Page 42 of Just My Type of wrong guy

I only managed to get to Rio an hour before the show started. Hammer – pissed as hell – and six other plainclothes security guys escorted me from the airport to this so-called Soul place, and the performance had, of course, already started by the time I arrived. But standing on the right side of the stage, I can say Alexandra Saldanha looks radiant.

The golden dress hugs her body like it was custom-made, and her curly, long, full hair serves as a crown. Reflecting the moment, because in front of these three hundred people hypnotized by her singing, she is the queen of this place.

The spotlight shining from below, right in the center of the stage, makes her even grander. Even though she’s under one sixty. What catches my attention the most, though, is her voice.

I’ve heard her sing before. I sing with her. But what Alexandra is doing on this stage is not music, it’s magic.

“You’re staying here, and you’re not moving,” Hammer warns me, pointing a finger at me. “If you think about greeting her on stage, or singing with her, forget it.”

“See you later, Hammer.” I dodge his hand on my shoulder and watch him leave the area.

“I don’t know what he meant, ‘cause you, up on that stage, would be very welcome,” Thalia says, trying to adjust a headset to block out the loud sound around us. But I shake my head.

“It’s her moment, I wouldn’t do that.”

“Do what?” She laughs, clearly confused. “Not cause a complete meltdown between fandoms at her first solo show in God knows how many months?”

Thalia looks at me, her eyebrows raised, and I get where she’s going. But Hammer’s right, it wouldn’t be wise.

“Who are they?” I point to the girl playing cajón and the guitarist behind Alexandra.

Thalia starts explaining, and I try to stay focused, but I can’t hear much clearly. The voice Alexandra pours into themicrophone pulls me in like a magnet. I catch some phrases, words, fragments of a song with advice too sad for the light smile on her face as she strums the guitar, making me swim through the lyrics, even though I don’t completely understand them.

Alexandra recites a poem about how the world will crush dreams and about abysses and corners, and I can’t understand how this song can make her smile. I try to bring my attention back to Thalia, but I give up the fight and stay watching her until the end of the song because something holds me to her like only a siren’s song could.

As soon as she finishes, applause echoes through the space. Alexandra laughs to the side, the way she does when she’s a bit awkward, and grabs a glass of water before talking to the fans. At this moment, I remember to turn my face to Thalia.

“I know, she’s amazing. But they’re just backup musicians, they’re not that relevant, but you up there would be,” she jokes with a wink.

“Can I ask you to hold on to a piece of my… disguise?” I ask, holding out my black coat to her, which she grabs from a distance like touching something hot in theseCarioca’slands would burn her, and walks off.

Alexandra starts singing another song, slower but just as powerful.

The crowd doesn’t cheer as loudly, but she, eyes closed, raises her voice, making them clap, even though they’re not singing the song as passionately as she is. The chorus is repetitive, but not in a bad way, just… sweet while it seems to say a lot more than the word “Owner” can carry.

Watching the crowd, I spot two security guys standing in the upper gallery, and Hammer by the entrance. Nobody seems to care much about them, just like they wouldn’t care about me. A guy with sunglasses, dark clothes, and a cap among three hundred girls who came to see a woman, but Hammer andThalia forced me to stay on the side of the stage so I wouldn’t draw attention from the audience.

The sweet chords of the song make me give up trying to understand and translate everything. I pull my phone out, openShazam, find the song but the guitarist stops in front of Alexandra, making the crowd go wild with a part that reflects something she represents, about how a woman can be so strong and fragile at the same time. About the power to captivate, to enchant… but also says she can destroy us.

I try to ignore that part, but I see the guy kneel in front of her at the end, and I feel an uncomfortable sensation. But then I remind myself that I kiss other people on stage, so this sight could be much worse.

For the sake of my peace of mind, the guitarist moves to the corner of the stage, and Alexandra takes the whole place for herself again. Between slower and more upbeat songs, she sings, tosses her hair in different directions, dances, smiles, and I feel like I need this Alexandra on stage with me.

“Stop drooling, she’s coming over here at the end of this song,” Thalia yells in my ear, making me feel embarrassed.

“What do you mean?”

“Water, bathroom, and clothes.”

“She’s changing clothes? But she looks so beautiful.”

“We’re about to enter the last part of the show, it’s different music styles,” Thalia explains as Alexandra finishes the song and says she’ll be back in three minutes.

Then, she turns and runs straight into me.

She stops, right there, and I smile, using my finger to call her over.

“How did you get here?” Alexandra asks, hands on her waist, but walking, making me step back twice.

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