Wicked Harmony

Chapter 27 | Sin

Chapter 27

Sin

T he scene outside the hotel is pure chaos. Cameras flash from all directions and there’s a massive crowd of fans screaming their lungs out, desperate for a glimpse of the band. They must have been waiting here for hours. Dorian and Iri take it upon themselves to head outside and sign some stuff for the fans and the roar of voices rings in my ears even as a hired car speeds us away.

“Are you sure you guys shouldn’t have stayed back to sign stuff too?” I ask.

Cal grunts. “Nope.”

We head back to a different hotel where the guys are staying and make our way upstairs to the penthouse suite. Once again, it’s the fanciest place I’ve ever stepped inside, but I don’t linger to look around.

“Give me forty-five minutes, okay?” I say. Tonight feels special, and I feel like I should make a proper effort and not just rock up in my overalls.

“Take your time, Sin,” Micah says with a broad smile.

I rifle through my bag until I find a blue dress I bought years ago, which I pull out and hang up to decrease while I shower. I step into the gorgeous white marble shower and quickly shampoo and condition my hair before washing every inch of my body. When I’m done, I towel off and slip on my sexiest pair of underwear and my dress. Drying and teasing out my hair so it looks less of a bird's nest, I quickly slick on some eyeliner, blush and lipstick.

Slipping my feet into some flats, I grab my jacket and bag just in time to hear a gentle knock on the door.

Swinging it open, I find both Cal and Micah looking suave and so handsome, my mind blanks. They’re more dressed up than I’ve seen them before. Both are dressed in shirts with the sleeves rolled up and forearms on display.

“You look incredible,” Cal growls. His deep voice hits me right down to my bones and my cheeks flush with pleasure.

Damn. For a moment, I’m tempted to step back and say fuck it to the whole date idea. We can order room service and I’m sure we’ll have a good time.

But this is clearly something that’s important to the two of them. I can tuck my libido away for the next couple of hours, at least.

There’s another hired car waiting for us at the back entrance of our hotel and the two of them escort me to it. With Micah holding my door and Cal fixing my seatbelt for me, I feel like a damn princess.

Traffic’s pretty bad again as we travel through the darkening streets before the car pulls up outside a tiny witch-run restaurant I wouldn’t have noticed if I was walking past. The inside is tiny, with around ten tables, all lit with flickering candles. As soon as we step inside, the guys are greeted with big smiles and it’s clear they’ve been here before.

“This is our favorite place in the city. We used to always make a point of coming here whenever we kick off a tour,” Micah explains.

We take our seats and I can see why they like this place. The owners are attentive, but mostly they leave us alone. There’s no fawning and no requests for autographs and it doesn’t seem like they’re people who are likely to call the paps to get attention on their little business .

“Are you guys looking forward to kicking off the tour?” I ask, just as our food arrives. I ordered a chicken and sage dish with fresh pasta that has my mouth watering before I tuck in.

I feel this little zing of excitement whenever I think about the first gig. I’ve seen the band all practicing so many times, but I know it’ll be a whole other thing to see them in their element on stage in one of the arenas.

I also can’t wait to let my little gadgets fly and watch them do their thing. It’s been an insane amount of work, but part of me is so damn excited to see how the audience reacts and whether it’s everything Iri hoped for when he hired me.

My stomach flips over at the thought. I don’t want to let him down and although I wouldn’t admit it to him, part of me also wants to go one step further. I want to impress him.

The past month has felt like so much more than a job. I guess living together has blurred the lines and the feelings I have for the band are far from professional, growing stronger by the day.

“I’m excited for the gigs themselves,” Micah says, running a hand through his hair as he sips his drink. “Touring’s always intense. Being on the road is exhausting and we’re going to be eating, sleeping, and dreaming of the tour for the next couple of months.”

“Helps to have something to look forward to once it’s done, though,” Cal says.

His words cause my insides to churn. I don’t know what’s going to happen once this tour is done. Today has felt like I’ve been waking from a long, perfect dream and I’m struggling to orient myself in the real world again.

