Jack helps me lock up my apartment and carries my bag down all three flights of stairs. On the cab ride to the city, I am a bundle of nervous, excited, and over the top happy energy. I can’t sit still, constantly tapping my foot or jiggling my leg. Jack holds my hand the entire time, smiling wide every time he looks at me, clearly entertained by my nerves.
When we arrive at the concert hall, the limo pulls around to the back entrance to let me out first. “I’ll circle the block, and then come in.” He kisses me before I exit. “I love you.”
“Me too.”
Once at the arena door, a security guard asks for my pass. I’ve never been back stage in my life. It’s thrilling to know that some great performers have walked these halls.
A pretty girl with a clipboard and an earpiece greets me, she introduces herself as Stephanie our event manager, and leads me down the hall a large room.
Dylan is the first to see me and walks over to grab my bags. “You excited?”
“Um, yes excitement is somewhere on the list of things I’m feeling now…but I think it’s toward the bottom,” I admit with a smile. “Dylan, I’m sorry I didn’t call you back last night. I got in pretty late.”
“No worries. I just wanted to see if you were ok.”
“I’m fine. Let’s just forget about it, ok?”
“Yep.” He pulls me into a hug. I look over to see Jack walking in time to see Dylan’s arms around me. He smiles warmly and my heart skips a beat.
“I’ll see you before the show?” he asks.
“Yep.” He nods and passes Jack on his way out.
Hunter comes over and grabs me by the waist. “Leila it’s here. It’s finally here,” he says, while swinging me around.
I’m laughing at his enthusiasm when Jack orders, “Put her down or she’s going to throw up on you.”
Hunter puts me down and says, “For real?”
I nod and smile, “For real. I definitely feel like I could lose my lunch right about now.”
He immediately obeys, and Jack laughs.
Jennifer walks in with a burly middle-aged man. His name is Will Sutter and he’s our equipment manager. There are also five young guys with him who are all wearing Devil’s Lair t-shirts. I am wondering if these guys are fans when Will informs us they are our roadies and will be traveling with us.
He and his staff are in charge of setting up, breaking down the stage, and making sure all of our belongings get on the bus after each show. A shy redhead in the back is staring at me as the blonde to his right stares at Jack. Jack and I both notice at the same time, trying to hide our smiles.
We are then all whisked away by Stephanie. She leads us down a long dark hallway that takes us right to the stage. The guys sprint up the stairs all hooting and yelling like they are at the Super Bowl. Jack follows me up and stops when he sees my feet are planted and not moving.
“You know that no one is here yet.”
I nudge him with my elbow, as I take it all in. The lights are on in the theater, and no one is obviously in the seats, but there are a lot of freaking seats.
Stephanie introduces us to someone named Bruce, who is our sound check manager. He explains what we will rehearse and then leaves the stage to make his way toward the sound booth.
We run through four songs and stop occasionally for adjustments. Bruce then calls out over the PA system that all is a go. From my own ears we sounded really good. Singing along with Jack is euphoric and our chemistry on stage is undeniable. By the look on his face I know he feels the same way.
After our sound check we are then brought back to the holding room where they set up deli platters and drinks. There is no way I can eat so I grab a plain roll and a bottle of water, and I excuse myself to my dressing room. I need to settle my nerves. Jack must know I’m really nervous, as he doesn’t stop me from leaving.
I take my time with my make-up and getting dressed for the show. I decide to surprise Jack and wear the photo shoot outfit he loves so much. I can’t get any more nervous than I already am, so what the hell.
As I’m just about finished getting dressed, a voice comes on over the PA system announcing that we are on in ten minutes.
Oh my God.
The announcement immediately causes me to break out into a cold sweat.
Frantically, I start pacing the room, fanning myself to cool off. As I’m walking back and forth, over and over, there is a knock on my door.
“Come in.” The door opens and Jack walks in. He looks so good in dark jeans and a tight black t-shirt. His hair is perfect. I forget my nerves as I gape at him. He gapes right back.
