Page 40 of Life of the Party

“Yeah. Don’t buy it, Mackenzie. He cares more for you than that, I can tell.”

“You can?”

“Yes. And you deserve more than that, too. Don’t forget.”

“Charlie?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

Charlie burst out laughing. She smiled at me and stamped her smoke out.

“Sounds like that pill’s kicking in.”

I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. You?”

She laughed again. “Yes.” We giggled.

“But I still love you, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The music shut off suddenly, and still grinning, Charlie and I turned expectantly toward the stage. The crowd started cheering and shouting, even before the lights came up and the band was illuminated on stage. Once that happened, they went crazy; the noise was deafening. I smiled, happy Serpentine was so popular. That had to feel good, to have people screaming for you. I wondered what was going through Grey’s mind at that moment.

I recognized the band now; it was different from the first time. Alex on drums, Lucas on bass, Zack on guitar and Jimmy on keys. I let my eyes pass over them; there was really only one man I wanted to see. I needed to see.

He was standing in the front centre of the stage with his back to the audience. I watched him, enraptured. The band started playing, the guitars chugging the intro of the song, Zack and Lucas flanking either side of the stage. Grey stood between them, still backwards, his guitar hanging lazily from its strap. Then, the music got louder, more intense, and just before it reached the crescendo, Grey turned, gripped the microphone stand, and screamed into it.

The moment he started singing, the crowd erupted into near mayhem.

My breath caught in my throat. The sight of him up there in the spotlight, the dark blue jeans that hugged his thighs as he tapped his leg to the beat, the studded belt around his hips, the black Tool t-shirt that hugged his torso and showed off thesmooth muscular biceps of his darkly tanned arms…I felt my heart swell until it was bursting. I put my hand to my chest and just stared.

I loved Grey, more than anybody else ever could. I loved him more than I thought I loved him before. He was perfect, in every way. He was meant for me in every way. His voice was smooth but raspy, thick and raw, silky but edged with a growl. It reminded me of copper, somehow, but that didn’t make any sense. He sang and looked out over the crowd and shook his head back and forth in time. He held his guitar loosely slung across his hips, resting on his spread-out legs. His fingers danced across the fretboard with skill; his studded leather bracelets flashed in the stage lights. The cherry red electric guitar responded eagerly to his capable hands, resounding with the chugging wails and intricate notes Grey’s fingers demanded of it.

A sexy smirk flitted across his lips.

The songs were good, but he made them better. The whole band really made the show, but I couldn’t look at any of the others. My eyes were only for Grey.

Charlie was in her chair, smoking, her eyes shut, nodding her head with the beat. I couldn’t sit. I could merely stare—stare and fall madly, impossibly more in love with Grey at every strum of his guitar strings. My heart belonged to him and no one else.

The pill was hitting me with full force. I nearly staggered with delight as waves of euphoria crashed sweetly over me, smiling up at the man I loved, pure joy overflowing from somewhere deep inside.

As if I was beckoning him, Grey turned suddenly, and he looked around until he found me, and then our eyes locked. His beautiful blue eyes met mine with such force I couldn’t breathe. It felt like he was seeing into my soul, his gaze was so intense, so powerful. We stared at each other, and I tried to pour into my expression everything I was feeling. How he was making me feel, what I felt for him, what I would do for him.

I don’t know what Grey saw there reflected in my face, but his lips curved into a smile, his sexy smirk, and then he turned away from me, singing into the mic.

He hadn’t missed a beat; I doubt our moment lasted as long as it felt.

But I was trembling.

The rest of the set was a blur; I don’t even know how much longer it lasted. I was seeing lights before my eyes and had to sit to keep from falling over. There was a cigarette non-stop between my fingers, and my legs shook with pent-up energy. The pill was intense, perhaps strengthened by the sheer force of my emotions. Or it could’ve been the steady diet of booze and blow I’d survived on for the last twenty-four hours…or maybe because I really couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten. Whatever the reason for the intensity, I just focused on Grey as much as I could, a smile bending my lips even as my teeth chattered uncontrollably.

“This hitting you yet?” Charlie wondered. Her pupils were like saucers in the dim.

“Definitely…” I giggled, trembling, grinding my teeth. “Are my eyes as big as yours?”

She laughed. “Once I figure out how to look at my own eyes, I’ll let you know.”

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