Only The Beginning (Rockin' Country) (5 page)

“Hannah.”

She glanced up as she heard her name and saw Garrett walking towards her. “Hey,” she smiled as she walked up to him. It wasn’t awkward at all as he put his arms around her. Instead, it felt right to put her own arms around his waist and squeeze tightly. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Thanks for coming. And thanks for wearing that shirt,” he grinned. “Turn around; I’m interested to see how you handled the back.”

He really was hoping to corrupt her, she realized. “I think you’ll find that I have a pretty sharp mind.” She turned to let him see the rest of her outfit.

“You are good,” he told her as he put his hand at her waist. “I do have to admit, I’m glad you’re not the type of woman to be showing her bra on the first date.”

She couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, so she just chose not to comment. “Did you see all the comments I got on my Instagram? I know you follow me,” she teased.

“I did. C’mon, let’s take a picture together and let me put it up. That way I can be popular too. Who knows, maybe I’ll be popular enough that someone by the name of Harmony will follow me,” his dimples were prominent as he grinned, teasing her.

“Fine, I’ll follow you if you tag me in it.” She rolled her eyes.

“You roll your eyes, but I know you do want to follow me.”

“You’re so right. It will completely make my life,” she told him dryly.

He pulled her close and posed with his head against hers, taking the picture quickly. “I didn’t realize you had such a sense of humor.”

“I don’t get to be dry a lot of the time. People expect me to be perky, happy, almost cheerleader happy, Harmony all the time. Hannah though, Hannah is a little darker, a little more dry, but I’m usually a pretty happy woman. It’s not much of a stretch, but I have moments just like everyone else does,” she shrugged.

“People seem to think we should always be on all the time, just because of what we chose to do for a living. I’m with you. Sometimes I can’t smile. Sometimes I’ve been up for almost two days straight and I haven’t had a shower and I just want to be alone.”

“I hope this isn’t one of those times you’ve gone a few days without a shower,” she pulled back slightly from him.

“Ha ha.”

“Garrett, we’re going on.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowds and maze of people as they made their way to where they would take the stage. “I had hoped we would have a little bit more time together before the show, but it is what it is,” he said by way of apology as he put in his inner ear monitors.

“Believe me, I understand. Is it okay if I stand back here?” she asked.

“Very. I hope you enjoy,” he told her as he went out on stage.

There were flames and flash bangs, and then there was the roar of the crowd. Above all of that, she heard the smooth tone of Garrett’s voice. “How the fuck you doin’ Nashville?” he asked the crowd. They answered him with loud screams. “I hope you’re ready to have a good time tonight.”

Hannah observed the concert through the eyes of someone who did this for a living but also someone who loved to see other people perform. The band was a well-oiled machine. They knew what worked well for them, and they knew exactly how to play off one another to get the desired response from the audience. At some point, Garrett had taken his shirt off and thrown it into the audience. She realized he had more tattoos than she originally thought, but rather than turning her off like she figured would happen, she loved them. His skin was red and wet with the flush of heat from the lights of the stage making the tattoos stand out in sharp relief. Another thing she hadn’t anticipated was how muscular he really was. His biceps were huge, his ab muscles cut. Hannah knew almost immediately that she was way out of her league, and she wondered exactly how she was going to be able to keep up a friendship with this man. He was something completely different than what she was used to. In a moment of uncertainty, she texted those exact words to Shell.

Almost immediately, Shell texted back. “Different can be good. You won’t know until you try.”

Maybe her friend had a point, Hannah rationalized. You didn’t ever know anything until you gave it a shot.

Lifting her head up and giving the stage her full attention, she noticed they had slowed things down and they all now sat on stools. A few members of the band had what looked like acoustic guitars in their hands. The melody was familiar as they started to play, and she had to smile. It was one of her favorite songs. She loved the tone of Garrett’s voice on this one. As he started to sing, he glanced over and saw her mouthing the words in the wings of the stage.

“Would it be alright if a friend of mine came out to help?” he asked the crowd, over the sound of the guitars.

They answered with another loud scream.

“C’mon out Harmony Stewart. Show this crowd how a country girl can rock.”

She took a deep breath as she stepped out there. This was either the best or worst idea she had ever had in her life.

*  *  *

H
annah walked out onto the stage, a smile plastered on her face. This was part of her persona, the ability to be cool under pressure. Never before had she relied on the Harmony part of her personality so heavily. This crowd, out of any she had performed for, made her nervous. She had been handed a mic before she’d walked out from the shadows. “How’s everybody doing?” Her voice seemed so small amongst this room, but she had performed at this arena numerous times, and there was no reason she should be feeling this way. She had sold it out the last time.

“Give her a hand,” Garrett instructed the crowd.

It was less enthusiastic than Black Friday’s welcome had been, but at least she didn’t hear any boos and that was something. She looked around, wondering if she was supposed to stand there or if there was another stool sitting somewhere. Just as she was about to ask, the guy she recognized as Train slapped Garrett on the arm.

“Dude, you’re slippin’. You invite a beautiful woman out here on stage—wearing a ‘Reaper’s Girl’ shirt that I might add goes on sale next week at our webstore—and you don’t even give her a place to sit. Hang on sweetheart, I gotcha,” he said as he got up off his stool and walked over to the wings and grabbed another.

