Strings (8 page)

             
‘Please don’t make promises if you can’t keep them,’ she said, feeling her guard going up a little.

             
‘I always keep my promises.’

             
‘Thank you for being patient,’ she whispered, and he knew what she meant by that. Melissa had made him wait before taking that next step in their relationship. It made her feel a bit scared, because she feared that if she gave herself to him completely, it would all go wrong, just like all her past relationships. 

             
‘It really isn’t a problem – we’ve got all the time in the world.’ He meant it – he wouldn’t rush her. But there had been times when they’d been very close, and he’d found it very hard to back away from her.

             
Melissa had fallen for Luke on that first night, from the moment he stepped onto the stage. Hearing his voice filter through the venue while he slammed on his guitar as he looked down at her, she remembered thinking that would be as close as she would get to him. She would just become a fan who would go to their gigs and dream about him. But now she was part of it all and regularly had to pinch herself to make sure it was really happening. She was with the guy everyone had wanted. He was now stroking her hair while he kissed her. Luke had surprised her with his patience and the way he treated her with respect – a rare quality in her experience.

             
‘Luke,’ she said, running her hand under his shirt as she pushed him down, knowing she was going to give in. She was falling in love with him and she couldn’t stop herself – they had both waited long enough. ‘I want you,’ she breathed in his ear as she nuzzled at his neck.

             
Luke grabbed her and pulled her down, pressing their bodies together. ‘Finally!’
he thought. She was driving him to distraction, but he knew it was going to be worth the wait. The passion between them was raw and the feelings they both had for each other were new and intensely exciting. 

             
‘Don’t break my heart,’ he heard her whisper, making him stop for just a second to look her in the eye.

             
‘I won’t. Don’t break mine,’ he responded, making her smile as she pulled him back to her. She wanted his lips on hers again.

             
‘You’re so … perfect,’ he told her, feeling her soft pale skin under his fingertips. He had undressed her with some skill and was now taking in the view of her perfect body, something he had been imagining since they met. To him, there couldn’t be anyone better – she was his perfect woman.

             
Melissa blushed as she admired him, now completely naked. The words caught in her throat because he took her breath away. His tattoos almost winked at her as he looked down, clearly liking what he saw. He was desperate for her, and she knew she was ready. Luke had never waited so long before, but he knew she would be worth the wait. Even her kisses made his heart race. When she touched him, a feeling like electricity flowed between them. It was something neither of them had ever felt before, and in this moment, nothing else mattered.

             
‘You were
so
worth the wait,’ he breathed into her ear as her nails dug into his back. She responded with the sweet sound of pleasure – the world outside could be ending and they wouldn’t have noticed.

*****

The rain pounded against Amber’s face as she stood in the garden, surrounded by darkness and hidden by bushes. She had been waiting for hours for him to leave. But he was still there, so she had to stay where she was. She couldn't let him see her – she couldn't risk it. Her face was twisted with rage under the hood of her jacket as she watched their bodies tangled together. She had been so smug when it had been her, and now it was agonisingly painful to watch someone else in her place. ‘That should be me he’s kissing…. me that he’s making love to,’ she thought. ‘I’m the one he loves, and I’m the only one who really loves him.’

             
The curtains weren’t fully closed, so she could see right into the living room. They were on the sofa together, both naked. ‘She has no shame!’ Amber thought. The slut didn't even shut her curtains, like some sort of shameful exhibitionist. She watched as Melissa ran her hand down his side, over his tattoo, kissing his chest as she did so. He kissed her with so much passion, she wanted to bang on the window and scream, but she knew she couldn’t. She saw Melissa laugh at something he said, and pull him down closer to her, but it was his smile and the way he looked at her that hurt Amber most. Deep down she knew that he hadn’t looked at
her
that way. Melissa was making him think he was falling in love with her, and Amber told herself that she was manipulating him, and she was taking him away from the one he was supposed to be with. They pawed at each other, their naked bodies completely entwined, oblivious to anything else. After a while, she decided that she couldn't watch this anymore, and she slipped away silently. Her rage was growing, and she vowed that she would win him back. And if she couldn't have him, then she would make sure that no one else could.

*****

‘I sound shit,’ Luke complained.

It was the
night before Amplified, and the band were having one last practice session. They’d spent every day for the past two weeks getting themselves ready, poring over every detail of every song in their set, and a few they planned to keep in reserve, just in case. They always used Toby's place for their meetings, because his house had most space – the large back room was a perfect place to play and was permanently decked out with amplifiers, speakers and other assorted pieces of kit.

             
Luke was as usual much more stressed than the others, and Dale rolled his eyes at his best friend, who was always way too hard on himself. ‘You sound like you always do, shit hot.’ The other two agreed. It was nearly two in the morning and they’d been busy for several hours but were now running out of steam. They could tell that Luke was getting obsessive, and they all realised that they needed to nip it in the bud. He was their best asset, their front man, and the last thing the band needed was Luke suffering a crisis of confidence at the eleventh hour. This was going to be a long and important weekend for them, so making sure Luke was at the top of his game was the top priority.

             
‘Am I being annoying?’ he asked, already knowing the answer.

             
‘Yes!’ they chimed in unison, the frustration clear in their voices.