“You wore it.” He shuts the door and walks over to where I’m standing.
“It’s an opening night present, but don’t get used to it. I wasn’t kidding when I said this makes me sweat more than necessary.” He laughs and pulls me into his arms.
“I love you so much,” he professes, kissing the top of my head. He smells so good I would love to just stay in this room and hug him all night.
He pulls back slightly to look down at me. “I love this thing.” He says as he runs a finger down the lacing of my bustier. My pulse quickens from the look in his eyes and the feel of his fingertip touching the skin between the laces.
“I came to wish you luck. You’ll be great, Leila. Just remember this is what you do.” He rubs my arms and then adds, “I also came for a good luck kiss.” He continues to look down at me but he doesn’t move.
This is probably a mistake. Kissing Jack right before having to perform is like an alcoholic taking one tiny sip of wine. His kisses leave me wanting so much more…but fuck it!
I lean up toward him and he meets me half way. Just as always, our kiss starts out slow. He nibbles on my lips. Before you know it, one kiss turns into a full-blown make out session.
I pull away and gasp, “You are killing me.” I reach up and wipe the lipstick from his lips and he closes his eyes and takes a step back.
“Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.” He reaches down and adjusts himself through his jeans. His hard-on is visible, clear as day.
“Jack, you can’t go out there like that.”
The voice announces that we only have five more minutes and Jack takes a deep breath. “Ya’ think?”
I bite on my lip to keep from laughing and say the first thing I can think of.
“Hunter’s pale ass.”
He looks down and his bulge visibly shrinks before our eyes.
“Brilliant. Thanks.” He moves closer to me, as I take a step back.
“No…no more kisses.”
“Buzz kill.” He sits in a chair as I resume my frantic pacing. He looks so calm and collected like he’s about to walk into a party and not about to sing in front of a few thousand people.
“Aren’t you nervous at all?”
“Nope.”
A two-minute announcement comes over the PA system.
“Let’s go kick ass.” He grabs my hand and tows me out of the room. We walk to the stage where the guys are all assembled, pumping themselves up.
As we wait, Dylan comes up behind me. “Good luck, Leila.”
It’s dark backstage and he doesn’t notice Jack is still holding my hand. But at the sound of Dylan’s voice, I drop it, causing Jack to look down at me while frowning. I thank Dylan as he pulls me into a hug before he strolls away.
Stephanie gives us our cue and the guys run up the stairs. Jack waits and holds his hand out for me. I love that he isn’t going to let me go out there alone. We walk on stage together.
The crowd goes wild and Jack drops my hand expertly as the spotlights go on and illuminate us for all to see. I look out into the crowd, not seeing anything but a mesh of faces. I can’t see my friends or my dad because the lights are too bright. At my suggestion, my keyboards have been moved up so that my walk to the mic wasn’t as long. Now I wish I were farther back, hidden in the shadows.
Jack grabs the mic and exclaims, “Good evening New York City!” The thea
ter erupts with cheers. He thanks them for coming and tells them we are so honored to start our tour in such a great city. He introduces our first song, which is one of the fan’s favorites, and the crowd goes wild. This really is fantastic. Jack engages them and saunters around the stage like a natural.
We go into our second song without stopping for air. Right before our third song Jack introduces us. He starts with Hunter. Hunter takes the opportunity to do a drum solo and he calls him an attention whore.
Jack tells the crowd there is no need to introduce his next band member. Trey lifts his shades and nods to the crowd prompting ear-shattering screams to erupt. I could swear I hear Lori’s voice among them.
Jack teases Scott that he must have gotten lost on the way to choir practice, and Scott flips him the finger before doing his own solo, prompting Trey to retaliate with a third solo. “I’m surrounded by attention whores,” Jack announces, pretending to be annoyed. The crowd loves it and eats up the fun ribbing that goes on between them all.
