Page 194 of Rock Me All Night
"Stop with that shit." Drew shakes his head. "As far as you know, I'm just another guy."
"Everyone knows your face. You're pretty much royalty around here." Gavin turns to me. "Don't let it go to his head."
"I couldn't."
Gavin motions for us to leave. "Doors open in fifteen. Get lost before you steal my thunder."
We head backstage. Someone from the headlining band recognizes Drew. He introduces himself and launches into this long speech about how amazing Drew's guitar skills are. It's far too technical for me to follow. I nod, uh huh, taking delight in the awkward look on Drew's face. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure he's blushing. The man does not like attention. He especially hates admiration.
Just when I think we're free of idolatry, another musician comes up to Drew and sings his praises. And here I thought rock stars only had to contend with rabid female fans. I scan the backstage area again. As far as I can tell, I'm the only woman here, and everyone is keeping a very wide radius. Either Drew gives off a protective aura or people here know enough about his penchant for threatening people to punches to avoid flirting.
Really, who does he think he's kidding? Like a guitarist is going to punch anyone in the face.
By the time the third fanboy is done praising Drew's musical abilities, the show is about to start. Drew rolls his eyes as his admirer leaves.
"Must be difficult hearing so much positive feedback," I say.
Drew sighs. "That guy didn't have a clue what he was talking about. It's just 'cause Sinful Serenade is famous, not that he actually appreciates our music."
"Still—"
"Do you admire me, Kendrick?" he asks.
"I don't know. We're friends. It's not really like that."
"Exactly. We're on the same level. We can communicate like real people. You don't have me up on this pedestal." His bad mood shifts into a smile. "Which must be hard, given how dead sexy I am."
"Yeah, very hard." Not thinking about Drew hard. Not at all.
The rest of Dangerous Noise makes their way on stage. There's a small chorus of cheers from the audience.
Drew takes my hand and leads me closer to the performance. We're right by the curtains. It's a perfect view of the stage. Well, the back right side of the stage. Too bad I lack interest in checking out any ass besides Drew's, because I have an eyeful of rock stars in tight jeans.
The band launches into their first song. It's not half bad. Catchy. Rhythmic. They have a great energy and they're fun.
It's impossible to see the audience with the bright lights, but their cheers are plenty loud. The next two songs only get everyone more hyped.
The singer turns toward the backstage area, like he's looking right at us. "We have a very special guest here today. One Mr. Drew Denton." He turns back to the audience. "Do you guys like Sinful Serenade?"
The crow goes wild. Way louder cheers than before.
"What you might not know is that Drew was in Dangerous Noise for a hot second. Back in the day, we shared custody of his very talented hands with Sinful Serenade. But there were a few creative and personal differences, and he left us for fame and fortune."
No doubt about it, Drew is red, though I'm not sure if it's from anger or embarrassment.
"There was this song that we couldn't agree on." Gavin looks back at us. "I hated it. Drew loved it. How about you come out and play it with us, Drew?"
The band's guitarist looks back at us, apparently unfazed by the stunt. He must know he's not as talented as the man he replaced.
Drew shakes his head. Under his breath, he mutters, "No fucking way."
I nudge him. "Do it."
He leans close enough to whisper. "The differences were more personal than creative."
"What happened?"
"My ex... Vivian. She was with Gavin before she was with me. He didn't take it too well." Drew shakes his head. "Stupid way to leave a band."