*****

Amplified was held over two days. On Saturday, all twenty bands would perform to a crowd of six thousand, and a panel of three judges would nominate five to go through to Sunday’s final. The overall winner would be decided by the audience. Each person entering the venue was given a card at the turnstile which carried three voting credits. The cards could be swiped at voting screens around the venue, using contactless technology similar to credit cards. But votes weren’t used to back the winner, they were given to the group you liked the least. This meant that less was more, in terms of votes, and the winning band was the one at the end of the competition with the least votes. The grand prize was £3,000 worth of studio time plus an assortment of new equipment worth £5,000, donated by the corporate sponsors. To bands trying to make their way in a tough and competitive business, usually on a shoestring budget, the prize would be a huge boost. But perhaps the most valuable reward would be the publicity and recognition the winner would receive. It was the chance of a big break that every aspiring band dreamed of. It was widely expected that the winning band at Amplified would be offered a record deal.

             
The event was sponsored and organised by Sky Storm Records, one of the UK’s biggest labels. There was no promise of a contract for anyone, but according to Sky Storm, ‘anything could happen’. This really meant that they would offer a contract to any band they felt was good enough. It was a very clever concept on the part of Sky Storm – effectively a public audition for a new act, which they could sell tickets for, and make money from. The winning act would already have been given a public seal of approval, so it was much less of a gamble than giving a contract to a band nobody had heard of.

             
The judges were big names in the music world, giving the competition credibility, but at the same time making it all the more nerve-racking for the participants. If the verdict from any of them was negative, you were in trouble because many of the crowd would vote according to their comments. The judges would also be writing reviews for the music press, and of course you wanted them to be singing your praises. The opposite could spell disaster.

             
Melissa had almost had a heart attack when they’d discussed it the previous day – she hadn’t even thought about that side of it - the risk factor - and she desperately hoped it wouldn’t go wrong for them. She was still acutely aware that their entry was her doing, and if it didn’t go well, she worried that there could be serious implications for her relationship with Luke, as well as the band’s prospects.

             
‘That girl is driving me nuts!’ Luke yelled at his phone. Amber was calling again for what felt like the hundredth time. He cut her off as usual, and reminded himself once again that he needed to change his number. He never answered her calls, and had no intention of doing so. He was starting to feel stalked. There had been a few times he thought he’d seen her, almost as though she was following him. But he wasn’t sure if it was her, and nothing ever came of it so he shrugged it off. But he wished it would stop. ‘I’m definitely changing my number if she doesn't give up soon. What can I do to get rid of her?’

             
There were several suggestions from the lads, none of which were legal or particularly helpful, but they were tempting all the same. He joked that with every nuisance call, he was getting closer to considering them.

             
After a final beer and some last minute arrangements, they called it a night. They’d initially agreed on getting a reasonably early night, to be ready for next day’s adventure. But as usual, time ran away from them and it was the small hours before anyone got any rest. Most of them were out like a light, but Luke lay awake, running everything through his mind over and over again. He tried to create the perfect scenario of a flawless performance and a momentous victory, the idea being that if he could visualise it, there was more chance it might happen. He often did this before a gig, and it had served him pretty well in the past. Being the front man, he knew he would be the focal point of the crowd and the judges’ attention tomorrow, and therefore he felt extra pressure. He couldn’t stop his mind conjuring up thoughts of things going wrong, but he used that to identify potential pitfalls and make mental notes of problems to be avoided. He knew he was a perfectionist, and he didn’t apologise for it. It annoyed the hell out of the rest of the guys at times, but they also knew that he was the most professional member of the band, and he was their leader. They wouldn’t be the same band without his high standards and determination to be the best they could be. They always had fun, but only
after
giving a performance they were happy with, never before or during. He had a burning desire to succeed, and he was not going to let this chance pass them by.

             
His motivation was not borne out of greed – he wasn’t interested in being filthy rich – comfortable and secure would be just fine. Nor was it a misguided sense that simply to be famous was the pinnacle of human endeavour, something he saw in a lot of wannabes these days. He wasn’t the sort who would consider going on a TV ‘freak show’ or pulling a ridiculous publicity stunt just to get noticed. All he wanted was for their music to be appreciated by genuine music fans. For him, that was the only kind of success that mattered, and it would make all their hard work worthwhile. In Luke’s opinion, to hear people say they liked the music he’d created was the best feeling in the world. It was all about the buzz of entertaining people, and making them smile. It made him smile too.

             
Melissa was also a big part of his plans. It surprised him when he thought about it, because with past girlfriends, his focus had never been diverted from his musical goals. More than once, this was the reason that his relationships ended. It wasn’t selfishness on his part, or at least he didn’t think it was. It was just that he’d never been with someone who he had pictured in his long-term plans. But she was in all of them now. He’d always found the thought of spending your life with one person a bit scary – never being close to another person or having that exciting feeling of a new relationship. But she’d changed all that. It may have been only a month, but he knew she was the one he wanted to be with. The fact that his friends seemed to like her too was a bonus; there had been one or two girls in the past who hadn’t fitted in – usually too wrapped up in themselves to bother getting to know his mates. They were the people he spent most of his time with, and he was nothing without them – they were like family. Melissa had just slotted into the role of being his girlfriend so effortlessly, and vice versa. It just seemed natural. His plans for his future and the band’s therefore naturally included her – it was as though she was their fifth member, even though she didn’t sing or play an instrument. He trusted her and valued her opinion, so it meant a lot to him that she approved of what they did.