Sweetness (12 page)

Off to the side
of the stage, hidden by curtains, we watch
the crowd chant for the band to make an appearance. The
voices are loud and the entire scene is thumping with
anticipation and excitement. The stage fills with smoke
while the MC speaks. The lights glow through the fog of
smoke and dart off the walls in all directions. The energy
is electric. Just as the band is announced, Dominic kisses
me and takes his rightful place on his pedestal. As he
straps on his guitar our eyes lock one last time before he
starts playing cords that would please the devil himself.

After a few songs I see, Max, wondering around
backstage, looking through a crowd of people. “Max.”
He looks around searching for my voice in every
direction. “Max over here!”
I throw my arms in the air and wave them high.
Max’s eyes bulge out of his head, probably because of the
way I am dressed.
“Emma? Emma Hill? You look hooooot!” Max
rocks back on his feet, making a spinning motion with his
finger, indicting he wants the full picture.
I roll my eyes at his need for gawking. “Come on,
come watch with me.”
I grab his hand and we watch the four men on
stage rock out in a mass of smoke and sweat. I notice
Dominic glaring at me briefly between cords. Why? His
eyes lock my hand, which is still locked with Max’s.
“Tonight you are my girl.”
His words replay in my
head.
I release Max’s hand and mouth ‘sorry’ to
Dominic as he glances in my direction again. His face is
distorted in anger but he never falters playing the song.
After the song ends Dominic takes determined
strides in my direction. He takes off his shirt and kisses
me hard, clearly staking his claim on me in front of Max.
I hand him a bottle of water and roll my eyes. “Dominic,
this is my friend, Max.”
They shake hands before he takes a sip and I wipe
the sweet off his face with his shirt. “Max, nice to meet
you. Take care of my girl until I get back,” he tells more
than asks.
Dominic kisses my cheek and moves back toward
the stage shirtless and shimmering with sweat from
under the lights; like he has been dipped in silver glitter.
When he grabs the mic stand I see a glimmer on his
chest. As he turns to face Rocco, I see that the glittery
objects are his nipple piercings.
He did that for me?
I lean into Max, more serious then I have been all
night. “Glen’s here.”
“What? What is he doing here?”
“Get this. Him and Dominic went to high school
together. The night Glen pulled me out of the club, five
years ago; it was because their buddies were all there.
When Dominic pulled me on stage, they were busting
Glen’s chops about it. That’s why Glen got mad and
made me leave with him. Dominic had no idea he was
my stepbrother. He is here tonight picking up the keys to
Dominic’s car, because Glen is storing it for him at the
shop, while he is on the road.”
“Wow. That’s seriously messed up. What did he
say to you? Anything?”
“Yup, I told him off. Then he asked to speak with
me. Since people were all around, I agreed. He said since
I embarrassed him and was dressed like a slut again; I
needed to be taught a lesson. He alluded to the fact that
he would teach me how to act like a proper young lady.
Again.”
“Where the fuck is he? I am going to kill him.”
Max turns to walk away and I grab his arm. I really don’t
want a scene tonight and I definitely don’t want any
more questions being asked.
“No, Max. Don’t. I told him if he threatened me
again they would find him at the bottom of the East
River,” I chuckle at the thought of Glens face when I said
it. “He is not worth it. I am only telling you because I
really pissed him off and since he can’t hurt me the way
he wants to, I am sure he will find another way. His way
may be by hurting you or Wanda to get to me. Please
make sure she gets home safe tonight. Also, let her know
he is lurking around. If he as much as looks at her the
wrong way, have his sorry ass bounced out of here. ”
Max nods. His body is rigid with tension. I can tell
he is thinking up a hundred different ways of making
Glen suffer. None of which will make any this better.
“Come on, let’s get back to the stage.” I grab his
forearm and pull him with me but release it before I am
visible from the stage. I don’t want Dominic getting the
wrong idea about us.
“Fine, Emma. But I don’t like this. He is obviously
crazy if he threatened you with all these people around.”
Max’s voice is laced with concern and anger. He’s right. I
know he is right but I can’t let Glen ruin my redo night
with Dominic. Glen’s crazy ass will still be crazy after
he’s gone. Max and I can kick it then.
The band finishes their last song and the crowd is
alive with roars of chanting and applause. The entire
place claps and whistles, myself included. Then, the
stage suddenly gets dark. I observe Dominic pulling a
black box onto the stage, placing it next to a lone bar
stool. He turns to me and motions to me with his finger
to come toward him, just like Patrick Swayze did to
Jennifer Gray in the final scene of, Dirty Dancing. I shake
my head. I don’t want to be on stage.
He cocks his head to the side and pats the top of
the box; he wants me to sit on it. Completely
embarrassed I somehow find the confidence to do as he
requests. Or should I say, Max pushes me out onto the
stage before I can run away.
Fucker.
Rocco slips on stage and hands him his acoustic
guitar, patting me on the head as he leaves the opposite
way he came. Dominic slides the mic stand down,
adjusting the height. The stage is still dark except for the
spotlight that is only shining on us; as if we are in our
own little bubble and no one can get in. I blink at the
blinding light as I try to see the people below us. I can
hear them hooting and hollering for an encore but
Dominic silences them with a wave of his hand.
“This final song, I wrote for the lovely woman
sitting next to me. She is very special to me.” He turns his
head and flashes me his signature wink that makes my
heart forget how to beat. “I hope you like it, Emma.”
The crowd goes wild as he strums his guitar. I
know this song. I heard it last night in my room. He
wrote the words? I smile adoringly as the words flow
past Dominic’s lips.

