I had no time to process Michael's words before I watched Luke hop up on the bar and gracefully swing himself over to head to the front. Luke was in a band? And the lead singer?
"Did you know anything about this?" Alex's manicured fingers grip my arm while I stand in shock, unable to comprehend what I'm seeing. I can barely speak.
"What the hell?" My head shakes as it tries to figure out what is going on. All Luke ever did was bitch and moan about the bands that would come through our bar and perform, criticizing about how rude and reckless they were. About their cringey ratty clothes and how they could barely keep the same tempo. It makes no sense. He constantly talked down to the performers we hosted, yet now he's one of them? What?
"Could he be any hotter?" Alex gushes beside me, lining up a row of shot glasses on the bar in front of her for a group of bachelors.
I shake my head again, not caring to feed into her fantasy and continue to do my job. I stir up a dirty martini and an old fashioned for the small group of women in my section and they quickly grab the glasses, almost spilling their drinks once in hand to push through the crowd to see the band.
I guess everyone's extra excited about this band.
"Who was that cutie you were talking to earlier?" Jess is suddenly by my side, helping me fill up a large order of long islands.
"Michael. He's in the band tonight." I tell her and start to pour the liquor into the glasses as she lines them up. Her lip tucks between her teeth and I laugh at her. "I'm sure you'll be able to talk with him after the show."
"Maybe I'll give him a special shot." She dramatically pushes her boobs together, making the patron in front of her practically drool. God, men are too easy.
"I'm sure he would love that." I laugh to myself, remembering how giddy he was when I gave him a shot. He would love it even more if he got it from a bartender that had a crush on him.
The lights begin to dim as I send out the last of my few drink orders, knowing it'll slow down for a bit once the band starts up. Even without Luke back here to help us with the pre-show rush, we are knocking this out. Ari would be so proud.
Speaking of, the lights switch over to our show lights as Ari gets the crowd excited and introduces the band.
My last drink is served and the bar is suddenly empty, all the patrons joining the sea of people bouncing in anticipation. I let out a deep breath. Finally.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages," Ari booms into the mic on stage and I roll my eyes as the audience laughs at his intro. He used that intro for every show, as the Road Dogg was one of his idols. Sure, it was funny, but fuck did it get annoying after hearing it multiple times a week.
"Give it up for After Midnight!" The crowd roars as Ari hurries off the stage and the room fills with darkness. Drums are pounding through the venue with a building beat. The anticipation rises and the girly screams get louder, it feels like watching a balloon blow up as big as it can.
The lights come back on with a red tint, the stage is no longer empty, and the balloon explodes. Everyone loses their minds when the drummer breaks out into a rhythmic beat. Once the lights are back up for the main set, I see Michael with a bright smile as he waves out to the crowd, and I spot those sandy locks behind the set of drums.
Suddenly, he stops drumming, resting the sticks on his lap and scanning the room to take everything in. Bass fills the air with intricate strums as they begin their opening song.
"Some days you're the only thing I know," Luke lowly sings into the mic and I can hear it behind me. Sometimes, I hate that Ari spent so much on a surround sound system for this place. "Only thing that's burning when the nights grow cold."
"He's too fuckin' good!" Alex squeals as she watches Luke completely own the stage. The crowd is hypnotized by him. I'm not surprised, he's actually really fucking good.
"Call me in the mornin to apologize, every little lie gives me butterflies," My eyes widen in disbelief. He is so getting grilled after this.
"Holy shit." I'm awestruck as Luke's voice carries throughout the room. His range is insane.
The drums pick up and my attention is back to those sandy locks, bouncing around his head while he pounds on the drums. His eyes shut and his teeth grit from the power he's putting into it. That's hot.
"Fight so dirty but you love so sweet," The room is practically vibrating from the intensity of the music and the sea of bodies jumping to the beat. Alex and Jess look like their jaws are about to snap off.
"Talk so pretty, but your heart got teeth." Luke grabs the mic stand and lifts his foot up to lean on one of the light boxes. The light blankets his body and practically highlights his presence, making him look godsent.
I never would have guessed this about Luke. Sure he's cocky and flirty at times, but this doesn't click in my brain. He is completely taking over the audience with his charm, like he was made for this. I've never seen someone so effortlessly mesmerizing. Shit, if I was going to make a move before, I'm entirely too intimidated after this.
My eyes shift to the drummer as he mercilessly bangs on the drums, his face contorting with absolute passion with every beat. His biceps bulge beneath his tight button up, that pendant around his neck swaying with every movement as he lets the rhythm consume him. His eyes stay pinched shut while he expertly rattles off the beat, and I don't even realize my body swaying with him until his eyes suddenly snap open and the hazel overtakes me.
"Late night devil put your hands on me," His stare burns into me with every word, expertly banging out the song without looking. I can feel my heart skip a beat from his gaze, and a smirk stretches across his face as I chew on my lip. "And never, ever, ever, ever let go."
My chest pounds with every beat he plays, electricity filling every fiber in my body at the almost seductive look on his face as he keeps his eyes on me. What is going on with me?
"I think you have a stalker." Jess shouts to my right, bringing me out of my trance as I force myself to move my attention elsewhere.
"He's hot." I shrug it off, trying to ignore the burning in my cheeks.
"Looks like you need one of these." Alex snickers at my dazed expression, sliding a cocktail toward me.
