Gabrielle Demonico (28 page)

As Jessi turned the corner, she
saw Daryn sitting there with the coal in his hand.

“
What are you doing with that thing?” she quipped. “I’m not falling for the same trick twice you know.”

“
What do you mean?” he said.

“
The coal. That black rock in your hand. I wasn’t born yesterday…” she scoffed.

“
So you don’t see any color in this stone? Is that what you are telling me Jessi?” he asked.

“
Well, no. Why would I? It’s a lump of coal.”

Daryn
’s eyes drew upwards from the stone to hers. Wordlessly, he began to shake his head. Finally, he said, “No, Jessi. Theo has the coal. This… is a wisdom stone.”

“
Wait… but I… I don’t see any color!” She gasped.

He smiled and said, “
That’s right and neither do we.”

She spun around to see Theo
’s expression. A huge smile came across his face.

“
So that means that I
do
want to be with you?!?!” she shrieked.

Daryn nodded, gestured in his brother
’s direction and said, “Theo…”

With those words, Theo walked back around in front of her and sat down on the bed next to Daryn. As they both looked up at h
er standing before them, Theo said, “Say yes to us, Jessi. Say yes and make us the happiest men alive.”

An overwhelming sense of joy rushed through her. She could feel the tears of lifetime coming to the surface as she rushed in to their arms and cried out
, “Yes, yes,
forever
, yes!”

Tigers on Tour

Anabelle Mitchell leaned against the back bar in the Troubadour Tavern, a small crowded college venue about fifteen minutes south of campus.

It still didn
’t seem
real
to her.

How could it be that twenty-two years of her life had come down to something as ridiculous as this?

She shook her head in disbelief and took a mental inventory of the challenges she’d fought through. She wondered if any measure of fairness actually existed in the universe. If it did, it never seemed to find its way to her.

Orphaned as a toddler, she
’d been hustled through no less than nine foster homes by the time she’d finished high school. With sheer grit, she’d managed to put herself through college on her own and was on the verge of graduating and taking the next step – law school and achieving her dream of becoming an attorney.

There were only
three things
standing between her and that now. One was her journalism class and the other was two men who stood no further than fifty feet away from her. For the record, Anabelle had all but sewn up straight A’s in her other classes and under most circumstances, journalism would have been no different. After all, overachievement in the classroom was nothing new to her.

In fact, much of the semester of her journalism course had passed as expected. She seemed destined to ace it but just two weeks earlier, the class instructor, Professor Wilkinson announced that each student would be required to complete a
‘special project’ in lieu of remaining tests and even final exams. To drive home the point, he also announced that a full
forty percent
of the final grade hinged on the completion of the ‘special project’.

Professor Wilkinson was passionate about his course material
but this was unprecedented, even for him. He explained that he’d wanted his students to
feel
journalism and so he had created unique assignments for each and every one of them – Anabelle included.

Worse still is the fact that Professor Wilkinson had a real
knack for assigning his students tasks that he knew would be difficult for them – emotionally as well as intellectually – and hers was no exception in this regard.

If she had one weak spot, a single chink in the emotional armor she
’d worked so hard to build it was her penchant for introversion. Unfortunately for Anabelle, the Professor’s assignment seemed cruelly intent on exposing it.

And it did seem downright cruel to her…

Really, who could blame her for being a little socially awkward? After all, being orphaned at such a young age has been known to cause far worse outcomes in life. How bad could some shyness really be? Deep down Anabelle knew that it wasn’t the most awful character flaw one could possess.

But the assignment cut straight into the heart of
her fear – she couldn’t deny it. She’d done everything in her power to conceal that weak spot from the scrutiny of a callous world. She’d even gone so far as to opt for an arcane corporate law career that relied more on intellect for advancement than cultivating interpersonal relationships. For Anabelle, connections with people, romantic or otherwise, were just too risky over the long-run.

Since learning about her
‘special assignment’, it had literally consumed her with dread. She
hated
the thought of actually having to go through with it. In her mind, it would mean absolutely zero to her future dreams and goals.

What was it about her assignment that caused her such angst?

Two words, well, two
men
to be more precise…

Armin and Tanner Vossler.

Their band, Stung by Fate, had erupted onto the underground music scene and created a cultural phenomenon. This was especially the case among every heterosexual female within a one thousand mile radius of wherever they happened to be.

And it was
their story
that Professor Wilkinson wanted Anabelle to tell.

Why?

She had no effing clue…

She
’d begged him to do something – a-n-y-thing else – except this but he refused to change his mind. He insisted that she ‘dig deep’ for the meaning behind their success and get to the heart of what made them as popular as they were.

Honestly, she thought that there would be no way to pull off such a feat. After all, Stung by Fate was literally one of the hottest bands around. When she
’d asked her professor how in the world he expected her to get the interview, he simply replied, “Don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure that it happens.”

Anabelle was incredulous. How the hell would a fifty seven year old square like Professor Wilkinson be able to pull that off? Although she was s
orely tempted, Anabelle knew better than to call him a fool to his face. But it turned out that Anabelle was the fool for not believing him. For no sooner than
one day
after he’d made his promise, the band’s manger was on the phone with her. By the end of the conversation, she’d set up a date and time with her to talk as soon as they came to town.

In the meantime, she
’d
begged
him on more than one occasion to tell her how he pulled it off but he would offer no clues. Eventually she just dropped it and decided to accept her fate as the reluctant journalist and do the best job possible. Besides, if she had any intention of paying back the $50,000 in student loans she’d already racked up, law school was her only chance. And the path to law school was going to be blazed through Wilkinson’s journalism class – whether she liked it or not.