All the nights we spent together,
with the moonlight in your hair.
It’s your face that I remember,
but your kisses that I feel.
When I looked up you were gone,
I didn’t get to say good-bye.
I didn’t get to tell you,
I didn’t care about the lie.

Now here you are again,
my angel dressed in black.
I want to make you smile;
I want you to love me back.
You’re my vision of a future;

It’s getting late baby,
I don’t want to say good-bye.
The road is calling me angel;
I can’t even stay the night.

I will count the days ‘til I see your face again.
Once last kiss for old times,
one last kiss before I gooooooooo….
I’ll wanna taste you…I’ll wanna feel you,
Damn, I’ll miss you…….
My Sweetness.

Tears stream down my face uncontrollably. This is
by far the greatest moment in my life. His words…I had
no idea he felt that way. I feel terrible that I had a
different perception of what he wanted from me
yesterday.

I’m his vision of a future? He wants me to love
him back? Surely he doesn’t love me, but it makes one
hell of a ballad. He stands up, puts down his guitar, and
grabs both of my hands. He plants a small kiss on my lips
and I hear the crowd go crazy as the spotlight clicks off.

The MC concludes the show in the darkness of the
stage and wishes everyone a safe journey home. We both
laugh into our kisses not caring that everyone in the
room is watching our silhouettes.

With weak knees, I follow him off the stage. I feel
like I am walking on air. There has never in my lifetime
been a more memorable moment. Ever. Dominic wipes
my tears away and kisses me again. I can only imagine
what a sweaty, teary mess I am. I must looks like,
Frankenstein’s bride, by now.
“So I guess you liked the song,” he asks nervously.
“Liked it? Dominic that was fantastic. Thank you.”

