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PREQUEL IN THE SOUTH SERIES
Victoria Gutierrez is about to start college, along with moving into her new home with her mother.
She is all set.
All she has to do now is get a part-time job, and get by on her classes.
It doesn't hurt to let off some steam by hanging out with her cousin, Gabe, more often. Gabe is in a band, so also spending time with the other band members is a given, right?
Especially with one in particular...
Victoria truly has a good life.
Simple, yet engaging.
Until her life irrevocably changes.
She thought her and her mother would finally be able to recreate themselves. Start living. Spend time with family and make new friends, but some things are just not that easy.
Every family has its own faults. This family, however, just happens to have some pretty significant ones.
Lies are told and secrets get exposed...
And not only does it include Victoria and Gabe, but also Gabe's best friend and band mate, Keanu, who is the lead singer. Too bad her immediate impression of him didn't last...
Victoria and her family need to make sense of everything soon or it is all going to break apart, indefinitely.
Victoria Gutierrez is about to start college, along with moving into her new home with her mother.
She is all set.
All she has to do now is get a part-time job, and get by on her classes.
It doesn't hurt to let off some steam by hanging out with her cousin, Gabe, more often. Gabe is in a band, so also spending time with the other band members is a given, right?
Especially with one in particular...
Victoria truly has a good life.
Simple, yet engaging.
Until her life irrevocably changes.
She thought her and her mother would finally be able to recreate themselves. Start living. Spend time with family and make new friends, but some things are just not that easy.
Every family has its own faults. This family, however, just happens to have some pretty significant ones.
Lies are told and secrets get exposed...
And not only does it include Victoria and Gabe, but also Gabe's best friend and band mate, Keanu, who is the lead singer. Too bad her immediate impression of him didn't last...
Victoria and her family need to make sense of everything soon or it is all going to break apart, indefinitely.
:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･
Excerpt
My eyes continue scanning the myriad of people that showed up, whether it was for the show or not, everyone seems pumped for tonight. Everyone is basically feeding off of each other's energy, causing the entire place to surge with adrenaline and sweat.
At the corner of my eye, I spy the bartender come with my drink. Damn, that was pretty fast. I didn't think I'd get it so quickly. If it's ass-to-pelvis everywhere else, then it's elbow-to-elbow here at the bar counter.
"Thanks."
I'm pretty sure he didn't hear me with the crowd and all, but I could make out his grin and perfectly aligned white teeth in the very dim lighting. I could've sworn I saw him wink at me before tending to another person waving a twenty in his face.
I take a sip and another glance, expectantly at the closed curtains. Knowing that Gabe and the rest of the guys are behind them. Checking everything that needs to be checked before the curtains open, signaling their time to start playing on stage.
Already, I start to hear some people chant their band name, urging them to hurry up and come out since it's real close to show time. As I am about to take another drink, somebody bumps into my shoulder, causing me to spill the beverage all over my leg.
Son of a bitch.
I felt somewhat lucky that I'm wearing black skinny jeans, so it won't be that noticeable. However, I'm not lucky enough. I'll still be able to feel the wetness of it and its sticky residue, which is just peachy.
I then feel a hand on my shoulder and hear someone speak into my ear, so that I'm able to hear them over the crowd. "I am so sorry, let me get you another drink." I turn and watch the guy dash off into the sea of gyrating fiends before I get the chance to say anything.
Well so much for that drink, I thought.
Waiting for the performance to begin, I start to get excited again. The downside of my new stain and the soon-to-be sticky leg leave the forefront of my mind as the drummer behind the curtain does a quick sound check on his set. Once he's done, riffs from a guitar surge throughout the speakers, and then I hear another session of chords play out from another guitar. Now the band is playing all together and checking their sound.
I turn back and face the bar to ask the bartender for a dish towel or some napkins to dry myself a bit. My lips part slightly and my eyelids blink in recognition. The bartender from before is gone, in his place is the same guy who offered to get me another drink.
