More Than Comics (6 page)

“So you’ve known them a long time?” I vaguely remembered Hector saying something about Alexis and Kyle getting back together at the Battle of the Bands they’d competed in, but I didn’t know much more than that.

“Since high school. Give or take a few years when I went away for college.”

“Do you know when Hector last had a girlfriend?” I slapped a hand over my mouth, cheeks flaring hot. “Sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”

She hesitated, not meeting my eyes. “You’ll have to ask him about that. But as far as I can tell, it’s been a long time.”

I nodded. It’s not like it really mattered or was any of my business. But the not knowing still drove me crazy.

The lights dimmed and the entire crowd seemed to jump to its feet at once, including me. Fog crept across the stage and a red glow slowly illuminated the darkness. The stadium was silent except for the buzz of excitement, the anticipation for the band about to come out. My chest was tight, my breathing difficult, my heart a speeding train that threatened to derail at any moment.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more of it, the room burst into sound with the opening of “Uprising” by Muse. The lights brightened, gradually revealing the band already on stage. Maddie on the right, her fingers flying across her guitar, the fake wind blowing her hair like in a music video. Kyle on the left, rocking out behind his keyboard, his black hair hanging in his eyes. And Jared in the middle, playing bass.

A spotlight flashed on him when he started singing. In person he was even more drop dead gorgeous than on screen, with his tattooed arms, sinful blue eyes, and naughty smile. His voice had a way of creeping into your very soul, and he had this crazy magnetism that made it nearly impossible to take your eyes off him. Especially when he wasn’t playing and could grip the microphone like a lover and croon into it. No wonder so many ladies threw themselves at him.

But while everyone drooled over Jared, my eyes sought out Hector, who had gone shirtless tonight. It was harder to see him in the back, but I could still glimpse his muscular arms and shoulders while his drumsticks danced through the air. He was an animal, pounding against the drums like he was possessed by something, yet somehow never completely losing control.

The big screens beside the stage flashed between the different band members and showed Hector from behind, giving a shot of his smooth back, all those coiled muscles flexing and rippling while he played. Sweat slicked his arms as he poured himself into the music, his drumsticks moving fast yet never missing a beat. He was glorious. Strong. Powerful. And ridiculously sexy. I wanted to lick the sweat off him, which was sort of gross, but I didn’t care. I’d do it to taste him, to explore that hard, muscular body with my tongue. And my hands. And every other part of me.

I couldn’t deny it any longer. Meeting Hector in person had awakened something in me. I’d always found him hot, of course. And sure, I’d fantasized about him a few times, but I’d never seriously thought of him as anything more than a friend. He’d always been too far away, too off limits, too impossible to even consider. But now he was more than a daydream I tried desperately to ignore—he was a very tempting reality.

Once we’d come face to face a flick had been switched, and I felt something…more.

And seeing him play tonight? That made me
want
him.

For the rest of Villain Complex’s set, Alexis and I bounced along to the songs, arms in the air, throwing ourselves into the music with everyone else in the crowd. The band played through all the covers they’d done on the show, plus their own song, “Behind the Mask.” Their former mentor, Dan, even came out to do a cover of one of his band’s songs with them. They finished with their sensual cover of “Bad Romance,” making the audience go wild.

When the lights went up, I felt like I’d just had the greatest sex of my life. All that anticipation, the buildup of excitement, the rush of the music, and finally the climax at the end. I was exhausted yet almost giddy with exhilaration. I wanted to see them play again immediately.

“How is it possible they didn’t win the show?” I asked Alexis.

“Tell me about it,” she said. “Ready to go backstage, or do you want to watch the country princess and her band perform?”

She was referring to the band that had won
The Sound
, Fairy Lights, but even if I’d been a fan I couldn’t wait a second longer to see Hector again. “I definitely want to go backstage.”

Alexis led me out of the aisles to a security guard along the side who checked our passes and let us through. I followed on her heels through the dizzying maze of backstage areas, packed with roadies, equipment, and more security guards. She seemed to know where she was going, taking us down long brightly lit hallways and past doors labeled only with letters. Finally she knocked on a door that said C, and then opened it without waiting for a response.

