Page 14 of The Hot Shot

“No pressure then,” I uttered as Remmy stood by my side and grasped my shoulder, giving me some of his strength. I swallowed harshly, as if he understood the weight on my shoulders.

“You have this, man. If you didn’t believe we could do this, then you would have point blankly refused Hardin. You would never have told us about the gig because you…” Remmy looked at me before cocking his head to the side, silently calling Kye to come closer to us. “Would never have wanted to fail. You wouldn’t want to hurt us or your reputation.” He smiled.

“He’s bloody right.” Kye chuckled. “You always have been the one who thought about a situation fully before jumping in.”

“Thanks guys,” I replied. “I needed that.”

“Enough of the pep talks now. I need to hear something before I go,” Dee said excitedly as she perched her ass down on the edge of the sofa and leant forward, flitting her gaze between the three of us. “Anytime soon would be good.”

I chuckled, thinking how lucky I was to have such good friends as we quickly set up and prepped an area in the living room to perform in. If Dee wanted to see a snippet then I’d give it to her, but I’d hold a part of myself back—especially for Hardin—because that crowd tonight deserved my everything.

* * *

The moment we pulled up outside the side entrance to North Avenue Live, the adrenaline kicked in. The security at the side entrance confirmed who we were and we began to unload in preparation as Hardin Poltin himself made his presence known.

“I’m so glad you could help me out tonight, Walker.” He clapped me on the shoulder, making me stand up tall after placing the last bag from the trunk on the side street ready to take inside and set up. “You and your guys have really saved the day. I won’t forget this. Now chuck us one of those and let me show you where you’re going.”

Remmy and Kye just glared, blinking a couple of times in a daze at how genuinely kind and supportive Hardin was. It wasn’t the norm that owners of a place came out personally to greet their support for the evening and even get stuck in to help bring their gear in. This man was a legend in the eyes of the three of us and it truly showed why he had built himself such a fantastic and respected name in the area. I just wanted to strive to be as good and well-known as he was.

“Lead the way,” I said, finally finding my words as I watched Hardin throw one of the bags over his shoulder and click his fingers, nodding at the security who had the door opened in preparation for us to enter.

“You’re going to have a wild night guys. I promise you that,” Hardin blankly stated as I followed on his heels with Remmy and Kye close behind until we reached the stage that had already been prepared for us. “I said you were doing me a favor. I wasn’t going to expect you to do all the work. I need your guys’ skills and voice. The rest is my domain. Leave your non-essential gear back here. It’ll be safe, but anything else you need to perform tonight with make sure you place it on the stage before the team arrives and then follow me. It’s time for a quick tour before I let you guys warm up.”

“On it,” Remmy replied quickly. I was glad one of the guys had the guts to speak up because I was lost in everything going on around me. Hardin Poltin was truly everything I’d imagined and more. “Two seconds.”

I took in each detail of the place as we walked around the venue, hanging onto Hardin’s every word as he explained how North Avenue Live had become the place it was today. His honesty was refreshing, especially when he admitted that he was close to breaking point until his breakthrough with Asquire Marketing & Advertising. It cemented my thoughts of continuing to push forward for needing the additional support with my own business. I did know that a connection with Hardin could open up doors for me. I grabbed the glass of ice cold water from him and made my way to the raised stage in the corner. It was time to shine.

The set-up and preparation of the stage flew by and the next thing I knew, Hardin was announcing us on stage, the crowd was swaying going wild as Remmy strung the first string on his guitar and Kye hit the beat on the drums, counting me in as the tune amplified around the room in preparation for my voice to hit the microphone.

I tapped my foot and began to sing to the full room, ensuring that I kept my eyes closed for the first few lines as I took in the atmosphere that surrounded us. It was like a drug was being pushed through my veins and when we reached the chorus the hit struck me deep inside, choking me. I never imagined a crowd would start singing a song alongside me as I took a shaken breath during Remmy’s riff and opened my eyes. At that moment everything seemed to go into slow motion as I nearly missed my cue to jump back into the song. Only a real perfectionist would know that I’d nearly fucked up or that the guy stood in front of me staring at me like I was an illusion was one that hadn’t been able to escape my thoughts.

Fuck. The guy of my dreams. The man I wanted like no other. Sebastian.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SEBASTIAN

“I’ve been looking forward to this all week.” I clasped Jace on the shoulder, grinning at him as we approached the entrance to North Avenue Live. “It really did get me through to the end of the week without throttling someone.”

“You mean Brendan.” Jace chuckled as I nodded in agreement. “I said I owed you. I know I pushed too far this week.”

“Too far. If you weren’t my brother, Jace,” I said, turning to him before I handed the guy on the door my ticket. I watched Jace do the same before he ushered us in. “Well, it doesn’t bear thinking about how that face of yours may have looked about now.”

“No wonder the punching bag in your place took a lot of action this week. I’m glad you’ve got a sturdy attachment for that thing, so it didn’t fall on top of you with some of those blows you threw at it,” Jace uttered. He immediately made his way straight to the bar, like this was an every night occurrence popping to one of the best live bars in the area. “Want a drink? I’m buying.”

“Then can I have the usual.” I sniggered, watching Jace’s eyebrows rise upwards. “If they don’t have it…” I played the words out, knowing that my choice in fine malts definitely wasn’t for the faint hearted’s pocket then just any malt would do. “I want to feel the burn.”

“Got it,” Jace said above the soft music in the room. “Go and find us a decent spot to jam out to this band when they start. I’ll bring them over.”

Hardin—the owner of the place—must have been getting ready for the band to come on the stage in the next ten minutes or so as I took in the crowd swarming around us. I was glad I had gone for the ripped jeans and shirt over a plain T-shirt look in comparison to the black fitted pants I wanted to put on with the fitted black shirt. Jace said I wasn’t going to a damn funeral; this place was about the mood and vibe above all else. I had to dress like I was any average guy just rocking out; not the pompous businessman I was known for. I could, for once, see Jace’s point but I wasn’t going to admit to him that he was right.

The moment the music quietened down and the spotlights went low, the atmosphere in the room immediately intensified. It was as electric as the rifts of the electric guitar that amplified around, spiraling from a constant tone alongside the drummer’s pace until the heavy intense solo of an intoxicating melody as the singer started to get into his groove.

His voice made the hairs on my arm stand to attention under my shirt and an intense heat began to wrap around my body. The deep roughness was so familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint where I knew it from. I swallowed the air immediately from my lungs, struggling to gasp my next breath when I caught sight of the guy singing. The moment he opened his eyes and saw me it seemed like I had the same effect on him.

Walker.

The man that had been stuck on replay in my fantasies for the last week. The guy that I couldn’t help but continuously jerk off to each night and the one that had given me the most mind-blowing night of my life. Somehow tonight we had both ended up in the same place at the same time.

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