Jack moves back to center stage and replaces his microphone. He takes a deep breath and looks around. I’m going to kill him. Standing dead center, he continues to scan the masses, allowing the cheers to get louder and louder. While laughing, he shakes his head and then finally says, “So…I’m sure you’ve heard we added a beautiful member to Devil’s Lair.”
He puts up his hand to quiet them down when more noise erupts from the fans. My legs are shaking from the attention.
“We thought we were adding a back-up singer.” There is more applause and more laughing from Jack. “What we didn’t know was we would actually be turning our souls over to her or that she would be owning our asses. We didn’t have a clue that she would become the devil in our lair!” He looks back at me and grins. I know I’m beet red from embarrassment. I shake my head and smirk back.
“I suggest you show her the love, or she’ll own your asses too!”
I wish he would get on with this so we could move on with the show, but it is exciting to hear all these screaming fans are screaming for me.
It’s pretty loud in here but yet Jack still eggs them on, “Oh, I don’t know. You don’t sound convincing enough to me.” The screaming and applause becomes deafening. He laughs and shakes his head.
Turning to the guys he adds, “She took over our fans!” More yelling ensues. “Wow! Ok, ok. I’d like to introduce you to Miss Leila Marino.”
He motions for me to come forward and the crowd continues to go wild. As I approach Jack, he bows down to me, the jackass.
As I pat the top of his head and wave to everyone, he stands up straight and holds his heart. “Didn’t I tell you so? She is pure evil.”
Only after I put my hands on my hips in a threatening stance does he follow up. “Ok, so are you guys ready to be Committed?”
He grabs my hand and pulls me toward his center mic. With a quick signal, Hunter starts with drums. Jack puts a hand on my bare back, and looks into my eyes. During the duet parts, our lips are practically touching as we share the same microphone. I’m completely turned on.
The crowd is eating it up and it sets the tone for the rest of our show. The way they sing the lyrics with us makes it is one huge party. I can see the pride all over Jack’s face. It must be amazing to write a song, and have thousands sing it back to you.
Jack doesn’t believe in taking breaks. He feels the fans pay good money and shouldn’t have to sit around waiting for us to take a rest, so we play straight through for over two hours. By the end of the show I am drenched, exhausted and loving my new job.
After our encore, all the guys move forward for a bow. Jack holds me close to him and whispers into my ear, “You were fucking fantastic.” I smile at him as we take our final bow. The lights dim and we make our way off the stage leaving our fans chanting the band’s name. They want more.
Jack stops and looks toward them. “Let’s give them one more…follow my lead.” The guys all run back onto the stage and Jack and I follow. The screaming and cheering has not let up.
“You guys haven’t had enough?” They respond with enthusiasm. “How would you guys like to hear a song that is real special to us? We don’t play it often, so this is a treat for the city we love!”
When the crowd quiets down, he says, “We can’t take credit for this one. One of our inspirations is Aerosmith. This one is called Dream On.”
I’m touched he chose this song to play. He wants to showcase my voice. I smile wide and nod.
Despite how good it was during my audition, it’s a million times better tonight. It was like Aerosmith wrote it for us. He lets me take over and becomes my back-up during most of it. The crowd sings along and he is beaming from the energy in the room.
When we are done Jack says a final goodbye. We all bow one last time. I feel like I just ran a marathon. My adrenaline rush is off the charts. As I come down the steps he grabs me, picks me up and spins me much like Hunter did earlier.
“How awesome was that?” He sounds so happy. I hug his neck as he continues to spin me.
“I know. I had so much fun!” There is nothing like the high I’m feeling right now. The rest of the band all hug each other and Stephanie appears to whisk us back to the holding room.
The minute we all walk into the room, Jack pulls me into his arms and gives me one of his mind-blowing kisses. When I pull away to breathe, I first notice two sets of eyes gawking, and Trey smirking while nodding.
Jack starts to laugh, and pulls me to his side.
“Um, so guys, this would be a good time to tell you that Leila and I are in love.” Their expressions change after his admission as if we both just stripped naked.
“I want to be with her and I’m tired of hiding it. You guys have a problem with that?”
