10

I grin back at him, his happy face a welcome sight compared to the sourpuss he can be when we’re on tour. “Thanks, man.”
“That thing with the girl… gold. Why didn’t you tell me you were going to do that? I woulda made sure we had some cameras on you.”
“Um, it was just spur of the moment.” Except that I’d always planned to do it… for the right person.
“Great, great… you seemed so romantic even I wanted to give you a big ol’ kiss on the mouth.”
I wrap him up in a big hug. For all the stress he gives us, I know he’s all heart when it comes to us and the band. Then I kiss him on the cheek and he pushes me away with a big growl!
“Hey! None of that… we gotta keep up the image that you’re a single lothario!”
“Oh, no, Dennis, everyone knows I’ve only got eyes for you!” We laugh and grab each other in a hug again, the high from the show still streaming through our veins.
“Come on, everyone’s waiting for you in the greenroom.” He pulls on my arm.
Not everyone, I think to myself. But I know he won’t take no for an answer. I figure I’ll make an appearance and then slip out. It should take her a few minutes to get backstage anyway.
“Lead the way, Big D!”
We race to the greenroom and yank the door open.
The usual sight greets us. Something between a high school party and a low rate opium den in Amsterdam. Young, pretty girls crammed into every inch, the lights are off, only the glow from the TV illuminates the sweaty bodies in the room.
“SEBASTIAN! SEBASTIAN! SEBASTIAN!” The boys raise their voices in a chant and the twenty other people crammed into the tiny smoke-filled room follow along.
“Yes, boys, I am Sebastian.” I play along when the chant dies down. “Your God hath arrived, and your wish is my command!”
A paper cup thwacks me on the side of the head. “We wish for more ice!” Marius yells out from under a pile of arms and legs and blonde hair.
A loud cheer erupts and I notice Jez in the corner with each of his arms wrapped around a girl’s shoulders. He grins at me and whispers something to one of them before getting up and following me out to the hallway.
“Hey, you all right?” He asks me.
I nod, “I guess I don’t have to ask how you’re doing?”
He shrugs and gives me a lopsided smile, “Can’t complain. These Australian girls are wild. Can we move here?”
“You say that now, but two weeks from now I look out the window and you’ll be hanging onto the wing of the first Qantas flight out of here.”
“There’s a beauty in there, Mandy. Fits right in with the Sebastian type. Want me to introduce you?”
“Nah, mate, I’m… a, I’m a little tired. Not used to the long shows yet.”
He peers at me a little worried. “You sure you’re OK? It’s not that girl, Cadence, right? That’s just you having a bit of fun?”
“Yeah, yeah. No, seriously, just gonna have a quick nightcap and head back to the hotel, I think.” Hopefully not alone, I don’t add.
“Ok, man, take it easy. I’m gonna…” he gestures with his head back to the room.
“Go back to work?”
“It’s a hard job, mate.” He grins and punches me on the shoulder lightly before slipping back into the room.
I put the ice bucket down and catch my reflection in one of the mirror doors.
I’m a mess. Sweat dripping from every pore, my hair doing some sort of bird nest impersonation, my shirt drenched.
“Not sexy.” I say to my mirror image.
I check my watch; I should have enough time to quickly change into another shirt. On my way to my dressing room, I pass Mark, our head of security.
“Mark! I’m just getting refreshed in my dressing room. If a girl comes looking for me, just send her there, OK!”
He grins and I roll my eyes at him. Our security team is used to our playboy ways on the road by now, but it’s been a while since I had someone come to my dressing room compared to the other guys, so he’s obviously getting a little bit more of a kick out of it than usual.
I rip the shirt off me even before I get to the door. Pulling the leather pants off my legs, I kick them into the corner and jump around a bit to air dry the sweat clinging to my skin.
There’s a knock on the door.
Fuck, that was quick. The butterflies in my stomach are both surprising and refreshing. And I try not to focus on them as I pull on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
“Just a sec! I’m just getting decent!”
I run my hands through my hair as I get to the door and pull it open.
“Hey,” she says.
And for a moment, my mind goes completely blank.
CADENCE
“OMG!” Sarah squeals in my ear reading the note from Sebastian over my shoulder. “What are you going to do?”
I glare at her to scare her into lowering her voice. I’m already getting enough daggers and curious looks from the audience around me as the lights go up and everyone gets up to leave.
I sink down into my chair, blankly watching everyone else crowd into the aisles, emptying the hall.
What am I going to do? That’s a good question.
Is it? I ask myself again.
When have I ever thought that going backstage to meet some rockstar like a seventeen-year-old groupie was a good idea? Well, maybe when I was a seventeen-year-old groupie, but life has knocked that desire right out of me and it’s been a long time since I’d been interested in any man let alone one that was 100% bound to break my heart.
“Dude. You’re not actually considering not going?” Sarah looks at me in horror. I can only imagine how the concept would horrify her romantic sensibilities. She watches dog weddings on YouTube and cries, for god’s sake.