Music hit me—the sound of an acoustic guitar being played and Jared’s voice raised in song, followed by a chorus of laughter. We stepped into a large room with a giant TV on one wall, a mini-kitchen in the back, and two large brown leather couches that the band was sprawled across.

“Hey!” Kyle looked up from the beer he was sipping. He patted the seat next to him and Alexis slid into his arms, curling against his side like she belonged there.

Jared and Maddie were tangled together on the other couch. She sat on his lap and they held the guitar together, playing it at the same time, completely in their own world. When Jared starting singing again I recognized the song as “Howlin’ For You” by the Black Keys.

Hector sat on his own, apart from the other two couples, his well-developed arms draped across the back of the couch. I was disappointed to see he’d put on a shirt after their set had ended.

He jumped to his feet as soon as he saw me. “Tara. You’re here.”

Maybe it was the way he smiled at me, like I was the best thing he’d seen all day. Maybe it was an echo of desire left over from seeing him perform. Maybe it was all the other love in the room. But suddenly I had the strongest urge to kiss him.

CHAPTER SIX
HECTOR

T
ara hugged me, fitting against my chest like it was the most natural place for her to be. I circled my arms around her, relieved that she wasn’t upset with me. And instantly hard, thanks to the lush, feminine curves of her body pressed against mine. Damn, I could get used to that.

Except I couldn’t, because no matter what happened at Comic-Con, she was still going to live thousands of miles away from me. I had to keep that in mind at all times.

“You were incredible,” she said, looking up at me from behind her long lashes. “Thanks for inviting me, and for the backstage pass.”

“No problem,” I said, forcing myself to pull away. “Hey everyone, this is Tara.”

There wasn’t much space on the couch so she had to sit close to me, setting me on alert for the chance we might accidentally touch. The others were all grinning madly, looking back and forth between the two of us. Shit, they’d better not embarrass me in front of her. Or say anything to tip her off about how I felt about her. Maybe bringing her backstage to meet them was a mistake. It had been so much easier when no one knew about her and that part of my life was completely separate from this one.

“I’m so happy to meet you,” Maddie said to Tara, with a big smile. “I wanted to come to your signing but Hector was being a total grump about it. Do you think you could sign my copy of
Misfit Squad
now?”

Tara looked startled for a second, but then laughed. “Of course! I didn’t know you were a fan.”

“Maddie’s a
huge
fan,” Jared said. “I am, too. But then again, I’m a fan of everything Hector does.” He winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

Maddie brought out her copy of
Misfit Squad
, which I’d given her while we were on
The Sound
. She’d read it over the past week between rehearsals and had gushed over it constantly, asking me a million questions about what was going to happen next. She’d already made me sign it and now she handed it to Tara, who pulled out one of her metallic pens.

“I feel so weird signing this,” Tara said as she opened the book up. “Like I should be asking for your autograph instead. I watched you all on TV every week and it’s kind of intimidating to actually meet you in person.”

Alexis groaned. “Don’t tell them that. You’ll make their egos even bigger.”

“My ego is the perfect size, thank you very much,” Jared said, grinning like a lazy cat. “Just like every other part of me.”

I threw a pillow at Jared’s head. “Dude, no one needs to know that. Except Maddie.”

“Oh, she knows.” He waggled his eyebrows and Maddie actually blushed. That made Tara laugh, and I relaxed a little at the sound.

“Thanks so much,” Maddie said, when Tara handed the book back to her. “I keep trying to bribe Hector into giving me an early copy of the second one or give me some hints or
something
, but he refuses.”

“I don’t have any copies yet,” I said. “And you know I don’t give out spoilers.”

“Hector
is
crazy about the no-spoilers-thing,” Kyle said.

“They just really annoy me, that’s all,” I muttered.

“Forget him,” Tara said to Maddie, in a low voice like they were conspiring together. “I’ll hook you up. As long as you answer a few burning questions I have about the show.”

Maddie grinned. “Deal. What do you want to know?”

“First, did it hurt when you fell off the stage?”

