by Meghan Quinn
Grey shook his head and then walked off with the rest of the guys to the back of the stage. Rook wanted to go back there, he wanted to meet the girl he deemed his edgy angel, but he knew if he did, he would lose himself and he couldn’t do that. So instead, he relied on his old friend alcohol to get him through the night.
***
They had never played as well as they did tonight. It was as if the music Gods finally came together and fully brought together their sound. Willow’s harmony with Maisy’s was almost magical and the crowd was probably the biggest and most energetic they had ever had.
Willow sat on the amp that Kaid was trying to roll to the back door so he could put it in the van. “You guys, that was amazing! There were so many people there.”
Kaid gave Willow a high five and agreed. “That was, by far, our biggest crowd. I can’t believe we finally scored a set at The Tavern. This might be it for us, girls.”
Maisy didn’t want them getting their hopes up, but she couldn’t deny the electric energy she felt when she was out on the stage. People danced, cheered, and some even sang along once they learned their lyrics. It was incredible and the night would go down in Maisy’s mind as one of the best nights of her life.
“Once we get packed up, we need to go talk to the owner, Bobby, and see if we can set up another show,” Maisy said. “We need as much exposure as possible.
Willow ran her hands through her hair. “Can we just enjoy tonight for a second, Maisy?”
“We can enjoy the night, but we also need to strike while we’re hot. We can’t sit back and wait for things to happen for us.”
Maisy was all for celebrating, but they could celebrate after they booked another gig with Bobby. They’d had good shows before and didn’t capitalize afterwards; they thought more gigs were just going to roll in, but they were wrong. So this time Maisy didn’t want to miss out on their opportunity, especially since she blew a huge opportunity at the Seven-Eleven.
Willow was about to protest when Bobby walked into the room where they were loading all their equipment.
“Good set you guys. I was really impressed.” Bobby said, while shaking Kaid’s hand.
“Thanks,” Kaid said.
Maisy stepped in. “Bobby, thank you so much for the opportunity. We couldn’t be more grateful. Do you think there is an opportunity to play here again?”
Bobby shook his head and Maisy’s heart dropped. “I don’t think so. You guys were great, but I don’t think that is going to be an option.”
Maisy looked at Willow and Kaid and she knew their expressions mirrored hers; utter disappointment. Being the lead of the band, Maisy knew she had to stick her head up and act professional for all three of them.
So, she stuck her hand out, with her head held high and said, “Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but we are truly grateful for this opportunity.” She shook Bobby’s hand and turned to her bandmates. “Come on you guys, let’s load up.”
“One second. I want you guys to meet someone.” Bobby left the room and Willow, Kaid and Maisy all looked at each other trying to figure out who Bobby went to go get. Their faces wavered between confusion and disappointment.
“I can’t believe this,” Willow muttered. “Maybe if I flash him we can get another gig.”
“He seemed pretty set in his ways,” Kaid said. “I don’t know how much we can really do.”
Disappointed, Maisy shook her head and studied her hands as they waited for Bobby to come back. She felt so empty, as if a black void was starting to take over her body. They worked so damn hard and, even though the owner said they were great, he didn’t want to book them again. How could that be?
The set ran through Maisy’s head, as she tried to think about where they possibly went wrong. What did they do that would turn Bobby off so much from booking them again? It’s not like they were expensive, they pretty much sang for any amount.
“Hello.”
Maisy looked up to match the deep voice that broke the silence in the room. When she made eye contact with Grey Cross, she thought her body was going to split in two from shock. Maisy took a quick glimpse at Willow who was now standing straight up and adjusting her bra.
They were all silent, not knowing what to say. The lead bassist of Shattered Souls was backstage with them. He wanted to come say hi. Did he remember her from Seven-Eleven? She hoped to God not; she wanted to completely erase the memory of that night, especially when Rook Tyler showed his face. She would never forget the smirk he gave her that night, it was mortifying.
“Uh…hello?” Grey said again, snapping all of them out of the dream-like state they were in.
Maisy shook her head and that was when she realized Landon and Cruz were with him as well. The no-show from Rook was a little dis-heartening but Maisy wasn’t going to think much of it since three out of the four Shattered Souls were standing right in front of her.
“Hi, sorry. We’re a little startled. We didn’t expect you to walk through the door,” Kaid said, saving their asses.
“Yeah, we normally don’t do this,” Cruz said, while looking Maisy up and down, making Maisy’s face heat up.
Grey nudged Cruz and said, “What Cruz is trying to say is that we saw you perform and were blown away. We think you guys have some serious talent.”
“Thank you,” Maisy was able to squeak out. She was so surprised that Willow had been silent this whole time. She thought for sure Willow’s tongue would be halfway down Grey’s throat by now. She always joked about jumping Grey the minute she was ever in the same room as him and now that she had her chance, she was frozen stiff and all clammed up.
Landon stepped in and said, “Well, we mean it. You guys were awesome.”
He shifted on his feet and Maisy admired the way Landon was so down to earth, even though he was well-known around the world as the sexy, but funny drummer of Shattered Souls. Landon was very good looking. His strong jaw resembled Grey’s, but Landon wore thick-rimmed glasses and his hair was shaved on the sides and high on the top, kind of Elvis-esque. Grey and Landon shared the same color eyes, but where Landon sported a more structured hairstyle, Grey wore his hair messy and across his forehead.
