Static (2 page)

Not sure what to do, I glanced up and locked gazes
with Thane. He was standing near the side of the stage looking down
at me; the microphone stand gripped tightly, his dark eyes piercing
me. Heat blossomed inside of me. I'd never been looked at like that
by a guy before. As if he wanted to devour me from the toes up. I
put a hand to my stomach where butterflies started to flip flop
around like beached fish.

A rush of something I couldn't name shot through my
body. Adrenaline or lust, I didn't know which, but whatever it was
made me feel really good. Powerful even. Sexy. Like one of the
female members of the X-Men. Storm maybe, or Rogue, maybe even Dark
Phoenix before she went insane and killed everyone.

Whatever it was, I liked it.

Putting my attention back on my blond nemesis, I
decided I needed to act if I was going to get out of the situation.
Faster than I knew I could move, I reached up and snatched the bull
ring from her nose.

She screamed and grabbed her nose with both hands.
Blood seeped between her fingers to drip on the floor.

The sound of her skin and cartilage ripping made me
shiver. Even above the music I had heard it ring in my ears. I felt
bad for liking the sound, but she had it coming.

Her two friends gathered her in the safety of their
arms but they both stared at me with a mixture of venom and
apprehension. I suspected no one saw that coming. I certainly
hadn't.

In a daze, I looked around me, and noticed that she'd
dropped her backstage pass onto the floor. Leaning down I snatched
it up and smiled. I finally got my backstage pass.

As I hung it around my neck, my gaze met Thane's once
again. He was singing the last lines of their last song but he was
watching me. And he smiled.

I smiled in return.

Chapter 2

The fat smelly security guard shook his head. "You
have one pass. That means
only
one of you can come in."

Chloe and I stood at the back entrance to the club
with several other girls and guys eager to get in and party with
the band. The only problem was, they weren't letting us in. Well,
they weren't letting Chloe in because she didn't have a pass.

"C'mon man, give us a break. We've been standing out
here for over an hour to get in and now you won't let us in?"

He pointed at me. "I'll let you in, but not her. She
doesn't have a pass."

"C'mon, can't you just break the rules this one
time?"

"No. Now move out of the way so the others can get
in." He shoved us off to one side.

Dejected, we moved out of line and leaned against the
wall of the club. I kicked a rock on the ground. I couldn't believe
this was happening after having been slapped around by some blond
bimbo and stealing her backstage pass. It just wasn't fair.

"You go," Chloe said after a couple of minutes of
staring at the moving crowd of people.

"No, not without you. We always said we'd go
together."

"I know, but you have the pass, Salem. You got it
after that bitch decked you. You deserve to go to the party."

"Are you sure?" I asked, hope filling my chest. I
hated to think it but I know I would've been pissed if I couldn't
go and meet the band after all the gigs I'd been to and yeah,
getting slapped by Skankenstein had been the icing on the cake.

"Yes, I'm sure." She sighed. "This is your big thing,
not mine. Besides you earned it and some." Her eyes widened and she
laughed. "I can't believe you ripped that girl's nose ring out.
That is so gross."

"Yeah, me either." I shivered. "I didn't plan to, it
just kinda happened."

Chloe fiddled with her nose ring, likely
subconsciously thinking about what that would feel like. "She had
it coming, I'm sure." I saw her shake a little.

She dug out her car keys from her pocket. "Are you
sure you'll be okay alone?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm cool. I've got money for a cab
home."

"You should call your mom and tell her."

"Nah. She's forward thinking and all, but I'm not
sure how she'd react if I told her I'm going to a band party on my
own with the intentions of having sex with the lead singer."

Chloe eyed me carefully. "You're sure about that
stuff?"

I rubbed my hands over my arms. A cool breeze swirled
around me giving me the chills. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm on the pill. I
have condoms. I won't do anything I'll regret in nine months."

"Okay." She opened her arms and moved in to hug
me.

I squeezed her back, then stepped away feeling a bit
unsure about what I was about to do. Was I really going to have sex
with some guy I really didn't know just because he was a rock
God?

