Risky Rockstar: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 21
The crowd screams and chants and whistles while I check out the band, purposefully leaving Kade for last because something tells me when I do, everything else is going to fade into the background. Keller Cannon settles himself behind his drums; he looks like he could give Dwayne Johnson a run for his money with the size of his biceps straining against his shirt. He’d be intimidating except he has a teddy in his pocket and a crazy-assed grin spread over his face. Josh Brooks and Jeff Knight grab their guitars and wave at the crowd, but as I’m trying to get a gauge on them, a set of nails dig into my arm and the girl jumps up and down squealing. I stiffen initially, thinking she might have recognized me despite my hat and oversized sunglasses, but she is pointing at the stage and I see why she’s all worked up.
I’ve been so busy watching the other bandmates that I didn’t notice Kade walking toward the front of the stage. As he strides toward the mic stand, a panther comes to mind, graceful and powerful. He scans the crowd, his lip curled in a lethal curve that just about has half the women (and a few guys) flat on their backs in a dead faint.
God, he’s gorgeous. Eyes the deepest turquoise that until this moment I’d been convinced were photoshopped. His full lips stretch into an off-kilter smile, and his tongue darts out to tease the lip ring glinting in the early afternoon sun. The screams hit almost painful levels, and Kade laughs, and he looks slightly embarrassed. His hands run through hair the color of a moonless night, mussing the already disheveled hair that looks like he’s been tossing against sheets all night. God help me, but I’m thinking of him on my sheets.
He reaches out and grips the mic stand, full tattooed sleeves, a kaleidoscope of colors that tell stories only he knows the endings to. I’m mesmerized, as I wait for him to sing again. And then he does. A ballad about unending heartache. No number of hours watching his performances on YouTube could’ve prepared me for the sound of his voice live as he sings this song. Kade’s voice isn’t a sound, it’s a feeling. It’s a caress that licks over you and touches you in those hard-to-reach places you’ve buried and long since forgotten about. Each note, each word reaches out and pulls you closer, pulls you deeper.
I’m barely breathing, my heart pounding as I watch Kade in his natural habitat. He doesn’t perform up there, he bleeds. I know how it feels to stand in front of thousands and thousands of people singing words that you’ve ripped from your soul and bled onto paper. To give every piece of yourself until you feel like your nerves are raw and you’ve never felt more alive. I know what it’s like to tear yourself apart for your art. So I know without a doubt that is what Kade is doing right at this moment. I see it, I feel it, I live it. When the last notes of the song fade, the crowd erupts and I realize I’m trembling, and I know I’ve made my decision.
The next song is an upbeat one. Keller beats out the rhythm while Josh and Jeff do their thing. When Kade starts jumping up and down, the crowd follows suit and I join in. Around the middle of the first verse, Kade jumps off the stage. I haven’t taken my eyes off him, so I don’t miss the apologetic smile he shoots his security detail—the same guy who rescued Josh from the eager fans earlier. I have a feeling this is something Kade does often and something that possibly causes many sleepless nights for Security Guy.
Hands reach out to touch Kade, and fingers claw at his shirt, but he doesn’t miss a note. A girl holds out her phone, and Kade takes it, posing for a selfie while he continues singing. She grabs his face and plants a kiss on his cheek. Kade continues to smile good-naturedly and even shoots her a wink. The sound that rips free from her throat probably could be described as a shriek, but it’s way more high-pitched than that and is mixed with a full-belly giggle. The sound is contagious and has Kade laughing along with her. His chuckle hits me right in the fun parts, and I’m probably not the only one affected by it.
Another security guy comes along, one that’s not so tolerant and tugs on Kade’s arm. He reluctantly starts to make his way back to the stage, but something near the back of the crowd catches his attention, and I follow his gaze. From my vantage point near the side of the crowd, I see an elderly lady struggling to dump the contents of an enormous bulging garbage bag of teddies into one of the few not-yet-full bins to the side of the aisle.
She’s lean, with a long braid of gray hair shot through with silver. Kade rushes over, and at least six security guys flank him as he holds the lid of the bin open so she can dump the remaining soft toys into the now overflowing bin.
She looks up in surprise, a pale pink blush creeping into her cheeks as she realizes who’s holding the lid up for her. Kade stops singing, but the guys keep up the beat as if they are used to him doing this all the time. “S’cuse me, ma’am, what’s your name?”
“Miriam.”
Kade opens his arms. “Do you mind if I hug you?”
“Not at all.”
Kade wraps his arms around her. I can’t hear what he says, but from here, it looks like