“We have a proposition for you guys,” Cruz added. Cruz was a sexy Latino who had an I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude, just like Rook. His brown, almost black eyes stood out amongst his features and his dark eyebrows and slick-cut hair showed off the jagged features of his perfectly handsome face. “We are kind of in a bind and were wondering if you guys would come on tour with us?”
Maisy felt her mouth drop to the floor. She needed to clean out her ears because she thought Cruz just asked them to go on tour with them.
“Excuse me?” Kaid said, just as shocked as Maisy and Willow.
“We would love for you to open for us. We are short an opening act and you guys would be perfect. You fit in with our sound and you’re unique. We still have to talk to our record label, but we’re pretty sure once they hear you, they will be on board,” said Grey. “What do you think?”
Willow, Kaid and Maisy all looked at each other, smiled and turned toward Shattered Souls.
“Fuck, yeah!”
***
The minute Willow heard Grey’s voice, her heart seized and every bone in her body felt like it melted. She could pick that voice out from anywhere. He was the man that haunted her dreams, even though she knew meeting him was almost impossible. Never in her life did she think she would be standing next to him, let alone being offered a chance to go on tour with him.
She knew he was dating his longtime girlfriend, Quinn, but that didn’t faze her feelings. It only made her want Grey even more. He was everything she could ever look for in a guy. They were both bassists, they both were backup singers and Willow felt deep down in her heart that they were kindred souls.
Quinn was a stylist; she was sweet, but she was a stylist. She didn’t have the same musical aspirations as Willow or the same rocking body either. Willow knew if she ever got the chance
, she would try to win Grey’s heart. She didn’t really think the task would ever be an option though.
Willow listened to Kaid, Maisy and Grey talk about the specifics of the tour and what the next step was, but Willow tuned everything out as she watched the fine muscles in Grey’s neck move up and down as he spoke to her bandmates.
She wished she could pull him to the side and kiss the side of his neck, up to his lips and then back down his body. She knew he had a good body, thank you Rolling Stone’s cover.
“How rude of us,” Grey said. “I didn’t catch your names.”
“I’m Maisy.”
“Ah, yes. The Seven-Eleven girl.” Maisy flushed at Cruz’s statement.
“Seven-Eleven girl?” Kaid asked.
“Uh, I’ll tell you later,” Maisy muttered.
“We ran into her at the Seven-Eleven a week ago. She put in a nice plug for you guys, but our asshole friend Grey scared her away,” Cruz said, while patting Grey on the shoulder.
“You met Grey Cross and you didn’t tell me?” Willow blurted out, completely forgetting about the company she was with.
She clamped her mouth with her hands and saw Grey grinning at her. He held out his hand and said, “Grey, and you are?”
Willow took his hand in hers and didn’t want to let go. She instantly felt connected to him and had the urge to hump his leg off, but refrained out of self-respect, what little she had.
“Willow Linn.”
“Nice to meet you Willow,” Grey said, while looking her up and down. Willow’s heart started to pound out of her chest at the once-over he gave her.
“Kinkaid,” Kaid said, as he shook the guys’ hands. “And no need to introduce yourselves, we know who you are.”
Grey laughed and then went into more specifics of what they had to do in order for the label to jump on board. Willow let Maisy and Kaid handle the details as she soaked the moment in.
She was standing next to Grey Cross, who just shook her hand and looked her up and down as if she was his own personal eye candy. She felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. What happened to her cool? She had never been so mute before in her life. She was going to hear it from her bandmates later but, at the moment, she didn’t care. She just soaked up as much Grey as possible and thought about ways she could win his heart.
***
“She’s pretty,” Quinn said while nudging Landon as they drove back to the label’s house that the band was allowed to stay in whenever they were in town. They had been on the road so much, none of the guys had the chance to buy a house yet, or settle down into their own dwellings.
“Which one?” Landon asked, as Quinn placed her head on his shoulder.
Grey and Cruz were on the phone with the label, Rook was passed out, trashed, so that left Landon and Quinn together. Quinn always treated Landon like an older brother and relied on him when Grey wasn’t around.
“They both are, but Willow is gorgeous. She’s kind of exotic, with curves that I would kill for.”
“Nah, you have good curves.”
“Ha, I have the body of a geeky twelve year old boy.”
Landon looked at her and laughed. “I didn’t know twelve year old boys had perky tits and shapely legs.”
“I’ll give you legs…but tits? Come on Landon, who are you kidding?” She looked down her shirt and then back up at him. “There’s nothing down there but sternum.”
Quinn was always hard on herself. She had image problems and had to be hospitalized once for anorexia. That was one of the hardest times in Grey and Landon’s life. The band took a short stint off while Quinn got healthy again. She was much better, but she still had image issues, especially when it came to comparing herself to other women.
“I’m not going to get into this with you, Quinn. You know you’re hot as hell and you know you have a great body. Don’t let anyone else make you feel differently.”
