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“That’s my roommate, Carys. Jack’s trying to convince her to join the band.” Emerson beams with pride for Carys. “And he hates when you call him Jacky.”
Her dad orders a round of beers and hands one to her, not caring that she’s not twenty-one. “What do you mean trying to convince? She’s a fucking natural up there. Great voice. Great look.”
“Great legs too,” Eddie laughs, and rock royalty or not, I want to punch him in his pretty-boy face.
“She sings for fun. She doesn’t want to be in a band. Carys is helping the guys out while they try to replace the last guy.” Emerson runs her fingers over the lacey black shirt she’s wearing. “She wants to design clothing. She made me this last weekend.”
Stone’s girlfriend rubs the ribbons between her fingers. “She made this?” She looks questioningly at Emerson. “This is fantastic. Where does she sell her designs?”
Before Emerson can answer, Eddie does. “Fuck designs. That girl was born to be a star. You can’t teach what she’s got.”
Emerson pats his chest condescendingly. “I’m telling you, this isn’t what she wants. She’s just filling in.”
“We’ll see about that.” He stares at Carys like he’s judging one of those contests on TV and he’s got her golden ticket in his pocket.
I want to tell this guy to back off, but I’m not going to be the guy who causes a scene while Carys is on stage. Instead, I remove myself from the crowd and move down the bar to stand next to Rook.
“Ignore him, Sinclair. Dude’s an overprivileged asshole. Trust me, I know the type.”
“Yeah...”
We’re quiet for a minute while we watch the band.
Carys transitions to a P!NK song. Her voice builds, and she closes her eyes as she reaches for the high notes, sending goosebumps over my skin.
“That’s my baby momma,” I hear yelled into the crowd, and if it weren’t for the smile gracing her beautiful face when she hears it, swear to God, I’d fucking kill Axe.
When Six DayWar practiced this morning, we decided to have a little fun with tonight’s closing song. Jack and I finish the set with a cover of “Cheap Thrills.” And as I raise my hands over my head and bounce along with the chorus, my smile grows bigger than I ever thought it would. If last week was a rush, our performance tonight has been a high, higher than any I’ve ever had singing for a crowd.
When we leave the stage and step into the back hallway, my sweaty hair is sticking to my even sweatier face, but I feel freaking fantastic.
“Guys... Wow! I can see how you can get addicted to that high.”
Jack hauls me in for a quick hug. “Told you so. Give me a few weeks, and you’re never gonna give us up.” If I’m not careful, I could totally see him being right, and I really don’t want to fall into that trap. “We’re like an STD you can’t get rid of, CC.”
“Ew, gross.” I shove him away. “Not winning yourself any points there, Madden.”
“Dude.” Theo twirls his drumstick between his fingers like they’re an extension of his body. “Your dad brought Eddie Black with him tonight. Did you know he was doing that?” Anxious energy is rolling off him in waves.
“Seriously, I didn’t even know Dad was coming.” He grabs his bass from Lucas. “I would have told you if I did.”
Lucas scoffs, holding tight to his guitar case. “I’m glad I didn’t know. I had a hard time controlling my nerves once I saw them.”
“Don’t look at their faces.” All three guys stop what they’re doing and stare at me.
“What?” Lucas is a newbie like me. But I know he’s hoping this leads to a permanent place in the band.
“Don’t make eye contact. Instead, look right above everyone’s heads. That way, they all think you’re looking at them, but you’re not. It helps control the nerves. Trust me. I might be new to the whole band thing, but I’ve been on stage my whole life. That’s my trick. Avoid eye contact.”
“Well, damn.” Theo stands there, staring until Jack kicks his foot. “You’ve basically played a stadium.”
I can’t hold in my laugh. “I wouldn’t go trying to score us a spot at Wembley just yet.”
We get our gear packed up as quickly as possible so Jack can sayhito his dad, and Theo and Lucas can schmooze the rockstars before they leave. I’m not sure what it says about me that the only person I want to see tonight has absolutely nothing to do with rockstars.
Another reminder that the rockstar life really isn’t for me.
Once we push through the crowd dancing to the music the DJ spins, I see our group taking up the entire back corner of the bar. Well... I notice the whole group, but I only see Cooper. Everyone around him is talking, laughing, and drinking. But not Cooper. He’s staring at me with a look in those baby-blue eyes I desperately want to believe is need because want and desire don’t even exist in the same stratosphere as the need I have for him.