“It was more shocking than painful, though I did twist my ankle pretty bad.” Maddie and Jared shared a small smile, as though they were both in on a secret. “But it led to Jared kissing me for the first time, so it was worth it.”

“
That’s
when you two got together?” I asked.

“Yep. In the elevator.” Jared kissed Maddie on the neck. “And back in her hotel room. And…”

Kyle raised a tattooed hand to stop him. “We get the idea.”

Tara asked a few more questions about the show, and then my friends asked her about writing
Misfit Squad
and going to college in Boston. I’d worried she’d feel out of place as the new person in the group, but it wasn’t awkward at all. In fact, she seemed to fit right in.

We all discussed our plans for the next few days at Comic-Con and Jared handed Tara a flyer for our party on Saturday night. I’d designed it myself and it read “Villain Afterparty,” with silhouettes of famous villains like Loki, Catwoman, and Magneto on a red background. The party was taking place in a club inside our hotel and promised drinks, costume contests, karaoke, and more. Across the bottom it said, “Wear your most villainous costume!”

“Sounds fun,” Tara said. “Are you dressing up, Hector?”

Jared grinned. “Hell yeah he is.”

I scowled at him. “I don’t want to, but Jared and Maddie love this shit.”

Tara nudged me with her shoulder. “Let me guess, Red Power Ranger?”

“What? That doesn’t even fit the villain theme.” I couldn’t believe she would even bring that up.

“No, but it’d be hilarious.”

“Hey, just ’cause I loved that show as a kid doesn’t mean I’d dress up as one of them.”

“We’re all going as Batman villains,” Maddie said, saving me from further embarrassment. “My roommate Julie designs the most amazing costumes and she made them for us. We’re entering the Masquerade, too.”

The Masquerade was the annual costume contest at Comic-Con. Julie planned to enter us as a group in the hopes of winning one of the many prizes and to show off her creations in front of thousands of people.

Cosplay was not my thing at all and I’d only agreed to be part of it to make Maddie and Jared happy. Not that I
really
minded dressing up, but hey, I had to keep up my tough guy act.

“Cool theme.” Tara turned toward me. “So what’s your costume?”

“They’re making me go as Bane.”

“Ooh. I want to see you all dressed up. I’ll try to make it.”

Maddie’s eyes widened behind her black-rimmed glasses. “You should totally dress up with us. I bet Julie could whip up something quickly for you.”

I gave Maddie a
back off
look. “She doesn’t need to dress up if she doesn’t want to.”

“No, of course not. Sorry, I wasn’t trying to pressure you, Tara.”

“It’s okay,” she said, smiling. “I’d love to join you guys. I have a costume for tomorrow’s Black Hat party I could use, but going as a group sounds a lot more fun.”

“Oh, yay!” Maddie clapped her hands together. “Hmm, which Batman villain could you be?”

Jared tilted his head and considered. “Talia Al Ghul is the other big female villain in Batman.”

“True, but she doesn’t have a distinct, recognizable costume.”

“Good point. Ah, I have an idea!” He whispered something into Maddie’s ear and her face lit up.

“Yes! I’ll text Julie now so she can start preparing! This is going to be good.”

“What’s happening?” Tara asked me, resting a hand on my bicep as she leaned closer.

I shook my head. “It’s best to just let them do their thing when they get like this. No one can stop them.”

She laughed and Maddie eyed us closely. She tugged on Jared’s shirt. “We should go back to the hotel and let Hector and Tara catch up.”

He nuzzled against her neck. “I like the sound of that.”

Jared and I were sharing my room, which had been provided by Black Hat Comics, while Maddie was staying with her two roommates in a different hotel down the street. Unfortunately that meant they kept trying to get me out of the room so they could fool around. It sounded like I’d be locked out of the room for a while tonight. Lucky me.

Jared stood up, and he and Kyle shared one of those looks where they seemed to communicate telepathically. They’d always done that and it could be annoying as hell sometimes. Like now, when I wondered what they were up to—at least, until Jared patted me on the shoulder, discreetly slipping me a handful of condoms with a wink. Fucking typical of him.