed her money, voice raspy and powerful as she leaned into the mic.Vic locked in behind her immediately, laying down a heavy, swinging groove that gave her room to breathe and then pushed her harder.
The opening track, called “Devil’s Backbone,” hit like a shot of good whiskey.Vic drove a steady, rolling pocket that let Bonnie’s guitar snarl and bite.When she leaned into the chorus, he answered with a powerful double-kick accent that made her glance over her shoulder with a fierce grin.The crowd surged forward, hands in the air.Vic felt the energy loop back to him and fed it right back into the kit.
Mid-set, they slowed things down with a tune called “Rusted Chains.”Bonnie’s voice turned smoky and dangerous on the verses.Vic eased back into a smooth, rolling groove, letting the toms breathe.During her solo, he laid down a subtle, modified pattern that made her face light up with approval.The whole room seemed to hold its breath.
“Midnight Reckoning” was their strongest song.Bonnie tore into the riff like she was exorcising demons.Vic pushed the tempo just enough to make it dangerous, throwing in thunderous fills that cracked the air open.When she stepped right up to the edge of the kit during the bridge, playing directly to him, Vic answered with a syncopated driving beat that made her eyes flash with heat and something deeper.The chemistry was electric.The crowd felt it too—bodies moving, voices singing along, the room alive in a way Vic hadn’t experienced in months.
By the fourth song, they were feeding off each other like they’d been playing together for years.Bonnie would throw a look over her shoulder mid-riff, and Vic would answer with a powerful accent that made her grin.The set became transcendent.
When they hit the final chord of the encore, the place exploded.
Bonnie turned, sweat glistening on her skin, and looked straight at him.Her chest was heaving.Her eyes were dark, pupils blown wide.The smirk she gave him was slow and dangerous.
***
Backstage after theshow, the tension didn’t dissipate.It thickened.
Bonnie came off the stage straight toward him, adrenaline still crackling around her like lightning.She stopped just inside his personal space, close enough that he could smell her—something warm and feminine.
“You don’t just fill in,” she said, voice low.“You play.”
Vic’s mouth curved.“You don’t exactly make it easy to keep up.”
“Good.”She stepped even closer, tilting her head.“I don’t like easy.”
The air between them felt charged.Her fierce independence was still there, but now it was twisted up with unmistakable hunger.Vic could feel his own pulse hammering in time with the memory of her guitar riffs and the way she’d looked at him while he drove the beat.
He leaned down slightly, voice rough.“Neither do I.”
Bonnie’s eyes dropped to his mouth for a second, then flicked back up.A slow, predatory smile spread across her face.
“Stick around tonight, Montrose,” she said, voice dropping even lower.“We’ll see just how well we play together off the stage.”
Vic’s blood ran hot.
This wasn’t going to be simple.
And he was already hooked.
***
The adrenaline wasstill crackling between them when they left The Frame Shop.
Bonnie didn’t ask if he wanted to grab food—she simply looked at him in the dim backstage hallway, eyes still dark with heat, and said, “I’m starving.You coming?”
Vic didn’t hesitate.“Lead the way.”
They ended up at a twenty-four-hour diner a few blocks away—the kind of greasy spoon that smelled like coffee, bacon, and decades of late-night confessions.They slid into a booth in the back corner, still buzzing from the show.Bonnie ordered a burger with everything and a chocolate shake.Vic got the same, plus coffee.
Conversation came easy at first—the gig, the way certain songs had felt, how the crowd had responded.But underneath every word was a low, humming tension.Every time their eyes met across the table, the air thickened.
Halfway through her burger, Bonnie licked a bit of ketchup off her thumb and fixed him with a direct stare.
“You gonna keep pretending you don’t want to fuck me, or are we done playing games?”
Vic nearly choked on his coffee.
