Disharmony

Strum

She was panting heavily as she stepped off the elevator into the hotel’s penthouse suite. As it was the morning of the opening show of her tour, she’d managed to talk herself into going for a jog. Under normal circumstances, she hated most forms of exercise, but being on tour required her to be in shape.

There was no way to maintain the stamina needed for three hour shows which included a fair amount of dancing and running around without any cardio at all. So she settled for running, as she found it the most relaxing.

Pulling her headphones from her ears, she wrapped them around her music player and tossed it on the nearest couch, only to have a heart attack when the couch responded.

“Damn, will you watch where you throw things?”

She rolled her eyes at the familiar voice, pressing her palm against her chest and breathing deeply to slow her heart rate.

“Don’t you have your own room?” she spat out, dragging down the zipper of her hoodie and draping it over her arm.

Xavier smiled sweetly as he sat up and shook his head. “But you’re here.”

Once again, she rolled her eyes. “You’re legitimately going to scare me to death one day.”

“I’ll try my best not to,” he said earnestly, sitting up and crossing his long legs beneath him. “After all, what would the world be without Kari Stevens?”

“Damn right,” she muttered, walking towards the bedroom, kicking the door closed behind her and tossing her hoodie on the bed.

She plugged the drain in the bathtub and turned on the water, letting the tub fill as she stripped off her workout clothes. A long, hot bath was exactly what she needed to be at least somewhat relaxed for the rest of the day.

Concert days never had interviews. Henry didn’t want her to be overly stressed, and she much appreciated him keeping away the reporters for one day. Interviews afterwards were fine, but it was nice to have only a few things to worry about beforehand.

Once the water was sufficiently warmed, she stuck in one toe before sinking in her entire foot and climbing into the tub, sighing contently as she leaned back against the edge and shut her eyes. The heated liquid soothed her muscles, relaxing her entirely, if only for a few minutes.

She had precisely twenty-three minutes of solitude before her lunch arrived and she was forced into her strict pre-show regimen. It consisted of a large meal before she headed to the venue for a final soundcheck and rehearsal. Next, she would go to hair and makeup, which would take approximately two hours, and then, a light meal, final vocal warmups and checking to make sure all the mechanics of the stage we working before Xavier began his set.

For the rest of the day, she’d have to be extremely focused, so she let her mind become blank as she soaked in the warm water.

Unfortunately, the serenity only lasted what felt like two minutes before she heard her name being called through the bedroom door.

“Kari, are you done yet?” Xavier shouted.

She rolled her eyes and groaned. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m bored,” he called out, as though that was a legitimate reason to disturb her few moments of peace for the day.

Sighing heavily, she lifted herself from the still warm water and climbed out of the tub, pressing her feet to the cool tiled floor and grabbing a nearby towel. She dried herself off quickly, rummaging through the closet for a loose pair of athletic shorts and an oversized t-shirt. She tossed them on after she pulled on clean underwear and pulled her hair out of its messy ponytail to let it air dry a little.  With great frustration, she pushed open the door to the bedroom.

Xavier lay on the couch, tossing a small plastic ball into the air repeatedly.

“You rang?” she said dryly, crossing her arms over her chest.

He smiled sweetly, catching the ball in one hand and swinging his legs off the couch, he patted the now vacant spot beside him.

Her first instinct was to stand her ground, but she was freezing due to the fact that she was still slightly damp and Xavier radiated natural body heat, so she gave in and perched herself on the edge.

“What do you want, Spiers?” she asked, her voice tinged with annoyance.

“For you to entertain me,” he grinned.

“Can’t you do that yourself,” she frowned, watching the way his long fingers laced in his lap.

“But it’s so much more fun if we do it together.”

Her gaze shot up to meet his and although his features were angelic, she was willing to bet his intentions were far from pure. But then again, this was Xavier Spiers she was thinking about, so it could be safe to assume that he wanted to have a pillow fight.

“Don’t you have things to do?” she sighed softly, rising from the couch once more and placing her hands on her hips. “It’s opening night, after all.”

“Nope,” he replied, swinging his legs up to the couch and stretching his arms over his head. “Not a thing.”

She tried not to notice the way his muscles rippled beneath his tanned skin as he elongated his torso, but she found her mouth going dry nonetheless. As usual, Xavier was shirtless, wearing nothing save a pair of navy athletic shorts and black boxers. However, his stretching caused the waistband of his underwear to lower just enough for her to catch a glimpse of something unexpected.

“What’s that?” she pointed to his hip.

He glanced down. “Nothing.”

“Xavier Spiers,” she teased, taking a step closer and splaying her fingers across his stomach to keep him pinned down as she inspected the desired area. “Do my eyes deceive me, or do you have a tattoo?”

She felt him sigh as she leaned down, squinting her eyes slightly. Just above his waistline in elegant script were the words ‘you can always be found’.

Raising one eyebrow, she looked at him skeptically. “You got your own lyrics tattooed on your body?”

“You know more than one of my songs?” was his reply.

She smacked his stomach lightly and he doubled over as he sat up, wheezing slightly as she resumed her position to his side.

“Spill,” she said excitedly, bringing her feet up on the couch and wrapping her arms around her knees.

He shrugged as he ran his fingers lightly over the inked skin, his lower lip jutting out slightly. “They’re just lyrics.”

“Seriously?” she replied in disbelief.

He nodded once.

“So, you’re saying that you got your own lyrics permanently etched onto your body just for fun?”

Apparently he could tell she had no qualms in being annoyingly persistent, so he sighed and finally spoke. “It’s just to remind me that things can always get better.”

