Amanda Weaver Always (epub)

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.And that was Dillon.His lyrics, his music, his soul.For nearly an hour she stood transfixed, not laughing or dancing, barely even moving.She was glad she’d come alone tonight.There was no one between her and this music.After the show, she pushed through the edges of the crowd, heading against the flow of people streaming toward the exit.Next to the steel door with the unassuming “Stage Door” sign taped to it, a monstrously large man was perched on a too-small wooden stool, arms crossed in a preemptive refusal of entrance to anyone who might approach.A smile and a wave of her backstage pass got her a disinterested once-over and he shifted just enough to open the door for her.With a murmured “thanks” she slipped inside.The hallway was packed with people.Stagehand types with credentials on lanyards around their necks rushed back and forth while assorted visitors and hangers-on leaned against the walls, sipping beers, chatting and laughing.Nobody looked in her direction.The hallway extended a good thirty feet, with several rooms opening off it and another hallway branching off to the right at the end.She had no idea where to find Dillon in the tangle of rooms and people.Without a better plan, she pretended she knew exactly what she was doing and headed down the hallway, looking surreptitiously to either side for any glimpse of him.She caught a glimpse of Rocky, hard to miss with all the ink and metal, leaning against the wall, talking to some girl.She raised a hand and smiled, wondering if he’d remember their brief meeting at all.He did, smiling in the same disarming, friendly way he had at the bar.“Hey,” he called out.“It’s Justine, right?”“Yeah, Justine.And you’re Rocky.”“Got me,” he said with another smile.“And this is…” He looked at the girl next to him, his expression going blank.She blinked at him.Her mascara had smudged under her eyes and her mouth was slightly slack.She was wasted, maybe that’s why she didn’t take offense when Rocky forgot her name.“Stephanie,” she said.“Right, this is Stephanie.”Justine forced a smile, ignoring the faintly hostile stare the girl sent back.She was used to territorial backstage girls.It didn’t bother her because they always failed to realize there was no competition.Justine might have been a girl hanging out backstage, but she was no groupie.She would never be one, and she had little respect for the fame-whoring girls who would do literally anything to ingratiate themselves with a bunch of rockers who usually couldn’t tell one from another.She turned back to Rocky.“Hey, have you seen Dillon?” she asked, as casually as she could manage.“He asked me to come back and meet him.”Rocky’s friendly smile slipped slightly and he glanced away.“Um, he’s around here somewhere.”“Well, where’s the green room? I’ll start there.”“It’s at the end of the hall, but I don’t think he’s in there.I saw him with Ash a little while ago.”“Um, okay.I guess I’ll keep an eye out for him then,” Justine said, knowing Rocky was deflecting, but not clear why.Maybe he thought she was bullshitting about Dillon inviting her and thought she was another desperate fangirl.“It was nice seeing you again.”“You too,” Rocky said, now sounding sincere and looking straight at her.“And I didn’t get a chance to tell you the other night, but you freaking killed it at your show.”“Oh.Thanks.”“Seriously.Your voice, it’s epic.”Now Justine’s smile was genuine.“Thank you.I’m glad you guys had a good time.I guess I’ll see you?”“Yeah, I hope so.See you around.”She left him with the openly-glaring Stephanie and kept moving down the hall.A large room opened off to the right that appeared to be the green room.Although it was full of people laughing and drinking, none of them were Dillon.Rounding the corner at the end of the hall, she found herself at the dressing rooms.The first door had Rocky and JD’s name taped to it and further down, she spotted one labeled for Ash and Dillon.That door was closed and a twenty-something hipster on his phone seemed to be standing guard.“You need something?” he asked when Justine stopped at the door.“Yeah, I’m here to see Dillon.He asked me to come back.” She lifted her backstage pass as proof.“Hang on,” he said into his phone before turning back to her.“I think there’s two in there already.You can go in if you want, but you might have to wait.”“Wait for what?” she asked as he reached in front of her to open the door.The first thing she saw as the door swung open was Ash, his long, lithe body sprawled in an armchair, his head tipped back, and a girl’s head in his lap, bobbing energetically up and down.Justine flushed with embarrassment and was about to take a step back when the door opened wider, revealing Dillon leaning against the far wall, eyes closed, another girl plastered up against him.He held a beer in one hand and the other rested loosely on her hip.She was kissing his neck and her hand was on his thigh.She looked seconds away from dropping to her knees to do for him what her friend was already doing for Ash.“Just hang in the corner or something,” the guy at the door said, waving her in.“That’s okay,” Justine snapped.“I think I’m in the wrong place.”As soon as she spoke, Dillon’s eyes opened and his head whipped up.When he registered Justine, standing still as stone in the doorway, he pushed the girl back.She stumbled and laughed.“Justine—” he started, but she held up a hand to cut him off.“Don’t let me interrupt.”Now Ash had opened his eyes.“Hey, it’s you! Come on in!” he slurred.The girl working him over never paused.Justine felt sick.“Not my kind of party,” she muttered, then turned away from the scene and marched back down the hall the way she’d come.She knew—she knew—what these guys were like.They were all the same.They wanted one thing and girls were just a means to that end.She knew it, but there was still a lead weight of disappointment settling in her chest.Her face was flushed with anger and embarrassment [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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