Page 26 of The Operator

Before she had a chance to leave, I pulled her closer to me. She wasn’t mine but it felt like she was. “I mean it. You’re really beautiful. Have fun up there.”

“Thanks.”

A moment later she was lost in the crowd and not even ten minutes later she was on that stage.

“Good evening, everyone. Let’s start tonight off with one of mine that we all know and love.”

The opening lines to Tempt Me started and as soon as she started singing, I was lost. She even caught my eyes a few times as she scanned the crowd.

Song after song I became more and more mesmerized by her. The way her voice carried, and her body moved. Even more, sheloved the crowd. There was no way she could give it up. And if she had the opportunity to do it on a bigger scale, she had to take it. She had to go on tour.

The hairs on the back of my neck rising pulled me from my thoughts. I stopped and turned around the bar. No one in particular stood out.

I looked around the table and Oliver and Mason were also looking around. Something tripped them up too. Bex and Lilly were more subtle, but they were not at ease either.

With all the backup I had, I let out an exhale. We were safe, I could enjoy the evening.

15

EVERLY

Singing is the one thing that always came naturally to me. From as early as I could remember I was using a fake mic and singing in my bedroom. I loved karaoke because I got to get up on stage and do it front of others.

Getting to record another album was like a dream come true. The knowledge that I could do it in my thirties, was a thrill beyond measure. I had always thought that that dream had passed. But then Phil told me that Five Hearts wanted me to tour with them. And that took me to a whole other level of ecstatic. I never got to tour with my first album. My contract didn’t stipulate it and by the time the label was ready to invest that kind of money in me, I was already a few months pregnant.

Watching my friends cheer and clap for me always brought a smile to my face. I loved that they supported me and enjoyed my work. At first, I thought that they would show up just to be supportive, and I would've accepted that, but they kept coming. Having someone in the crowd you who knew was on your side is one hell of a boost. Knowing they enjoyed themselves because I was that good was quite a rush.

Then there was seeing Noah in the crowd. He clapped and sang along to the songs he knew and smiled through the ones he didn’t. He had his eyes on me almost all the time.

Except for that short stint, when almost everyone at that table seemed to be focused on something else. I almost thought something was wrong. Then Noah’s shoulders relaxed, and he looked back at me. After that he only had eyes for me and to be honest, I did not notice if anyone else was looking at the stage. A few times we winked at each other, or I made sure a certain lyric was aimed directly at him. Mostly the sexier ones. The more the evening progressed the more I got to see that sexy smile.

By the time I took my final bow of the evening, I was really riled up, and by the look in his eyes, so was he. The audience clapped loudly, hoping for another encore but I nodded to the DJ who started his first set of the evening. The start of the music seemed to calm everyone down as I left the stage and made my way to the dressing room.

I pulled off my boots and before I started washing off my make-up, I texted Brie. I didn’t always have help in the audience, but when I did, I took full advantage. By the time my face was clean and my hair in a messy bun, Brie was sitting waiting for me.

My friend gave me a once over. “You sure you want to get out of that get up. Urban Legend couldn’t take his eyes off you all evening.”

“Stop calling him that. And we can leave the corset, but definitely these pants. Getting out of them will never be sexy.”

As I undid the side zip of the leather pants Brie stood in front of me.

“So, you are thinking about being sexy when you take it off then?”

Brie and I met through Cassie. Cassie and I had been friends since middle school and Brie was at college with her. She invitedus both to a girls’ night out and we became instant friends. Something I was very grateful for when Cassie was deployed. I would never have survived my parents and pregnancy without Brie around. But damn, the woman was nosy.

“I don’t want it to be completely off the table. I mean, we haven’t spoken all night. I suppose I need to flirt a little bit.”

“Girl.” Brie rolled her eyes at me as she peeled the leather off me. “You two have been eye-fucking all night. I’m pretty sure he wants to get out of here as much as you do. And that corset does great things for your boobs, so I would leave it on until he is ready to take it off.”

Those were my thoughts as well. I pulled on a pair of straight leg jeans and slipped my feet into a pair of ballet flats while Brie started to pack my things up from the small table I used to get ready. She slung my duffle bag over her shoulder while I grabbed my box of makeup and we left the dressing room.

Just like every other time I’ve seen him, my heart did that tumble thing as soon as my gaze met Noah’s. He was laughing with the people at the table. Lilly and Bex both sipped their cocktails and spoke to the newcomer. It looked like Trey, their new employee, had also joined them for the evening.

As soon as Noah spotted me, he stopped his conversation and made his way over to meet Brie and I. He took my duffle bag from my friend and the makeup box from me. He gestured for both of us to walk ahead of him and I let Brie lead us to the table.

As soon as we reached the table Bex handed me a Cosmopolitan. God, my friends knew me so well. I took the drink from her and took a big gulp of the pinky-red liquid.

Noah lowered his mouth to my ear, his breath fanning over my cheek. “Next time, I’ll wait for you outside your dressing room door.”

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