His eyes had become distant and he turned his head to stare out the window. She parted her lips, not knowing exactly what to say and suddenly feeling guilty. It seemed his tattoo was much more personal than he was willing to admit. She could sense there was more to the story than he was letting on, but the melancholy expression on his face indicated he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so she decided to switch the topic of conversation.

“I have one too,” she blurted out.

He was dazed, his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised at the sudden outburst. “One what?”

“Tattoo,” she grinned proudly, sliding her foot towards him and tilting it to the side.

Scrawled on the side of her ankle, just above her heel were the words, ‘swing, swing, swing’.

Xavier repeated the words softly, taking her foot in his hand and gazing down at the marked skin as though trying to decipher hieroglyphics before looking up at her curiously. “What does it mean?”

“I just like swings,” she said, a wry smile twisting her lips. While that was true; the real reason for the inking was that swings reminded her of carefree, whimsical nature of childhood; or at least, the kind of childhood she wished she’d had.

He shook his head in frustration, but the corners of his lips quirked upwards and there was laughter in his eyes. As they engaged in a battle of stares, she giggled softly, the volume of her laughs increasing when he rubbed his thumb over her ankle.

“What is wrong with you?” he asked in utter confusion as he watched her succumb to a giggling fit.

“I’m ticklish,” she managed to breath out between laughs.

“There?” he laughed. “That’s the strangest place to be ticklish.”

His thumb stopped its movements for a moment before slowly picking them up again, sweeping briskly across her ankle and reducing her to another fit of giggles. She kicked violently, which succeeded in making him let go, but he leaned over and pinned her against the couch, an arm on either side of her head, fingers curled over the armrest.

All of a sudden, she’d felt as though she’d just run a marathon. Her heart was pounding, her breathing staggered as she gazed into his eyes; eyes that were swirling with an emotion she couldn’t quite place.

She sucked in air, holding her breath as his gaze dropped to her lips and she found herself extremely confused. On one hand, teasing Xavier was a great source of enjoyment. He was easy to rile up and seeing his eyes flash and his veins pop was sexy as hell.

But it was only ever supposed to be purely entertainment. As they lay on the couch, stares locked but muscles frozen, she wondered what it would be like to press her lips to his, to tangle her hands in his hair and feel his fingers curl around her cheek.

The moment sizzled with electricity and she was nearly choking on the tension and found herself relieved when a knock on the door announced the arrival of her room service. She pushed his arm out of the way, rolling to the side and dropping to her hands and knees on the floor before standing quickly and scurrying to retrieve her food.

After thanking and tipping the waiter, she turned to find Xavier standing, clearing his throat awkwardly as he avoided eye contact.

“So, um, I should go,” he said quietly.

She had never been so quick to agree to anything in her life and she kept her gaze on the plates of food as he briskly walked out the door, sighing in relief when she shut it behind him.

Breathing deeply, she lifted a plate of food and utensils from the cart and settled down on the couch to eat, wondering how it was possible that Xavier Spiers of all people had worked her into such a frenzy.

Later that night, as she lowered her microphone from singing her opening song, she stared out at the crowd in amazement. Lights flashed and she grinned, waving to the crowd as they welcomed her home.

Being on stage had always been the best part of the job. It was the only place where she felt completely at home; where she felt as though she belonged. All of her pre-show nerves had long been forgotten and the second she’d emerged from within that cloud of smoke and the crowd had roared, everything was right with the world.

“Hello, New York,” she grinned excitedly. The crowd cheered and she waved to them in general. “You all are looking gorgeous this evening. Are you ready to have a good time?”

Another deafening roar and she found herself smiling idiotically as she was once again amazed that she got to do this for a living.

“I’m excited, New York, so let’s get on with it, shall we?”

She glanced down to the front row and spotted Xavier by the sound booth, sitting on top of an amp and swinging his legs lightly as he watched her. Although she hadn’t actually been able to watch his set, she’d heard it clearly, as it rang throughout the stadium. He was nothing if not consistently phenomenal when it came to live performances. The crowd had loved every minute of his set, which meant he was doing exactly what he had been hired for.

As their eyes met, she felt that flash of electricity and her heart began to pound once more. The corners of her lips turned upwards in a wide smile when she noticed him twisting his fingers nervously and she decided this was the perfect opportunity to tell Xavier Spiers exactly how she felt.

“This next song,” she continued, “Is about having chemistry with someone. Have you guys ever met a person and there was sparks and you just wanted so bad for something to happen between you?”

The crowd shouted out a few agreements.

“Yeah, me too. This song is called Take Me.”

The screams of the crowd were drowned out by the electric guitar and drum beats and she swung her hips to the opening music before lifting the microphone to her lips and making sure to keep eye contact with a certain singer in the crowd. The song was an upbeat anthem and the lyrics were like a neon billboard, telling him that she wanted him and that she wanted him know how much.

She quirked one eyebrow as she sang, ensuring that Xavier knew it was directed at him and smirking in satisfaction when she saw him visibly tense. His fingers stopped their twisting movements and he simply stared at her, wide eyed, watching as she slowly dragged a hand up the side and down the middle of her torso, further exacerbating her meaning.

Happy with Xavier’s current reaction, she turned her attention back to the audience, making eye contact with a few of the fans in the first rows as she sang the chorus. Afterwards, she decided to check on Xavier once more and found him with his lips parted and his expression entirely slack. He pressed his lips together once he realized she was looking, shaking his head slightly as though to tell himself there was no possible way she was singing those words to him.

When she finished the song, he practically looked as though he’d had a heart attack in the middle of the crowd. Every muscle in his body was completely still. The only sign of life was in his eyes, which once again swirled with that fire that she so enjoyed seeing.

She smirked at him triumphantly before grinning at the crowd as the introduction to the next song began to play.

Mission accomplished.