Excerpt from REDEMPTION

EXCERPT:

Performing on stage is amazing but I think I love jamming with the guys even more.

Kit says that people are either born performers, like Zane, or someone who learns how to do it. I am definitely in the second group and I know how lucky I am to get to tour with this amazing group of people and watch them do it right show after show. I’m getting the hang of it but I feel like I really hit my groove when it’s just a bunch of people sitting around and playing our favorite songs, both old and new.

Like right now. We have a show tonight but we’re packing up and leaving on the buses as soon as it’s over in order to hit the road and make the next city. So, no hotel rooms for us but lots of downtime at the stadium in between the PR stuff, sound check, and showtime. So Kit surprised us all with a cookout in the parking lot. Ribs, BBQ chicken and enough baked beans, coleslaw, and corn-on-the-cob to choke a horse, spread out before us by the catering company she hired.

Now the food is gone and we are all so full that all we can do is sit around in a circle in the afternoon sunshine and play music. I grabbed a spot on a small hill of grass in between Zane and Mac and now I’m watching and learning from the more experienced musicians. I add my guitar and my voice to the mix when I can.

Country. Rock. Folk. You name and we’ve played it, jumping from Jerry Lee Lewis to Green Day in the span of a few chord progressions. When the bass player, Ty, starts to play Freebird everyone groans and throws empty soda and beer cans at him until he stops with a loud “fuck you” aimed at all of us.

“He’s such an asshat,” Mac says, his smile softening the blow in his words. These guys are like a family right down to the pranks and the constant taunts.

“Sometimes you guys make me glad that I’m an only child,” I joke.

Zane nudges me with an elbow. “You were an only child. You’ve got a big sister now to boss you around, steal your diary and put Nair in your shampoo bottle.”

“Do sisters really do that to each other?” I ask, shuddering when they both nod.

“Well, then I better start locking up my make-up on the bus.”

“You guys should play that song you were working on the other day. It is so ready primetime,” Mac says, his abrupt change of subject catching me off guard.

I shake my head. “It really isn’t.”

I look at Zane for support and I’m not thrilled by the mischief in his dark eyes.

“I knew you’d say that. This is my ‘not shocked’ face,” Mac says at the same time he signals to Kit and points at me and then Zane. “Zane and Emory have a new song they want to sing.”

“We do not!” I punch Mac in the arm, the embarrassment from suddenly being the center of everyone’s attention adding extra heat to my sun-drenched skin.

“Come one Little Bird.” Zane’s voice, low and husky tickles my ear as he leans in close. “Just say yes. This is what you left home to do.”

I groan and dip my head as the crowd around us starts doing that chant thing, rounds of “sing, sing” punctuated by guitar strums and laughter.

“Em! Zane!” Kits yells out over the noise and I look up to meet her eyes. She gives us the “go ahead” gesture and I know I’m giving in. Apparently everyone else does too because the chant becomes cheers and Zane chuckles beside me.

“This is gonna be so good,” he says, his fingers poised over his guitar as he flashes me a triumphant smile. I let my eyes roam over his face for a moment, the memory of how soft his goatee was against my skin making me shiver a little.

“You ready?”

I nod and listen for his soft count as we both launch into the driving beat and Zane takes the first half of the first verse.

When I met you, twenty-two, blown away by the fire in your eyes/You took my hand and led me into the night/the sparks between us the only light/I knew it would be life or death/Love or lies/You and me for now or never.

My turn comes and for a split second the butterflies have a free fall in my stomach but Zane’s smile makes me bold. I open my mouth and I sing like my next breath depends on it.

When I met you/twenty-two/in love with the fire in your eyes/Your hand in mine was my lifeline, my spark/Your touch the kickstart to my heart/ Reckless/Fearless/Love or lies/You and me now or never

By the time we hit the chorus the band is picking out their parts and playing along. When we get to the bridge the entire thing explodes in a wall of sound that makes me laugh with the pure joy of it. Zane is right, music is seductive and addictive. I could do this forever and I hope I will.

I look at him as we launch into the last chorus and the connection between us ignites, rivaling the summer sun in its intensity. Our voices blend in perfect, edgy harmony, sliding together as if they were made for each other. Zane’s gaze is onyx, backlit with a copper fire and the “I-told-you-so” smile on his lips is pure seduction. I want nothing more to lean over and take his mouth as we drive through the last few notes.

My heart is pounding in my head and my chest so loudly that I don’t notice that the entire area has gone silent for a few seconds. Zane reaches out and wraps his big hand around the back of my neck, drawing me to him with sexy intent in his eyes. I lean in, licking my lips and ready to taste him again when the area around us erupts in applause. We both jerk at the sound but instead of pulling away immediately, he touches our foreheads together for the briefest second.

He holds me there long enough for him to growl in a voice just loud enough for me to hear, “That wasn’t just the music.”