(Eva)
The lead singer, who I now knew was Mason, had seemed to be staring at me for most of the show. I had never been to a concert before and wondered if they were all like this. Mason’s voice had a raw, desperate edge to it that seemed to speak to my soul. His singing ranged from soft crooning into the microphone to rough gritty belting as he went through different songs. I was enchanted. The crowd was pushing in on me but I didn’t care. I never wanted him to stop singing. I didn’t know much current music besides ones that had come up on my internet searches but I did know the Taking Back Sunday cover that the band played from before my time with the Andersons. I sang along as Mason purred the lyrics, changing the song and making it his own. His dark brown hair had pieces coming loose from the bun it had been pulled back in, and his indigo eyes seemed to pierce right through me. I noticed a flash of metal in his mouth when he sang and figured he had some sort of piercing. It was sexy.
It felt like he was singing the lyrics to me. I looked around me. The girls around me all seemed to have the same idea and I immediately felt stupid. Of course he wasn’t looking at me. There were literally thousands upon thousands of people here. There’s no way he would notice me. The band took a small break after the song. I saw a bouncer approach Selena, leaning in and whispering in her ear. She lit up with whatever he had to say and accepted some badges that he handed to her.
The bouncer bounded away and Selena began to pass the badges down the line. When they got to me I read the inscription on them. They were backstage passes. I wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed but I was assuming that it was another hookup from Selena’s father who was some kind of record executive. Maybe we would be meeting the band? At that moment music started playing again and my attention snapped back to Mason. He was electrifying. It was impossible to concentrate on anything else when he opened his mouth to sing. I began to bounce up and down to the beat. So far my first concert had been an epic experience.
After another hour of songs in which I seemed to like each one more than the one before the band finished and walked off stage. The bouncer came back over in front of Selena and lifted the rope that separated the crowd from the very front of the stage. Selena scooted under the rope, motioning the rest of us to follow. One by one we went under the rope, passing the bouncer on our way to the side of the stage. When it was my turn the thick rope ended up hitting me in the top of the head as I passed underneath it.
“I’m so fucking sorry,” the bouncer gasped out.
I glanced up at him puzzled. He looked like he was having trouble breathing.
“It’s fine,” I answered, smiling politely. He looked relieved and placed his hand on the small of my back, escorting me forward.
“We are heading right down this hallway,” he told me as we went around the side of the stage, his hand still hovering uncomfortably on my back.
I began to walk faster, hoping he would get the hint that I did not want to be touched. He hastily removed his hand but sped up with me to keep pace. He kept sneaking glances at me. I wasn’t sure what to think. The girls were waiting impatiently up ahead for us. Selena glared at me as we approached the group.
“Eva, my father is doing us a favor,” she snapped. “The least you could do is stay with the group.”
I blushed but said nothing. I was quickly learning that Selena took every chance to cause trouble and I wasn’t going to let her attitude ruin this experience for me. The bouncer stepped in front of me and scowled at Selena.
“The band is this way if you’re done bitchin,” he barked. Selena had the decency to look a little embarrassed but she still huffed and turned away. The bouncer opened up the door the girls had been waiting in front of and we entered a large room.
The room was bustling with people running around. There were scantily clad girls spread all around. Some dancing to the music that was blaring from speakers, others sitting on the couch draped over members of the band. The band, with the exception of Mason, were sprawled all over a large circular sectional. One of the guys, the drummer, was already smoking what smelled strongly of marijuana, his eyelids lazily hooded while a rail thin brunette seemed to be trying to give him a lap dance. I looked around to see if Mason was somewhere in the room but didn’t see him. I followed Lexi to the side of the room where a long table spread with every kind of food imaginable was placed along the wall.
We perused the offerings, filling our plates with a mixture of chips and dip, sweets, and even a few sushi rolls.
“This is the life,” giggled Lexi.
She was already a little tipsy. She and Lauren had continued to drink throughout the concert, passing a silver flask back and forth. I was still slightly feeling the champagne and hadn’t wanted to risk furthering my buzz and not being able to enjoy the concert so I had declined their offers to share. I nodded in agreement, digging into my plate. I turned around to grab one of the diet cokes located in a large silver tub along with every other soft drink imaginable to man. Just then the girls began to squeal and the volume of the room erupted. I spun around to see what had caused such a stir. It was Mason.
He walked in with a gaggle of people around him ranging from a man in a stiff suit, to barely dressed girls who were trying to hang all over him. He brushed them off and walked over to Selena, offering his hand when she tried to hug him. I felt a rush of weird satisfaction that he hadn’t immediately fallen all over her. Selena was gushing about the concert and he started to glance around the room while she talked, almost like he was looking for someone.
Suddenly he stopped, and once again I got the feeling that he was staring right at me. But surely it was someone else right? Mason cut Selena off and began to walk towards me. His eyes were smoldering and penetrating and I began to feel lightheaded. Not because he was a famous rockstar but because the same feeling that I got whenever I was around Damon was rushing over me. The feeling that this person was going to be important to me. Mason continued his approach, coming right up to me. He was tall. Not as tall as Damon but he still hovered far above my 5’8 frame.
“Hi”, he said, smiling sinfully.
I was slightly at a loss for words but managed to choke out a hi to him in return.
“What’s your name gorgeous?” he asked.
Up close his eyes were even more unique, the blue more like the color of a twilight sky, the blue flecked with gold sparkles like stars in the sky. This guy was swoon worthy.
“Eva,” I answered, preparing to turn away assuming he would be done with the conversation. Instead, he stroked the side of my arm.
“Don’t you want to know my name?” he asked cockily.
“Seeing that I just watched you perform for three hours I think I know your name,” I laughed at him.
“Just making sure,” he said smiling. “You don’t seem to want to stick around and usually people who know who I am don’t have that reaction.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. All of a sudden a red finger-nailed hand stroked around the front of Mason’s stomach, startling him.
“What the fuck?” he exclaimed.
“Mason,” a voice purred. Immediately I recognized Selena’s voice.
Mason rolled his eyes exasperatedly. “Hey Selena, enjoying the after party?” he asked, looking like he was forcing himself to be polite.
“I’m not enjoying the fact that you are ignoring me,” she whined at him. Mason didn’t bother to apologize.
“I’m a little busy Selena, maybe we can chat later,” he answered.
Just then Selena noticed me. Her face immediately flushed with annoyance but she bit her tongue. It didn’t seem like she wanted to act like her usual self around Mason.
Mason turned his attention back to me.
“Would you and the girls like to go out with us tonight?” he asked. “I want to talk to you more, and this room is a little too crowded for my liking,” he explained.
Lexi, who had been standing next to me watching our little interlude immediately grabbed my arm and piped in excitedly, “Of course we would!”
Mason smiled indulgently at Lexi and then grabbed my hand, yelling to the room, “Let’s head out.”
I found myself being held closely next to Mason’s side, unable to really move anywhere. The tingles that I felt when I had locked eyes on him intensified a thousand fold now that he was touching me. My thoughts immediately went to Damon. I wondered what he was doing and what he would think about this situation. We hadn’t talked about what we were or even kissed but I felt a sense of unease. We had seemed to cross a line the night before and now I was having similar feelings for someone else. Just then Lexi began to chat my ear off and I was distracted from my musings.