Indie Ink: Rock Star!

Rachel’s heart was pounding. She still couldn’t believe she was backstage, about to meet (well, get reacquainted with) Nathan Anders. She never would have thought he’d become a rock star but then, each reality had its own rules and the people she knew in her own weren’t necessarily the same. She glanced over at Amy next to her and smiled. Thank goodness Amy was essentially the same. She’d been relieved when her last jump hadn’t worked out; she wasn’t sure she could have been friends with a sex-crazed Amy.

Amy felt her gaze and met Rachel’s look with a goofy grin. She’d been obsessed with Touchstone since they had a breakout hit last year after winning an Indie band contest. The band had skyrocketed into the charts, hitting number one over and over as they released the songs from their debut album. Considering her obsession with the band, Rachel had been flabbergasted that Amy had no idea the lead singer was someone they knew.

Rachel watched as Amy began bouncing on her toes, a sure sign she was getting anxious. She reached over and laid a hand on her arm. The frantic movements slowed and then stopped.

“Thanks. I just can’t believe our luck. I have never been backstage to meet a performer.” Amy turned her head, taking in the darkened corridor. The sounds of Thirty Twist, Touchstone’s opening band, echoed from behind. It was surprisingly calm and silent.

Rachel shifted her bag to her other arm. She forced her legs to stay still. “You never know when Lady Luck will strike,” she smiled. “I’m amazed you managed to get through to that radio station and win the backstage passes.”

“I know,” Amy breathed. “I feel so silly not realizing Nate was Nathan Anders but in my defense, he doesn’t use a last name and Nathan was not known for his musical abilities.” Rachel gave her a squeeze.

A door down the hall opened and a large man dressed in a fitted black suit with a wire running out from under his collar to a piece in his ear approached. He paused in front of them and made a show of listening to something through his earpiece.

“Copy that.” He said to no one and turned his attention to Rachel and Amy. Rachel stepped back as he loomed over her, his brows drawn together suspiciously.

“You two the contest winners?” He boomed. The girls lifted up the passes slung around their necks. He examined them intensely then jerked a thumb behind him. “This way.” He turned on his heel and began walking down the corridor. Rachel grabbed Amy’s hand and followed.

“Sorry about the delay, but Nate has had some crazy fans trying to get close to him lately. Hell, the whole band has. So security is of utmost importance.” His voice growled. “You have ten minutes to chat with the band and then I have to escort you back to your seats. Nate has some ‘pre-concert’ exercises he has to do before taking stage.” A wisp of a smile crossed his lips. Rachel glanced at Amy wondering if she was feeling as uneasy about all this as she was. Amy looked oblivious, still thrilled with the idea of speaking to members of her favorite band.

“Okay, thanks for the heads up.” Rachel forced a smile. They passed by a publicity poster of Touchstone and Rachel’s eyes immediately sought out Nathan. He looked different that the boy she remembered, a little harder, more intense. But the eyes, the eyes were still the same. Her heart began to flutter again and she forgot her fears.

The security guard opened a door with the Touchstone symbol on it and let the girls go in. As soon as they were clear he pulled the door closed. Rachel glanced over her shoulder momentarily then turned back to observe the room.

It was a large open space set up like a comfortable lounge. A flat screen TV was hung on the opposite wall showing a video game in progress. The players were on a small love seat with their backs to the door. All Rachel could see was the tops of their heads. A darker skinned young man with shoulder length hair sat in a corner strumming a guitar and making notes on a sheet of paper in front of him. He flipped his hair away from his face and glanced up giving them a smile. Amy gripped Rachel’s arm.

“That’s Ace,” she hissed. “He won an award for a guitar solo he wrote for ‘Blame it on me’. The reviewers said it rivals ‘Stairway to Heaven’ for its complexity.” She began bouncing on her toes again. Rachel looked over to the other side of the room, trying to spot Nathan. There were people in the room that obviously weren’t in the band. A blond woman sitting at a table with a man furiously writing in a notebook caught her attention. She looked familiar.

The woman felt Rachel’s scrutiny and looked up. Smiling she waved them over.

