The Rockin' Country

Chapter 5

Hannah 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 f**k 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.

"Thanks for coming," he grabbed her hand on impulse. "We've got to load out of here in the next hour. It's a long drive overnight to Cincinnati."

That was something she understood. As an artist, trying to stay relevant and trying to reach as many people as possible kept you busy. "That will be a long drive."

He wanted to say something else, to let her know that he had enjoyed their time together today. "Do you mind if I call or text you? Hell, I have Skype. If I get bored or I have insomnia or whatever?" He finished the question in a rush. It seemed like he was worried she would say no.

"Sure, I'd love that. I'm in Nashville for the next couple of days, but then I leave too. It'll be nice to have somebody to talk to that understands the craziness of this life."

"It's hard isn't it?" He rubbed his thumb along her knuckle. "When no one really gets why you're burned out, tired, or hyped up."

"It is," she agreed, biting her lip. Her heart had kicked up a beat, thumping in time to the cadence of the rubbing of his thumb across her skin. "It's also hard to explain to people who have no idea what the rush of a crowd can do for you. What it can make you push through or even forget."

"Yes. You're so right." He finally let go of her hand and rubbed the same hand along his forehead.

He was sweaty and his skin was still red with the heat of being on stage. This close, she could see every tattoo, every hair, the slight stubble on his cheeks and chin. She liked him like this. Maybe if she played her cards right she would get to see it more often. "Well, I guess I better get going. You obviously need to take a shower before you head out."

"I do, but I wish we had a couple more days to spend here," he told her truthfully.

"Like you said, it's our life. At least we understand each other."

There was that, they did understand each other. "Let me at least walk you out. You parked in the band lot right?"

"I did."

He grabbed a shirt and put it over his torso, and she almost made a sound of disapproval. Guys like him just didn't come along in her life that often. Especially not in the circle of friends she had. She wanted to know everything about him and what made him so different compared to everyone else. Why did he get her attention when no one else seemed to be able to?

"Let's go," he told her as he grabbed his pass and motioned to a security guard that he was walking her out.

Jared saw her leaving and called out a goodbye to her. The rest of them followed suit even though she hadn't been able to officially meet them. The women who had gathered in the room appeared to breathe a sigh of relief that she was leaving. She wondered - even though she knew she had no right to - if one of them would try to have a good time with Garrett before he got on his bus to ride to the next city. He did need to take a shower, and she had even been propositioned by male groupies in a shower setting before.

"Don't worry," he told her as they walked into the hall. "None of those women back there interest me."

She wondered how he knew what she was thinking. Was she that transparent?

"I've seen that look before," he explained to her. "But to be honest with you, the fact that you're so different from what I'm used to is what makes me so interested in you. I've been bored lately. With everything. You're like a breath of fresh air." He opened the door to the parking lot and ushered her outside.

"So, I'm just an experiment?" She didn't like that.

"Not at all," he said quickly, walking her over to the Land Rover he'd seen her drive earlier in the day. "I'm just explaining that you have nothing to worry about with those other girls in that dressing room. They're part of what makes me bored. They're the same old, same old. I don't want the same thing that I've always had. I want something different."

That's what this all boiled down to. Both of them were looking for something different.

"I want something different too." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm glad," he grinned as he opened the door to her car and waited for her to get her seat belt fastened. "I'll call you later."

"I'll do my best to answer," she teased.

He chuckled. "I'll just call until you do. I'm persistent like that."

She laughed and shut her door, waving to him as she pulled out of the parking lot and into the flow of traffic leading down Broadway. Her mind was going a million miles a minute, and she wondered just what in the world she'd just gotten herself into.