Songbird (12 page)

I was tied up in interviews
and then a quick photo shoot right up until sound check. Demi led me into the middle of the stadium through the back door. There were already long queues outside. Fans that had been waiting for hours would have another couple of hours to wait.

Nothing could have prepared me for how big the venue was. Demi said it could hold fifty thousand people but that didn’t really register in my brain. Standing in the middle and seeing a ring of seats around the stage, going back seemingly forever, my mind was blown.

“There will be standing room only on the floor,” Demi explained, pointing at the flat area with no seats that ran from the circular stage to the tiers of seating at the sides. “We’ll keep an eye on them, but you may have to tell them to take a step back now and then. You know how they surge forward and crush those at the front.”

I nodded, knowing how dangerous it could get. I’d heard of people on two occ
asions getting killed in a mosh pit like that. While I liked that people enjoyed dancing at my shows, I would have preferred everyone had a seat. If nothing else, it allowed everyone to have some space around them.

“Chairs weren’t possible here?” I asked.

“It’s a sports arena, they didn’t want the risk of damaging the ground.”

“And people
’s feet aren’t going to do that?”

Demi shrugged. “Apparently metal is more
dangerous than feet. We tried, Brierly, really. Ryan had a good old argument about it with the stadium management.”

I made a mental note to keep an eye on the audience. There would be no crushing casualties on my watch. Demi guided me up onto the stage. It was a circular platform in the middle of everything. I looked around for a pathway. “How am I going to get here?”

Demi grinned with a knowing smile. She pulled me over to a raised platform. “This is a trapdoor. There is an underground tunnel that will take you from backstage to here. Genius, right?”

“Isn’t that going to damage the ground?”

“We’ve promised to replace the turf. It’s just a small piece. Ryan had to win one of the arguments he had with them.” Ryan normally won every argument he had with anyone, especially when it was about work. Whoever owned the stadium had some guts to take him on.

I tuned all of that out and tried to imagine what the stadium would look like full of people. It was scary to think about, especially when they would all be looking at me.

“This place is really sold out?” I asked, still unable to believe it.

“Full to the brim,” Demi replied proudly. “You’re going to blow the roof off this place.”

“It doesn’t have a roof.”

“You know what I mean.” She put her arm around my shoulders. “Now, come on, we’d better get you
miked up and ready.”

I let her lead me through the sound check, the entire time trying not to let the nerves take over. Fifty
thousand people, the number kept flashing in my head. That was the size of a town. I was going to have to make it my best concert ever.

Chapter Thirteen

T
he crew member to my left gave me the final thumbs up. They might be ready, but I wasn’t sure if I was. They weren’t about to pop up in the middle of fifty thousand people and have to entertain them. That was just me, only me.

As I crouched down, I couldn’t help but remember a time when I had been that nervous before. Except it wasn’t the concert that did it, I had found out only eight minutes earlier of Braydon’s latest cheating scandal.

Like every other time, I didn’t want to believe it. One of my backup singers had coming running to me with her phone, the photograph of Braydon and some bimbo already poised for my viewing. She waved it in front of me, telling me how sorry she was.

I got angry at her, I said if she was so sorry, then why did she feel the need to come hurrying over with
the news. She could have waited until after the show, or somewhere more private than backstage. She huffed out, muttering something about shooting the messenger.

My call time came only a few seconds later. The picture of Braydon and the bimbo locked together with their lips burned into my brain. I had to step out on stage and see him pretending like nothing had happened. I wondered how long ago the picture was taken, ten minutes? An hour? A day? A week? How long had I been sharing him with the woman?

But just like all the other times, I told myself it didn’t really happen. The photograph was old, the picture was taken out of context, it was just a friendly kiss, just a groupie that took it a step too far. I convinced myself there was nothing going on, which only let Braydon get away with it. – again.

I tried to push the memory from my mind, I had a show to do. The biggest concert of my career and I was thinking about Braydon? He didn’t deserve it,
I
didn’t deserve it, the fifty thousand people waiting for me didn’t deserve it. I had to let it go.

The crewman counted me down as I got into my final position. On one, I plastered on my smile and stood there, being raised into the stage. My knees were shaking from the nerves. I could do this, I had to be able to do this.

Forest played his first chord above, telling the crowd it was time to get started. It made them scream even louder. They were all waiting for me, just me. My hands started to shake around the microphone now too.

My eye
line reached the floor of the stage and I got my first peek at what was to come. All the faces were just dots, separated by the stairways at regular intervals. It was hard to believe they were people, all there to see little old me.