“My sisters won’t leave off asking about you and whether you’ll be at our next family gathering,” Cal says casually, the tops of his cheeks darkening. He refuses to meet my eyes, so I glance at Micah instead, who is grinning like this whole exchange is amusing to him .

He leans closer and tells me in a conspiratorial whisper, “You’ll love it, Sin. Cal’s family members are a lot, but they’re good to spend time with.”

“Is everyone going?” I ask.

Micah sits back with a grin. “You couldn’t stop me if you wanted to. Cal’s mamma’s stew is the best thing you’ve ever tasted. Dorian and Iri will be there, too.”

I reach out and squeeze Cal’s hand, since he still won’t look at me. “I’d really like that, Cal. I’d love to meet your sisters.”

“Yeah?” His tone is gruff, but I can see the relief in his body language as his shoulders slump and he squeezes my hand in return. More than anything, I’d like to see the place and the people, which clearly means a lot to Cal.

“What was Iri saying to you earlier while we were packing up?” Micah asks.

I take a sip of my drink. “Oh, he has a surprise when we’re done here. He’s going to pick us up.”

Micah snorts as Cal lets out a displeased grumble. “Pretty sure that’s a surprise just for you, sweetheart.”

Huh, I wonder what that’s about.

I don’t have time to ponder it too much, since the magical spell of our dinner breaks thanks to a handful of overexcited young women heading into the restaurant. They’re led to seats across the room from us, but it isn’t long before two of them appear at the side of our table.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you guys are here. This place is so cute,” one says with a wide grin. “Will you sign something for me?”

Cal shifts in his seat, looking distinctly uncomfortable, and I can see the other woman is pressing her tits right up against him, squishing her flesh against his shoulder.

“We’re actually trying to have a quiet night,” Micah replies .

“One teeny tiny autograph. Our friends are gonna just die hearing that we saw you in the flesh and they’ll go nuts if we don’t have proof.”

Micah shoots me an apologetic look. “All right. Have you got a pen and something to sign?”

That’s when things get weird. The first girl pulls out her phone and leans right in to take a selfie with a scowling, growling Cal.

And the second one... pulls a pen from out of her back pocket and yanks her top down exposing the entirety of her tits and shoving them right in Micah’s face.

His expression is one of pure horror, and my own eyes widen.

“No,” Micah says, shaking his head. “I’m not signing those.”

Cal snorts as the woman then turns to him expectantly. “Fuck no. We’re here on a date. Put your tits away.”

The woman’s eager expression drops into one of irritation. “Fine. A regular selfie then?”

“Still a no,” Cal growls. For the first time since I’ve known him, I can see why some people think he’s scary. I mean, I don’t. But I get to see a softer, cuddlier side of him.

The woman freezes, and then immediately steps back. “Right. Sure. Sorry to have bothered you guys,” she squeaks before grabbing her friend’s arm and high-tailing it out of the restaurant.

Well, that was certainly something.

“Are you all right?” I ask Micah, who’s staring down at his arm distastefully. I wonder if she wiped her boob sweat all over him.

“That fucking sucked. Sorry, Sin,” he says.

I shake my head vehemently. “Not your fault.”

I glance down at my mostly empty plate, but the disruption has zapped my appetite. Instead, I wipe my mouth with my napkin and sit back in my seat.

“Shit. Seems like word’s got out,” Cal says, his attention on the front windows of the restaurant .

Sure enough, there’s a crowd already gathering outside. My stomach drops as people press up against the windows, leaving greasy smear marks as they peer inside. Then the telltale flashing starts up and I can see a couple of paparazzi through the windows, their cameras pointing directly at us.

“Do you mind if we call it, sweetheart?” Micah asks softly. “Iri can pick you up from around the back and we’ll make our escape before more of them descend on us.”

I nod and paste on a smile, which is something I’ve not had to do in ages.

It’s not their fault. It just sucks that our night got cut short. Cal pushes to his feet, standing between me and the window so I’m shielded from view, and I squeeze his forearm in appreciation.

Iri must have been waiting close by. Only a minute or two after I message him to let him know what’s happening, he texts back to say he’s waiting around the back.

Life with the band seems to involve a lot of back entrances and alleyways, and not in a fun way.

