Page 10 of Rock of Stages
My hand fluttered to my chest, covering my pounding heart. What was going on between us? Was I imagining it? I’d never felt anything like this.
And I didn’t know what to do about it.
CHAPTER 7
CALEB
Iloved music. I loved playing drums. And I loved performing with the band.
But I’d never felt exhilaration like what rushed through me with Naiya in the audience.
Once we locked gazes, everything else faded. I played for her, banging out the beat to Van Halen like it was some sort of primal mating ritual. She sat alone at a table, wearing the dress that I’d picked out for her—one that brought out the fascinating sea-green hue of her eyes. She watched me with a rapt expression, pink lips parted, and I performed at my best, wanting to impress her.
Our practice had been cut short earlier thanks to Angus’s unwelcome, slimy entrance, and when I’d met up with the band again before our set, they’d wasted no time ribbing me.
“Was it tidal-love at first sight?”
“Did you reel her in for the catch?”
But when Van wagged his eyebrows and said, “Getting a little tail tonight?” I’d snapped at him.
“Don’t talk about Naiya like that,” I grumbled.
“Easy, it was just a joke,” he said, hands raised in surrender. “Don’t get sostone-facedabout it.”
Something was different about Naiya, they could clearly see. But they didn’t come right out and ask what they might have suspected.
Mate.
That was a sacred bond, beyond all kidding around.
Through the remainder of our classic rock set, I practically floated in the clouds. We ended it with a fiery rendition of Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages,” and the audience cheered with enthusiasm.
I quickly made my way over to her.
“Wow, you were absolutely brilliant!” she cooed.
My heart seemed to swell three times larger, like I was a stone grinch. “Thanks. I’m glad you were here.” I wanted to take her in my arms and hold her, but was covered in sweat from that performance. “I need to rinse off real quick,” I said. “Then we’ll get a bite upstairs?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Twenty minutes later,we’d picked our selections from the buffet upstairs and sat at an outdoor table beneath the stars. I’d stacked my tray with two burgers and sides to fuel me after burning through energy. She’d chosen pizza, salad, and chocolate cake for dessert.
“Where did you learn to play like that?” she asked.
“New England, where I grew up. My parents died when I was young, and my grandfather raised me. He was strict and stoic, and I did what many teenagers did—rebelled through music.”
“I love it,” she crooned, leaning forward. “You’re back in human form now. Do you shift so often?”
I swallowed my burger bite and took a sip of soda before replying. “My gargoyle form takes up a lot of space on this ship. So I save it for the sky and our shows. The drum space is mine. And having a big gray gargoyle bang on the drums is part of our appeal.”
“I’ll say,” she agreed with a giggle.
That musical sound spread an unfamiliar lightness through my chest. She took a bite of pizza and chewed with a thoughtful expression.
I reached over and squeezed her hand across the table, partially as an excuse to touch her. “Thank you again for helping me in the ocean. I’ve never been comfortable in it and prefer the sky.”
She gazed at me with a curious glimmer in her eyes once more. “How did you end up falling in like that anyway? I saw a selkie swimming away.”
