This was a serious show I guess.
Everyone started to erupt in cheers as three figures took the stage. The drummer held his arms in the air from behind his kit, his drumsticks pointing up. The other two people stood with their arms up in the air too. I assumed the instruments to be a guitar and a bass, that would make it a simple three piece band.
A dim light then shined on the stage and slowly grew brighter, bringing the figures to life. Then everything happened so fast my heart and kind couldn’t comprehend it all. The light was there and I saw him - Tripp - then the light grew too bright to see anything. Finally came the sound of the drumsticks together and the show started.
The lights in the club came on, the lights on the stage back to normal and there standing on stage, holding a guitar, mouth to a microphone as he started to sing was Tripp.
My first reaction was to be shocked. The shock left me paralyzed for a few seconds until my second reaction kicked in.
That one was to break away from Andy. If Tripp looked down and saw me I didn’t want him to get the wrong impression about me and Andy. I knew how it could have looked, seeing such a tall, strong guy behind me.
And damn, Andy’s hands were still on my waist.
I moved my hips, hoping it would chase Andy away, but all he did was hold me tighter. I stepped forward and grabbed Maggie’s arm.
When she saw my face, she made the connection.
That’s him! I mouthed and Maggie took my hand and then reached back for Andy.
I heard her scream to him, “Save our spots!” and then we were pushing through the crowd at high speed. She stopped at our table and put her hands to it, looking as shocked as I was.
“I didn’t realize,” she said.
“That’s him. That’s Tripp.”
“I’m such an idiot,” Maggie said. “He was just at the bar, I didn’t make the connection. And I didn’t look when he came over.”
“What do I do?” I asked. “He’s so hot and he’s the lead singer of the band.”
“This is wild,” Maggie. “You need to get back in there and enjoy the show. See what he does.”
I opened my mouth to spill the beans about Andy, but Maggie already had rockstar dreams in her eyes. I could see her imagining what it would be like to be with someone from DownCrash. I was officially on my own in this situation.
So I did the only thing that made sense to me, I looked at Maggie and said, “Let’s go.”
And by ‘Let’s go’ I should have left the club. I should have rushed from Dave’s and hurried home.
Instead, Maggie and I walked back into the crowd, shuffling our way through, able to see Andy standing taller than most of the people there. DownCrash was already on their second song. Maggie cheered and sang along, dancing and swaying her body. This was the first time I heard DownCrash, at least that I could remember. However, some of the lyrics and the music sounded familiar, so maybe I had heard it sometime on campus.
As we got closer to Andy, I made it a point to stand on Maggie’s right side, hoping it would keep Andy away.
It didn’t work.
The second I stopped moving was the second Andy moved towards me again. He took his position behind me and put his hands back to my hips. He pulled me close and I felt him. I actually felt him. His body, his… stuff.
I closed my eyes and damn me, I sort of liked it.
It left me feeling cold and confused again.
The song ended as I opened my eyes and there was a small moment of silence between the crowd cheering and the band preparing for the next song. That’s when Maggie saw her chance and screamed I fucking love you! which brought Tripp’s attention to us.
I froze when he looked down at me. I tried to elbow at Andy’s fingers, wanting him to let me go. But it was no use. Andy looked up to the band, unaware of the moments I had already shared with Tripp that night.
“Well, looks like we have at least one fan here,” Tripp said. “Any others?”
The crowd cheered and he smiled.
He looked so natural on stage. He was built much like Andy, except with shorter, sexier hair, and no glasses. Again, not that it mattered. But Tripp had the bad boy look and persona, it was impossible not to think about it. Then again, I had Andy’s hands on my hips, the strong protector holding me. The stable man studying to get into law school.
I smiled at Tripp and his smile faded away. The look on his face was intense. He switched between me and Andy, looking angrier by the second. He had the same look in the back room when I had attempted to joke with him.
“Well now,” Tripp said, “looks like we have a few lovers in the room tonight.”
No, I thought.
I felt my head shaking.
No, he couldn’t do something…
“We usually save this song until later in the show, but how about a slow one?”
The crowd applauded.
“The thing is, I’ll need someone to dance with,” Tripp said.
Of course, most of the girls in the room started to go wild, including Maggie. Tripp stepped from the mic and put his hand out. A few people grabbed at it, but he shook them away. I knew what he wanted and I didn’t know what to do.
“Come on,” he called to me. “Come up here.”
I started to move and felt Andy’s hands squeeze. He didn’t want me to go. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let Andy do this. He couldn’t hold me back. I wiggled from his grip and took Tripp’s hand. I smiled at Tripp. The feel of his hand gave me a sense of freedom. He was everything wrong and I didn’t mind abandoning the right, at least for the moment.
Tripp helped me on stage and then looked at Andy with a cocky grin.
“No worries, bro, I’ll keep her safe.”
I saw Andy stiffen and start to take a step.
I said, “It’s okay” and tried to play cool.
Tripp nodded to the bassist, who know held an acoustic guitar. The drummer came forward, holding an acoustic guitar too.