The crowd booed and yelled at Garrett. “Now, don’t turn on me,” he told them. “I wasn’t sure she’d accept my invitation.”

“Likely story,” she said quietly in her own mic.

The guys laughed along with the expressive crowd.

“Wow, I see how it is now.” He rubbed his hand along his jean-clad thighs. “Invite a woman out to the show to try and impress her, and it’s ruined by not offering her a seat. I’ll have to remember that.”

She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was teasing, but Hannah couldn’t help but respond. “I accept gifts as expressions of apology. Carnations are my favorite flower, and anything coconut will make me forgive you on the spot.”

Train, who had brought the stool out and sat it next to his, clapped the empty spot. “C’mon and sit next to me. I know how to treat a woman.”

Hannah giggled as she walked past Garrett and had a seat next to the other man. She crossed her legs and looked up at the guitar player. “Hopefully, he took notes from you,” she grinned.

“Hopefully, he did…actually he always does. I’ve been getting him laid since 1997.” The crowd roared as Train held his arms up in a victorious gesture. “That’s really my claim to fame. Has nothing to do with this band.”

Garrett cleared his throat. “If we’re done talking about me like I’m not here. The reason I invited Harmony out was for her to sing. So whatcha say? You want to sing with me?”

An immediate blush covered her cheeks. She normally didn’t sing with other people, and this felt so intimate compared to anything she had ever done before. The truth, however, was that she wanted to. She wanted to sing with him badly. “I’d love to. As long as you continue with
Lonely Road
.” That was the song that had gotten her interested in the band. It sounded more country than rock, but the lyrics were so heartfelt that Black Friday fans loved it just the same.

“Then that’s the one we’ll do,” he grinned. “As long as it’s okay with the kids,” he gestured to the audience.

They were met again with loud screams. “I think they’re good with it,” she told him.

Train began the opening chords to the tamest song they did. There was nothing hard rock about it, but it was a haunting ballad about leaving a loved one behind. It could be interpreted many ways—whether the being alone was because of touring, a job, or death. Whatever the original cause for writing the song had been, she loved it. Hannah’s voice wasn’t as strong as Garrett’s, but she was a very good harmonizer, and she harmonized perfectly with him as they shared the chorus and alternated on the verses of the song. Everyone in the room probably figured they had sung it with each other before—that was how effortlessly it came across. When they were done, Harmony stood up and took a small bow before waving enthusiastically at the crowd. She thanked the band and turned to Garrett, keeping the microphone down next to her leg so that it wouldn’t pick up what she was saying.

“Thanks for inviting me out here, it’s been pretty awesome,” she told him, looking back out at the crowd.

He leaned down; hugging her like he would do with anyone else that had come out to sing with his band. “It was my pleasure. Enjoy the rest of the show, and I’ll see you in a bit.”

As she went back to where she had been watching the show earlier, she didn’t miss the fluttery feeling in her stomach. It had been a long time since she had felt that way from one little touch from a man. She knew from past experience that this could either be the best thing ever or it could end badly. The last time may have ended badly, but like Shell had said, you never knew until you gave it a try.

*     *     *

The dressing room area for Black Friday was decidedly different than her dressing room area was. Lots of people milled around, many of them women. Most of those women had little to no clothing on, and it made Hannah a little uncomfortable.

“We haven’t met.”

Hannah looked up and saw the lead guitarist, Train, standing in front of her. “We haven’t, but I wanted to thank you for the seat out there. I’m Hannah.”

“Not a problem,” he told her, holding out his hand. “Sorry I’m sweaty. I figure you’re used to it. Jared.”

“So you’re not really Train, and he’s not really Reaper. If people knew that your real names were so normal, they might not find you so fascinating,” she teased.

“Like Hannah is so much more exciting.”

“You got me there,” she laughed. It didn’t escape her that Garrett hadn’t made his way to this room, and she looked behind Jared’s shoulder.

“He got stopped by the local rock station. He’s giving a quick interview, and he’ll be here in just a few minutes.”

She blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“Honey, I don’t think you could ever be purposely rude.”

“No,” Hannah shook her head. “I can. I don’t like to, but I can. Sometimes you have to protect yourself from people who want to take advantage of you.”

Jared immediately liked this girl. She had a smart head on her shoulders, but she had a naivety that maybe Garrett needed. Especially since he had expressed boredom with the way their lives were going.

“You got that right. You have to look out for you. Nobody else in this business is going to do it for you. It took us a long time to realize that.”

Hands clamped on Jared’s shoulders, and she saw Garrett’s face. “Stop monopolizing her time,” he chided.

“I’m just keeping her preoccupied while you fuck around with the radio stations. Can’t leave a woman that looks like her alone backstage, somebody will scoop her up if you aren’t careful.”

Garrett sighed. “Just go drink some whiskey and find a groupie.”

Jared laughed loudly. “I love getting under your skin.” He turned to Hannah. “It was very nice to meet you. I hope to see you again sometime.”

“I hope so too. Thanks for my seat and thanks for the talk.”

After Jared left, the two of them stood in silence. Neither one of them wanted to say anything to break the spell of this night. When Hannah finally felt too awkward, she raised her eyes to meet his. Gone were the sunglasses he performed in, and she was taken aback by how green his eyes were. “Thanks for inviting me,” she spit out lamely.