"Dirty rum and coke?" My eyebrow quirks at her and she grins ear to ear.
"The dirtiest."
While we weren't technically allowed to drink behind the bar, Ari was pretty loose with the rules. As long as we got the job done and didn't bankrupt him, he was fine with us having some drinks during some downtime. I mean, he works us to the bone and says he still wants us to enjoy it here.
I toss back some of the sweet concoction for some liquid courage, cringing a little at the prominent rum. She really did make this dirty.
I needed it. I need to get my shit together and stop letting this stranger affect me like this. No matter how fucking enticing he is.
Jess smugly smiles at my internal battle while she sips her own drink, a tequila sunrise I'm assuming. That's all she ever drinks. And the way she's been gawking at Michael since he's been on stage tells me she needs some liquid courage too.
Cheers and whistles break once they finish their first song and Alex hollers beside me like a caveman. Luke clearly hears her over the crowd and his lips curl into a cheesy grin as he waves over to us.
"That first song was called Teeth. And we really appreciate the opportunity to be up here performing for you guys." Luke boasts while the rest of the band grab their drinks and nod to each other about whatever song they're playing next. Luke gives us a giddy smile and waves to us as we stand awestruck.
"I would like to dedicate this song to one of my good friends out there." Michael's voice takes over and scans the room for me, grinning to himself once I'm spotted. "We had a chat earlier, and I knew we owed you a song. I hope this one works for you."
He stretches to the front of the stage, letting his guitar hang off his shoulders while he holds his beer in the air. My arm follows suit, lifting my glass to him.
"Anyway, Misty," Amusement is plastered on his face when he takes a glance back at the drummer, who has a similar expression, just more smug. Oh god. Let's see what song he picked for me. "Here's wonderwall."
My eyes automatically roll and my middle finger is straight in the air for him, all of them actually.
"No more free drinks!" I shout out, loud enough for him to ear over the banter and cheering. His head falls back as he cackles at me, his body shaking with delight.
"Kidding!" Michael shines a toothy grin before glancing back at the band. They all nod once composed and Michael starts off the song with a quick strum.
"I'm a puppet on a string, Tracy island time travelin' diamond cutter shaped heartaches," Luke's low voice pours into the mic while sandy locks twirls his drumsticks between his fingers, waiting for his cue to give a couple of powerful pounds to the drums. Luke carries on the intro and the drums escalate into a violent beat. I can feel it in my chest. He might break those fucking drums. "She's a silver linin', lone ranger ridin' through an open space. In my mind, when she's not right there beside me"
As the song continues, Luke takes the mic from the stand and hops down from the stage, clearly loving the attention he's getting. I can't help but laugh at him, admiring the way every woman in here seems to be completely infatuated with him.
"I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be. And satisfaction feels like a distant memory." He easily escapes the horde of people, emerging with a bright grin on his face. I can't believe how powerful his voice is. "I can't help my self all I wanna ever say is are you mine?"
"Are you mine?" He belts out as he reaches the bar, hopping up and swinging his legs over. Alex is actually drooling at this point, her body trembling with excitement as she screams as loud as she can while Luke repeats the chorus.
"Are you mine?" He belts once more and jumps down in front of me, taking my hand in his as he sings.
"I guess what I'm tryin' to say is I need the deep end, keep imaginin' meetin', wished away," His eyes bore into mine with a cheesy grin as he serenades me. All eyes are on him and his electrifying performance.
"Unfair we're not somewhere misbehavin' for days," He continues, placing a quick kiss on my cheek before slipping past me and onto Alex. She looks like she's about to pass out when his hand moves to her waist. I've never seen anyone so giddy in my life
"She's a silver linin', climbing on my desire," I heard another voice emerge, and my head shoots straight to the stage in front of me. Sandy locks decides to join in, the hazel fixated on me.
"Are you mine?" He sings with Luke, keeping his voice in the background but staring directly at me, singing to me.
"Just wanna hear you say, you've got me baby, are you mine..." He softly sings one last time before sitting back in his seat and Michael's guitar bounces off the walls for his quick solo.
Luke joins the band back on stage as he belts out the final chorus, with some backup vocals from the boys. I stare in awe, unable to comprehend what the fuck just happened.
"Jesus christ." I mutter to myself, quickly downing the rest of my drink and ignoring Jess' snickering.
They're only two songs in and I already feel like I'm going to combust.
The band continues on with the rest of their set and I start to clean up a bit, restocking the bar for the after show rush.
My heart rate has finally returned to normal with the distraction of work, but I can't help the burning in my body whenever I feel his eyes on me.
I don't know what it is about him, but I'm completely entranced. Something about him exudes confidence and straight sex appeal. I'm just automatically drawn to him, even with Luke flaunting himself on stage and belting some of the most incredible vocals to bless this bar. I'm allured by him. This whole night has felt unreal. It has to be a dream.
"Thank you everyone! We hope to play here again soon!" Michael beams through the speakers and they're dismissed by the ear-shattering cheers and screams. Alex included.
"Here we go." Jess mutters beside me and I let out a shaky breath, bracing myself for the post show rush and those hazel eyes that are heading my way.
*******
howdyyy
i like to use gifs in these books sometimes. i feel like it makes them more enjoyable and helps convey the image more
again, i'm using songs that i feel fit the bands vibe and what they would perform. if you have any requests, feel free to leave a comment!
anyway yay multiple updates!