Tripp had no guitar, just a microphone. He counted to four and from there a slow, sad song began. At first it sounded cliché, the kind of song you’d hear on the radio or the one you’d play for a weekend straight after breaking up with your boyfriend. But once Tripp started singing, everything changed for me.
The lyrics weren’t about falling in love. They weren’t about college lust. They weren’t about beauty or happiness. They were deep, they were dark, and most of all, they were real. And as Tripp stared me down, singing, the story he told me was one I connected with. It was a story about being in pain, about hiding behind regret. The kind you know is there but the kind you can’t find. The kind that comes and goes as it pleases. The kind that can disappear for months but then magically show up… while you’re catnapping in the library…
The song moved into a chorus and both the bassist and drummer sang along, both without mics. The crowd joined in too and I felt like the show was designed for me. That Tripp wrote this song for me and was singing it only to me.
When the second verse started, Tripp put a hand out and wiggled his fingers at me. I took his hand, lost in my own little world. Somehow, someway, we shared pain.
I stepped towards Tripp and as the second chorus began, he moved from the mic. I was just inches from him as his hands were all over me. My mind slipped, forgetting that I was in a club with him. That there was a crowd of people watching. That Andy was watching.
Tripp continued to sing, his eyes locked to mine.
I opened my mouth, wishing I knew the words so I could try and sing them back to him.
Tripp moved his right hand and touched my face. His entire hand against my face, holding me. I felt my knees start to buckle, really getting into the moment with Tripp. The next verse was supposed to start but it never did. We just stared at each other. Sharing something that maybe nobody else could understand.
Especially Andy.
I tried to step back from Tripp, knowing that anymore time close to him and I would have no choic
e but to kiss him. My deepest urges and my most basic needs were coming together. It was not the perfect situation to be in, not in front of so many people.
When I moved, Tripp tugged at me, wanting to keep me in place.
And that’s when all hell broke loose in the club.
I heard a deep scream and by the time I turned my head, Andy was already on the stage. I opened my mouth and to stop him, but he had his fist halfway to Tripp’s face. I saw the hit and watched Tripp spin and fall to his knees.
“Andy!” I cried out.
Everything stopped.
No more music. No more beautiful song. No more moment.
“What the fuck?” Andy screamed.
He reached for Tripp and the other band members dropped their guitars and grabbed Andy’s arms. They were barely able to hold him as he thrashed.
Tripp stood and turned, wiping blood from his lip. He licked his lip and smiled.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“She wanted to walk away,” Andy said. “You don’t do that… I don’t give a shit who you are.”
Tripp moved towards Andy without an ounce of fear in his eyes. He looked up at Andy and smiled. “And I don’t give a shit who you are.” He looked at me and licked his wound again. “Hope you decide to stay, Scarlett, because this asshole is out.”
Andy wiggled his arms and the other two guys let him go. He jumped from the stage and I stood again, in one of those moments, stuck between my heart and mind. My needs and wants.
I knew there was no real answer to this. And something told me it wouldn’t be the first time I’d have to make a choice like this.
I felt something grab my ankle and saw Maggie looking afraid.
“We have to go,” Maggie said. “We’re kicked out, Jeff too. The whole group. Andy is pushing everyone.”
I looked at Tripp.
His dark eyes. His cold stare, the stare that told me he already knew the choice I’d make. He looked let down, and his face was numb enough to tell me I wasn’t the first person to let him down.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “My friends…”
“Go to him,” Tripp said. “Tell him I said I owe him a shot in the mouth.”
Maggie pulled at me again and I jumped from the stage. We rushed through the crowd and before we got to the door, the show started again.
“Well then,” Tripp said into the mic. His sexy voice carried everywhere, even inside my heart… and panties. “That’s what happens when you’re the hottest guy in the place, right?”
Keeping calm, Tripp worked the crowd back into the show by catcalling at me and at Andy. He was already outside. I looked over my shoulder just as the next song kicked in. It was fast, loud, and matched everything Tripp was.
I caught myself starting to smile when I stepped through the doors.
Tripp was cool, bad, and so wrong. So, so wrong. But everything felt so right.
That’s when I saw Andy leaning against his car. A blood red sports car, a little present from his father for getting into college.
Andy being the figure of what I should have wanted.
He opened his arms and nodded at me.
Guilt covered his face as the music spilled from the club.
I closed my eyes and stepped towards him, my arms open too.
6
“Scarlett, please look at me.”
How I ended up in my apartment with Andy I wasn’t sure. The ride was a blur, even though I vaguely remember talking to Maggie. She said she would meet me home but never made it. That probably meant she and Jeff pulled off somewhere so Maggie could fulfill her promise to him.
As far as I went…
I stood at the window in the living room, thinking.
My blood kept boiling and calming, boiling and calming. I wasn’t sure what it really had to do with, there had been so much that happened so far that night.
But of all things that were inside my mind, when I finally turned, I could only look at Andy’s hand. He was fine but I kept seeing him hit Tripp. I wasn’t sure what was hotter… Andy hitting someone or Tripp taking a punch and getting back up with a cocky attitude.
