Musician's Monsoon (12 page)

She would have protested, but she couldn’t…because he was right. Plus, at that precise moment, he reached up and took her face in his hands, and she was lost. She had missed his touch, missed his presence, missed everything about him.

“All the proceeds from ticket sales tonight are going directly to the arts and music program here at your school.”

She looked up at him and felt tears burn her eyes.

“In addition to that, I have an offer for you.” He pointed to the stage. “Over there are three musicians ready to put on a rock concert, but we’re minus a bass player. Now, we have Dan, the guitar tech, who is sufficient, but lacking in the stage presence department. Not to mention the fact that all of our fans keep asking for a certain woman with a natural ability to command the stage, regardless of what she tells herself.”

Sophie’s stomach rolled, and she stared up at him in both horror and intrigue at what he was about to say. Part of her rejoiced. Part of her was terrified.

His eyes softened and turned to a warm, smoldering emerald. “Sophie, I know you tell yourself that this isn’t what you want, that your life is safe while mine is too spontaneous and wild, but I know what I saw and what I experienced for the several days you were with us. I know you love this as much as I do. And aside from all that, having you around calms me, steadies me, gives me a bit of normalcy in my chaotic world. Perfect balance, remember?” He threaded his fingers through her hair and sighed. “If you crave this the same way I do, you have a place with us. I know it would be life altering, but we want you to be a part of Shadows Rising, and if you’re willing to take the leap, I promise I won’t let you fall. Trust me, Sophie. Please.”

She continued to stare because she didn’t know what else to do. He may as well have been speaking Swahili. All of this was so outlandish.

“If you decide that you don’t want this, it’s all right. I’m not going anywhere, and we can figure something out. But if you decide to listen to yourself, to that voice deep inside of you, and if you decide that you
can
trust me to make sure everything is all right…” He spanned his arm behind him to indicate the stage. “We’re waiting for you to take your place.” He leaned down and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to his lips, then left her there while he went back over to the others.

Sophie stood there, not knowing what to do and feeling more lost than she ever had. He was offering her a once in a lifetime opportunity. To be a member of her favorite band, to see the world, to play music every night of her life! To be with him…

But her students… She couldn’t leave them behind. Besides, what was she thinking? Was she out of her mind? She couldn’t just go off and become a rock musician in a metal band. She had obligations. She had a life here. It was silly to even entertain that thought. She was not the rock-star type. She was a teacher. She had gone to school to become a
teacher,
not a rock star.

She shook her head and tried to get a clue even while that meddlesome voice in her head was telling her that she was out of her mind for blowing this opportunity.
You want Zane, and you want some of the fun that life has to offer. It doesn’t mean you’re going to become a drug addict or an alcoholic. You can still be responsible, but be so doing something incredible that you never imagined you would get the chance to do! And you would be able to do it alongside the man you love!

Love? Wait,
love
? She couldn’t love Zane! Was she a complete lunatic? She barely knew the man!

She squashed that annoying voice, squared her shoulders and turned to her students. “Okay, guys, let’s go find a place to sit for the show.”

Elliott frowned. “You mean you’re not going to join the band?”

She snorted. “Of course not. I have a life already. Let’s go.” She tried to shoo them away, but he was having none of it.

“Ms. G!” he exclaimed. “Are you mental? Anyone would kill to have this opportunity!”

She frowned, not liking that her seventeen-year-old student was trying to lecture her. “Yeah, well, I’m not anyone. Now, come on. You couldn’t possibly understand where I’m coming from.”

His eyes narrowed and he folded his arms across his chest. “Yeah? Why, ’cause I’m only a teenager?” He scowled. “Well, I’m smart enough to know that all you ever do is preach to us about how, if we have a dream, we need to make it happen. We have to go for it or else we’ll regret it for the rest of our lives. We need determination and strength and blah blah blah. You go ahead and tell yourself that you already have a life and that’s why you’re giving up this amazing chance, but I know, and everyone else is going to know, what the real reason is.”

She frowned at him in question.

“The real reason is that you’re a total coward. You don’t have the balls to do it because it’s so foreign to you. Tell me something, Ms. G. How can you lecture us when you won’t even walk the walk yourself?”

Sophie felt like Elliott had socked her in the gut. He may as well have for the way all the air left her lungs. She felt nauseous for half a second as his words hit a place deep inside her heart she had been trying to run from. It was true. Everything he said was true. She hid behind her safe life because it was just that…safe. She had learned to rely on it. Zane and Shadows Rising was out of her comfort zone, foreign territory…dangerous.

She shot a glance toward the stage to where he was talking to Rhonda, and smiled as she remembered their bizarre and random meeting. Her cousin’s chest and one antenna ball later, and he’d swept her off her feet and into his world of music and adventure.

She had only intended to have the one adventure, but who was stopping her from having more? Only herself.

A slow smile curved her lips as she thought of ending each night with laughter and conversation with him, of immersing herself in a world full of creation and art. Maybe it wasn’t insane. Maybe it was like Zane had said…balance.

Suddenly, her doubt just stopped. It stopped fighting and stopped arguing, and she heard one thing from that inner voice loud and clear.

If you don’t do this, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Take a chance, Sophie. Maybe you’re not boring and plain. Maybe you’re a rock star.

She grinned and glanced over at her students, who were watching the internal monologue play across her face. They got the message because they started to laugh and applaud. She giggled, shook her head, and strode over toward the stage. When she got there, she jumped up on it and went to Zane. She touched his arm, and he turned to her with a knowing smirk on his wonderful lips.

“So, Sophie,” he said nonchalantly. “You ready to chase the storm?”

She smiled wickedly and grasped him behind the neck. “Ready when you are.” She brought his lips down on hers and claimed them in a fiery kiss that set her whole world ablaze. When she pulled back, they stared into one another’s eyes for a moment while the gym full of people shouted and cheered. She saw her future in those green eyes, and wasn’t frightened by the possibilities.

Matt handed her a bass guitar, winked at her, and she slipped the instrument over her shoulders. She sighed, feeling like she’d come home. She went over to her side of the stage, waited while everyone got situated, and caught Zane’s eye when Billy did a four count on his drum sticks to indicate the start of the show.

He grinned at her, and her insides melted. She knew she had made the right choice. Every part of her welcomed and embraced this new part of her life. No longer plain, boring Sophie. Now, she was Sophie Storm.

She smiled to herself.
Let’s do this thing.

She played the first dynamic bass riff of the first song, and every piece of her world fell into place, then ignited like lightning and thunder.