Fall From Grace(76)

“Stop smiling, Grace.”  He leaned forward, a smile appearing on his face that matched mine.  “A smile like that can give a man hope.”

But I couldn’t stop smiling and neither could he.  We sat there smiling, staring into each other’s eyes, until Ethan walked up to us and cleared his throat.  “What is with the two of you?”

My eyes snapped from his and I couldn’t quite catch my breath.  This is too dangerous.  I needed to find Azazel before I give myself, body and soul to Shane.  I shivered; I needed to end my time here.  It’s not like me to want someone or to need someone, especially when I knew it would only be for a few hours.

The crowd screamed for us to play, and when we emerged from the back of the stage, the sound was deafening.  Shane struck a chord and that silenced the audience.  The rest of us took his lead and the crowd roared back to life.

The music was intense and electrifying.  It pulsated along the walls and through the stage rocking me to my core.  I played as if it was the last time I’d ever hold my guitar.

After the set, we all jumped off the stage.  Sweaty and on fire, we ran to the bar to try to quench the flames.

Laughing and singing our last song, Ryan lined up shot glasses of Kamikaze shooters for us, fruity and sweet.  I gulped one back and slammed in on the bar.

Someone leaned against the bar next to me, “May I buy you a drink?”

I lifted my head to the voice.

“Hi, I’m Steve,” he said, and then pointed to my empty glass, “May I buy you a drink.”

I smiled politely at him, “Thank you, but the band has a running tab at the bar, so there’s no need to.”

Ryan slid over another Kamikaze shooter to me and the irony of name of the drink and my life made me giggle.

Steve smiled down at me with sexy green eyes.  “You were amazing up there,” he said to me, nodding to the stage.  “I’m sure you hear this all the time, but you are incredibly sexy and your eyes...I’ve never seen a more beautiful color.”

Before I could thank him, Shane stepped between us.  “Hey, excuse me, um, Steve was it?  Yeah, well Grace and I have band things to take care of, so goodbye.”  Shane stood there glaring down at him until he backed away.  “Walk the f*ck away from her right now; she’s not up for grabs, Steve.”

Steve held my gaze, “She’s not up for grabs?  Calm down, jackass. I just wanted to buy this beautiful woman a drink.”

Shane stepped in closer to Steve, blocking my view of him.  “Just walk away, dude.”

Steve shook his head laughing and held his hands in the air.  He leaned past Shane and spoke directly to me.  “Listen, my friends and I will be here for a while, so if you’d like to dance or something, come and find me.”

I watched Shane’s knuckles turn white as he balled his hands into fists.  I slid off my barstool, smiled at Steve and placed my hand on Shane’s chest, softly holding him back.  “Thank you, Steve, but I’m wiped from the show, so I’m calling it a night.  I’m Grace by the way. It was nice to meet you and I’m glad you enjoyed the music.”  I turned to face Shane letting Steve know that our conversation was over.

I kept my hand on Shane.  “I am leaving now.  Don’t ever do that again to me.  Don’t ever stop someone from speaking to me. I’m not your property. I’m barely even your friend.”

His eyes bore into mine, “Do you want to go home with him?”