“Ready, Sin?” Iri holds the car door open for me and nods at the others over my shoulder.

I twist around and am instantly pulled into a hot, wide chest as Cal’s arms wrap around me in a warm hug. Micah wraps himself around my back and presses me between the two of them, pressing a gentle kiss to my neck before squeezing my ass.

“Tonight’s not over yet. We’ll see you back at the hotel, sweetheart,” Micah murmurs in my ear, sending a frisson of excitement through me.

Then I climb into the car, and the door slams shut, leaving me alone with Iri.

“So, where are we going?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light.

“Are you all right?” He frowns at me. “I don’t know how anyone found you all. It’s not like it’s a known haunt for any of us. ”

“I’m fine. I mean, it brought the date to a premature end, but I guess that sort of thing must happen to you guys all the time.”

He sighs, leaning in to adjust my seatbelt where it’s twisted—I dunno what’s happening with these guys tonight and their obsession with belting me in safely.

“It’s a big part of the reason we’re at the end of our tether. There’s this lack of privacy that comes with fame that shouldn’t be surprising but still is, somehow. It’s like you’re a public commodity and you’re not entitled to your own time and space any longer.”

“That sounds terrible,” I reply, causing him to snort.

“The price of popularity,” he replies softly, and we both lapse into silence.

I realize after another ten minutes of driving, he never answered my question about where we’re headed.

The answer becomes pretty obvious when we pull up outside Hawk Arena, the venue for the gig tomorrow night.

I glance uncertainly at Iri as he holds out a hand to help me out of the car. The arena is quiet and dark. It looks locked up tight for the night.

“Uh, Iri, what are we doing here?”

“You’ll see,” he replies, resting his hand on the small of my back. That small touch seems to burn straight through my clothing and I try to track back, to recall if it’s the first time he’s touched me.

Iri unlocks a door around the side of the arena and leads me through the silent lobby that tomorrow will be teaming with people. It feels strange to be here when the place is closed up like this. Almost... melancholy. Lonely, even.

We head through a back warren of corridors inside the empty building and I glance up at Iri curiously, and he finally takes pity on me.

“I figured you might want to see the place before everyone gets here tomorrow. See where your creations are going to come to life.” He draws me along until we’re right in the wings of the stage. He then turns on a few of the light switches with a casual flick of his fingers and the entire stadium illuminates.

I peek out onto the stage and my breath catches.

“Holy shit. It’s enormous.”

I knew this was one of the bigger venues slated for the tour. I also know that it seats around sixty thousand people.

But knowing that and seeing it in person are two very different things.

“What do you think?” he asks. “Go ahead, take a proper look.”

I just shake my head, unable to find the words right now. My heart pounds, feet starting to sweat in my shoes.

So many seats.

So many people.

Iri then steps close to me, his hand brushing against my hip as he nudges me until I’m stepping out onto the stage. A shiver runs through my spine and I take a small step away from him, causing him to frown again.

“Holy fuck.”

I stare out at the seemingly endless rows of seats. They curve up in a dome that surrounds the stage from a full two hundred degrees.

I don’t know if I’m having the reaction Iri expected me to have, or what his reasoning was for bringing me here. But I feel kind of itchy. Strange. Kind of like I might puke.

This time tomorrow, it’ll be all over. One gig down and six more to go.

“This is my ritual before every big gig,” Iri says. “I like to come out on stage before it gets busy and loud. You lose sight of it when you’re caught in the moment.”

That’s pretty sweet .

Iri’s not exactly someone who’s easy to get to know. But this feels like he’s trying to open up and show me a part of himself no one else knows about.

However sweet the gesture is, I can’t pretend like the sight of this room is affecting me the same way. A surge of nerves overload me, blowing right past my internal dam. I’m sweating and the sight of the sheer number of seats in here is making me feel kind of dizzy.

A wall of exhaustion hits me and I want nothing more than to crawl into my bed. It’s been a long day.

“Thank you for showing me,” I say. “Do you mind if we head back to the hotel now?”

He nods, and it seems like I’ve surprised him. “Right. Yes. Sure.”

And something tells me tomorrow’s going to feel even longer.