When I was completely up, the sound was deafening. All those people collectively screaming and whistling from all sides conglomerated into one big din. Cameras flashed at me like a million shining stars. It would have been beautiful if it wasn’t so terrifying.

The platform stopped moving and I stepped off as the band moved into the first song. I pushed my earpiece in further, trying to hear over the crowd. I guessed it would be rude to ask them to quiet down. I stole a glance at Forest as he led the band. He didn’t seem at all fussed by the amount of people there.

The moment the audience
recognized the song, they got even louder again. I didn’t even think that was possible. I almost forgot my cue I was so lost in them all. I started singing, forgetting about everything but the song. If I concentrated on the lyrics, it didn’t matter if there were four or fifty thousand people standing in front of me. It was about the music, that’s why they were all there.

The circular stage was a bit of a challenge at times, I had to remember to give all sides equal time. But once I got my strut on, it was easy.

Forest seemed to be enjoying every moment of it. He played up with his guitar like he was completely in his musician zone. God, it was sexy. Every time I got a glimpse of him I just wanted to jump on him.

By the time the show was over, I was sweating and tired but it was a rush like I had never had before. I had entertained a small town, they never got any
quieter so they had to be enjoying themselves. It swelled my heart to have done it.

I closed the show and disappeared down the trap door. The screams didn’t stop, if a
nything they might have even grown louder. Demi was waiting for me under the platform.

“Can I do an encore?” I asked, sad to be leaving the stage.

“You can’t, the show’s over.”

“I can do a few more songs, I don’t need a band or anything, I can do it with my guitar.”

Demi shook her head resolutely. “There are strict time and noise restrictions for the arena, you can’t. We had to stop at eleven o’clock or we’d be breaking the rules. You don’t have time, now come on. We have to get you out of here before we’re caught up in all the traffic.”

I reluctantly followed her through the underground tunnels. She didn’t even let me change before throwing me into the back of my shuttle van. We sped out of the arena as quickly as the growing traffic problem allowed.

Back at the hotel, there was no way I wanted to sleep. I called Forest. “Hey, what have you guys got planned for tonight?”

“We were going to find a place to have a drink. Do you want to come?” Forest still sounded happy from the high of performing.

“Yeah, I do,” I replied. “I’m at the hotel.”

“Already? We’ll probably be another half hour. We’ll drop by and pick you up.”

We clicked off. I had just enough time to shower and change before they pulled up outside the lobby. I jumped in and we found a bar that didn’t seem too busy. Between us, the band, and the crew, we took over the whole place.

I stuck to soda, refusing any drinks headed my way. I wanted to celebrate but Demi would kill me if I was hung over tomorrow. I could already hear the lecture about letting my fans down. I didn’t need that kind of drama, the soda was just fine.

“Come dance with me,” I told Forest as I grabbed his hand. I didn’t give him a choice in the matter. He left his drink and followed along.

The area with no tables that acted as the dance floor was full of bodies writhing together to the beat of the music. I pulled Forest closer so our bodies were pressed against each other. It was crowded there, we didn’t have much of a choice. There would be no room for fancy moves.

I looked up at Forest, his five o’clock shadow shading his strong jaw. My stomach did a back flip, he really was the definition of hot. If we were alone, he wouldn’t have his clothes still on. I would make swift work of ensuring he was as naked as the day he was born.

Between the music pumping, Forest’s hard chest against my own, and the euphoria of the concert, I was giddy with joy. I felt like doing something crazy and wild just for the sake of it. Consequences were not on my radar.

Forest slid his arms around my back, swaying along to the throbbing beat. I let my hands that were around him move lower, surprising him by squeezing his cute little butt. His eyes grew wide open as he grinned.

Leaning down, he whispered in my ear. “Keep that
up and I’m not going to be able to control myself.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to control yourself.” I squeezed him again to make my point. A lopsided grin spread across his lips, that sexy, devilish grin.

“You’re going to get yourself into trouble.”

“Trouble is my middle name.”

“And I thought it was May.”

“Damn Wikipedia,” I teased. I had to stand on tiptoes to reach his lips, but was rewarded with a passionate kiss for my efforts. I wanted him naked so bad but wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Not when it was a night to celebrate.

The dance floor grew hot under the lights and in amongst the crowd. Forest obviously noticed it too after a while. “Do you want a drink?” He asked, raising his voice to be heard over the music. I nodded and reluctantly let him go.