She nuzzled into his shoulder. “I know, but did you see the way Willow looked at Grey and the way he looked back at her? There was something there, Landon.”
Landon saw it too, but he wasn’t going to confirm what Quinn saw. He would just have to have a talk with his brother. Willow was hot, beyond hot and way too tempting for any guy. She was bad news and Landon could feel something brewing.
“There was nothing there,” Landon lied, as he took in Quinn’s scent.
Landon remembered the day he met Quinn. It was in high school. Grey brought her home so they could work on a history project together. The moment Landon laid eyes on Quinn, he couldn’t help but fall for her. Back then, she wore her hair long past her shoulders, but was always very stylish. Now her hair was short, falling right at her chin. She added more blonde highlights to show off the features of her face and her brown eyes. She was, by far, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and she still was. The only bad thing was she belonged to his brother and there was not a damn thing he could do about it.
“I love that I can always talk to you Landon. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for.”
Landon pulled her in tight and tried to ignore the sharp pain radiating through his chest at the mention of the word friend. What he wouldn’t give to add the word boy in front of that. He dreamed about Quinn almost every night; he knew it was wrong because she was his brother’s girl, but he couldn’t help himself. She was everything to him and he was…a brother to her.
“Back at ya, kid.”
“So are you going to go for her?”
“Willow?”
“Yeah. You guys would be hot together.”
They would be, he would give Willow that, but he wasn’t interested. Quinn ruined him.
“Eh, I don’t know. I don’t want to get mixed up with someone in another band. We’re already skating on thin ice with our label. The last thing we need is for another band to get pissed and ask to be dropped from the tour. I think keeping everything professional might be the best idea. Plus, that’s why we have Rook, so he can be the fuck up, not me.”
“No, you’re just the practical jokester,” Quinn said, laughing.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, ok. So the Saran Wrap on the toilet seat on the tour bus had nothing to do with you?”
“I don’t even know what Saran Wrap is. I think you’re trying to get me in trouble, missy.”
“Whatever. You know what you did.”
“Keep thinking that.” Landon looked at Rook who was stretched out across a seat, mouth open wide and drool starting to form on the seat. “Want to have a little fun?”
Quinn looked at Rook and her eyes lit up.
“Always!”
Chapter 3
Rook sauntered downstairs as he listened to his bandmates talking in the kitchen. He woke up to all kinds of hurt scorching through his body. He had a headache that could rip a hooker’s clothes off with one pulse, his eyes stung like he slept with raw onions on each eyelid, and his breath was so wretched he thought one of his bandmates took a shit in his mouth when he was sleeping.
When he took his morning piss, he noticed that Quinn must have had a little fun with her make-up because his eyes were looking rather dainty and the shade of lipstick that was not so delicately placed on his lips was completely the wrong shade and not flattering one bit. He washed his face before he headed downstairs so he didn’t get ragged on too much.
The guys and Quinn were sitting around the table, drinking coffee and eating a box of donuts when Rook entered the kitchen. They were all showered and dressed…fucking go-getters.
“Ah, the princess has arrived,” said Landon.
Rook flipped off his friend, grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at the end of the table. His friends were looking way too chipper for Rook’s liking. Something must be brewing because he didn’t like the looks on all their faces.
“What?” Rook asked, while they all stared at him.
“Do you want to tell him?” Cruz said to Grey.
“Sur
e.” Grey looked at Rook and said, “Our tour troubles have been solved. Talked to the label last night; they’re excited about Twisted Perfection. All they need to do is hear them in the studio and then we can start moving forward…”
Rook held up his hand. “Who the hell is Twisted Perfection?”
“Seriously?” asked Cruz. “Dude, are you really that hung over? Do you not remember the band last night, the hot blondes and the drummer?”
Fuck, that wasn’t a dream, Rook thought.
“You mean to tell me you’re talking about touring with the typical blonde hipster with eyes that should legally not be that big, the douchebag drummer and that girl who I can only assume is Adolph Titler? Fuck no!”
Rook grabbed a donut and shoved it in his mouth to help his stomach from rolling around. He had way too much alcohol last night and he knew why. It was the typical blonde hipster, whose eyes wouldn’t escape his damn mind.
Twisted Perfection was good; they were really good. He couldn’t deny the fact that they took one of Rook’s all-time favorite songs and made it a hundred times better. Their harmonization was spot-on and their instrumentals were hypnotizing. Rook sat back last night, drank his life away and was enthralled by the sound of Twisted Perfection, mainly the edgy angel’s voice.
Rook couldn’t shake the blonde beauty with big brown eyes out of his head. She haunted him all last night and he had no clue why. He had been with women who sported larger breasts, more curves and normal-sized eyes, but for some odd reason, she was getting to him. Rook chalked it up to the sound of her sweet, yet edgy voice and the way her fingers glided across her worn out acoustic guitar. She was mesmerizing…that’s all he could think to say and he knew that if Twisted Perfection went on tour with them he would be fucked. There wasn’t a whore’s chance in hell that he would be able to stay away from her.
“They were really good. You were so pissed last night that you couldn’t tell the difference between a decent guitar rift and Chewbacca’s cry for help,” said Landon.