Even so, Anabelle wasn
’t going to leave anything to chance. The budding attorney was determined to research the Vossler brothers thoroughly before a single word was spoken between any of them. The interview was scheduled for the following morning and what better way to observe their
true behavior
than doing so as an anonymous face in the crowd?

Besides, she was
quite
certain that hers wouldn’t stick out in this place. Everywhere she turned, size zero skirted sluts crowded every open crevice of the smoky nightclub.

And, why the he
ll was it smoky in here anyway?
She wondered.

Smoking was pretty much banned like…
everywhere.
Wasn’t it?

In addition to her own personal hang ups, there was a litany of other problems with the damn assignment. First of all, she
hated
their music. As far as she knew she was the only one on Earth that did but she did. Well, it was more accurate to say that she really, really,
really
didn’t like it. There were a couple of songs that were just okay. But, it was only a couple and anyway, from what she knew of their behavior, she hated them anyway – whether or not the songs were any good.

Oh yeah…
that
was the other thing. She absolutely
could not stand
them. Yep. There was no question in her mind. She was
totally sure
of the fact that she didn’t like them one bit.

They were definitely jerks.

Arrogant
jerks.

Of that much Anabelle was
decidedly clear
.

Well…
okay, she was also certain about one other thing.

They were cute.

Okay… even good looking.

Oh who the hell was she kidding?

They were
fucking gorgeous
.

As much
as she wasn’t a fan of their kind of music or their reputed behavior, she’d need to have
anti-freeze
coursing through her veins to not understand their appeal. Yes, it pained her to admit it but it was true.

In fact, as the evening
’s performance had gone on, she’d come to appreciate that their presence on stage was nothing short of hypnotic. Both of them were incredibly talented musicians with heaven sent voices to match. Tanner was slightly taller and leaner than his brother, Armin, whose more muscular build sent the collective lizard brains of all women in attendance reeling.

But it wasn
’t just their chiseled physiques, dark stares and throaty melodies that mesmerized all X chromosome carrying audience members. No, there was something different about the way they communicated with their bodies. It was wild, uninhibited and bordered on the primal. She’d arrived determined to hate nearly everything about them but in spite of her self-imposed scorn, Anabelle found herself drawn in by them as the night wore on.

She clearly wasn
’t alone in that respect. In fact, from the looks of the horde of scantily clad, waiflike women crowding the stage Anabelle was
definitely not alone
in her appreciation of their, ahem,
talents…

But that sort of think
ing was not going to help her cause and she knew it. If she was to pull this project off and get on with her life, she needed to keep her fantasies
and
her libido in check.

Besides…
When she really stepped back and looked this situation
rationally
and
unemotionally
, it was all rather silly. What was the big deal anyway? It was
so clichéd
wasn’t it? There they were… hot young rock stars surrounded by adoring, sexy female admirers in one town after the next.

As if her disdain all of that wasn
’t enough, Anabelle knew she’d have no reason to be concerned about them pursuing
her
. It was clear to anyone that cared to notice that she was the exact opposite of almost every woman in the bar. The simple fact was that big girls didn’t get these kinds of guys and she knew it.

Still, as she watched them rip through another song, she imagined what kind of trouble she could get into with the bad boy rockers if she only had the chance. Her sexual life up until now had amounted to little more than half-hearted stabs between t
he sheets. In recent years she’d been hopeful that some of her ‘relationships’ would work out. They never did and now those hopeful emotions have been replaced by feelings of resignation.

All that was left now were walls. Walls to keep the hurt out and the
pain inside.

And nothing,
absolutely nothing
, on Earth could have been more dangerous to the integrity of her emotional fortress than dangerous boys like Tanner and Armin Vossler.

She took another sip of her cocktail and looked on as Tanner tore into a sm
oldering guitar solo. She could feel his passion for his music as he played. The same was true for Armin. At least they were genuine when it came to their love for what they did. Even if she pretty much despised everything else about them, she did have respect for their love of their craft.

As Tanner
’s solo ended, Armin stepped forward and belted out the lyrics. His voice was undeniably powerful. It had a throaty, rich quality to it and a range that was otherworldly. As a duo, Nature had designed them perfectly for their profession and it was clear that they knew it.

She nibbled on her lower lip as her field of vision narrowed towards them further. She was aware of what her mind was attempting to do but she found herself unable, or willing, to do anything ab
out it – at least for the moment. As she wrestled with her consciousness, an eager need pooled between her thighs. She shifted in her seat to quell her urges, but it only made matters worse.

They are p-e-r-fect aren
’t they?

She was falling faster now…
She envisioned their talented digits exploring her flesh and tantalizing her curves. She imagined their rock hard midsections pressed against her plush flesh. Chiseled to perfection, she could see herself swallowed in a sea of dual delights. As if that wasn’t enough, it was clear from the tight fitting jeans they wore than their talent was not the only things that came in prodigious amounts…

Damnit Anabelle! Knock it off! Snap out of it…

Suddenly from behind she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see the bartender staring at her… Over the thump of the bass he shouted, “You want to close out your tab?”

Anabelle nodded and said loudly, “
Yes, thank you.”

A few moments later, the previous song had ended. As they tuned their instruments, Anabelle signed h
er check and then turned back towards the stage. Immediately she noticed both of them looking in her direction. Tanner nudged his brother and then leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

Armin smiled and shook his head as Tanner spoke to him. Random
song requests emanated from the crowd as they tweaked their instruments. For a fraction of a second Anabelle thought that perhaps their discussion was directed towards her. However, that notion was quickly dispelled by a cacophony of squeals from a small group of beautiful women to her left. She hadn’t noticed them there earlier. Immediately, it was all too clear who the Vossler brothers were motioning towards.