Page 60 of The Devil's Tattoo
Chapter14
When the lightswent down and The Devil’s Tattoo went on stage, it was a new Zoe the audience was getting that night, and Zoe Mark 2 was amped upandraw.
I hadn’t told the whole truth to Will—I was far from ready—but I’d let him in more than anyone. Other than Dee, who’d been my savior all these years, he was the only other person I’d let past most of my walls. He said he wouldn’t hurt me, and that was the one thing I wanted to hold on to. That and hisheart.
Even when it came time for ‘Walls’ and the words that described the painful memory of my past, I didn’t flinch. I could feel Will’s gaze on me the entire time. I didn’t have to look to the side of the stage to know he was there. All of our songs were about love and sex, and I found myself singing them allforhim.
We were in the middle of country Victoria, the crowd was smaller than the capital cities had been, but it was jam-packed and close. A sweaty furnace of people pressed up against the front of the stage, singing along to our songs, taking pictures on their phones, and cheering. The fact that people knew our stuff and loved it was a feeling beyond anything I could have ever hoped for, but having Will there made iteuphoric.
I didn’t want this feelingtoend.
‘Bombard’ was the song Will had set his video to, and all I could think of was the fact he had been watching me. It sounded creepy, but he’d done it to please me. I didn’t realize at the time, but sitting with him that day had melted something inside me. It was the beginning oftheend.
As I stood on top of the bass drum, the sound of my guitar reverbing off into nothing, our eyes locked. I stared down at him, hair plastered to my sweaty face, and if I hadn’t been standing in such an awkward position, on stage no less, I would have thrown myself at him there and then. When I jumped down, it was a miracle I landed steadily onbothfeet.
Dee pulled me to the front of the stage, and people held out their hands, and I shook as many as I could. This was why we’d started the band. Not for the adoration but for the knowledge that the things we wrote spoke tosomeone.
When The Stabs went on stage, I stood in the wings as I’d done so many times in the last few weeks, but this time felt like the first. I’d been so determined to fight my attraction to Will that I’d never really paid attention to him. The others, yes, but never to their infuriatingly sexy bass player. I leaned against the wall, and my gaze never left him. I didn’t care one iota what I looked like, anymore. Dee stood with me, but he may as well have been invisible for all the attention I paid him. We were allridinghigh.
As each song went by, I took in everything. The way Will’s fingers slid over the strings of his bass, the way he leaned his mouth against the microphone, the way his hair fell into his eyes. Occasionally, he’d look up and see me watching, and a lopsided grin would invade his features. This time, it was unguarded and full of the things he wanted to dotome.
The stage was like a second home to him, and I understood completely. It was the same for me. He said that the real Zoe was the woman who stood front and center and gave her all to the music. I was more determined than ever to make that a reality off stage,aswell.
It was like someone had flipped a switch inside me, and now that the floodgate was open, there was nothing stopping me from falling head first into the consuming passion I felt for Will Strickland. What made me reel was that he had said he felt it, too. He didn’t need to say anything. It was in everythinghedid.
When their set finally finished, he walked straight off the stage and crashed into me, his lips on mine, his tongue teasing. A whimper escaped me, and he pulled away, cuppingmyface.
“You drive a man to distraction, Zo,” he said. “Looking at melikethat.”
“You’rewelcome.”
“I’ll see you in a minute,” he said, brushing a thumb over my bottom lip, and he disappeared with his bass into thebandroom.
“If you’re done sucking face,” Dee declared from beside me, “can we go get a drinkorten?”
I’d forgotten he was there, and I didn’t think he’d registered with Will, either. With a giddy smile, I threaded my arm through his, and we made our way into the crowd. When we found the others near the bar, Frank, Simone, and Chris welcomed us with knowingsmiles.
“And Zoe Granger’s back in the game with abang.” Frank chortled, pulling me into abearhug.
“She won’t be in it for long if you don’t stop suffocating her,” I cried, my voice muffled against hischest.
“Seriously, Zo,” he whispered in my ear. “Glad you’re feelin’better.”
“I’m sorry, guys,” I said with a grimace. I had to take some blame for what happened. After all, it was my reaction that hadsnowballed.
“You’ve nothin’ to be sorry for,”Chrissaid.
“Yes, I do. I’m sorry,” I said firmly. “I let it affect the band, and a gig suffered for it. I promise I won’t let it happenagain.”
“You know how annoying it’s been watching you two pine over each other?” Dee said, puckering his lips at me and instantly lighteningthemood.
That earned him a sharp slap on the arm and loud laughter and catcalls from the guys. A grin spread across my face, and the sense of euphoria that had been building inside me all night surfaced. It was such an alien feeling that at first, it felt wrong, but the look Dee gave me when he saw the smile on my face made me realize it couldn’t get any more right than it was at that verymoment.
Arms wrapped around my waist from behind, and I caught sight of a black panthertattoo.
“Hey,” Will murmured into my ear as warmth spread throughmybody.
Looking up at him, Isaid, “Hey.”
