Incidental Happenstance

by DeSalvo, Kim

  Dylan took her hand and walked her to the X that marked where his mike would be. “Pretty awesome, huh?” he said.

  “How do you do it?” she asked. “Honestly, how do you walk out here every night, knowing that tens of thousands of people are here to see you, and not die of fright?”

  He tossed her that crooked smile from the corner of his mouth. “Don’t you know the big secret?” he asked sarcastically. “You just picture everyone in their underwear.”

  She slapped him on the arm playfully. “Seriously, don’t you get nervous?”

  “Every single night,” he admitted. “But once I get on stage and start singing, nothing else exists. It’s just me, the audience, and the music. And then it doesn’t matter how big or small the audience is—I want to do my best for them.”

  She leaned against him and he encircled her waist with his arm. “You do, Dylan. I’ve probably seen twenty of your concerts in the past six years, and you always put on a great show.”

  “You mean to tell me that I’ve been in the same space with you twenty times and never found you?”

  “Yeah, well, the lottery system sucks, remember? I’ve never been close enough to the stage to even see you clearly.”

  He pointed down to two chairs that didn’t match the rest of the seats in the stadium. They were front and center. “No? Well you have good seats tonight. Those are yours.”

  “Holy shit,” she replied. “I actually won’t have to watch the monitor to see what you look like!”

  “I want to be able to see you, too. I told you, I’m dedicating this show to you, and I mean that. So you have to tell me some songs that you want me to play for you, and I’ll do my best to get them on the set list.”

  “Oh wow, that’s a tough one!” she exclaimed. “I love so many. Of course, my first choice is the one you haven’t done in concert—ever.”

  “Pull You Up.”

  Tia nodded. “It’s always been a favorite, but after last night, when you sang it to me, it’ll always be my absolute favorite song.” A shadow crossed his eyes. “But I understand why you don’t play it. It was for your sister, and it’s too personal to play live. It’s more than enough that you sang it for me last night; better even. Forget I even mentioned it.”

  “You know, I actually wrote it sitting next to her hospital bed when I was seventeen years old. She loved hearing me strum the guitar and of course had her favorites that she’d always beg me to play for her, but she asked me to write her a song that was just for her…and that was what she got. I only got to sing it for her once before she died. It was hard even playing it in the studio when we were recording the album.”

  “I completely understand…”

  “Singing it to you last night was the first time I’ve sung it for anyone since it was recorded.”

  She was touched, and astounded. “Oh Dylan, I didn’t realize…”

  “But hey.” He took both her hands in his and pulled her close. “After last night, maybe it is time. It would honor her memory, too, and make a statement about me letting go of the past.”

  “It’s too much to ask. I shouldn’t even have mentioned it. Really, forget it.” She tried to switch gears. “A concert dedicated to me? Even one song dedicated to me, sung by you, is more than I ever dreamed. How about, “Time and Again?” That’ll get the audience moving. Not that you have to do anything more than step out on the stage to make that happen,” she added.

  “I can definitely put that one list. And I’ll think about “Pull You Up.” No promises, but I’ll think about it. I don’t even know if we can pull it off live. It’s been a long time, and we’ve never rehearsed it.” His mind obviously wandered. “Maybe I could do it acoustic.”

  Again, he’d said “no promises.” It reminded her that her time with him was short, and that she shouldn’t waste a minute of it. She didn’t want to think about saying goodbye to him, maybe even after this night was over, and she shook her head to blow out the sadness that was already starting to form there. “Don’t even worry about it,” she said. “I have plenty of other requests.” She started listing her favorites, and Dylan took a notepad out of his pocket and started taking notes and nodding.

  “I’ll talk to the guys about the set list. We mix it up every night, so most of these shouldn’t be a problem at all. We usually decide at the last minute, pretty much, depending on everyone’s moods. I told them that this one was for you tonight, so I’m sure they’ll agree with whatever I give them. Especially on “Into the Blue” and “Seepage.” We all love playing those live. Now, let’s go do a sound check, shall we?”

