Rock Me : Wicked (3 page)

I
reluctantly slipped the pass over my head and followed Melissa as she dragged
me toward the back of the VIP club. She slipped under a chain and confidently
headed toward the side of the arena. The noise of the crowd started to fade as
we walked further around the arena.

My stomach
felt queasy when I saw the beefy security guard. "Miss, no one's allowed
back here."

Melissa
approached the man. "Oh, hi. We're just looking for Jimmy Weston. Have you
seen him?"

The
guard shook his head. "No, miss. But you can't go back there."

Melissa
bit her lip, looking worried. "Maybe you can go back and find him for me?
He's my uncle and he's holding my car keys and his phone must be shut off. My
friend here is feeling sick, so we have to leave early. I really need to get my
keys."

"No.
I can't leave my post." The security guard's eyes swept from her face to
mine. I
was
feeling pretty sick at the moment. Just then a man came out
from backstage and walked by.

"Hey,
Brian! Have you seen Jimmy around?"

The man
shrugged his shoulders and kept on walking. "No, man. Haven't seen him all
night."

The
security guard sighed, "Alright. You can go find him. But as soon as you
get your keys you better leave."

Melissa
smiled warmly at the man. "Thank you so much."

We
quickly filed past the guard and walked into a large open area. Trunks and
equipment were scattered everywhere. Road crew from the different bands were
hauling equipment and milling about.

We were
starting to get noticed by the roadies as we picked our way among the
equipment. Melissa turned to me and whispered low. "I think the musicians
hang out in some rooms back that way. Try not to encourage the roadies..."

As if
I was going to encourage the roadies.

I tried
to grab Melissa's shoulder to stop her. I hissed loudly, "What are we
going to do? Knock on doors until we find Alex? Let's get out of here, Melissa.
It's creepy back here."

Melissa
slipped out of my grasp and kept moving forward. I hesitantly followed Melissa
through the open area and toward a hall leading into the heart of the backstage
area.

I was
about to beg Melissa to leave again when we heard the shouts and joking laughter
of a group of boisterous guys heading our way. I froze. Seconds later, my heart
plunged to my feet when I was suddenly face-to-face with Alex and his band.

"Lena?"
Alex was staring at me, first in disbelief and then breaking out into a
breathtaking smile.

My heart
slowly started beating again, but a weird buzzing remained in my ears. He
remembered. He called me
Lena.
Most of my college friends called me
Lena. I had gone through a minor rebellious period when I left for college and
had rejected a lot of things from my home life. Including the name my parents
gave me: Evelyn. I hated it. I thought Lena was much more sophisticated.
Unfortunately, as soon as I graduated from college and moved back home, my old
nickname, Evie, had stuck again.

My mouth
finally started working again. "Hi, Alex."

Alex
laughed and then pulled me into a hug. "God, Lena. What are you doing
here?"

Tyler
slapped Alex on the shoulder. "Hurry up, man. We want to get finished here
so we can get to The Tides."

The guys
continued down the hall leaving me, Melissa and Alex behind.

Alex let
me go. I struggled to think of what to say. "This is my friend, Melissa. I
mentioned to her that we were friends in college and she insisted that we come
back here."

Alex
laughed. "Jesus, Lena. You were gonna come to my show and leave without
even contacting me? That seems kind of harsh."

I knew
from his laughter and the gleam in his eye that he was just teasing me.
"Well, I didn't want to bother you. You're a rock star now."

Alex
took a swig from the beer bottle he was holding. "Shit, that's messed
up."

From
down the hall where his band disappeared, we heard a loud shout, "C'mon
Alex, let's go."

Alex
grimaced, "I've got to go. Warning Shot is hosting an after party tonight
at the The Tides. Why don't you come? Tell me you'll be there, Lena. We've got
to catch up. I'll make sure you two are on the list. Promise you'll come."

Melissa,
who had been leaning against the wall in the background, stepped forward.
"Of course we'll come!"

Alex
glanced at her and smiled before pulling me into another long hug. I buried my
head into his shoulder, reveling in his closeness, feeling his hard body
crushed against my own, smelling his slightly sweaty but intoxicating scent. I
felt bereft when he pulled away and started heading down the hall.

