“I’m…a huge fan,” she says over the roaring crowd. She’s pretty. Short, curvy, tanned skin, and long, pastel peach hair. A tattooed arm snakes around her waist and tugs her back. She elbows the terrifying man playfully before turning back to me. “I just wanted to say good luck, and…I’m glad you’re okay.”
“What?” My brow furrows, but Asher says my name to get my attention.
“You’re up, Bug. We gotta go.”
“O-okay, but—” I turn back to the girl, but I find that she’s gone, along with her scary boyfriend.
“What?” Asher shouts over the crowd.
I glance around again, feeling confused by the entire brief encounter. “Never mind. Let’s go.”
CREED
The energy of the crowd is everything that I’ve been missing tonight. I’ve been worried that the turnout wouldn’t be quite what we expected, despite the arena being sold out. Every person here tonight has been losing their minds.
Three separate times they’ve chanted for solos, especially from Riley. Every time we’d calm the crowd, they’d start up again, begging for Collins to come out and perform. She was a fucking trooper and made one appearance in the middle of the show and completely freestyled a routine to go with Riley’s song.
Fans went nuts and started a whole new chant that I could easily get behind.
“KISS! KISS! KISS!”
So kiss them, I did.
No shame, tongue and all.
We could hardly keep them satisfied after that. They’ve been needy, and honestly, it’s feeding my soul. I’d turned thirty in December, and a part of me wondered if it was time to slow down and think about retiring, but I fucking love writing music and performing.
Collins was quick to shut that shit down when I’d brought it up to her and Riley one night. So as long as people out there love my music, I’ll continue to entertain.
The gang wheels out my piano as the last notes ofMalevolent Melodiesring out, and the cheers are so loud that my ears start to hum.
I settle behind the keys and test out a chord progression. The tenderness of the music quiets the audience as I play the intro toTheirs.
It’s the debut for the song, andfuck meif it doesn’t sound even better live on a grand stage than it does in a studio. Something about how every note echoes and trails around the arena that makes Riley’s song as big as it deserves to be and emotional enough to bring the crowd to their knees.
Riley insisted that I sing the song for the recorded track, but tonight, they get a surprise.
“This is the first time we’ll be performing this song, and we hope you love it,” I say into the mic as I play. “You know,” I smile, looking out at the sea of bodies that are listening and clinging to my every word. “Theirswas written by one of the best humans ever to grace this planet.” They get a little louder. “And I think it’s only fair that he be the one to sing it for you tonight. What do you think?”
The crowd explodes with cheers as a blue, glowing spotlight finds Riley. He grabs the mic from the stand in front of him and steps down from his raised drum set, waving at the fans.
“What is a song without its muses?” he says into the microphone, shocking all of the fans.
Not many people have heard him speak since he used to skip the signings. All of their interviews had been intimate and transcribed into written articles, so really, this is their first time hearing theSinful Saintspeak.
Every single person out here tonight completely loses their minds with screams and cheers, crying and jumping as people cling to one another.
Ri has also never sung onstage before, so tonight marks his debut of sorts as well. He holds out his hand, a silent invitation for Collins to join us. The decibels increase dramatically as the spotlight finds her. She smiles brightly, her jade eyes glittering far more than the sparkles that adorn her cheeks. She left her hair down for tonight’s performance. It’s gotten so long that her strands brush the top of her perfectly sculpted ass with every step she takes. Her fingers intertwine with Riley’s as he leads her over to my piano.
The crowd whoops and rallies when he lifts her, perching her on the edge, then leans into her.
There’s something special about listening to Riley Graves sing. My boy has talent that comes in spades. For so long, he kept so much of it hidden. Taught himself that if nobody could see him, nobody could hurt him. It’s safe to say that the world is in love with Riley. Even before he’d become more of an open book, they loved him.
Now that he’s sharing the beautiful gift of his voice with the world, there will be no stopping the way that love for him will grow.
Though no-fucking-body will ever love him as much as Collins and I do. That’s a goddamned promise. Listening to him sing his song to Collins and to me, I can feel myself sinking deeper into that love, warming it until it solidifies around my heart and forever becomes a part of me. I’m going to marry both of them one day. There’s no doubt about that.
Riley smiles as he belts the chorus, gingerly brushing the tears from Collins’ eyes, and the people listen, completely enraptured by the smooth, smoky cadence of Riley’s voice. I join him in harmony, but keep my voice quiet, so I don’t overpowerhim. This is his song, through and through, and it deserves to be told by him.