  “Excuse me, Dylan?” a voice spoke from behind them.

  Tia turned and saw a woman approaching. She was perhaps in her early thirties, but her Asian heritage kept her face flawless, making her look much younger. She was a tiny thing, perhaps just over five foot tall, with dark hair and deep-set slanted eyes.

  “Ah, there you are, Jessa!” Dylan remarked. “I’ve been wondering when you were going to make an appearance.” He turned to Tia. “Tia, I want you to meet Jessa, my personal assistant and the one who keeps me sane. Jessa, this is Tia.”

  She looked warmly at Tia and extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said formally.

  “Nice to meet you, too,” Tia smiled.

  “So, what’s up?” Dylan asked.

  She pulled a Blackberry from the pocket of her ill-fitting vest. “I just wanted to let you know that dinner’ll arrive around 5, and that I was able to move the interview to 8:00 am tomorrow, like you asked. And the studio called. They’ve arranged your flights and accommodations for shooting starting on the 15th of September, and are planning to announce your co-star publicly in the next couple days. They wouldn’t even give me hint—believe me, I tried.”

  “You’re awesome, Jessa. Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  “And Jessa, one more thing?”

  “Yes?”

  “I want to make sure that Tia has full run tonight, OK? Let security know that she has full access, in case I get called away. And keep her company while we have the pre-show meeting. I don’t want her to get bored and run off on me.” He winked at Tia, and smiled at his assistant. “There’s a lot of testosterone back there, especially right before a show. Make sure she isn’t smothered.”

  Jessa smiled warmly at Tia. “I can do that, especially if it keeps me away from that feeding frenzy. I’ll check back with you in a little while.”

  “Sounds good.” Dylan took Tia’s arm and led her to one of the X’s marked on the stage with blue tape. “This is the back-up mike. I’m going to grab a guitar and play the opening for “Lost in You.” I know you know that one.” Tia nodded, fondly remembering last night’s karaoke performance. “I’ll start, and you chime in so we can check the sound levels, all right?”

  “Got it!” she said enthusiastically. Even without a crowd, it was intimidating being on such a huge stage in front of so many seats. Dylan signaled to the sound guy in the booth set up about fifty yards from the stage. When he got the thumbs-up, he started strumming the intro. Tia joined in with the harmony, and adjustments were made to ensure even and optimal sound.

  After several attempts, the sound guy gave another thumbs-up, signaling that the mikes were synced properly. He launched the song again, and this time, Bo and Ty joined them on stage, adding in the drums and bass to the mix.

  “You’re right, Dyl. She is pretty good!” Ty chimed in. They ran through the song a couple more times before switching over to a livelier tune. Angelo joined them, and Tia took a seat at the edge of the stage to watch the rehearsal as the rest of the sound guys wandered in to complete the warm-ups. After a few minutes, Jessa joined her.

  They watched in silence for a few minutes, and then Jessa spoke up. “Aren’t they just awesome?” she said absent-mindedly. The question was definitely rhetorical—her feelings were clearly conveyed in the countenance of her face and the sparkle in her eyes.

 
“Yeah, they sure are,” Tia agreed. “So how long have you been working for Dylan?” she asked.

  “Oh, just over a year now,” she replied. “I started as an intern, and just loved it. He’s so nice, and so talented, and so…nice. He never treats me like a peon, you know? Not like some other big stars. I have a friend who works for Bryce St. Cloud, and she’s always complaining about what an asshole he is to her. Dylan’s never been like that. It’s a great gig.”

  “I just met Dylan last night,” she admitted. “But still, I know what you mean. He’s the real deal, isn’t he? Just a good person with a big heart—almost too good to be true.”

  “Exactly!” she agreed. “He doesn’t get into all that ‘star’ bullshit. He tells me like it is, and I do the same with him. I felt comfortable with him right away. With all of them, as a matter of fact. They’re a great bunch of guys, and really easy to work for.”

  “So, do you travel with them, and all that?”

