Page 96 of Queen Of Clubs
When there's a break in lyrics she laughs and starts to dance around us, but then the lyrics start up again and the next part packs a punch that hits a lot harder than she will ever know.
The lyrics are about not being good at letting go, and not wanting to spend the night alone.
My heart sinks, thinking about all those years she was alone. All those years she thought we didn’t want her. And the fact is, she didn’t let go or move on. She held onto that pain to the point she tried to erase us from her memory, even if she wasn’t successful.
While my stomach sinks at the memory, she’s all bright smiles, enjoying herself as she sings. I can tell she's trying to mask the underlying meaning of this song and how it relates to us.
Zane’s jaw is clenched tight, his hands fisted at his side. He’s trying his damn hardest not to pull her into his arms and smother her with his need to make things better.
When the song is over she laughs, panting a little. She was amazing. Would it be cliche to say she has a voice of an angel? “Damn, that was fun. But how do you do it, all those songs in one night? Just singing that one song has me out of breath.”
“Vocal practice,” Griffin answers for Zane, who still looks a little bit feral. I can tell he’s regretting challenging her to sing.
“I’m going to have to get a bit of that.” She laughs. “Now, I’m going to get out of your way and let you guys do your thing. Thanks for that, though. That was the most fun I’ve had in a while.” She gives all of us a kiss on the cheek before heading over to Calvin. He wraps his arm around her, kissing the side of her head as they walk away.
I feel like a part of me goes with them. I know the guys feel the same way. And after what happened last night, none of us want her out of our sight.
But Calvin said he’s going to be glued to her side, and they will watch from backstage this time. That way, if the crowd gets too rowdy, she’s safe.
SOUND CHECK GOES BY quickly and smoothly. We hang out with Jade backstage until it’s time to go on.
“She’s going to be fine,” I tell Zane as his eyes stay glued to where Jade is standing off to the side with Calvin.
“She just fucking got attacked last night,” he growls, ripping his attention away from her and over to me.
“Yes, and she’s fine. She’s been looked over, and we’ve been by her side all day. Plus, she said she would kick our asses if we cancelled this show.”
“I don’t like how she’s just brushing this off like it wasn’t a big deal.” Zane sighs heavily.
“She’s not brushing it off. She’s just a hell of a lot stronger than what you're giving her credit for.”
“I’m her alpha. It’s in my fucking DNA to make sure she’s safe and protected. I already failed her, I won’t do it again.” He glares at me, running a hand through his inky locks.
“Enough of this,” Griffin says. “We can argue later. We’ve got a show to do.”
“Fuck. Fine.” Zane grabs my face and kisses me hard before doing the same to Griffin. We both laugh, a euphoric feeling flowing through all of us.
“Ready?” Zane asks us, a huge grin on his face, and I can’t help but mirror his mood.
“Hell yeah!” I scream over the shouting crowd.
“Then let's fucking do this!” Griffin shouts.
The moment we step out on the stage, the crowd goes crazy; they are almost deafening. I grin, chuckling as I twirl my drum stick in one hand and wave to the crowd with the other.
“Hello, London!” Zane shouts into the mic. “We are Tattered Souls and we’re here to blow your fucking minds!”
Taking a seat, I get in position and off we go.
The first song is one of our hits. Something that made it to the top of the chart within our first year. It’s all about heartbreak and losing the one we love.
By the time we’re done, sweat pours down my back and face. My heart is pounding as adrenaline races through my veins.
There’s something about being out here on stage that lets all my worries drift away. There's this buzz, this high I get from the energy of the crowd. It will never get old. We plan on doing this until we take our last damn breath, which will probably be on a stage.
Needing to make sure Jade is still okay, I look over to see her still standing there with Calvin. She’s got this smile on her face that makes my heart skip a beat and my stomach flip. God, this woman is my everything.
When she meets my gaze, I wink and chuckle when her response is to bite her lower lip while giving me a little wave. Fuck, she has no idea how sexy she is when she does that. I want to suck that lip into my mouth and nibble on it until she’s a mewling mess underneath me.