Fever

by Carnal, MJ

  Blushing, I pull him back and kiss him hard on the mouth. “Thank you. I was hoping you’d like it. And as long as you wanting me is what’s making you crazy, I’m good with that.”

  “You’re all I want, Lex.” He pulls me in close and holds me tightly as he cups my ass and kisses my hair.

  “Well, you have me. We’ll talk after the concert about what’s bothering you. Because something is. I can tell. But I’d better get you to the guys. I know they’re probably stressing and you do have a concert to perform! So, let’s go Rock God.” I pull on his hands.

  He sighs, as he mutters, “Yeah, we’ll talk later. I’m so glad you’re here, Lex. So glad.” He entwines his fingers with mine and we head to the door. He opens it and pulls me into the hall as we walk towards the stage together.

  As we reach the stage, Erik, Bradi, and Micah are all standing around talking to four very anxious band members and one seriously pissed off looking stage manager. They see Jude and me and a collective sigh of relief echoes.

  Erik looks over at our approach, taking in our clasped hands and asks, “Everything good?” at the same time, Jessie asks, “You straight? Cause that fucking crowd is not going to wait much longer.”

  Jude and I look at each other and respond, “Yeah. We’re good.”

  Jude squeezes my hand, before slapping my ass, and leans in for one last kiss, murmuring against my lips, “Stay back here to watch us? I want you back here and not out there, dressed like that. Please.” He’s pointing to the audience.

  I smile at him, drag him down for a hard kiss, lick the seam of his lips and grab his ass, before whispering in his ear, “You bet. And everyone else can look if they want. You are the only one who gets to touch. And I expect some serious touching later!” With the last word, I lick the inside of his ear, push away from him and slap his ass. Hard.

  He groans out, “Fuck, babe! You are trying to kill me!” and grinning turns to the guys, who are all watching the exchange with surprised faces, “What? You fuckers ready to play or what? Well let’s go! What are you waiting on?”

  They shake their heads, looking between each other, then over at me with some serious smirks, and shrug before heading onstage. I follow along with Erik, Bradi, and Micah.

  I try to walk by them and act like nothing happened, but Bradi slips her arm through mine as we follow the band and leans into me. “What in the fucking hell was that all about? Holy shit, girl. That was so hot. I thought y’all were going to fuck right there against the wall.” She says, fanning herself and smiling. “Damn, that was intense. I never knew you had such a little slut in you! Then again, with Jude Delecroix… holy hell… I’d fuck him against a wall with an audience too. That. Was. So. Hot!”

  I feel my face flame as I think about what she’s said. “Shut up, Bradi! Geez! What did everyone say when we went to the dressing room? Were people saying… were they saying bad things about me?”

  “Um, no. No one said anything for a while. I think we were all in shock. But then that chick from the magazine said something about how she’d never…. And Jessie jumped all over her about minding her own fucking business. They kind of got into it, and Dade and Cruz had to pull him away. He kept ranting at her as they pulled him down here. Liam ended up steering her away and things settled down. A few minutes later, all of them were back, but I haven’t seen her. That chick is strange. Something is up there!” she spits out.

  “I know. I think something is up too. But when I asked Jude just now, he didn’t answer me. I’m going to talk to him later though. We promised to talk after the show.” I know something is up, but I don’t know what it is. Did Jude sleep with that woman or something?!?!

  We feel an arm around us and a warm body is pushed in between us. “So, love… what exactly was that? And are you sure everything is good?” Erik asks me.

  Sighing I wrap my arms around his waist as Micah comes up to claim his woman. “Yes, E. Everything is good. Just the life of a rock star, right?”

  But secretly I wonder what in the hell that was about. Because something is definitely up.

  We get to the side stage and people are running around with cords, and instruments. Jude is popping his neck and stretching. Jessie is holding his guitar and dropping to do squats and standing back up. Dade is stretching his fingers as a roadie hands him his guitar. Liam is standing there with his eyes closed, looking bored. And Cruz is twirling his drum sticks as he says some sort of chant.

