Risky Rockstar: A Hero Club Novel, стр. 34
I hesitate, not because I don’t want to do this, but because I feel a twinge for my fans. The people out there waiting for me to come on stage and to support me. I don’t want to deceive them, and by making this announcement I will be. But I need to do this. For myself and for Claire. I need to take the control back from the assholes who go online on a daily basis and spew nothing but shit. Is what I’m about to do any better? No, it’s not. But I won’t have them taking the control away from me anymore, and I certainly won’t have them taking it away from Claire. She didn’t ask for this, and dammit if I’ll let gutless pricks take that power away from her. There’s a cost to what I’m doing, and I’ll have to live with that cost. I’m willing to live with it.
“My biggest concern is that this is going to negatively affect Claire. Are you sure she’s okay with this?”
“Believe me, Claire has seen me do way more to my leading ladies onscreen. This isn’t going to be a problem for her.”
I blow out a breath of relief. I hadn’t thought of that. Kevin had been in some pretty saucy roles in his career, and I imagine Claire had watched them all. This isn’t any different than being on the big screen. What we do onstage is an act. We give the crowd what they’re looking for and love it in the process. I smile, feeling better than I have in hours.
Kevin looks down at my phone vibrating on the table. He waggles his eyebrow. “It’s Kade.”
I bump him with my shoulder. “You’re not supposed to be looking at my messages, nosy.”
He looks sheepish. “I’m sorry, I looked down because I thought it was mine.”
“I’m just kidding.” I give him a side hug.
Kevin smiles. “Am I going to have to beat someone up for honing in on my ‘girl’?”
Kevin’s words about Kade “honing in” makes my tummy trip in a way that makes pre-concert nerves feel like indifference, and it’s silly. Kade is just being a nice guy; he isn’t interested in me in the way Kevin thinks he is, and even if he is, he isn’t the type of guy to hone in on anyone else’s girl.
I pick up my phone and can’t help the smile that spreads warmth all over my body when I see the words “Good luck for tonight” printed across the screen. Kade is thinking about me.
I look up and Kevin is staring at me, eyebrow cocked.
“What? He’s wishing us luck.”
Kevin smiles. “That smile looked a lot more than happy the guy was wishing us luck.”
I shrug, trying to seem nonchalant. “It’s Kade Tennick.”
Kevin laughs. “You know you are Hayley Stephens, right?”
♫♫♫
After a shower, I go through the hair and makeup process before slipping into my first costume for the evening, a white sequined pantsuit with a peekaboo crop top that just covers my boobs. It’s gorgeous and sexy, and I love it. Making my way to the stage, I stand in the wings and jump up and down, the chanting crowd spurring me on and feeding the adrenaline spiking through my blood. I know that as long as I live, I’ll never tire of this feeling of waiting to perform. And aside from hearing the crowd singing the words I wrote back to me, there’s no other feeling like it on earth. The band starts playing, and blue lights filter the stage. I take a breath and walk onstage singing words as familiar to me as my own name. My heart pounds against my ribs, and the heat from the lights not only spotlights me but seems to heighten every sensation I’m feeling. Earsplitting screams meet my first few notes, and I wonder if anyone can actually hear a single note I’m singing. I hear snippets of words, my name, declarations of love, words of the song, all blending to create a symphony that cause the emotions to catch in the back of my throat.
The first verse ends, and I pause, getting ready to address the crowd as Kevin and I discussed. I feel the twinge again, but I push it down. It’s too late to change my mind now.
“Hello, LA, how are you tonight?”
The fans go manic. Whistles and screams echo around the room. Nerves dance in my belly as I take a moment before confirming to the world what they already think they know. Kevin and I had kept a tight lid on the news that he was going to perform a song with me this evening. No one except Sam and the crew are aware of this, and Sam made everyone sign NDAs.
“I have a little surprise for you tonight. Anyone follow social media?” The screaming intensifies, and I give the crowd a knowing wink.
Here goes…
“Then you’ll know I have a new man in my life.” The knot in my belly tightens, but I’ve come this far, and it’s time for me to own it. I chuckle more from nerves than anything else, but it sounds like I’m amused.
It’s showtime.
“That said, it is my pleasure”—I say the word “pleasure” suggestively—“to welcome onstage, the incredible Kevin Peyton!”
I indicate with my hand to the wings, and Kevin strolls onstage looking a million times more relaxed than he had a short while ago. He’s dressed in jeans and a white button-down shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows. The fans’ voices reach fever pitch as he casually walks over to me and starts singing his lines in a voice that could stop thunder. I’ve heard him sing countless times over the last week,