I never thought someone could stand up to Andy. The glasses may have made him look a little geeky, but his height made up for it.
“What are you thinking?” Andy asked. “Please tell me. I’m sorry I lost my cool, Scarlett…”
“Do you really like me?” I asked.
There it was then, the first question that finally made it to my tongue.
“Do I really like you? Of course I like you.”
“No, Andy, do you like me?”
“What? Are we in high school?” he asked.
He stood from the couch and looked amazing. His shirt matched his glasses and his shoulders pushed at his shirt.
I hated myself for thinking about him like this right then.
“Last week,” I said, “you told me you loved me. You… you were drunk, but the look in your eyes…”
Andy lowered his head. “Shit. Is that why you’ve been weird all week?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you say something the next day? Or just slap me?”
“Because you started acting different. You insisted you buy breakfast on Sunday.”
“I was being nice since you took care of me Saturday night.”
“Then you called me. Texted me. Wanted to make plans, over and over.”
Andy stepped towards me, touching my arms. He was gentle but had the indication of becoming strong in a second.
“Scarlett, I always call and text like that. I’ve done nothing out of the ordinary this week. I mean, come on, you ran from the library looking like you’d seen a ghost. Then I called Maggie to make sure you were okay and she told me you were going to Dave’s to see a band. I figured I’d stop by and have fun too. Why not? Then you get called up on stage and some guy is pulling at you. You should have seen your face, Scarlett. You looked… scared…”
I wanted to tell Andy I was scared being on stage with Tripp. But how could I tell him it wasn’t a fear of Tripp himself or because Tripp had been touching me. I looked afraid because for the first time in my life, staring at Tripp, hearing his words, it made me feel like I wasn’t alone. It made me feel like someone understood the deepest parts of me, the secrets I had to keep. Even from Andy.
“Andy, it’s fine,” I said.
His eyes told a different story.
“It didn’t seem fine. I was just trying to help you. Protect you, Scarlett, that’s all. I was just being normal.”
“Normal,” I whispered.
Normal.
I never understood what ‘normal’ meant, but if Andy had been acting normal, then he had been in love with me for a long time. All the years of watching me, waiting, being there when nobody else was or would be.
Like I said before, he was sort of like a brother, or maybe that’s what I forced myself to actually believe.
“Just tell me the truth,” I said. “Okay?”
“The truth about what?”
“Andy, you ran on stage and punched the lead singer of DownCrash. That’s going to make headline news across the campus. Why?”
“I told you why,” Andy said.
He folded his arms. His defensive stance. He wrinkled his nose, trying to push his glasses back more. This is what he did when he was nervous, or lying. He tried to keep himself busy, trying to not focus on the lie.
“Andy, don’t do this to me. Not tonight. We should be out right now. All of us. Having fun.”
“Well, we were having fun. Until that guy tried to hurt you.”
“Nobody hurt me. And if I remember, your hands were on my hips.”
Andy turned his head. His lip curled.
Busted.
“Tell me,” I said. “I’m not going to give up.”
“Yeah? Well neither am I.”
Andy turned and started to move towards the door. That was his final move at avoiding something. He wou
ld act tough, be a prick, and then leave. He tried to make it so whoever caught him in the wrong wouldn’t want to speak to him.
That wasn’t going to work tonight.
Andy was tall and strong, but I was fast. I hurried by him and stood at the door.
“Scarlett, I can pick you up and move you,” he said.
“Then do it. I’m not moving.”
“Okay then…”
Sure enough, Andy lifted me by my arms and turned, putting me back down. It sent a wave of heat through my body. When I was in the air, I saw myself kissing Andy, Andy carrying me to my bedroom.
He opened the door and I put my hand to it. I had no strength to even attempt to match Andy, but he exhaled and took his hand from the door.
“What, Scarlett?”
“You’re so defensive right now. I want to know why.”
“You want to know why?” Andy asked, getting louder.
His eyes went wide and I thought he was about to explode. There was a slight worry in me because I’d seen Andy get mad at other people before but not at me. No matter what I did, even when I was slipping, he never got really mad at me.
Next thing I knew, Andy’s lips were touching mine.
This was not one of our casual kisses.
I gasped, opening my mouth, giving him the hint that the kiss was meant for something more.
The tip of his tongue touched my lips. My tongue came forward and touched his. Our mouths moved and even though I had my eyes open, all I thought of was Tripp. He was definitely done with his show by now.
What was he doing?
Packing up his guitar and gear?
Having a drink?
Flirting with that bartender… maybe even taking her back to his apartment.
It fueled me. It enraged me. I wanted it to make me jealous and push Andy away. But it sort of did the opposite. I put my hands to the belt loops on Andy’s pants and pulled. I wanted Andy closer to me.
But Andy broke the kiss.
He stared down at me, breathing heavily. He kissed my forehead and then backed up.
“Sorry,” he said. “I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
“Do what?” I asked.
“Wait. Lie to myself.”
“So what happened last Saturday?”
The Stronger, Safer Kind (The Boys of DownCrash #1) (new adult contemporary rockstar romance) Page 3
