Page 16 of Feral Touch
“No! I loved your solo stuff!” the woman gushed. Kell’s voice held a wicked note as he continued to tease her about not being a fan of his and waxed poetic about the superiority of his solo work. He was either full of himself or putting on an act, but I couldn’t tell which.
“Your acoustic songs are, like, so awesome. I mean, like, wow, you know? They're just the best.”
I assumed from the speech pattern that the fan up front was a teenaged girl. Jayce replied in a low rumble and I heard the girl let out a short, high-pitched squeak.
The line was moving slowly, but I could finally see the band members through the queue of bodies. A twenty-something woman was talking quietly with Morris, both her hands clasped tightly in one of his.
Morris was nodding slightly, paying rapt attention to whatever she was telling him. She tilted her head and his lips turned up very slightly at the corners for a brief second in an almost-smile. He replied, his voice too low for me to hear, and patted her on the shoulder, his hand almost comically large on her thin frame. Then again, Morris was massive enough to dwarf almost anyone, regardless of size.
I tried to catch of glimpse of Ren, but there were just too many bodies between us.
I thought the butterflies would become more and more agitated every time the line moved closer, but instead I felt an odd sense of calm wash over me.
Whatever happened, our meeting would be over within a matter of minutes and I could move on with my life. An hour from now it would be over and I’d have nothing else to worry about. It was almost freeing.
There were only two more people in front of me. I thought about what I should say to the other members—maybe just tell them how much I enjoyed their concert? That was pretty safe. Every rock star probably liked getting his ego stroked. That was probably especially true for their lead singer.
Finally, it was my turn. The person in front of me moved on from Kell to Jayce and I was ushered forward.
The first thing I noticed was the picture on his t-shirt. The monster was holding out a plate with treats and the word bubble coming out of his mouth said, “Come to the dark side. We have cookies.” I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“You like it?”
I looked up and met deep blue eyes crinkled at the corners in good humor. Now that I was in front of him, one of Ren’s friends and a super famous rock star, I didn’t know what to say.
“Uh, yeah. It’s a neat shirt.”
“Thanks! I got it for two bucks. A total steal. You want a picture?” Kell held out his hand for my phone and I handed it over without thinking. He pressed himself next to me and snapped a pic. “There! Now you can make all your friends die of jealousy.”
I was at a loss for words, but it didn’t matter, because the next thing out of his mouth shocked me silent.
“So what’s the deal with you and Ren?”
I gaped, mouth open.
“You’re Ivy, right? You made that video for Ren. You’re the girl that knocked him speechless after our concert a month ago.” Kell was content to fill up my silence with chatter. “I’ve never seen Ren act like that. Nothing fazes him, you know? But seeing you, man, he just about lost it.” Kell’s eyes lost their charming glint as he gave me a piercing stare. “So why’d you make that video?”
“I just…I wanted to see Ren again.” I stuttered my reply, a bit unnerved by that penetrating stare. Kell nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer
“I guess I don’t have to ask who your favorite is.” He sighed, mood changing instantly to over-the-top melodrama. “It would be nice if I could have such a pretty girl tell me she was my number one fan.”
“I—” I had no idea how to react to this guy. Was he for real?
“Stop with the dramatics.”
The fan talking with Jayce had moved on to Morris. Jayce punched Kell on the shoulder before focusing his attention on me.
“Thanks for coming.” The guitarist of Feral Silence gave me a slow look up and down, a smoldering gaze that caused a flush to rise to my cheeks. It was like he was undressing me and licking every inch of my body with just his eyes. “We really appreciate the support of fans like you.”
I cleared my throat and tried to calm my rising heartbeat. There was charisma, and then there wascharisma, and this guy had an abundance of it.
“My friends are huge fans. That’s how I found out about you guys.”
“Tell your friends we’re very grateful for their devotion.”
“Their names are Natalie and Jen. They also entered this contest, but didn’t win.” I got a brilliant idea. “Instead of a picture with me, could I record a video of you saying hello to them?”
Jayce loved the idea. I snuck a look around to make sure the security guards weren’t paying attention. I pointed my phone at him and recorded his short message.