He pulls me against his chest and lifts me off the ground,
spinning me as if I am weightless.
“Dominic. You’re lifting my dress,” I giggle.
“Shit, sorry. I got carried away.” He puts me
down and I straighten myself.
“I’ll be right back. I need to use the bathroom.” I
kiss him and weave through the crowd to the ladies
room backstage. I look in the mirror and fix my face with
nothing more then hard paper towels and some generic
soap that is watered down.
I look at my phone and see it is just past midnight,
I have only a few short hours before my rock god hits the
road and I plan on making the most of this night. I exit
the bathroom and hastily try finding Dominic, but I can’t
seem to find him anywhere. I see Gabe with a middle
aged man in a brown suit and he doesn’t look pleased.
He sees me and excuses himself before heading in my
direction.
I wonder what he would do if I just bolted out the
exit door.
“Emma. You had a good time I presume. Judging
from your stage performance it’s a safe bet that you are,
Sweetness?” He takes a deep breath and scrubs his hands
over his face when I nod and bite my lip. “I tried to keep
you out of the spotlight tonight but it seems that
everyone wants to know who the girl on stage is. I
suggest that you and Mr. Ross leave out the back door
while I stay here and do damage control. Perhaps if I can
control the story, the papers won’t refer to you with
vulgarity. Luke is waiting just outside the back door. Mr.
Ross should be in the car already. Please have him back
at his hotel by two o’clock tomorrow. The bus is leaving
at four, and we need to finalize some things before he
leaves.”
“Sure. I am sorry, Mr. Hernandez. I didn’t know
he was going to do that. I was trying to stay out of view.”
I rush out trying to explain before he fires me.
Gabe takes another deep breath, clearly trying to
be as calm as he can. “I know, Emma. I am not mad at
you. I am just asking that you leave before it gets worse. I
will take care of the PR side to this and give a statement,
that you and Mr. Ross are old friends who reconnected
recently. You will need to be more discrete with your
personal life in the future. You do realize that now,
right?”
“I do now. Yes, sir. I am truly sorry for causing
you to have to do damage control.”
“That’s fine, Emma. Just go.”
I give him a curt nod and scurry off towards the
back door. As I open it, I look behind me and see Gabe
watching me leave. For a second, I could swear I see a
ghost of a smile perk up on his lips. Before I can figure it
out he exhales sharply and walks back to the stage area
where I see security holding back the press.
When I get outside I see Luke standing next to the
back door of the car with an aloof expression. When he
sees me, he opens the door and I quickly retreat inside.
“Hey you, there you are. I was wondering where
you ran off to. Gabe said I could find you out here.”
“Did I mess up, Emma? Mr. Hernandez was kind
of pissed that I pulled you up on stage,” He looks upset
and worried. I don’t want him to worry so I downplay
the severity of what he did. Even I know, from a PR
perspective, Gabe has just been thrown into the lion’s
den. The press is not going to rest until they get every
juicy detail about my relationship with Dominic.
“Don’t worry. He will take care of it all.” I waive
off.
“Where to, Emma.” Luke asks after climbing into
the drivers seat.
“Are you coming home with me or are we going
to your hotel? Gabe told me to have you back by 2.”
“Your place. I am sharing my room, so we won’t
have any privacy there,” he says with promising eyes.
“Luke, we are going to Hill Tower.”
“You got it.” Luke glances in the rearview mirror
and I hit the button so the privacy glass slides up. Luke
doesn’t need to witness anything that is going to happen
back here.
“Now.” I sit straddle him, digging my knees into
the leather seat as he adjusts himself to a more
comfortable position. I settle on his lap and brush the
hair away from his forehead with my finger. “You
wanted privacy. Now what will you do with me?”
“Well. We can start by picking up where we left
off last night and see where that takes us.” He says as he
cups my behind and pulls me closer. His soft lips feel like
rose petals on mine. I pull my hands into his damp hair
to deepen our kiss and before I know it we are all lips
and tongues.
When he has stolen every last breath I have, I pull
back and rest my forehead on his. “So. The song. You
liked it?”
“I told you, it was fantastic,” I answer, smiling.
“Good. I am going to add it to our set list. The
band likes it too and we agreed that a ballad would break
up the album. Is that ok with you? It is your song.”
“My song? You wrote it.”
“For you. You are my, Sweetness, therefore it’s
yours.”
He wrote a kickass song and he is actually seeking
my approval to use it? He has to be the sweetest man I
have ever met. How he manages to tug at my heart and
undo me with his words I will never know.
“But it is your song. You can do whatever you
want with it. I would be honored if you put it on your
album.” My face falls and I look down. His intimate
words replay in my mind.
I mean seriously, I just saw him again two days
ago, after five years. I don’t expect love at first sight but I
admit, its nice that someone like Dominic can make me
feel…special.
“Hey, why are you frowning? If you don’t want
me to play it, I won’t. Just tell me.”
“No. No. It’s not that. I just…do you mean those
things.”
“Of course I do. You are my inspiration. That song
took me less then 24 hours to write. That never happens.
I didn’t realize how much I missed you, Emma, until I
saw you again. I know we were only together for like a
month, a long time ago, but I liked you then, and I like
you now.”
“You love me? You want me to love you back?” I
ask in a small voice, embarrassed by my question and
almost afraid of his answer.
“Um…well…maybe, some day. I did have to take
a little creative license to make a good song.” He
chuckles.
“I’m your vision of a future?” I am bright red,
now. I know I am. My ears and cheeks are on fire with
each question I ask.
“Emma. You are an awesome person. I don’t
know where life will take us but I want us to be friends,
no matter what. More then friends actually, but I can’t
ask you to sit by and wait for me while I am on the road.
I don’t expect you to sit by the phone and put your life
on hold while I am out living mine. That’s not fair.” That
was a very mature answer. It is obvious that he though
about this a great deal. And I can’t think straight with
his crotch rubbing up against me.
I try and climb off and he stops me. “Where you
going? Stay here. I like looking at your face this close.”
“I was just trying to eliminate the sex part of this
so we can have a serious conversation.”
“There is no need for a serious conversation.
Tonight, I just want to enjoy you. Wherever life takes us,
it takes us. We can call and e-mail and text. I will be back
before the holidays to record the album. Then, who
knows.” He shrugs. “I want you to live your life, baby.
Go out, have fun, even go on a date if you meet a nice
guy. But I don’t want to hear about it. It would shred me
to think about some other dickheads hands on you. But I
get it. You are a young, attractive woman and I
completely understand that you will have needs when I
am gone.” I can tell he is trying to play it cool but his
eyes are telling me otherwise. There is no way he would
be cool with knowing I am on a date any more than I
would be, knowing he is. But he’s right. We are both
young, and starting a relationship while he is so far away
is unfair. To both of us.
“Few things, Mr. Rock and Roll. One, I must tell
you that I haven’t slept with anyone in about a year and
a half before last night. So as far as needs go, I have
batteries if needed. Two, it sounds like you just want my
permission to sleep with every girl that flirts with you-“
“Emma, I told you last night. I don’t do groupies. I
haven’t slept with anyone in about eight months. I am
not asking for a free pass. We are not dating, so I don’t
need your permission. I am just trying to be honest and
forthcoming with my expectations.”
“You done?” I stare into his green eyes that are
reflecting off the passing headlights through the tinted
windows.
He gives me a nod.
“And three, I agree. Friends with benefits is
probably the best way to approach this. I won’t tell you if
I date, but please do me a solid. I don’t want to see you in
the gossip pages with some bimbo every other day, huh.
Oh…and…” I grab the sides of his shirt in my fists.
“Don’t you dare, bring another girl up on stage
and sing her my song. Got it?”
“Got it. I wouldn’t dream of tainting
YOUR
song
with anyone else’s likeness. You are my Sweetness and
the song is yours. Scouts honor,” he says as he solutes
me. I pull on his shirt and kiss him hard just as the car
stops outside of Hill Tower.