Nobody Falls for the Opening Act (Break the Rules Book 2)

Chapter 15

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Criminal Records perform live.

High school. Senior year. I secretly saved up for weeks to buy the tickets. Secretly because my stepfather thought going to concerts was a waste of money and that my dollars would be better spent sitting in some saving account, earning pennies of interest instead of bringing joy to my life.

Anyway, that night, I snuck out the window like a teenage girl in a 90s sitcom and hopped into the back of my friend’s van, hoping my fit of youthful rebellion would go unnoticed in our uptight suburban neighborhood where everyone’s business was everyone else’s.

We went downtown and joined thousands of others in one unforgettable night at the rock show.

The pieces of it I can remember, I mean.

I wasn’t drunk or on drugs or anything like that. But you ever get so excited about something that the moment it finally happens, everything becomes a blur? The mix of my pounding heart and pumping adrenaline was too much for my wacky, teenage, hormone-driven brain to handle, so my memories of that night are… a bit mushy.

But I remember her.

Addison fucking Abbey.

I remember her white guitar. Her black leather pants. Her cheap touristy Las Vegas T-shirt. Her hair was long and gorgeous, full of waves and curls. Perfect for head-banging — and she did plenty of that.

So did my friends and I, sitting near the front row. Not quite front row center, but close enough to feel the ground shaking with every note they played. Close enough to see that Addison was wearing purple nail polish, and her black boots had laces that looked like candy canes.

Legendaryis the word I used to describe it to my friends who couldn’t go with us.

Worth it is how I described it to my parents when they inevitably found out about it from nosey Mrs. Prickett across the street.

And tonight, as I watch yet another Criminal Records show-in-progress, the only word I can think of to describe it is ordinary.

This is just an ordinary Thursday night in my life right now.

How crazy is that?

I’m watching Criminal Records perform from backstage. I’m watching them rock their way through the same set list they had in Missoula and Vancouver before that. I watch my friend Knox Benton give his token charismatic performance (and take a few notes for myself). I watch Bronson Isaacs pounding on his drums and Jonah Botsford strumming his bass and Katrina Benton tickling away at the keys of her piano.

And, yes, I watch Addison Abbey absolutely own her riffs and solos with the same white electric guitar she’s always had.

It’s all the same as before, but… it’s also not.

Something’s different this time.

Not in her performance, obviously. Addison’s giving the same Addison Abbey: Rock Goddess performance she’s always given.

The difference is me.

I know so much more about her now.

That smile on her face is full of layers it didn’t have before. The smile of a girl who grew up watching her mother perform on stages in various states of undress. The smile of a girl who loves to sneak out at night and watch the stars. The smile of a girl who I’m proud to call my friend.

Fuck. My friend sure is pretty.

As the opening notes of Pure Blue begin, I feel a presence at my shoulder. Harmony Max smiles at me and I happily grin back at her as I curl one arm around her shoulders and pull her in front of me so she can watch.

It’s her song, after all.

Later in the set, she’ll go out there and perform Wildfire with Knox, but for now, she’s my friendly anchor in this messed up crazy life.

She used to be a normie, just like me.

“Your set was magnificent tonight, by the way,” Harmony says as we watch.

“Thanks,” I say. “Wish you could have joined me out there.”

She sighs, but it’s not a sad one. “Yeah. Me, too.”

“Maybe you and I can write something new together,” I say, the thought having already crossed my mind multiple times since Seattle. “Something not Boom Boom.”

Harmony nods. “Let’s do it.”

“If we have time, anyway,” I say. “You and Knox are spending a lot of time together lately.”

“I know. But I’ll make time for you!” She smirks. “If you can make time for me.”

“Of course. I’ve got nothing taking up my time.”

Another smirk. “No?”

“No.” I raise a brow. “What’s with the lip?”

“Harvey, come on,” she says, flicking her little eyes toward the rock goddess on stage. “Everybody knows.”

“Everybody knows what?”

She nudges me with a sharp elbow. “You and Addy.”

I shake my head. “There is no me and Addy. We’re friends. Like you and me.”

“Not like you and me,” she says, still grinning. “You’ve never looked at me the way you’re looking at her now.”

I don’t argue with it. It’s the truth.

I fully take the bait and look out at the stage. Pure Blue is one of their softer songs, but that doesn’t mean they don’t go hard. And every time Addison strums, I feel it deep in my stomach.

“Yeah, well,” I say, accepting the shitty truth. “She doesn’t feel the same way.”

“You don’t know that,” Harmony says with a little hope in her voice.

“No, I do,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m just the opening act.”

She frowns. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nobody falls for the opening act.”

“Who told you that?” she asks, scoffing.

“August.”

Her eyes roll. “August is an idiot. A cute idiot, but an idiot regardless. Even Dade Connery started out opening for The Flaming Gems, didn’t he?”

I blink as a shot of pure, unfiltered hope fires directly into my heart. “You’re right,” I say. “He did.”

“See?” Harmony gives me another nudge. “Nobody falls for the opening act, but everyone loves an underdog.” Her eyes narrow. “Don’t let August or Knox or anyone else fill your head. If you want her, go get her.”

“But how?” I ask, turning to face her. “You’ve known her longer than I have. If you were trying to seduce Addison Abbey, how would you do it?”

Harmony pauses, taking the moment to eye the stage once again, her gaze spending most of its time lovingly on Knox. “The same way Knox got me, I guess,” she says.

“Stalk her until she caves?”

“No,”she says, glaring playfully. “I’d show her a part of the world she’s never seen before.”

Applause rises as the music fans of Denver erupt over the end of Pure Blue and the beginning of Power Play.

We say nothing more. Instead, I wrap my arm around Harmony’s shoulders again, a warm and friendly show of gratitude as we watch.

A part of the world she’s never seen before?

I’d have better luck stalking her.

But I’ll think about it.