  “Yeah, I go pretty much wherever Dylan goes.”

  Tia felt a twinge of jealousy that this woman got to spend so much time with Dylan. “Is that hard?” she asked. “Don’t you have a family, a boyfriend?”

  “Nah. It’s just the band. And just Dylan when he’s filming a movie.” Tia looked at her questioningly. “But it’s a choice I made. I love my work, and couldn’t imagine doing anything else, really.” She looked at Tia, and saw the questions in her eyes. “I know. Why would I give up my own life for someone else’s, right?” Tia nodded. “Well, this is my life right now. I get to travel all over the world, go to all the best shows, live the good life…I don’t know. I think eventually I’ll meet someone and move on, and have a family…but it isn’t yet. Right now, I love what I do, and I’m getting pretty good at it, so I figure, what the hell?”

  “I’d drink to that, if I had a drink,” Tia said. “Doesn’t sound like a bad life at all.” Being with Dylan all the time actually sounded really good and she felt the sadness creep in again, knowing that her time with him was so short.

  “I can make that happen—be right back,” Jessa said. In less than a minute, she rolled over a cooler filled with beer. “I always have these on hand,” she said. “They’re the band’s favorites. She pulled out a couple frosty Newcastle Brown Ales. “Let’s indeed drink to that,” she said as she uncapped the icy bottles. She handed one to Tia, and they clinked bottles before drawing on the cold drafts. “To Incidental Happenstance,” she said, and Tia joined her toast.

  Chapter 12

  Forty-five minutes later, with the sound check complete, Tia felt as though she’d made a new friend. Jessa was open, kind, and she confirmed what Tia already knew in her heart; that Dylan was as good as he seemed. She learned a few things from Jessa about Dylan; that he had a weakness for peanut M & M’s, was a nature lover, and that he was an adventure seeker. He’d been skydiving, bungee jumping, and scuba diving, and always looked for opportunities to have unique experiences while he traveled. He called his mother in Australia twice a week, and really enjoyed his charity work. Although Tia had gotten a strong impression that Dylan had integrity, he was a professional actor after all, so she was glad to know that someone else who knew the real him had the same thoughts about the kind of person he truly was.

  They had dinner in the common room with the guys from Outcast, the opening band. Tia enjoyed listening to the men tease and harass each other good-naturedly, and warmed every time Dylan caught her attention and rolled his eyes as if to excuse their rudeness, but then joined right back in with them. Throughout the meal, he rested his hand lightly on her leg or encircled the back of her chair with his arm, absent-mindedly running his fingers across her shoulder or down the side of her arm. She felt completely at ease with them all, but was happy when dinner ended and Dylan excused them to go to his dressing room and prepare for the evening. Before leaving, Dylan passed around a proposed set list, and Tia saw the guys’ eyes widen slightly as they scanned the paper. There were no objections, however, and Tia and Dylan slipped down the hall into a room labeled with Bo’s name.

  “Isn’t this the wrong room?” Tia asked. “I know you have identity issues,” she teased, “but you do know your own name, right?”

  “Precautionary measure,” he answered, opening the door and motioning her inside. “Being the front man has some perks, but some disadvantages, too. Usually if someone—a fan, a reporter, a worker from the venue, a celebrity—manages to get backstage, they make a beeline for my dressing room. So I always have a different name on mine. Bo loves the attention, and he especially loves the looks of surprise he gets when he answers the door, so I usually swap with him.”

  “Does that happen a lot?” Tia asked. “The security seemed pretty tight when I came in today.”

  “It varies from place to place,” he said. “You just never know. But I do know I especially don’t want to be interrupted tonight.” He sat down on the love seat that was the only significant piece of furniture in the tiny room and pulled her down onto his lap. Then he tipped her, laying her against the armrest and leaned in to kiss her. Again she felt the bloom in her center as his lips brushed hers, and she gave herself fully to the kiss, caressing his tongue with her own and running her fingers through the soft waves of his real hair. She felt herself giving in; giving herself over to all the feelings she hadn’t experienced in such a long time. It was all she could do to let him lead—she wanted so much more from him.

