me.
“Wow,“ I breathe. Jace starts playing. A few
seconds later Meggie joins. Then Sera.
“You got this, Luce,“ Jesse tells me.
I nod even though I'm not quite sure I
believe that.
“Now go kick some ass,“ Jesse shouts and
smacks my ass.
“Yeah, kick some ass!“ Xander shouts and
smacks my ass too. Then Ethan, Ben, and Kennedy. Next up is Damian.
Finally Cage does a double slap, hands me my pink mic, and gives me
a gentle shove.
Before I even get center stage, the lights
are on me. I'm an actress. I can do this. I'm Luciana Fucking
Russo-Kingston.
“How the hell are you doing tonight,
Portland?“ Again, a roar washes over me. I look over to Sera. “Did
you hear something?“
She shakes her head. “Nah. Looks like no one
came to rock with us.“
“Well, shit. Really Portland? Let's try this
again. How the hell are you doing tonight, Portland!“ This time a
deafening roar floods over us.
“Now that's what I'm talking about,“ Meggie
says into her mic.
“In case you don't know who we are, we're
Blush and we're here to open for this little band you might have
heard of somewhere. You know, a band called Falling Down?“
Roar. I laugh.
“Yeah, I thought you might have heard of
them. What do you say we get started entertaining these
fan-fucking-tastic fans, Blush?“
With that, Trace beats the hell out of his
drums and then into the rhythm of our first song. The rest follow
suit. And then I begin to sing, nerves long forgotten.
“Love is friendship that
has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence,
sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It
settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human
weaknesses.“
—ANN LANDERS
“THEY'RE KICKING ASS,“ I tell the guys.
“You doubted them?“ Ben asks.
“Nah. It's just cool as fuck.“
“True that. Let's see how they feel about us
performing together,“ Ethan remarks.
Yeah, that'll be telling. True acceptance of
me and Luce or a great big fuck you. I hope it's the former.
Watching her out there brings me so much pride. She owns that
fucking stage, pulling in the crowd like a seasoned veteran and I
didn't even coach her.
“She's a fucking natural,“ I mutter to no one
in particular.
“Fuck yeah, she is,“ Xander agrees. “They're
tearing it up. We better bring our A game tonight.“
Kennedy grunts and nods. “Christ, did you see
that move she just did?“
“Hell. I'm going to have to go out on stage
sporting wood,“ I tell them.
“I think we all are. Shit. Sera just...“ Ben
says and shakes his head.
Yeah. Sera just lifted her guitar out of the
way and rubbed up on Jace's leg, threw her head back, and I swear
to fuck she just came right there.
“How much time do we have, Damian? I need to
go rub one out before we go out there,“ Xander mutters, eyes glued
to the stage, serious as a heart attack. I'd laugh, but I might
have to do the same.
Damian chuckles. “Fuck, dude. I can't blame
you but no time. Next song is when you're joining in.“
“Damn it,“ Xander mutters, adjusting
himself.
“Good Christ. Did you see that?“ Kennedy
asks.
I nod. Yeah, I sure as hell did see Lucy
rubbing up on Meggie from behind, then reaching around to finger
the strings. I look at Damian who is as transfixed as the rest of
us.
“Did they practice that?“
He shakes his head.
Damn. Hot. As. Fuck. It's my turn to adjust
myself.
“So Portland, what'd you think? Did we give
you what you came to see? What you wanted? What you needed?“ Lucy
asks the crowd. With each question the roar gets louder.
“Well, we've got a little more for you,“ Sera
yells into the mic. “And we've got some friends who are going to
join us for this one.“
“That's our cue,“ I say aloud.
“Hell fucking yeah,“ Xander shouts, tapping
his sticks.
We make our way on stage and there's no way I
can stop the smile pulling at my lips. There's my woman—my wife.
Waiting for us to join her. I
“Wow,“ I breathe. Jace starts playing. A few
seconds later Meggie joins. Then Sera.
“You got this, Luce,“ Jesse tells me.
I nod even though I'm not quite sure I
believe that.
“Now go kick some ass,“ Jesse shouts and
smacks my ass.
“Yeah, kick some ass!“ Xander shouts and
smacks my ass too. Then Ethan, Ben, and Kennedy. Next up is Damian.
Finally Cage does a double slap, hands me my pink mic, and gives me
a gentle shove.
Before I even get center stage, the lights
are on me. I'm an actress. I can do this. I'm Luciana Fucking
Russo-Kingston.
“How the hell are you doing tonight,
Portland?“ Again, a roar washes over me. I look over to Sera. “Did
you hear something?“
She shakes her head. “Nah. Looks like no one
came to rock with us.“
“Well, shit. Really Portland? Let's try this
again. How the hell are you doing tonight, Portland!“ This time a
deafening roar floods over us.
“Now that's what I'm talking about,“ Meggie
says into her mic.
“In case you don't know who we are, we're
Blush and we're here to open for this little band you might have
heard of somewhere. You know, a band called Falling Down?“
Roar. I laugh.
“Yeah, I thought you might have heard of
them. What do you say we get started entertaining these
fan-fucking-tastic fans, Blush?“
With that, Trace beats the hell out of his
drums and then into the rhythm of our first song. The rest follow
suit. And then I begin to sing, nerves long forgotten.
“Love is friendship that
has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence,
sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It
settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human
weaknesses.“
—ANN LANDERS
“THEY'RE KICKING ASS,“ I tell the guys.
“You doubted them?“ Ben asks.
“Nah. It's just cool as fuck.“
“True that. Let's see how they feel about us
performing together,“ Ethan remarks.
Yeah, that'll be telling. True acceptance of
me and Luce or a great big fuck you. I hope it's the former.
Watching her out there brings me so much pride. She owns that
fucking stage, pulling in the crowd like a seasoned veteran and I
didn't even coach her.
“She's a fucking natural,“ I mutter to no one
in particular.
“Fuck yeah, she is,“ Xander agrees. “They're
tearing it up. We better bring our A game tonight.“
Kennedy grunts and nods. “Christ, did you see
that move she just did?“
“Hell. I'm going to have to go out on stage
sporting wood,“ I tell them.
“I think we all are. Shit. Sera just...“ Ben
says and shakes his head.
Yeah. Sera just lifted her guitar out of the
way and rubbed up on Jace's leg, threw her head back, and I swear
to fuck she just came right there.
“How much time do we have, Damian? I need to
go rub one out before we go out there,“ Xander mutters, eyes glued
to the stage, serious as a heart attack. I'd laugh, but I might
have to do the same.
Damian chuckles. “Fuck, dude. I can't blame
you but no time. Next song is when you're joining in.“
“Damn it,“ Xander mutters, adjusting
himself.
“Good Christ. Did you see that?“ Kennedy
asks.
I nod. Yeah, I sure as hell did see Lucy
rubbing up on Meggie from behind, then reaching around to finger
the strings. I look at Damian who is as transfixed as the rest of
us.
“Did they practice that?“
He shakes his head.
Damn. Hot. As. Fuck. It's my turn to adjust
myself.
“So Portland, what'd you think? Did we give
you what you came to see? What you wanted? What you needed?“ Lucy
asks the crowd. With each question the roar gets louder.
“Well, we've got a little more for you,“ Sera
yells into the mic. “And we've got some friends who are going to
join us for this one.“
“That's our cue,“ I say aloud.
“Hell fucking yeah,“ Xander shouts, tapping
his sticks.
We make our way on stage and there's no way I
can stop the smile pulling at my lips. There's my woman—my wife.
Waiting for us to join her. I
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