I swayed along to the music while I watched hi
m. His walk was so damn sexy. There wasn’t one part of that man that was mediocre. And I was certain he would break my heart one day, but not today. Tonight, it was just time for some fun.

Standing at the bar after ordering, a bunch of women started to gather around Forest. They were hanging off him in no time, draping their arms casually over his, touching his back. There was no way I was going to allow that. Forest was mine, all mine.

I hurried across the room, trying to keep the thunder from my face. If I could have, I would have pulled them all away from him. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be a nice headline the next day. Instead, I approached equally as casually.

I pushed my way to stand at Forest’s side. I placed
my hand on the back of his neck, tickling it intimately. “Drinks coming along?”

“Yeah, he’s making them now,” Forest replied. I leaned in closer, staring each of the women down in turn. I wanted it clear that I owned him and they never would. He was my territory, they had no business touching any part of him.

I earned some hated looks for my troubles. Two of the women left, the other three remained in place. I wanted to slap their hands away, when were they going to take the hint? There was no battle here, I was already the winner. They just needed to acknowledge that.

The bartender placed our drinks in front of us. Mine was just a straight cola, Forest’s looked the same but I could smell the rum in his. We downed our drinks in no time.

“Want to get out of here?” I asked, suddenly over the noise and crowds. There was only one person I needed right now. And I needed to prove to him that he didn’t need any of those other women – even if they were gorgeous.

Forest nodded and took my hand, leading me outside. We grabbed a cab and hurried back to the hotel. My stomach was buzzing with anticipation. My head still felt light from the night and his cologne was making me dizzier.

We fell into my hotel room, our lips melted together and unmoving. I wasted no time in pulling off Forest’s shirt. The material had felt like a barrier all night and it needed to be gone already. My clumsy hands started with his pants next. Just like I pictured, he was in nothing but his boxers in no time flat.

“That’s not fair,” Forest groaned against my neck.

“What’s not?” I asked, not really caring about anything being fair at that point. My skin was flushed with heat and I yearned for him to be pressed against me. That’s all I cared about.

“You’re still dressed,” he replied, laughing. His breath skimmed my skin, sending up goosebumps. I held up my arms, waiting patiently for him to slip my dress over my head. “That’s better.”

I agreed. Our bodies collided and Forest walked me backwards until I tripped over the bed. I fell back with a start, my cry quickly muffled as Forest’s lips found mine again. He hovered over me on all fours, tracing a line down my ribcage with his fingers – teasing me.

I grabbed his hand and placed it over my breast, demanding some attention there. He finally leaned down and his hands roamed everywhere.

Forest started kissing my earlobe, moving downwards and leaving a trail of kisses along my neck. I arched up, cradling his neck and pulling him closer. I didn’t want him to break contact with my skin, his lips were too delicious to stop their exploring.

His hand slid down my stomach, stopping just shy of reaching my heat. I could feel his erection pressed against my belly, giving me a taste of what was to come. I moaned, unable to suppress it any longer. I wanted him inside more than I needed air.

“You feel so good, Brierly,” Forest whispered, so close to my ear again. His breath tickled. I laughed, my giddiness only increasing tenfold.

I moved my head to the side so I could catch his lips. I opened my mouth, our tongues playing together in a silent dance. My God he was the world’s best
kisser. He wouldn’t have to do anything else to get me begging for him, one kiss was all it really took. Everything else was just an added bonus.

“Don’t talk,” I breathed, barely more than a whisper myself. I had much better uses for his mouth than talking. We could do that anytime.

He grinned, leaving a line of wonderful kisses from my mouth to my neck. From there, he only got lower. Taking each of my breasts in turn, he gently nuzzled them, kissing the tight buds until I was going to explode.

He continued his exploration, caressing my ribs to lean down and trace a line down my stomach. It excited me to think
of where he was heading. His slow movements only made me want him more as I grew desperate for him.

He reached my heat, gently easing my legs apart so he could have his way with me. He gently kissed my folds, flicking them back and forth with his tongue. Each one sent a bolt of lightning through me. I was so close to the edge that I wanted to scream out for him to hurry.

I writhed under his touch, pulling Forest closer but not as close as I would have liked. His tongue explored further, deep into my heat. I felt myself losing it, I was going to plunge over the edge before I could stop myself. My body shuddered as I exploded with joy. Stars swum in front of my eyes as I rode it out. Warmth shot through every one of my limbs, a happiness that could never be described.