  The excitement is evident and Bradi and I are both bouncing on our toes with nervous energy.

  The stage manager calls out, “FOUR minutes!” The guys all turn towards the stage, as Dade and Cruz head out.

  Bradi is holding my hand so hard, I can’t feel my fingers, and we feel Erik and Micah standing directly behind us.

  “ONE minute!”

  “Let’s do this shit, fellas!” Jude says to Jessie and Liam, before the two of them head out to the darkened stage, leaving Jude near us.

  All of a sudden, the beat of a drum and bass guitar come from the dark stage and Jude turns around and winks at me as he heads out... to his fans.

  The lights come on just as he takes center stage and his voice echoes through the arena.

  His voice is electrifying and I can’t take my eyes off of him.

  For half an hour, the four of us are mesmerized as we take in the show.

  Jude has the audience in the palm of his hand. They love him. And it’s clear as to why. He owns the stage.

  Finally the last notes of the song they just sang fade away and Jude talks to the audience, as a roadie brings out his guitar and a stool for him. He addresses the audience. “How you doing, Baton Rouge? It’s so good to be home!”

  The crowd goes wild. Bras are being thrown on stage and women are screaming and trying to push past the barricades and security guards to get to the stage.

  Jude wiggles his eyebrows at them and winks. “Hello, ladies. You are looking simply gorgeous tonight. Enjoying the show?”

  The female fans scream and some cry. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. But after watching Jude, perform live… I so get it.

  He sits down and sets the guitar on his lap, as he lowers the microphone to reach his mouth. “We’re going to do something a little different tonight. This song is an oldie but goodie. It’s actually one of the first songs I ever sang to a certain special someone. And she’s here tonight. So, if it’s alright with y’all, I’d like to sing it now.”

  The crowd goes wild and starts chanting his name… “Jude… Jude… Jude…”

  He pushes his hands down to calm the crowd, and as they quiet, he starts to play. It’s a slow song. Different from what they usually play, but the ballad is beautiful and tears start to fill my eyes.

  Jude looks over his shoulder to where I am and smiles. “This one’s for you, Lex.” And he starts to sing My Heart Was Red.

  As he gets to the chorus, Bradi is also choked up. Erik pulls me back against his chest and squeezes my shoulder, as he mutters out, “Well shit…”

  “I was always alone; alive but not living.

  Until the day broke clear and my heart was Red.

  Red… Red… My heart was Red.”

  The crowd goes insane and he looks over at me and smiles.

  I am done for… Jude just sang my song to me in front of 30,000 people in our hometown.

  I’m so gone.

  <><><>

  Jude

  Was that too much? Too soon? Was that the right move? Is she crying?

  Oh shit, why is she crying? Did she not like her surprise?

  I’ve never sang that song in front of our fans before. I sing it at every rehearsal and for every warm up, but never before in front of a crowd, but they seemed to like it.

  We sing a few more songs and it’s just me going through the motions. I can do this in my sleep.

  Dade and Jessie take over the crowd interaction and my mind drifts to Lexi.

  We have a small Meet and Greet aft
er the show, but after that, as soon as we can… I’m taking Lex out of here. I need to be alone with her. Right now. Tonight.

  As we wrap up the last song of the concert, I look over to the side stage and see Lexi, Erik, Bradi, and Micah there. But I also see Blue…

  Shit!

  <><><>

  Lexi

  As Jude wraps up his song, I feel a presence at my side. I look over. Blue is standing there with a strange look on her face, looking at Jude’s back and then into my face.

  “So. You’re the girl?” She says with a bit of awe.

  “The girl? What girl? What are you talking about?” I ask with a bit of bite.

  “You know ‘The Girl.’ Jude’s girl. You’re the girl who broke him.”

  “Excuse me? Look, I don’t know you and I’m not going to discuss my personal business with you. But I never broke him!” I rumble out scathingly.

  “You really believe that, don’t you?” She smiles sadly and shakes her head at me. “Look, I’m sorry I came off as rude. I didn’t realize who you were. I’ve known Jude a long time and, well, I didn’t know who you were. I sincerely apologize for making you uncomfortable though.” She taps her fingers against her lips.