I figured it was something I could tell my kids. Just
like how my mom told me about some of the musicians she'd partied
with over the years while she toured in her own band in the
eighties.

"Be safe." Chloe handed me a piece of mint flavored
gum. "And don't accept open drinks from anyone. It could be
roofied."

"Don't worry, I won't." I popped the gum into my
mouth. I definitely didn't want to have bad breath upon meeting the
guy of my dreams.

After one last smile, Chloe turned and headed toward
the parking lot where she parked her car. I watched her go then
taking a big breath of fresh air, I turned and got back in line to
go into the club.

After another half hour, I was walking down the back
hall with three other girls and one guy, all of them as eager
looking as I'm sure I appeared to be. I was quivering inside with a
mixture of excitement and pure terror.

Voices drifted down the hall towards us. I could
distinctly pick out Thane's even as he laughed. He had that pure
gold voice, one that made my knees weak and my breath hitch in my
throat. Oh God, I didn't think I could do it. What if I threw up on
him? I'd be completely humiliated and scarred for life.

When I entered the back room a glut of sights, sounds
and smells came to me all at once, nearly knocking me onto my ass.
The first thing I saw was the drummer, Quinn, strutting around
without his shirt, a girl attached to each side, their fingers
stroking the multitude of tattoos that decorated his chest and
arms. Seth, the guitarist, was spread out on an old ratty sofa
drinking a beer, laughing at something one of the other guys
sitting by him had said. Devon, with her pink pigtails still
bouncing, stood in the corner smoking a cigarette and hugging her
bass guitar to her chest like a lover.

I smelled sweat and perfume and beer and the sweet
odor of marijuana. I heard boisterous laughter and good natured
ribbing and the distinctive giggles of girls overwrought with too
many pheromones. I sucked it all in and grinned.

I made it. I was here, in the same damn room as my
favorite band of all time, Malice.

Giddy with excitement and nearly bouncing in my Doc
Martens, I scanned the packed room for Thane. He was why I was
here. He was my sole mission. Pushing through the throng, I tuned
my ears to the sound of his voice. I'd only have to follow the
music.

Ten minutes later I'd checked the whole room, but
didn't find him. Maybe he stepped out for a bit. Maybe he had to go
to the bathroom. I was sure rock gods urinated once in awhile. I
wasn't going to give up. I'd stand here all night; well it was
around midnight already, so all morning until I tracked him
down.

A sudden icy breeze brushed over my skin. The hairs
on the back of my neck rose and a shiver raced down my spine.

"You look thirsty."

I swung around, my heart pounding so hard I could
hardly breathe.

Thane stood behind me, towered over me really, his
eyebrow arched sexily and a wry smile on his perfectly sculpted
face. His hand held a bottle of beer which he held out to me.

My tongue felt thick and it stuck to the roof of my
mouth as if I'd just eaten a peanut butter sandwich. Instead of
speaking I just nodded and took the offered drink from his fingers.
I put it to my lips and took a long drink hoping to wash some of
that stickiness out of my mouth.

As I drank he watched me, his gaze was fierce,
powerful, sexy as hell. God, I had to put a hand to my stomach to
stop it from turning over and over like a wave pool gone wild. It
was then I noticed just how dark his eyes were. A brown so deep it
was almost black. It should've looked eerie, scary even, but I
found it even sexier.

"What's your name?"

My eyes widened. Was he really asking me for my name?
I inconspicuously glanced over my shoulder to make sure I was the
girl he was really talking to and there wasn't some big-breasted
bleach blond bimbo behind me laughing at the joke.

"Salem," I managed to squeak.

"I saw you in the crowd."

I nearly choked on the next sip of beer I took. "You
did?"

He grinned. My knees turned to jelly.

"Yeah, I liked what I saw."

"R-r-really?"

He nodded and moved closer to me. From this distance
I could smell his cologne, or it could've been his natural scent,
except it smelled a lot like black licorice. Could guys naturally
smell like that?

Before I could say anything, he touched me. A light
caress of his finger on my cheek. I sighed, and then pressed my
lips together to stop from making more of a fool out of myself by
moaning his name. I was acting as if a guy had never touched me
before. I'd made out a couple of times. I wasn't an amateur.

