Rock Into Me by Susan Arden Page A

Scanning the other tables, she refused to allow the occupant of a single seat to suck the effervescence from the place. Not when the applause continued, ramping up and becoming deafening. No way could they begin their next song, featuring a new a cappella intro with her and Christy singing a duet.
    Shaken, Alana motioned to Hank, mouthing on ten . The crowd had totally eaten up Animal Lust , their last song. He nodded, and hand-signaled to Carl and Christy to wait ten seconds before he’d tap the count for the next song.
    She walked over to Billy, the lead on guitar. “We’ll give them ten seconds.”
    Billy nodded and went to his amp, pumping the pedal to make some minor feedback adjustments.
    This was the time to work the crowd. She stole a furtive glance at GQ and, wouldn’t you know it, he was still staring back, only now his arms were crossed over his chest. She gripped the microphone, refusing to be undone by one guy. Gorgeous or not.
    “Are you good and hot now?” Alana purred into the microphone. She let loose the low sultry laugh she was known for and said, “’Cause I know I am.” This was the intro to their next song, Good and Hot . Glancing back, she stuck her tongue out at Christy.
    Christy mouthed, “Work it!”
    Alana nodded and began clapping her hands over her head, sidling up to Christy, who stroked a few chords playing backup guitar. She slipped her arm around her best friend, hugging her for a second. The crowd whistled wildly.
    Hank tapped his drumsticks, “One, two…one, two, three.”
    She and Christy proceeded to slowly hum, rocking their bodies to the winding guitar strings steadily strummed on Billy’s black Schecter . The rhythmic beat on the drum grew louder. Orion ramped up the energy with a fast-flying shredding of notes until Billy struck the defining power-chord of the song. They exchanged nods, Alana sucked in a deep breath, and they belted out the first line. Their voices wove together, melding in harmony, and goose bumps spread over Alana’s body.
    Christy’s dark hair framed her face, making her light blue eyes sparkle, and the scent of spearmint washed over Alana. This was their dream. Their moment. And they sang together, blending their voices, using the lyrics while shaping and reshaping musical notes. Tonight they sang louder than normal to settle the crowd.
     But hey, they had a rocking crowd, and this was what playing live was all about. Whipping up the energy, then harnessing it, and maintaining the audience’s response. As the lead vocalist it was Alana’s job to stage the songs, her job to sense when it was time to give the audience some headroom, and her job to know when things might be getting out of control.
    She faced Christy and held the mic between them. Christy smiled back at her, her guitar hanging off her petite body from a glittery pink strap, and they met each other note for note. They’d worked on the harmonies for years, ever since high school, so that their voices melded together to create a warm, rich rock tone.
    Alana told herself, don’t do it . Too late. She let her gaze slide on over to GQ, and his pinched brows screamed louder than the stage speakers. He sat with his head cocked and his ballbuster expression lit from the stage lighting.
    To show him how unaffected she was by GQ’s demeanor, she inhaled and tensed her body, preparing to forcefully sing next and final a capella lyric, signaling the band to begin to play.
    “Go get ‘em!” Christy yelled.
    Alana squeezed her friend and took a step backward, then they danced away from each other.
    She reluctantly wound her way toward the front of the stage, dismayed to be standing only feet away from the only disgruntled person in the place.
    Playing in the City Basement had been a fluke. A last-minute cancellation by a band, and the owner had to fill the vacancy. Thank goodness, she and Christy had stopped by the place, trying to book a spot in the lineup for the next week. Orion, their band