“Sorry, fifty bucks isn’t much, but...”
“Hey, it’s more than I ever got for playing before,” I said, relieved I was getting cash and thrilled I was getting any money.
Asher laughed. “Yeah, that was kind of my mindset when we began too.” Clapping me on the back of my shoulder and scaring the crap out of me when he slightly jostled my foam chest out of place, he grinned big. “I think you’re going to fit in just fine, Sticks.”
I momentarily forgot that I needed to readjust my fake chest back into place. But really, when Asher Hart smiled at me with such approval, life was freaking perfect.
This was going to be a night I’d never forget.
“Good evening, Ellamore. Welcome to Forbidden!”
Asher’s greeting into the microphone had a ton of screaming fans—mostly women—rushing the stage, arms waving wildly. I grinned from my safe little stool behind the drum set as Asher had to skip another two steps in reverse to keep grabby girl hands from reaching him.
His nervous laugh echoed through the speaker system right before he said, “It’s nice to see all you ladies too, but let’s get to some music, shall we?”
The women began to chant something that sounded like “If I Knew,” which wasn’t the title of any song Non-Castrato played. I frowned in confusion, wondering what the heck they were talking about.
Asher glanced back at us, mouthing “‘Counting Stars,’” and then he went and lifted his eyebrows my way, giving me a thumbs-up sign.
I wasn’t nervous, didn’t usually have a problem in front of crowds. And with my mask on, there wasn’t even a twitch of performance anxiety. I guess my subconscious knew that if I flubbed anything up, it’d be fine because no one knew it was really me. But the second Asher sent me that little thumbs-up of approval and support, silently letting me know I’d do fine, a little hitch in my heartbeat sent everything inside me haywire.
So I blamed him completely when I dropped a freaking drumstick.
It clanged against the hollow floor of the stage with a resounding echo that caused all my bandmates to look my way...as well as about half the crowd watching us.
Scrambling to retrieve my fallen stick, I straightened so fast blood rushed to my head and made me instantly dizzy. But I sent out a rueful grin and waved both sticks above me to let everyone know I was good. Everything was just fine back here. No reason at all to gape at me like I was an idiot.
Asher turned back to the microphone. “Guess that was my cue to introduce the newest member of our band. Everyone, please give Sticks, the best damn drummer you’ll ever hear, a little bit of encouragement, will you?” Cupping his hand to his mouth, he added more quietly, “This is his first time, so go gentle on him, please.”
Some people laughed, more cheered, but boy, did the room encourage me. All lit up inside, I waved my sticks above my head in greeting, then clicked them four times together to set the beat of the song, and boom...we were playing a cover for one of my favorite OneRepublic songs. Live. In front of people. It took a whole verse before I actually got to play, but when my intro came, I nailed it.
It was...
Awesome.
My dream was coming true. I couldn’t stop grinning, couldn’t stop feeling the rush, couldn’t stop playing. Once the song ended, I just kept going, moving straight into the song, “Ceilings.”
Asher glanced back at me in surprise. Then he rolled his eyes, as if to say he should’ve known, and grinned before turning back for his first line. His voice hit me hard, and seemed to vibrate through my bones, echoing along my spine and shivering out the ends my toes.
It was pure nirvana. My heaven.
I didn’t even realize how many songs or how much time had passed until Asher said we were going to take a quick break. That’s when it suddenly hit me how soaked I was inside my clothes and mask from the sweat that came because of all the heat pouring
“Hey, it’s more than I ever got for playing before,” I said, relieved I was getting cash and thrilled I was getting any money.
Asher laughed. “Yeah, that was kind of my mindset when we began too.” Clapping me on the back of my shoulder and scaring the crap out of me when he slightly jostled my foam chest out of place, he grinned big. “I think you’re going to fit in just fine, Sticks.”
I momentarily forgot that I needed to readjust my fake chest back into place. But really, when Asher Hart smiled at me with such approval, life was freaking perfect.
This was going to be a night I’d never forget.
“Good evening, Ellamore. Welcome to Forbidden!”
Asher’s greeting into the microphone had a ton of screaming fans—mostly women—rushing the stage, arms waving wildly. I grinned from my safe little stool behind the drum set as Asher had to skip another two steps in reverse to keep grabby girl hands from reaching him.
His nervous laugh echoed through the speaker system right before he said, “It’s nice to see all you ladies too, but let’s get to some music, shall we?”
The women began to chant something that sounded like “If I Knew,” which wasn’t the title of any song Non-Castrato played. I frowned in confusion, wondering what the heck they were talking about.
Asher glanced back at us, mouthing “‘Counting Stars,’” and then he went and lifted his eyebrows my way, giving me a thumbs-up sign.
I wasn’t nervous, didn’t usually have a problem in front of crowds. And with my mask on, there wasn’t even a twitch of performance anxiety. I guess my subconscious knew that if I flubbed anything up, it’d be fine because no one knew it was really me. But the second Asher sent me that little thumbs-up of approval and support, silently letting me know I’d do fine, a little hitch in my heartbeat sent everything inside me haywire.
So I blamed him completely when I dropped a freaking drumstick.
It clanged against the hollow floor of the stage with a resounding echo that caused all my bandmates to look my way...as well as about half the crowd watching us.
Scrambling to retrieve my fallen stick, I straightened so fast blood rushed to my head and made me instantly dizzy. But I sent out a rueful grin and waved both sticks above me to let everyone know I was good. Everything was just fine back here. No reason at all to gape at me like I was an idiot.
Asher turned back to the microphone. “Guess that was my cue to introduce the newest member of our band. Everyone, please give Sticks, the best damn drummer you’ll ever hear, a little bit of encouragement, will you?” Cupping his hand to his mouth, he added more quietly, “This is his first time, so go gentle on him, please.”
Some people laughed, more cheered, but boy, did the room encourage me. All lit up inside, I waved my sticks above my head in greeting, then clicked them four times together to set the beat of the song, and boom...we were playing a cover for one of my favorite OneRepublic songs. Live. In front of people. It took a whole verse before I actually got to play, but when my intro came, I nailed it.
It was...
Awesome.
My dream was coming true. I couldn’t stop grinning, couldn’t stop feeling the rush, couldn’t stop playing. Once the song ended, I just kept going, moving straight into the song, “Ceilings.”
Asher glanced back at me in surprise. Then he rolled his eyes, as if to say he should’ve known, and grinned before turning back for his first line. His voice hit me hard, and seemed to vibrate through my bones, echoing along my spine and shivering out the ends my toes.
It was pure nirvana. My heaven.
I didn’t even realize how many songs or how much time had passed until Asher said we were going to take a quick break. That’s when it suddenly hit me how soaked I was inside my clothes and mask from the sweat that came because of all the heat pouring
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