Chapter One
Nathan
The bright lights flashed violently, flickering flecks of red and gold all over the sweaty, grinding bodies of the dancing crowd. The music thumped from the speakers so aggressively I could feel it shattering my bones. The darkened room was filled with the most incredible atmosphere, one that had excitement tearing through my system. Everyone was waiting, anticipating the main event, thrilled for it to finally come…
I might not have been looking forward to this gig, in fact I told Michelle to give my ticket to someone else so I could stew in my own misery for the evening, but now I was glad that she’d refused. All the awfulness of the week simply fell from my shoulders as I got swept up in the shared joy the whole room was experiencing. It was magical really.
Any minute now, Morton, one of the hottest rock bands around, would be on stage, and this night would truly begin. Who cared about my boss who would never appreciate the work I did, and the very mean colleague, Tandi—seriously, what a terrible name—who drove me insane? Why was I so upset that Brett wouldn’t ask me out however much I flirted with him when I had this sort of fun awaiting me? None of that meant anything when I could drink, dance, and generally have a good time with people I cared about.
“Isn’t this amazing?” my best friend, Michelle, squealed into my ear. As she jumped up and down like a giddy school girl, I couldn’t stop a chuckle from bursting free from my chest. “Aren’t you glad I made you come?”
She’d fully dressed up for the occasion, her long blonde hair swinging freely down her back as she moved. Her tight dress clung to her curves, her eyes popped from her head with the amazing make-up job she’d done on herself. It was safe to say that she’d made a much better effort than I. I looked scruffy and a little bit unkempt in a t-shirt and jeans combo. The fact that I hadn’t initially wanted to come was written all over my body.
I nodded, but before I got the chance to reply verbally, a shadowy figure appeared on the stage, causing an intense hush to fall over the place. It was incredible how one person could totally shift the entire atmosphere into something thick and powerful. He had complete control of the whole room and everyone within it, and no one had even seen his face yet.
A light beam burst forth and the figure was revealed, it was Rich Gold, the lead singer of the band, the man that every single person in the room was in love with, including myself. He was like a sex god, with his olive skin, his deep brown eyes, and his incredible curls that were just itching to have fingers running through them.
Then there was his body… wow, that was like a dream come true. In his passionate, charismatic way that charmed just about everyone, he always whipped his top off in the middle of a performance. He probably just did it for the screams, but that was something I was looking forward to tonight. I couldn’t wait to ogle those abs.
I had to admit that I’d had plenty of fantasies over this man. Many a hot, lonely shower had included images of him in my mind. He was just utterly perfect. Probably not in real life, he was probably a terrible person in real life, but he could still be my dream man. His public persona was all I cared about.
“Are you ready?” he yelled teasingly into the microphone. Predictably everyone shrieked, and of course I joined in. “I can’t hear you…”
The rest of the band raced up onto the stage, seemingly happy to take the back seat from the spotlight, and as the drum beat flared up, I couldn’t resist shaking my hips. Usually I wasn’t the dancing type, but what was the point in standing around like a loser while everyone else was having fun? I’d stand out like a sore thumb if I didn’t at least try to move.
“Come on,” Michelle grabbed onto my arm and tugged me forwards. “Let’s get to the front. I want that fit bass player to notice me.”
She moved me through the throngs of people with surprising ease considering, meaning it wasn’t too long until we were close to the stage, getting us right up in the action. The sweat from the band members as they bounced around up there was practically dripping on us.
I leapt higher, embraced the music wholly, even allowing my eyes to slide shut at one moment to fully immerse myself. The beats felt incredible, the guitar strums filled my heart with wonder, Rich’s melodic voice was the nicest thing to ever fill my ear drums.
“What song do you want to hear next?” I only opened my eyes when Rich spoke to the crowd, causing a deafening roar to burst up around me. “Did you say Not Now?” More screams, including my own. “Then let’s do it!”
