The muffled sound of laughter, drowned out by the music, makes it obvious I failed. She smiled up at me as I glared down at her. “Don’t you dare say anything,” I grumble.
“Yes Alpha,” She says teasingly. “Where are we heading?”
“There is a sectioned-off area next to the stage,” I start guiding her away from the bar. “It’s for the musicians performing tonight, but I’m allowed to bring a plus one.”
The music drowns out anything she might have said in response as we make our way over to another security guy checking stamps. He nods for us to go in, and I quickly scan the area, looking for an open table. Spotting one closer to the front, I start leading Savvy in that direction. At least I can keep an eye on her while I’m on stage performing.
She plops down in the seat facing the stage, and I drag mine so it’s next to hers. I need to be close to her right now, but I also want to see the other acts perform. There are a few guys on stage, the lead singer belting out the lyrics to Mr. Brightside by The Killers. They sound really good, and I start to get nervous about my own set.
I start doing the thing I always do, running through everything that could go wrong tonight, working myself into a panic. I only get one song tonight, and if I fuck up, I have to wait another year to perform here. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to perform in front of all these people. You’d think wanting to be a musician would mean I would be okay performing in front of people, but nope. I hate it. Like I said, for the most part, I avoid people.
I look at the exit, wondering how rude it would be to just bail, when Savvy stands up from her seat and drops down on my lap, wrapping her arms around me.
“You smell stressed,” She whispers in my ear. “Are you getting in your head again Ollie?”
“I can’t do this,” I admit to her, feeling defeated. “I’m going to freeze when I get up there and do something to embarrass myself. I think I’m just going to go find the host and tell him I’m pul-”
She holds her finger to my lips to shush me. “Don’t you dare do that. Even if you fuck up and it doesn’t go as well as you hoped, you’ll hate yourself for not trying Oliver.”
“I’m scared, Savvy; I know that’s not very alpha of me, but fuck, I’m terrified. This means more than anything to me. If I fuck it up-”
“If you fuck it up you fuck it up,” She shrugs. “I promise if I see you’re struggling I’ll do something to help. Or cause a major distraction so no one even remembers you.” She cups my cheek with her hand, and I can’t help leaning into it, letting her soothe me.
“You’d do that for me Little Ember?” The nickname slips out, but it suits her. She is a small spark lighting up my dying fire.
“I like that nickname,” she breathes out before leaning down and gently brushing her lips to mine. “Yes Ollie, I mean it. I will have your back if you promise to go up there and give it your best shot.”
She goes to get off my lap, but I tighten my arms around her, nowhere close to ready for her to leave. She leans back, resting her head on my shoulder, and I breathe in her scent. Omegas release pheromones to calm their alphas when they are stressed. I’m pretty sure that’s what Savvy is currently doing, but I don’t dare ask. Instead, I sit back, enjoying the performances happening on stage, but mostly, just enjoying the feel of Savvy wrapped in my arms.
Two more acts are performed before a club employee comes over to let me know I’m up in five minutes. I give Savvy’s hip a squeeze. “Will you be okay here on your own?” I whisper in her ear.
She leans in, placing a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. “For luck.” She says shyly.
I grab the back of her head, pulling her closer until my lips brush hers. “For luck,” I repeat the words back to her.
I reluctantly let Savvy get off my lap, wishing I could carry her on stage and hold her while performing. It would make playing my guitar hard, but I’d find a way.
“You better get going Ollie,” She holds out her hand, pulling me to my feet. “I’ll be the crazy girl right in front cheering you on. Don’t picture the audience naked if you get nervous, it never works.” She shudders at the thought, and I let out a small laugh.
“Okay, don’t picture the audience naked. Got it.”
“Find me in the crowd, and if you get nervous or freeze up, just keep looking at me okay? No one else exists or matters. Just you and me.” I stare into her eyes, wondering how I can tell her she is all that mattersto me already without coming off as a creep. They say things move fast when an alpha meets their scent match, but I’ve only known her for a couple of hours. How is it possible to be attached to someone so soon? Just the thought of not being close to her, touching her, is killing me.
I swallow down the words I want to say, instead pulling her into a quick hug before taking a step back. “I’ll see you after Savvy.”
I turn around, forcing myself to walk away from my little ember. If I stay any longer I know I’ll never leave her side.
Daniel Nash gestures for me to come over when I make it backstage. He is chatting with a group of guys, who look like they are musicians, the only thing missing is their instruments,
“Hey Kid, are you ready to wow the crowd?” Daniel wraps his arm around my shoulder before turning to one of the guys he was chatting to. “This is the guy I was telling you about, Hale. The sample he sent was fire. I can’t wait to hear him live.”
Hale, who was closer to seven feet tall than six tall, grunts a greeting and holds out his hand to shake mine. “Nash doesn’t throw compliments out left and right; we’re excited to see your set.”
“Mr. Nash is just being polite,” I feel a blush creeping up my neck. “I’ll be surprised if I don’t get laughed off stage before I’m halfway through.”
A guy around my height with wavy brown hair barks out a laugh. “Dude, I’m dying! Did you just call him Mr. Nash?”
“Uh-”