About
ten feet away, he turned around and pulled out his cell phone. "Hey,
what's your number, so I can call and harass you to make sure you come out
tonight?"

My mind
wouldn't work.
What the hell was my phone number?
Luckily, Melissa
pulled out her phone and shouted out the numbers to Alex as he plugged them in.

Alex
winked at us, "See you later." He headed down the hall back to his
band and whatever he needed to finish. I slumped against the wall, my legs
feeling suddenly leaden.

When he
was out of sight, Melissa turned to me. "Holy Shit! We just saw Cold
Fusion. And Alex invited us to an after party with Warning Shot. Oh my God, and
the way he called you Lena was so damn sexy!"

As if
I didn't know.

I still
didn't move. Melissa began tugging on my arm again. "C'mon. We have to get
out of here and get to that party! Listen, I can already hear Warning Shot
playing. And we've got like miles to hike back to the car."

My mind
was churning as I let Melissa lead me through the backstage maze. Alex
definitely remembered me. And he seemed genuinely happy to see me. In fact, I
immediately felt that same comfortable vibe we had going in college. An almost
brotherly
vibe. I groaned to myself. The last thing I thought about when I looked at Alex
was 'brother'. And my soaking wet panties mockingly proved it to me.

We
worked our way back under the pavilion and then up through the crowds. I
spotted a desperately needed bathroom. "Melissa, I have to stop."

Melissa
looked impatient. "Okay. But hurry up!"

I handed
her my cellphone and went in to use the bathroom. As I washed my hands, I
checked my appearance in the mirror, scared at what I'd see. But all the inner
turmoil I felt was not reflected in my face. My hair and makeup were intact and
if anything, all the beer I had drunk had left me slightly rosy looking.
Despite my stomach being all tied up in knots, I looked young and carefree.

When I
exited and found Melissa, she was looking pleased with herself, which only made
me more nervous. "What's going on?"

She
rolled her eyes. "Nothing. Just can't wait to get to this party. C'mon,
you took forever."

We made
the long trek back to our car. Melissa chatted excitedly the whole time,
marveling at our luck and talking about the upcoming party. We had to make our
way slowly, some of the lots and paths were dark between the lampposts and
Melissa's shoes made her stumble more than once. I refrained from mentioning 'I
told you so,' even as it was on the tip of my tongue several times.

We
finally made it back to the car. While Melissa was searching for her keys, I
heard her mutter, "Damn. We forgot that blanket. Oh well." Finally,
she unlocked the door and we hopped into the car.

She
turned toward me. "You're awfully quiet. Aren't you excited to be seeing
Alex? That he invited you to this party?"

My leg
bounced nervously in the seat. "Maybe we shouldn't go. Maybe he was just
being polite?"

Melissa's
mouth gaped open in shock. "You're a real head case, girl. Plus, he wasn't
just being polite. He already texted you to see if you were going."

My
stomach fluttered. "What? Why didn't you tell me!" I reached for my
cell phone and clicked open the messages.

Unknown
number: I wanted to make sure you're coming tonight.

Me:
Oh, I'll be cumming :)

Unknown
number: Not soon enuf ;) l8r

I closed
my eyes and laid my head back against the seat. I groaned, "Melissa, I'm
gonna kill you!"

Melissa
chuckled. "Chill out. It's not so bad. Anyway, if Alex was just being
polite, he would never have texted you. Now be useful and plug The Tides into
my GPS."

We drove
the twenty minutes to the party in silence. I was trying to mentally convince
myself just to go and have a good time, but I was so nervous. The parking lot
wasn't too packed when we drove up to the bar.

Melissa
drove past the valet parking and found a spot. "I guess most people are
still watching Warning Shot perform. Let's try to get in. Do you think Alex is
here yet?"

The line
at the door wasn't long. When we reached the front the large man asked for our
names. I took a deep breath. "Evelyn Woods. Well, it probably says Lena
Woods on there."

I
watched his finger run down the list of names. Nothing. Melissa leaned towards
him. "We just got added by Alex Lavigne."

The big
man looked up at Melissa and smiled. "Yeah, you're the two friends? Nice.
Go on in."

