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I chose a black t-shirt with a faded band name in forest green on the front, then tucked it into a black leather skirt. Despite the lack of time, I rushed on dark makeup and curled my violet hair. Knee-high black boots paired with a chain belt completed the look.
All my rushing fell short, and I arrived at the venue late. Luckily, they held my ticket at the front door. The glass doors here were much easier to open than the metal doors at the previous venue. Though the crowds were equally loud and disorderly.
Levi’s band was mid-song. I recognized it as one of his new releases from a recent album. All my studying over the weekend paid off in that regard.
The crowd writhed around me. A surging wave of excited bodies caught up in the music's thrill. His fans screamed and cried and writhed as he sang, as if his voice moved through them, lifting their very hearts and souls.
Stage lights made it difficult for a performer to see their entire crowd. I couldn’t help the sneaking thoughts in my mind that wondered how fans at my shows reacted. Did people in the audience weep from the intensity of my concerts all those years ago?
On stage, the band transitioned into another song. As the first notes played, the observable tension in the crowd exploded. Arms waved in the air, and fans screamed with their delight.
Any other time, the swarming bodies crowding around me might have overwhelmed my anxiety. Claws of my nerves lingered on the edge of my mind, and only the alluring notes of Levi’s voice kept them at bay.
The way he swayed his hips and stroked the microphone was entirely erotic. His gyrating and singing were explicitly suggestive. While the song itself wasn’t lewd in nature, everything about his charisma radiated with carnal desire.
His handsome painted face mimicked a frightening skull, accentuated by the strobing lights, evoked an arousing fear. Lured into the haze of his performance, and addled by the energy of the crowd, I swayed under his influence.
Chills raced over my limbs, and a wanton heat stewed low in my belly. My skin tightened and my heart thudded like a hammer against my ribs. Hundreds of bodies separated us, yet by the end of the song, I swore we were the only two souls in the building.
The last notes of the song faded. Levi had successfully captivated his entire audience. Fans were nearly silent, in awe as the music ended.
Levi, dressed in a tattered Gothic mock of a Victorian military uniform, crouched at the edge of the stage. He was an otherworldly creature, looking over the front row from the black voids around his eyes. The band played another few beats as the rock star enticed the crowd by singing the last lines once more.
His hand reached out into the crowd, close enough for a fan to take it. Those dark eyes locked onto someone in the front row as he pulled them closer. This would be a moment that fan would never forget.
Slowly, as if whispering for his chosen fan alone, he sang the final line of the song.Then the world around me shattered like broken panes of glass as he pulled her in for a kiss.
Eight
That singular moment solidified to me that my initial judgment was right all along. Levi was nothing more than a womanizing bastard like all the other rock stars around the world.
I gave in to that nasty shock without stopping to think about why I felt the way I did. The true source of my upset didn’t matter when it blinded me.
What I knew was that I had a hot temper and a bad attitude. My short fuse had been lit up. A spark raced toward the explosive, and I needed to burst—to get this surging turmoil out.
Everything blurred around me. The lights, the people, even the sounds of the band thanking the audience turned into a muffled mess in my head. I bee-lined through security and backstage at the same time Levi strolled off the stage.
We were on a collision course, whether he knew it or not. I’m not sure I was fully aware of it yet either. Not with the red blinders on my head guiding me toward him.
I made it to the dressing room first. A second later, the excited laughter of Levi and his band mates bounced around the corner from the stage entrance.
My hackles raised like a stray cat with her claws out. Ready to strike, to pounce, to bite.
Levi appeared around the corner at the front of the band. Messy strands of black hair fell over his forehead and the jovial smile on his face made his skull make-up appear less eerie, less inhuman.
In between bouts of laughter, he looked down the hallway and found me standing by the dressing room. He halted mid-step, reading my stiff stance and sharp stare.
“Oh, fuck,” he blanched.
One masked band member crashed into his back. But Levi was a massive wall of stone and muscle. He didn’t budge.
“You,” the word hissed through my teeth.
“I’m sensing that I’m in trouble.” Levi’s suave voice covered the concern in his eyes.
His band mates didn’t recognize me. All they saw was an angry woman in front of Levi’s dressing room. So, when he said that, they grabbed his shoulders or poked at him, chuckling, and mocking him.
“Pissed off another band bunny, Levi?” the one at his back snorted.
