Page 76 of Hard Rock Deceit
"Why wouldn'tIbe?"
"That thingwithSeth."
August stretched his arms over his head, rotating hisshoulders.
"It's like I told the others. We're replacing one of the encores with a drum-off. I won't be playing for any longer than I normallywould."
"But you'll be putting a lot more effort into it than usual. I know how much you wanttowin."
August raised aneyebrow.
"I don'twantto win. I'mgoingto win. Seth is a kid. I'll barely have to put any effort into itatall."
Seth wasn't any more of a kid than August was, but I let him have thepoint.
"I know you. You're going to go all out. Just don't hurtyourself,okay?"
Someone knocked on theloungedoor.
"Ten minutes," a voicecalledout.
Auguststood.
"Kiss me forgoodluck?"
"I thought you didn't need luck. Aren't you going to beat the pantsoffSeth?"
"I'm not going to beat him. I'm goingdestroyhim."
"Don't scare the guy away from the music industryforever."
"He's the one who proposed a drum-offagainstme."
"At least leave him with some self-esteemintact."
"Nopromises."
Standing on my tiptoes, I pressed a kiss to August's smirking lips. He tugged me close. His hands wandered, pressing into the small of my back, urging our hips together. I melted intohisarms.
Eventually we had to part, my lips glossy from our kiss. I ran my fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his face like he always didwithmine.
"Have fun out there," Itoldhim.
"Alwaysdo."
As August left for the stage, I gathered my camera equipment. I would have thought taking photos of the same concert night after night would get tiring or tedious, but there was always something new to catch, some new angle or aspect of their performance toconvey.
It helped that I had more confidence in myself and my work, no longer doubting everything I did. August stopped taking more than a cursory look at my photos, taking it as a given that they were up to hisstandards.
I wandered around the concert hall, using my VIP pass to gain access to all kinds of restricted areas. I even crawled down underneath the stage to get shots from below. The entire stage frame shook with the heavy drum and bass, making my bonesrattle.
At the start I would have worried the whole thing would come crashing down on me. Now I was blasé about it. I'd seen enough concerts now to trust the event staff and crew to know what they weredoing.
The concert was nearing its end. The guys left the stage. Normally they would be getting ready for their encore. This time, the crew members scrambled to set up a second drum set for thedrum-off.
I crawled back up from under the stage. I wanted to get shots of this upclose.
Identical quiet, hissed voices came from the farcorner.