Scott looks shocked. Trey looks like he could give a fuck. Hunter is sneering.
Trey is the first to speak. “Why would I give a shit?”
Scott blushes profusely and shakes his head. It looks like he’s afraid to open his mouth to say anything at the moment.
Hunter starts to clap in a very slow, annoying manner. “Well, it’s about fucking time.”
Jack laughs. “Good. So now that you all know, there’s one more thing. We aren’t going public with it yet. So you are the only ones who know. Keep it to yourselves. Got it?”
All three heads nod simultaneously, just as Jennifer walks through the door. Jack casually releases his hold on me.
“You guys blew them away,” she admits with a wide grin, as she hugs each of the guys. She looks even more beautiful when she smiles. She should do it more often. Jennifer makes her way to me. “Leila, you really were fantastic tonight.”
I’m shocked to my core. I thank her and she smiles warmly. This must be an act.
Malcolm appears with two cocktails and hands one to Jennifer. “Hello, Leila. It’s so nice to see you again.”
Jack turns toward me with raised eyebrows. Feeling the need to explain, I say, “Malcolm and I met at your birthday party.”
“How are you, Jack?”
“I’m great, Malcolm. Fucking great.”
Malcolm throws him a patronizing grin and turns his focus back to me. “So have you given our last conversation any thought?”
What the hell? This guy is pushy and I don’t respond well to pushy.
“No, I’m good, thanks.”
Jennifer slinks an arm through Malcolm’s and takes on a very territorial stance. She can just relax. I want no part of her boyfriend. Thankfully, Malcolm clarifies his statement to Jennifer and Jack.
“Jeez, Malcolm. She’s been a member of Devil’s Lair for all of five minutes. Can you back off, please?” Jack looks pissed as hell.
“I merely pointed out to your talented back-up singer that she is too talented to be a back-up singer.” Shrugging he adds, “She’s not ready. But I’m patient and I’ll wait.” Focusing on me he says, “You have my card. You know where to find me. I can make all your dreams come true.”
Jack mumbles an epithet under his breath, which Malcolm ignores. “Jen knows how competitive I am, don’t you baby?”
Jennifer doesn’t look upset in the least that her sleazy boyfriend is trying to take one of her clients. That makes me wonder if this is a little plan she hatched up to get rid of me. She hasn’t liked me since day one. “I know baby. You’d steal a client from your own mother. I’m not offended.”
She smiles at her man and he bends to kiss her lips.
This is beyond ridiculous. Ignoring them I turn toward Jack and ask, “Do you want to go get a drink?’
“Yes!”
He drapes his arm around my shoulders. See you guys later. Malcolm, stay away from my band member or I’ll hurt you.”
Giving them his CCDS smile, he steers me toward the bar.
Jack looks down at me. “He’s right, you know.”
“Jack, I’m not going anywhere. I have no idea what I’m doing. This is all so new to me. I really want to tour with you guys. I believe in you and you’re about to explode. I want to be part of that.”
He skims his thumb along my cheek. “I would never hold you back. I just thought we could enjoy you for a while. But I would never stop you from excelling in your own career.”
“I know.” I lean in closer and add, “I love you.”
He smiles warmly. “Me too. Let’s celebrate.”
The room has been set up with food and drinks. The boys take advantage and head right to where Jack and I are standing at the bar. Hunter orders a tray full of shots and I feel a little uneasy when I realize its tequila. Jack laughs at my expression and holds one out for me to take. “Do you want me to order a girly shot for you?”
He winks and downs one in a single quick motion.
“No.” I down mine effortlessly. I’m actually getting used to tequila.
Raising his eyebrows, Jack smiles cunningly. Leaning in, he whispers, “You said you loved me the last time you had tequila.”
“I did not.” His mention helps me to vaguely remember that. “Oh my God.”
“What? It was hot.”
Our friends end our conversation by piling in. My dad is the first one through the door.
“Lei!”
What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 7) Page 116