  I look at her for the first time and really notice her appearance. She’s stunning. Her rich brown stick straight pixie-cut hair really accentuates her heart shaped face and azure eyes. She’s curvy, with large breasts and rounded hips. She’s also taller than me, as is made obvious by the fact that I’m wearing five inch stilettos and she has flat knee high boots on and is still taller than me by a good half an inch. Her figure is clearly accentuated in her black stretch pants and black skintight sleeveless shirt.

  Who exactly is she to Jude?

  “Well you have me at a distinct disadvantage, because other than knowing you are a journalist, I have no idea who you are.”

  “I’m just a friend, Lexi. Jude and I were over a long time ago. In fact we never really began, so no worries there, ok?” She’s trying to sound soothing now, but my nerves are so shot by this conversation that I have to walk away.

  “Excuse me. I need some air.” And I grab Bradi and Erik and pull them with me off the stage and into the hall. Micah is holding tight to Bradi, so he trails behind.

  Once we reach the hall, I drop down to a sitting position and sit on the back of my knees as I cup my face in my hands and scream in my head.

  Erik drops down beside me, “Lexi, what’s wrong, love? What did she say to you?”

  “Nothing… Everything… I don’t know… She didn’t know who I was. She’s slept with Jude. I broke him.” I’m rambling and talking into my hands.

  “Wait… what the fuck? She told you she slept with Jude?” he sputters out.

  “Oh hell no, I’m kicking that bitch’s ass!” Bradi screams and tries to go back towards the stage. But Micah holds onto her firmly.

  “Wait. No. She didn’t come out and say she slept with Jude. She just said they were over a long time ago and they are friends. But I read between the lines.” I choke on my words, “I mean, I know he’s been with other people since me. Shit, he’s a rock star for God’s sake. But to see her and know that they’ve been together… She’s beautiful. How many more women am I going to hear from about them having sex with my man? How am I supposed to be ok with that, E?”

  “Well, that’s still a shitty thing to do. Who does shit like that?!?! She’s a bitch. And she’s not that gorgeous, Lexi! She has nothing on you!” Bradi is still seething and ready to go to battle for me.

  Micah kisses her head. “Calm down, Baby. Not that I don’t think you can take her, because you’d totally whip her ass. It’s just not worth it. Jude dedicated that song to Lexi in front of 30,000 people. Everyone knows who he’s with… who he wants to be with.”

  He looks at me. “Lexi, seriously. I know you’re upset and I don’t blame you, but you can’t let this shit get to you. Jude has a past. We all do. It’s not the past that matters. It’s what we do in the present. And in the present, that man wants you.”

  “He’s right, Lexi” a familiar voice interjects. “I’m sorry that you found out like this. Yes, Blue and I have been together, but it was a long time ago and there is nothing there now but friendship and mutual respect.” Jude holds his hand out to me to help me up. “I don’t want her in that way. I don’t want anyone else in that way. Just you, Baby. Only you.”

  His eyes are pleading with me to take his hand.

  I reach up and grab it.

  <><><>

  Jude

  My heart fell to my knees as I looked over and saw Blue and Lexi with their heads bent together, and then I saw Lexi tense up.

  It took everything in me to stop from jumping over the guys and running over to the side stage to see what was happening.

  I can only imagine what Blue was telling Lexi. We’ve known each other since we had our first number one hit. Blue was an intern at Rock Hard Magazine and we became friends. One night after drinks, things got sexual and after that, we’d hook up from time to time, but I never thought about her romantically. We used each other. She’s seen me at my lowest. Back when we’d hook up, I was drunk all the time to numb the pain. I’d sleep with any attractive woman that offered themselves up to me. Blue is who made me see what a mess I had made of my life. She’s who snapped me back to reality.

  I told her about Lexi earlier today, but I only mentioned that we’d dated before and we were back together now. She’s a bright one and she’s seen me through my “other” relationships, throughout the years. She told me she didn’t believe it when I told her I’d bought a house here, and was going to live here most of the time, to be near Lexi.