I
scampered after Melissa as she practically sashayed through the door.
What I
could do with even one percent of her self-confidence.

The club
wasn't too packed yet. I spotted the lead singer from the first opening band
funneling a beer over to the left of the bar. Melissa turned to me, "I'm
sober as fuck. Let's get some drinks, pronto."

I had a
feeling Melissa was going to be in rare form tonight. We edged into the crowd
forming at the bar. Seconds later, I felt an arm slip around my belly and pull
me back. I shivered with delight as Alex whispered into my ear, "Lena, I
knew you would come for me."

My
cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I turned to face him, my body still
pressed tightly against him because of the crowd near the bar. "Just so
you know, Melissa is the one who answered your text."

Alex
gave me a playful, skeptical look. "Right. Sure it was Melissa. Are you
waiting for a drink? What do you want?"

Oh, I'll
have Sex on the Beach, or a Slow Comfortable Screw or how about a Screaming
Orgasm? Or better yet, one of each, please.

Instead,
I reigned in my dirty thoughts. "Um, a kamikaze would be great. And one
for Melissa too."

The
saying,
beer before liquor...
flitted through my head, but I pushed it
out of my mind as I watched Alex getting our drinks. He was served faster than
Melissa by the male bartender, which only served to highlight how damn popular
his band had become. I grabbed Melissa as we waited for Alex to come back with
our drinks. People were stopping him left and right to talk.

When he
finally reached our sides and handed over our drinks, he clinked his beer to
Melissa's drink. "So, I guess I have you to thank for forcing Lena to even
say hello to me tonight."

"No
problem. Thanks for the drink." Melissa took a big sip.

I said a
little pouty, "Hey, she didn't have to force me. I just wasn't sure about
all the backstage stuff."

Melissa
rolled her eyes. "I had to force her."

Alex
took a swig of beer. "Yeah, I believe it. Lena was always such a good girl
in college. I had to force her to misbehave many times, but when she lets
loose, things can get interesting."

I
started to protest, but Melissa cut me off. "Sounds like you have some
interesting dirt to dish."

Just
then a buzz of excited energy started to fill the bar. I looked around; it had
gotten more crowded since I last noticed. In fact, I hadn't noticed much since I
had set eyes on Alex. Everyone seemed to be focusing on the door. I watched as Warning
Shot streamed into the club with its entourage of friends and fans following. The
volume was now twice as loud. Even the music blasting through the club seemed
to get louder.

Alex
grabbed my hand. "The bar is about to get mobbed. C'mon girls. Let me
introduce you to my band."

Pulling
me through the crowd, Alex led us toward the back of the club where his band
was hanging out. I saw Melissa's eyes light up when she spotted the hot guys.

The lead
singer of the group, Tyler, nodded to Alex as we approached. "What up,
Alex?"

Alex
pulled me in close to him and rested his arm around my shoulder. "Hey,
bro. This is my friend, Lena. And this is Melissa."

Tyler
already had a woman on his arm and one in the wings from what it looked like.
He was definitely the most conventionally attractive man in the band. He
usually wore his dark hair spikey, but it looked freshly tamed at the moment.
He was sporting stylish sunglasses indoors, and I was in awe that the look
actually worked on him. It looked like he had just picked his clothes off a
pile on the floor, but they clung to his body perfectly. The whole effect was
an effortless sexiness that would appeal to any breathing woman.

Tyler
greeted us with a cool understated nod. I hoped that Melissa tongue wasn’t
hanging out of her mouth.

I felt
the eyes of all the band members checking out Melissa and I as Alex continued
his introductions. "And this jackass is Tommy. He's our drummer."

Tommy
tipped his beer to us in greeting. "Ladies." Tommy had shaggy blonde
hair, making him look more like a surfer than a rock star. He was also the only
one in the band wearing shorts. The beach bum look seemed to fit his laid back
personality.

My eyes
turned to the last guy as Alex introduced him. "And this is Nick. Our bass
guitarist."

Nick
stood slightly apart from the group. He seemed to be the quiet brooding type of
guy, but I could see more than one girl trying to get his interest.