Page 58 of April Renegade

“Are you nervous?” I asked after several moments of heavy breathing and greedy kisses. My fingers trailed his side, from the top of his shoulder, down his ribs and hip, where I caressed his flesh with my thumb.

“Yes,” Ash said. His voice was breathless and uneven from my touch. “Are you?”

I chuckled and gripped him a little harder, unable to resist the feel of his plump ass against my fingertips when my hands slid lower. “Of course, I am.”

He sighed, but it was one of contentment. He played with my hair and moaned while I worshiped his body. It wasn’t long before I took his length from his boxers and began stroking him. Ash kissed me deeply, savoring my mouth before biting down on my lip ring and lapping at it to soften the sting. I needed to ravage him, but I wanted Ash to stay in my bed more than that; I didn't want to rush our alone time together.

“Drew?” Ash whispered as we broke apart to take a breather. I stopped working his shaft and gave him my full attention.

“Yeah, babe?” I whispered.

“I’ve really fucking missed you these last few weeks,” he whispered. We hadn’t addressed our busy schedules much. At his words, I exhaled a sigh of relief that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding onto. I didn’t want to come across as needy, so I’d let him come to me for the most part over the past few weeks. Maybe that had been a mistake.

I rubbed his back and pulled him even closer to me. “I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

Though it was late, we stayed up for another hour, kissing and touching like we were starving, and when I woke up in the morning, I grinned when the fog cleared from my eyes, and I noticed him sleeping peacefully on the pillow next to me.

The Antidote wasthe coolest venue I’d ever seen.

We arrived a couple of hours early to go over things with the owners, meet the other bands (I was afraid I might piss myself whenever we got to meet Green Day, but I tried not to focus on that) and prepare for the show.

The four of us practiced nonstop on the days leading up to the event. We wanted to make a good impression on the owners, the crowd, and the small group of friends and family that were set to arrive closer to showtime. Brian’s parents, Sean’s mom, my parents, and Emma and a girlfriend of hers were coming, and that fact made my stomach churn a bit. I was upset because Ash hadn’t invited anyone, even though I knew it was because he didn’t want to. When I’d brought it up to him the night before, he simply shrugged and told me he was happy my parents would come.

Sean pressed the buzzer by the door on the side of an old building. There wasn’t a sign, but I figured that was done on purpose. The way the venue operated reminded me of a speakeasy. I pondered if there was a password you had to know to get into the venue as we waited.

After a few minutes with no response, Sean pressed the buzzer again.

“That’s weird,” Sean said with knit brows. He pulled out his phone and checked the time. “They said to be here by seven.”

The door clicked and unlocked on the other side of us, and when it opened there was a middle-aged man wearing a sheepish look on his face. It didn’t take us long to figure out why he hadn’t answered the door the first time. His glasses were askew on his face, and it was hard to overlook his disheveled hair, and the slight smear of coral-red lipstick near his Adam’s apple.

“Sorry, guys!” Jeff reached out a hand to me, then Ash. “I promise I’m a professional. I’m Jeff, one of the owners.” He laughed a little before shaking Sean and Brian’s hands.

Sean wiggled his eyebrows as we walked into the warehouse-like building. We entered what looked like a giant storage room. Chairs were stacked on one side of the room, as were a few tables. Empty boxes that held liquor at one time or another sat by the door.

“Having a little pre-concert fun with your lovely lady?” Sean smirked.

I almost yelled at Sean for joking like that with Jeff, but I quickly understood that Jeff enjoyed that kind of humor and took absolutely no offense to it. Jeff shook his head and laughed once more. Sean raised a closed hand in front of Jeff, and after adjusting his glasses, Jeff met Sean’s knuckles in a fist bump.

“We try to keep things exciting around here,” Jeff said and motioned for us to follow him. We followed him to one side of the room which had two doors. He pointed to the one on the right. “That’s our office. We like to keep it separate from the actual venue, which is downstairs.” His eyes looked at the door and he shot us a wolfish grin. “We’ll let Leah clean up a bit and meet us downstairs.”

Jeff opened the door on the left-hand side, which revealed a wide staircase with steep steps constructed of brick. There wasn’t a lot of light, and the air smelled like lemon Pledge had been sprayed all over to try and cover up the underlying aroma of cigarette smoke and booze.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Jeff pulled out a remote from his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and the venue came to life before our eyes.

“You’re the first to arrive, though I imagine the others won’t be long behind you.”

The Antidote was larger than I thought it would be. In front of us, all the way across the room from where we stood, was the stage. I think I stopped breathing from the beauty of it all. The backdrop was old, maroon velvet. Matching curtains were pulled back to the sides of the stage. A banner with “The Antidote” written in old-fashioned lettering hung across the top of the backdrop.

Small round tables and chairs with red velvet cushions that matched the curtains were positioned along the walls, leaving plenty of standing room in front of the stage. Unlit candles sat on every table, and antique gas lamps hung on the walls.

A huge bar sat to the side of the stage. Bulbous stage mirror lights illuminated each shelf of liquor behind the bar. Empty (at least I think they were empty) antique liquor bottles lined the top shelves, and modern bottles crowded the shelves closer to the bottom.

The walls of the club were gold and decorated with a swirly, royal blue pattern. The colors went well with the coffee-stained wooden floors beneath our feet.

“Um, holy shit?” Brian asked. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was agape. The place wasn’t just classy and gorgeous. It had soul. I could sense it with each step we took.

“Like it?” Jeff asked.

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