  Once I was able to get off the stage, I found Blue and demanded she tell me what had just happened.

  “Nothing, Jude. I swear. I think she figured out that we’d slept together, but I apologized for treating her like shit earlier. I told her she was ‘the girl’ and she acted as if I spoke Chinese. She said she needed air and left. That’s all. I swear. I’m sorry, Jude. You should go after her though,” Blue told me.

  As I jumped off the stage and ran into the hall, I heard Lexi’s conversation with her friends.

  My heart dropped at the pain in her voice. I can’t have her feeling like this. I need to explain.

  After my explanation, I wait, holding my breath as I pray she takes my hand.

  She reaches up and places her tiny hand in mine.

  Thank God.

  I wrap my fingers around hers and pull her up. Pulling her straight into my arms and burying my face in her neck, I place a kiss on her pulse point. “Thank God, Baby. Thank God. I’m sorry.”

  She touches my face and kisses me before saying, “It’s ok, Jude. I know things have happened… with both of us. And as long as I’m the one you want to be with… I’m yours. Ok?”

  I hug her tightly and whisper, “You promise?”

  Her mouth on mine answers my question.

  “So, as awesome as this shit is, we have some fans to greet and as soon as we do that, we can all head out of here.” We look over and Dade is smiling at us with the rest of the guys, Lexi’s friends, and Blue and her photographer standing beside them.

  Blue looks at both of us and gives us a toothy smile and thumbs up.

  Jessie is looking at Blue…

  I take Lexi’s hand, kiss her palm, and turn to head to greet Bayou Stix’s fans.

  I’m not letting go until I have to.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lexi

  Jude is holding so tightly to my hand my fingers are tingling, but I don’t complain. We’re about to walk into a room full of female fans who all want to screw the band, so he can hold my hand as tightly as he wants to. These chicks need to understand that he’s with me.

  We stop at the door to the room they have reserved for the Meet and Greet and Jude leans into my face, looking into my eyes. “Lex, things can get pretty crazy at these things. Women and men are very aggressive and somet
imes they get very touchy feely. I just need you to be prepared for what you might see in here, ok?”

  I look at him and smile devilishly. “It’s ok. I understand. I want my hands all over you too, so I completely get it.” I wink and kiss him quickly.

  “Shit, Lex, you can’t say stuff like that! Look what you did!” He points to his groin where something is standing at attention.

  I smirk.

  “Well, that’s all mine. And as soon as you get in there and appease your fans, the sooner we can leave. I have a bed with a reservation in your name. Check in time is in two hours!” I duck under his arm with a smile and pull him with me towards the room. As he opens the door, I hear him groan.

  Jude and the guys are great with the fans. They hug and take pictures with all of them. I watch as more than one female fan shoves things in his pockets or whispers in his ear. He smiles through it all, but keeps meeting my gaze… reassuring me.

  Bradi and Micah decide to head out and Erik leaves with them. I tell them that I’ll catch a ride with Jude.

  I continue to watch the crowd and the way the band interacts with them, as I lean against the wall. My feet are killing me, and all I want to do is sit down, and take my shoes off.

  Someone stands next to me, and I catch Blue’s eyes. “They love him. He’s got this amazing way with the fans.”

  I keep watching Jude as I answer her. “Yes he does. He’s always had that effect when he sings.”

  Blue takes a deep breath. “Look, Lexi. I feel like I owe you an explanation. Jude and I… we were never romantically involved. Never. We were friends and I was there for him when he needed someone to be there for him. Yes, we’ve been… together… but even that was just… sex. No love, not even romance. Neither of us has ever harbored those feelings for the other. We were just friends. He was in a bad place and I was there. But as someone who knows him, someone who’s known him for about eight years now, I can tell you that I’ve never seen him with a woman the way I see him with you. He’s got a happiness about him that I’ve never seen before. I just wanted to tell you that, and apologize again for coming off as a raging bitch.”