He looked out at the fans, but could only see the first few rows due to the stage lighting. A great crowd. Fists in the air, heads banging, mouths voicing the lyrics. When the crowd was pumped up, the band was pumped up and they always gave a better show. Too bad Brian kept getting distracted by Myrna in his peripheral vision. He probably should have let her interview the groupies tonight. As horny as he was, he would have had a hard time concentrating even if she hadn’t been standing there. Trey bumped up against him to gain his attention and nodded toward the end of the stage, opposite where Brian normal y played. Brian nodded in agreement. Over there, he couldn’t see Myrna, but she’d stil be able to see him. He headed across the stage. When it was time for Brian’s solo, Sed turned toward Trey, shook his head in confusion, and located Brian to his right side. He made a gesture as if to say “what the f**k are you doing over there,” but shrugged and moved to the back of the stage to stand next to Jace. Trey switched Brian’s amp for him with a pedal on the floor and entered the second half of the solo where they dueled. They met in the middle of the stage as they did every show, strumming each other’s guitars, which took extreme concentration. Tonight, Brian found himself facing Myrna directly. When she raised her fist in the air and cheered for them excitedly, he missed a long series of notes. Trey laughed at him and shook his head. Shit! Some fan with a video cel phone was sure to post that flub on the internet. Brian just had to pretend she wasn’t there and he should be able to get through the next nine songs. His plan worked fairly wel until the rest of the band left the stage so he could play his recently composed solos. The solos he’d written while making love to Myrna. He usual y tried to get the crowd pumped up at this point, but tonight, he decided to just play. They’d either respond on their own or they wouldn’t. Selfish of him? Maybe.
He stepped up to Sed’s mic in the center of the stage. “I’ve been writing a lot of new music lately,” he said. “I’m going to play a little for you now. You’l be hearing variations of it on the new album.” He paused. “Which should be out early next year.”
The crowd roared their enthusiasm. Brian closed his eyes and let his fingers find their own way. He al owed his mind to drift back in time to the moment he original y composed this solo. The memory was so distinct, he could feel Myrna’s warmth, smel her skin, and hear her uneven breathing in his ear. It wasn’t until he reached the end, and Trey appeared at his side, that he heard the crowd.
“Are you trying to steal the show, Master Sinclair?” Trey asked.
Brian put his hand over the microphone. “Actual y, I wish it was already over.”
Trey grinned at him and pushed his hand aside so he could talk into the mic. “I think Master Sinclair is more worked up than normal, don’t you? I mean, where the f**k did that come from? Amazing.” Trey paused, his eyes scanning the crowd. “The ladies are looking especial y sexy tonight, don’t you think so, Sinclair?”
“Lady Sinners are always sexy.”
“You know what I think he needs?” Trey said. “A couple dozen bras to work him up even more. What do you say, Lady Sinners?
Do you want to help him out?”
“I’m good, thanks.” Brian glanced over his shoulder at Myrna. She was laughing as the bras began to fly onto the stage. Within a minute, every size, style and color of bra imaginable littered the stage at his feet. Several young women, perched on the shoulders of their boyfriends, lifted their shirts to show off their bare br**sts. He hoped Myrna continued to be okay with this. He had to play along now. Brian retrieved a red lace bra from the stage and hung it on the end of his guitar.
Trey picked up a leopard print bra. “Who does this sexy thing belong to?” he asked, dangling it from one finger. A girl situated several people behind the barrier started to scream excitedly and jump up and down. They couldn’t hear her on the stage, but her wild gesticulations made it obvious that the bra was hers.
“Can I borrow this, sweetheart?” Trey asked. He draped it on the end of his guitar. “You can pick it up after the show in person. I’l help you put it back on.”
The young woman unexpectedly dipped out of sight. People in the crowd lifted her, now unconscious, and passed her to the front of the crowd over the barrier.
“Damn, Trey, you made her faint.”
“Sorry about that. They just can’t handle my sex appeal.” He smoothed one eyebrow with the side of his finger. Brian snorted with laughter. “Apparently, they’ve never seen you passed out with your head in a toilet.”
The guys in the audience hol ered their approval.
Sed appeared between them and looped an arm around each of their shoulders. “Are you f**kers going to talk al night or are you going to play some music?”
“I guess we can play our new dueling solo,” Brian said. “Do you want to hear it?” he asked the crowd. “It’s up to you. We can col ect bras al night as far as I’m concerned.”
He glanced over his shoulder at Myrna again. She was stil smiling at his antics. God, he loved her. Perfect. She was absolutely perfect.
A few more bras landed on the stage. The girls flashing their br**sts had the guys in the crowd worked into a frenzy. Brian leaned closer to Trey to speak to him without the microphone picking up their conversation. “I hope you’re ready to play the new dueling solo live.”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t want you to be the only one to f**k up in front of ten thousand people tonight.”
Brian grinned at him. “Try to keep up.”
Sed hung several bras on his mic stand. “I’m saving these for later,” he said, and then moved to the side of the stage and stood next to Myrna. Brian saw him wrap an arm around her shoulders and plant a kiss on her temple. He also saw her deliver a wel -placed elbow to Sed’s ribs. Knowing Myrna could hold her own against Sedric Lionheart’s libido, Brian forced his attention back to the task at hand.
He started the solo and paused while Trey echoed him. He repeated the string of notes an octave higher and up-tempo. Trey fol owed him with no problem. Down an octave and faster. Trey stil kept up without missing a note. In reverse and faster stil . Every time Trey made it through a segment, the crowd’s noise level intensified. Faster and faster they dueled until Trey’s echoes were blending with Brian’s lead. Trey leaned against his back and instead of dueling, they played in harmony. When the last note rang from the speakers, the crowd erupted into cheers.