CHAPTER 81

My fingers teased the guitar strings endlessly. The music flew through my veins, a rush and comfort. An exhilaration and a soother. A total contradiction, but one that made sense nonetheless.

Song after song it went, one after another, beat after chord, chord after lyric, lyric after scream, scream after blackout.

We set our instruments down softly and walked back into the wings. Elena was standing in mine, clasping a bottle of water. I closed my fingers around the neck of the bottle, my pinkie barely an inch from hers, and pause.

“You did good,” she said softly, swallowing before she looked up and met my eyes.

I stared into her dark eyes, the color of dark chocolate, of a black coffee after a night of no sleep, and I replied, “I know.”

I took the bottle from her, unscrewed the cap, and tipped it up, walking past her. I didn’t need my cute-as-fuck assistant getting into my head tonight.

No, I needed some fangirling, groupie-ass bitch to bend over for me so I could relieve this stress.