Me, You, and Mason

9

The energy of Bloodstone seeped into the pores of any person who entered. Through dark walls and red lighting, the music could be heard as soon as you entered, but it wasn't until you were swamped with the heat of a good time that you were fully infected by Mason's historic venue. The crowd was attentive, the bar was crowded, and the band was rockin'.

There he was. Between the thickness of his hair and the shimmer of his skin, he was easy to spot. But it was the irresistible attraction of a man with discipline that really made him something to ogle at— at least, for Darcy.

Mastering an instrument showed that he was capable of commitment. That was a major green flag in her book.

His shoulders were slightly hunched as he strummed his guitar. With an automated nod of his head, he kept in time with the drummer and pressed an undeniable feel of funk into the song.

The frontman rapped on, ministering the motion of the crowd with a single hand.

Aria smiled and nodded to the rhythm, raising her arms and falling into the swaying mass of the crowd.

With a grin and a giggle, she nudged Darcy to join in. With playful reluctance, she did.

The two rocked along to an artist's testimony of hardship and triumph, and followed suit when the artist requested call-and-response.

"Everybody say hell yeah!"

"Hell yeah!"

Aria's voice carried like no other and would only become a siren once drinks were in her system. It was the reason Darcy protested when Aria suggested getting their first round from the bar.

"Ari, I don't kn—"

"Come on, Dee. It's our night! Let's do it big! I'll be right back," Aria insisted before making her way to the bar.

Darcy let her roam free, deciding that it'd be best to hold their spots or secure better ones as the building became packed.

She moved with the flow of the current, tagging on to a line of attendees snaking to the front of the stage. With a text message, she alerted Aria of their new spot and gazed up at Sage to find him staring right back.

With a soft smile, one that gave the slightest tug at the corner of his lips, Sage greeted her with a nod.

Darcy grinned like a fan watching her favorite artist perform. The song ended, but the musicians carried on as the frontman introduced the band members.

"We only put this shit together in a couple days, so I really wanna thank everybody you see on this stage," he mused, prompting cheers from the audience as each musician took a solo.

And as Sage was introduced as the most electrifying man in Mason, he stepped up and seized his moment like a star.

He'd evidently won the crowd over during his tenure as just a bass player, screams and cheers exploding from even those who lingered by the bar.

"Play that shit, mane!"

With a face becoming screwed by his own rhythm's conjuring, Sage's eyes fluttered closed as his bass rejoiced through an amp.

Darcy was in awe, so enraptured that she was startled upon being nudged by another person.

It was Aria, holding their drinks.

Darcy took hers, chugging it down before Aria could even utter another word.

"Hey, that looks like that one dude that you met at Exo—"

"Yeah," Darcy interjected, cutting her off before she could further distract from Sage's hypnosis.

He'd just freed himself from his own, a smile toying with his lips as whistles and shouts blew from the crowd. His eyes drifted along his admirers, glossed as if he was emerging from a daze.