Before I get the chance to call him out, the buzz from the crowd immediately shoots up, causing a frenzy. The reason being is that the heavy velvet curtains opened and revealed four figures up on the sad excuse of a stage. Turns out that those women were on point. All I see is them.
What was I saying about the stage again?
The atmosphere changed almost instantly. The bassist with colored eyes looks like he belongs on the beach somewhere catching a few waves, Gabe is the guitarist so I won't go into too much detail about him, but even I have to admit he looks bad-ass up there. The singer isn't up there yet so the next guy that got my attention was the drummer. His banging skills were on point, extremely talented that guy is, although I'm pretty sure that wasn't what that girl behind me was gushing about.
I suddenly hear one girl shriek so loud above the rest of the crowd, "OH MY GOD, THERE HE IS!" Almost immediately, girls begin to scream high-pitch. That group behind me began jumping up and down and trying to push forward to get a closer look. I finally lift my gaze to the guy that just sauntered onto the stage with a guitar draped along his back and a microphone in hand.
His camera-ready smile turns into a seductive grin, "Evening." Everything went on mute for me, but in the back of my mind, I know the crowd's cheer just went way louder after he greeted them. I fixated on at those familiar pearly whites for a while until some other facial feature caught my attention. He has two dimples, one on each cheek. My blazing stare draws down, languidly, past his beautifully structured jaw, to his virile, expansive chest. The way his plain black t-shirt just stuck to his physique in all the right places... The dark material makes his vibrant green eyes stand out nicely.
The longer I look the more hot I feel. Licks of heat run up my back and spread into my cheeks. I'm flushed.
I was a goner. Sucker punched in a way that left me breathless as he continued to talk to the crowd and introduce the band members. Usually people get annoyed when a band doesn't play right away, but he seemed to be relaxed up there, like having a normal conversation and taking his sweet time.
When he began to sing the first song of the night, his voice pulled me in to a vortex and held me captive. There was no way I could've fallen so quickly, so unexpectedly. His voice had me in awe, the way he sang didn't so much as take away from the other band members' playing, but in a way complimented them all. So that when they all came together, it was like having a tidal wave wash over and take you to wherever you dared to desire.
This was all too surreal.
During their breaks in-between songs, he mostly sweet-talked the ladies and gave them seductive looks as if saying 'Meet me after the show' or 'I want you here and now'. I wouldn't be surprised if every single woman here would do anything, and I mean anything, to have a night or two with him, or any of the others. Except for Gabe because he's butt ugly.
I'm really starting to wonder why they aren't even signed yet. People at record labels and agencies would have to be blind not to be able to see stardom in their image and sound. These guys could really hit it big and be set for life if they really wanted it.
One of their songs they played was a ballad and a part of the song was acoustic. They had the spotlight on just the singer, and the other guys ceased to play. He was on a stool and for the first time that night, brought around his guitar and strung a few cords.
That moment was not lost on him, I'm sure.
I could tell the difference from when he's having fun and teasing the crowd with gestures and stuff. This time, it was just him and his guitar. His eyelids were closed shut, and he sang from the heart. When that serene moment was over, the crowd practically roared their enjoyment and excitement. His gaze flickered all around, as if searching the crowd. He glanced toward the bar and where I was sitting, but that quickly ended and moved on to other parts of the crowd his eyes haven't covered yet. That was supposed to be the last song of the night, but it was obvious that everybody wanted an encore. They played two more, then they came to an end. They walked off stage, but not before high-fiving the people that were right in front of the stage and waving bye to the rest of the crowd.
I turned in my seat to face the bar and came face to face with the bartender and another drink.
Some of the house lights went back on after the show, so I was able to get a good look at the bartender that bumped into me. Before I could say anything, he throws a rag at me.
"For your leg, it's probably feeling sticky right about now," people began yelling their drink orders left and right, now that there's nobody to watch on stage, not allowing me to voice out my thanks so I nod.
:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･｡,★゜･:*:･
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