As he sung, Rich fell to one knee at the front of the stage, his hand dangling in the crowd. People clawed at him, desperate to get a touch, but it was me whose eyes he locked upon. I brushed my skin against his, marveling at the softness.
He continued to look at me as the words fell past his lips, and I felt a powerful jolt in my chest. My heart stopped beating. His deep brown beautiful soulful eyes had butterflies flapping throughout my whole body. It was almost as if the whole world had shrunk down to just me and him. The room silenced, the perspiring bodies vanished, if I wanted to I could pull him down to join me where I was…
But then the next guitar riff kicked in, Rich winked and smiled before dragging his eyes away, and everything resumed to normal. Or at least as normal as it could be by that point. My brain hadn’t quite switched back on just yet.
“Come on,” Michelle yelled, bumping her hip into mine. “Why aren’t you dancing? This gig is amazing!”
It certainly was, in that moment it felt like a life changing experience, but still that didn’t mean I could get my body moving. I was frozen to the spot, completely consumed by that moment.
“I think I’m going to get a drink,” I gasped, needing a time out from the weirdness. “I’ll come and find you in a minute, okay?” But it didn’t matter. Michelle wasn’t listening to me, busy bopping away all over again.
The crowd forced against me as I tried to move back, which was weird. When I was moving with Michelle, getting in the way of people, they were happy to let us through, but now as I tried to escape, they were forming a wall to block me in.
Eventually, despite all the odds being stacked against me, the harsh white lighting of the bathroom was glaring over me. I stared into the cracked and dirty mirror, looking at my strange, slightly manic reflection for a moment before locking myself in one of the cubicles.
Once in there, I tried to recapture the breath that Rich Gold had stolen from me. I couldn’t believe that had happened to me, even if I was just one of many. It felt amazing to have the attention of someone. Especially someone that hot, sexy, and famous. It had been such a long time since anyone had even looked my way. My love life had been far too dull for such a long time, and this was exactly the sort of exciting confidence boost that I needed.
Once I’d locked myself away for far more than the acceptable amount of time, I forced my way back into the public area of the toilets, just to find a thin, stressed looking woman staring right back at me. She had a pant suit on, one that didn’t fit into this grubby environment, and her hair was scraped tightly back into a very fixed bun.
“Oh, sorry, is this…” No, it couldn’t be the women’s toilets, there were urinals there. I was in the right place, she wasn’t. “Uhm, what are you doing here? Have I…?”
“Strawberry-blond hair, check, bright blue eyes, check. Will you smile for me please?” For some reason, I did as I was asked. “Dimples, and a bright red t-shirt with a motorcycle on it. Yes, it must be you. Will you come backstage with me?” She spun on her heels, as if I would automatically follow her, which made this even more suspicious.
“What? Why? What’s going on here?” If this were some sort of con I would go mental. It’d put a real dampener on what was an amazing night so far.
“Rich Gold spotted you in the crowd. He wants to meet with you.”
So our moment wasn’t just one of many! There was something special about it! Rich Gold, the gorgeous singer of one of the hottest bands around, wanted to meet with me. I had no idea why, but I couldn’t turn down such an amazing opportunity.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket and fired off a text to my friend, knowing that she’d understand. She had ditched me on more than one occasion when she had pulled… not that this was me pulling… was it? Oh God, what if it was? How the hell would I survive that? I was just Nathan Riggs, a nobody. He was a god. He was the sort of man that dreams were made of.
‘Michelle, think I’ve found a hot guy who wants me. Call me if you need me, if not I’ll see you tomorrow. x’
She was a cool as hell independent woman who didn’t need me, but I’d happily ditch anyone for her if necessary… even Rich Gold.
At least, I’d like to think I would.
‘See you soon, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Love you! Xxx’
Okay, so it seemed like I was going backstage. I had no idea what the hell to expect back there, but I was incredibly excited to find out. I pressed my phone into my pocket and kept my eyes fixed firmly forwards, ignoring the crowds now. I only had one person on my mind…