“Hi, I’m Amanda Drake, Touchstone’s publicist. You must be the contest winners?” At their nod she smiled again. “Nate’s just talking to the band’s manager; he should be here any second. Take a seat, grab a drink, and make yourselves comfortable.”

“Thanks,” Amy chirped. She grabbed a Heineken from the fridge and plunked down on an empty sofa. Rachel follows, tossing Amanda’s name around in her mind. She knew that name. As she sat down next to Amy it all clicked. “From the prison!” She murmured.

“Prison? What are you talking about, Rach?” Amy looked at her curiously. Rachel started.

“Wha? Oh, nothing. Sorry just talking to myself.” Any further questions from Amy were stopped by the door opening and Nathan Anders himself entering the room. Rachel quivered with anticipation. It was him! She’d found him again.

Her eyes hungrily took in all the familiar details: the thick brown hair that fell over his eyes just so, the sensual lips curved up in a friendly grin, the shape of his arms, the muscles bulging through the thin material of his t-shirt. She shivered at the thought of those arms around her. Her mind flashed back to the encounter that started it all; her impulsive kiss at the beach and that momentary embrace as he returned it.

He took in the room with a wide sweeping glance, pausing at each of his band mates with a nod, until he reached the sofa where Rachel and Amy sat. He stopped, his eyes narrowing, the recognition flickering. He stepped towards them, one hand extended.

“Hey, I’m Nate. Congratulations on winning the contest.”

Amy bounded up and grabbed Nathan’s hand. “Thanks, it was so amazing to win but even more so since we…” Rachel’s elbow jabbed into Amy’s side, silencing her with a squawk. She looked at Rachel with a wounded expression. Rachel felt bad for doing it but she wanted to see if Nathan knew who they were. For some reason it was necessary.

He watched the interaction with a curious expression then his face changed, ever so slightly, until it relaxed completely into the face Rachel remembered. He smiled.

“Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere? School maybe…”

Amy glanced at Rachel before responding, wary of another elbow. “That’s right. We all hung around the same people in high school. You were a few years ahead of us. Rachel knew you better. You were best friends with her older brother.”

Nathan met Rachel’s eyes. “Holy shit! Rachel! I can’t believe it. Damn, look at you, all grown up!” He let his gaze trail up and down her body with such intensity Rachel felt uncomfortable. She tried to shake it off and smiled back happily.

“You remember! I couldn’t believe it when I saw your name on the liner notes of Touchstone’s CD. You were never into music, just football and baseball.”

“Yeah well, football and baseball didn’t have much chance of launching me into stardom. I discovered I had some singing talent and went with it.” He gave her a little shrug. Rachel felt herself melt. He was just as wonderful as she imagined. Being a rock star hadn’t changed him. She took a step closer and opened her mouth to declare her feelings when a scruffy looking man wearing ripped jeans and a white beater tapped Nathan on the shoulder. He turned, eyebrows raised.

“Dude, they’re here. Let’s go, I need to release.” He thumbed back towards the door where a small group of woman stood waiting. They were all identical in proportions: thin, long legs, and big boobs, varying only in the color of their hair. Their outfits left little to the imagination. Rachel wondered if they were dancers. Did Touchstone have dancers in their shows?

Nathan turned back to Amy and Rachel and shrugged. “Sorry, girls. I gotta go do some pre-show prep. A shame we couldn’t have chatted longer. Enjoy the show.” He turned to walk away with the guy who interrupted. Rachel felt her heart sink.

“Unless…” he glanced at the group and then back at Rachel and Amy. “You want to join us?”

“Really? Doing what?” Rachel asked, her heart beginning to beat faster. Nathan’s smile curved into a sly grin. The guy next to him snorted.

“Ever hear of the carnal Olympics?” The scruffy guy laughed. “Nate here’s a Champion.”

Rachel looked at Nathan and back to the group of woman standing at the door. She swallowed hard.

For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, Brad MacDonald challenged me with “Become a champion of carnal Olympic” and I challenged Grace O’Malley with “big fish in a small pond”.

 

Another piece to Rachel. FYI: a much earlier jump than has been written previously. New Nathan, new reality, new complications.