  She knew it was a combination of factors that loosened her hold on self-control—now that he’d awakened the passionate side of her that she’d held dormant for such a long time every kiss, every stroke of his hands, every intense stare brought forth a deep ache of need that flooded her entire being and shook her nearly breathless. Little zings of electricity zipped through her when he nipped playfully at her lower lip and her stomach rolled over and over in delicious waves of pleasure. The rational side of her brain shut down and she surrendered to pure bliss, feeling her limbs turn to liquid and letting a small moan escape from the back of her throat. She may regret it later—she’d never had a one-night-stand in her life, but right now, all she wanted was him, and the intimacy that she’d been craving for months. Her breathing quickened as he intensified the contact, pressing his body along the length of hers and she felt, against her thigh, the undeniable evidence that he wanted more as well. His lips were sliding their way down her neck when the beep of an incoming message from his cell phone jerked them both upright. “Ten minutes, Dyl,” Bo’s voice announced from the phone on the dressing table.

  Dylan slid off her and slowly rose to his feet. It was impossible to miss the flames that burned in his eyes, and she wondered if her own passion was as obvious. “You have to go?” she whispered in a husky voice that she barely recognized as her own.

  “I always introduce the opening band,” he croaked, his voice even more gravelly than usual. “And I promised them I’d join them for the fourth song in their set.” He looked at her with eyes so intense she felt they could melt all her defenses, if she had any defenses left. “I can’t remember a night that I wished I didn’t have to work. I could get my head all wrapped up in you, Tia.” His voice was serious, and his gaze never left hers. “But I do have to work, and I need to get going, and then we have Bo’s party tonight, and then…” he hesitated, shaking his head slightly and turning his gaze toward the ground. “As much as I want to, I don’t know if it’s a good idea, this,” he gestured toward her, still lying on the sofa, needing the support of the armrest until she gained back some control of her liquefied body.

  He put his hand on the doorknob, then turned back and looked deep into her. “But if it does happen,” he added intently, “I don’t want it to be in a tiny backstage dressing room. You’re too good for that.” He reached down and pulled her to her feet, and finally, his gaze slid away. “I just really can’t make you any promises, Tia. I told you that. I want to, but I can’t.”

  “I know that, Dylan, and I’m not asking for any. You’
ve already given me more than I could have ever hoped for.” Oh, but she wanted so much more.

  He kissed her again, lightly. “The thing is, Tia? You keep saying that, but have you considered that you’ve given me more than I’d hoped for, too?” He took her hand, and they headed for the stage entrance while she pondered his words.

  She had a pretty good view from backstage as Outcast took the audience by storm. Their music was raw, edgy, and had a bit of Brit punk influence that got the audience on its feet immediately. They watched the first three numbers arm in arm, swaying to the beat of the music while maintaining constant contact. Dylan gave her a quick kiss before grabbing his guitar and joining them on stage. She watched with a sense of pride and awe—she’d seen him perform dozens of times before, but it was completely different seeing him not only from the physical perspective of being backstage, but the emotional perspective of knowing him as a person, and not merely a persona. That one letter made a world of difference, she thought.

  She took a moment to check out the front row. She was off to the side of the stage, but she could just make out Lexi, on her feet and, in typical Lexi style, trying to get herself noticed by the guys on stage. Tia pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and punched in Lexi’s number. She watched Lexi reach into her bag to pull out her own phone.

  “Hey Tia!” she yelled over the crowd noise. “Where the hell are you? Do you know where I am right now?” She didn’t wait for an answer before blurting, “The front fucking row, baby!!!” she screamed into the phone.

  “Seriously? That’s awesome!” she replied. “I can hear the music, and I can just see you now, jumping up and down and trying to get the band’s attention.”

  “Of course—Dylan Miller’s on stage right now doing a song with Outcast and—holy shit! He just looked right at me! Hold on a minute…”