Page 97 of Not Another Love Song

Gwen laughed. She looked over to Alex. The look he was giving her was intoxicating, so pleased and proud, but also riding that line of animalistic and predatory and mine.

She winked at him and looked back to the audience, giving another wave before turning to disappear back to her spot behind the curtain.

Gwen!

Gwen!

Gwen!

Gwen!

Gwen!

She laughed and waved again, unsure what they wanted. Until she turned her smiling eyes back to Alex, and found Dominic extending his electric violin to her.

They screamed.

It had to be a joke. She shook her head at Dominic, shouting at him over the noise, “No!” Then she turned to Alex and mouthed, “I told you, no!”

He smiled and gestured to the audience that was still screaming her name.

Gwen felt the thundering in her chest. And she stepped out from behind the curtain.

The light hit her as she accepted Dominic’s violin. He squeezed her arm and gestured for her to take the stage. Gwen looked to Alex. He grinned at her, eyes flicking down to the violin.

I wanted to play electric violin—her excuse for why she’d gone to his apartment that day.

And now she would. In front of a crowd.

“What do you want to play?” Dominic yelled over the noise.

Gwen had no fucking idea.

Did Alex want to play Fugue No. 1 with her? Here? She couldn’t imagine Lorenz would be happy about that. A smile crossed her face. She could think of something Lorenz would be even less happy about…

Gwen looked down at the set list on the ground. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was next.

And suddenly all those years listening to Thorne and Roses—playing along with Dominic in her room, watching videos of Xander Thorne flipping his hair…

She looked back to Carlos, the drummer, and he twirled his sticks at her, ready to go.

Biting her lip, she glanced at Alex, and lifted the bow to the electric violin. Dominic always started “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and everyone else joined in. She knew this already. So, when she pulled the bow and the opening melody shook the auditorium, she watched Alex’s eyes soften in surprise, before blazing passionately as Carlos came in with the drum fill.

Dominic was laughing, staring at her in awe.

Gwen winked at him, and returned her focus to Alex, who was sitting center stage, dragging the melody across Ruby, as the song dropped into the first verse. That look was back, like he could fuck her right now, in the middle of this stage with the entire audience watching, and not give a damn.

The chorus escalated, and she knew that Dominic normally took lead on that, while Mac and Alex supported him. She hit the entrance strong, playing the melody she’d memorized years ago. She had to block out the screaming and the flashing lights and just focus on the band and the music. It was so much easier to do exactly that when the crowd was so loud. Her body wasn’t tense. Her playing wasn’t stiff. Everything was low stakes and fun.

Before she could even process it all, the song was over, and Alex was moving toward her as the crowd screamed for her, sweeping her up and kissing her in front of them all. She wrapped her legs around his waist as her feet left the ground, and let the noise and the feeling of his body lull her senses.

He pulled back long enough to whisper against her lips, “I’m gonna fuck you until you scream tonight.”

“Back atcha.” She grinned as he pressed into her mouth again.

Dominic was on the mic, making jokes about packing his bags and getting out of everyone’s hair so Gwen could officially take his place. Alex lowered her down, and Gwen extended his violin back to Dominic, ready to wave to the audience and head backstage to cool down. But Dominic shook his head at her, and grabbed his second violin, which he used for the classical songs.

“Come on, princess,” he said, winking at her. “Let’s see how many of these you know.”

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