But this was Thane. And he was a rock god. And I
knew, just knew, I had fallen in love.

"You're going to bruise." His finger trailed down to
my split lip. He pressed on the cut. I could feel the wound crack
open again.

Wincing, I pulled away. On the tip of Thane's finger
was a pinprick of blood. Still smiling, he sucked his finger into
his mouth.

"I think you're beautiful."

I gaped at him. I couldn't possibly have heard the
words he uttered. It was impossible. Cute maybe, I'd been called
that a few times, but nobody thought I was beautiful. Except my mom
of course.

"What?" I stammered.

That was the last thing I said before my whole life
changed, altered beyond anything I could've ever imagined. And I
had a healthy imagination.

Thane leaned down toward my mouth, slowly inching his
way. My lips were trembling in anticipation as he neared. I could
feel his breath on my skin. Keeping my gaze, strong, fierce,
confident, he brushed his lips against mine.

Then I fainted.

Chapter 3

I woke up smacking my lips. The putrid taste sticking
to the insides of my cheeks and to my tongue was indescribable. The
closest depiction would be a combination of sour milk and garlic.
Not good. The second thing I noticed when I woke was the smell
invading my nose. It was even worse than the horrid bite in my
mouth. I had to swallow down the urge to gag.

My head ached something awful. Like I'd drunken
copious amounts of alcohol, retched until my brains felt like
they'd explode out of both my nose and ears, and went to sleep with
the room spinning. Stretching out some wicked kinks in my neck and
back, I blinked open my eyes to complete darkness.

Heart racing, I moved my hands around me to get my
bearings. Underneath my palms, I felt things like crumpled paper,
different fabrics—leather maybe or vinyl—slick plastic, and wet
mushy substances I didn't even want to consider. It seemed like I
was lying on a pile of garbage. But that couldn't be possible. Had
I passed out at the club and was lying on the dirty floor? I sat up
and smacked my head on something metal by the ringing sound
reverberating all around me, making my ears hurt.

Scrambling to my knees, I lifted my hands above me
and groped around trying to figure out where exactly I was. My
fingers brushed against sharp pieces of metal, twice pricking my
fingers and making them bleed, and across other gooey things that
made bile rise in my throat. Still seeking some purpose, my hand
came across a lever of some sort and I pushed on it as hard as I
could.

The metal roof above me sprung open, clanging so loud
it made my teeth rattle. I stuck my head up and took in a much
needed breath of untainted air. Surprisingly, the afternoon sun
beamed down on my face as I squinted up into it trying to orient
myself and figure out where the hell I was. Reality crashed down on
me like a bucket of ice cold water.

I was kneeling in a garbage dumpster.

Gripping the side of the canister, I peered down both
ways of the alley. I was downtown, that much I knew from the size
of some of the buildings but on what street I couldn't tell.
Thankfully it wasn't garbage day and the bin was still partially
full or I wouldn't have been able to jump out or pull myself out.
Empty dumpsters were pretty deep. I knew because I'd done my fair
share of dumpster diving for various things that big department
stores always threw out. It was surprising how many pairs of jeans
I'd found that way.

Balancing on the pile of trash, I set both hands on
the metal rim and vaulted out. My grade nine phys-ed teacher
would've finally been proud of me for doing something remotely
athletic. When I landed, I noticed that my boots were unlaced. The
rest of my clothes seemed to be together. Thankfully, I still had
my t-shirt on and my jeans.

The last thing I remembered was being at the club and
talking to Thane. He had kissed me and I had...I had passed out?
So, what in hell was I doing here in the trash as if I'd been
tossed away like old dirty socks or used tissues. If I didn't know
any better I'd think I was in some serious shit.

I needed some perspective on things. I had to call
Chloe. I patted my right front pocket for my cell phone. It was
empty. I checked the other pocket to find it empty as well.
Frantic, I reached fingers into my back pocket for my money clip
and my ID. But I pulled out nothing but lint and tiny shredded
pieces of paper—I must've washed my jeans with a receipt or
something in the pocket.