Absolutely Unforgivable(48)
The set started with Billy screaming “AHHH YEAHHHH!” into the microphone. Everyone rushed to the stage. Those who weren’t already standing around watching us set up, that is. The crowds poured in from all over. It was an endless sea of people cheering Billy and the band on. I stood near Billy shaking my tambourine and my ass. Billy playfully turned my way to sing to me at various parts of the song.
For some reason my mind and body must have separated. Maybe it was all the drinks I had before, maybe it was the roar of the crowds and the excitement of being onstage. But whatever it was, something pulled me over to Billy and I started dancing seductively as he sang. With his hands firmly grasped on the microphone stand in front of me, I treated the rest of his body as if it were a stripper pole. Not to be outdone, Darla and Starla started to do the same to Travis. The crowd let out a deafening cheer as I bumped and grinded on Billy’s body. Amazingly, he never missed a beat.
When the song started to slow down, Billy reached out and grabbed me. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me into him. I, however, didn’t stop my erotic dance. I just slowed it down a notch. Then when the song sped up and he grabbed the microphone stand again with both hands I stepped back, getting out of his way and continued on with my sexy dance.
When the song ended, Billy turned his head my way and gave me a huge smile. I started to step back and take the spot on the side of the stage near Mindy and he shook his head and then pointed back to the spot near him. I shrugged and walked back to where I had originally been standing. I guess he wasn’t kidding; he really wasn’t letting me out of his sight tonight.
Billy rarely took his microphone off of the stand but for this song he did. That made me a little nervous. I wasn’t quite sure what he was up to. Behind us the band started to play a fast tempo and Billy walked over to me. I didn’t recognize the song. It must be a new one.
“I know a girl, she’s so fine. She’s one hot mess and for tonight she’s all mine. She looks so fine, maybe one day she really will be mine. She gives hot ass mess a new meaning.”
What the hell? Was Billy singing this song about me? I’m a hot mess? Seriously? I could feel the heat filling my cheeks. Is this really how he saw me? I did my best to shake off my irritation, reminding myself this was just a song and this was just an act. We are onstage performing, after all.
He stepped behind me and put one of his hands around my waist and sang, “All you want is just to hold her tight.”
He walked around me and back to my side. He pulled me into him and held me tightly in his arms. My pulse quickened and I started to breath heavily. Our lips were incredibly close. There was that sparkle in his eyes I had seen before. He loved being onstage. This was where Billy was at his best. As he looked into my eyes he continued to sing. I tried to pull away but he held me closer. Then he let go of his grip on me and sang the rest of the song as he walked around the stage, eventually making his way back to his stand and replacing the microphone on it.
When the song ended, I took a deep breath and put on my best fake smile. Normally he only tortured me with two songs in a set before moving on to something else, but tonight I wouldn’t be so lucky. I started to have a feeling I was going to be here in this spot for the entire set. Luckily the next song was much faster and easier to dance to. It had a fun, fast beat. I shook my tambourine on my hip as I swayed to the music and then something strange happened.
Billy turned his head towards me as if he was again singing to me and shouted, “I love you. I hate you. I can never let you go. No matter what you put me through, you always feel like home. You are here with me, but you’re not. I love you. I hate you. But I can’t f*cking let you go.”
I froze in place. I suddenly couldn’t breathe or even think. I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to be doing. Was Billy singing that about me? No. He couldn’t be. Well, maybe. Is he trying to tell me how he really feels? God, what is wrong with me? It’s just a song. I’m just imagining things.
Trista, being the constant professional that she is, noticed I was in trouble. As Billy turned back to face the crowds to sing the rest of the song, Trista came up behind me and started dancing with me. It helped me come out of my daze. When the song ended, she didn’t leave and we continued to play up the girl-on-girl thing. It was very much not like the Trista I had known before. The beat of the next song started and I did my best to shrug off what Billy had said before.
Luckily for this next song he didn’t turn towards me and sing directly. I think I might have lost it if he had -- Especially since he was singing Simple Plan’s Addicted to You. Trista continued to dance with me throughout the song and soon Mindy joined our little fray and before long I had forgotten all about the incident.