Page 56 of Hold Still

I wait for the crowd to calm down a little before continuing. “I’d like to play you all a little song called ‘Take Me.’ I hope you like it.”

Sitting on the edge of the stage, with only a mic and my guitar, I start to play the intro. The notes fly from my fingers in a hard-pulsing beat. I wink at McKenna and sing.

When the song ends, I look at the one person in this audience who means more than any other. She’s on her feet, jumping up and down. I can’t hear her, but she’s screaming something. Judging by the smile on her face, I did good. I mouth “Thank you” to her, then look around at the rest of the crowd. They’re all clapping wildly. Guess ‘Take Me’ might be a hit.

And I did it all by myself.

Smiling, I jump to my feet and make my way back to the center of the stage as my bandmates return. Stan, the drummer, says, “Way to go, man. We’re going to take that one to the top of the charts.”

Tim, the keyboardist, slaps me on the back. “Couldn’t wait for the rest of the band, huh?”

A bottle of water halts on its way to my mouth. “I wanted to get feedback. Raw and stripped down.”

He smiles. “And you did. It’s a great song.”

When everyone’s back in place, I turn back to the front and continue our show. I enjoy the female dancers as they fly through the air on their trapezes made out of ribbons while others dance—or rather gyrate—all around me. The final indoor pyrotechnics signal the conclusion of the show.

After we all take our bows, I run off-stage and grab yet another bottle of water from Aiden.

“Great job out there, boss. You had them eating out of the palm of your hand with your new song.”

“Thanks.” I finish the bottle of water in one gulp. Damn. This show is a workout.

I’m soon surrounded by all of my bandmates, congratulating me on the debut and offering some suggestions about how to change up the music and even stage it. To say I’m pumped is an understatement. It couldn’t have gone any better. Better than the Molly I took to get through Cole’s wedding, for sure. To know that my effort,mine, was so well-received. Now that’s what they call a natural high.

We make our way backstage, where McKenna stands in the hallway outside my dressing room. She’s wearing a dress that has a funky bottom to it, with a bunch of multi-colored layers. The top is a simple scoop neck, in black, showing off her tits nicely. My palms itch to touch them.

Reaching out, I grab her by the shoulders—even with her high heels, she’s still short. Her chest rises and falls fast. I like it. “Did you like the show?”

She nods. “I did. ‘Take Me,’ was fantastic. The crowd loved it as much as I do.”

“Awesome.” My band surrounds us and I step back and introduce McKenna to them. She shakes their hands like the capable woman she is. When they leave, I turn toward my dressing room. Time to get out of the crush of people backstage.

I bend down to whisper in her ear. “Let’s have a private celebration.”

She shakes her head, eyeing all the people milling around. When she focusses on one person in particular, I follow her gaze to Shelia, the concierge. McKenna calls, “Shelia! Here I am.”

The concierge waves and joins us. “Ready for our girls’ night?”

Well, shit. I guess McKenna has plans for a private party that don’t involve me.

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