Effortless (Thoughtless #2)(2)
Author: S.C. Stephens

He beamed as he strummed and sang. A distractingly sexy half-smile was on his lips. It never failed to amaze me that he could play his guitar and sing at the same time. Me? I could barely do just one of those things. Jenny waved her hands in the air and hooted and hollered for her man and I did the same, happy that I could come out and support him today, support them all today. Well, maybe not Griffin.

The song ended with a thunderous reaction from the crowd, even the guys directly in front of me. I was ecstatic for Kellan and the boys. They deserved the success. Kellan put his guitar away for the next song, popping the microphone off its stand. The stage here was wider than Pete’s and with more room to walk around, Kellan also had more room to flirt. Moving into the next song, his eyes slipped over the crowd in ways that I was only used to them slipping over me.

It bothered me a little, but I let it go. He was just excited to be here, excited to play. He’d slipped back into the aggressively sexy guy that I’d first seen on stage. The sexed-up behavior had seemed over-the-top to me on that very first glance that I’d had of him, but the audience here was eating it up. Hands were stretching out to him from everywhere, even from rows behind me. I wasn’t quite sure what those women expected him to do. Stage dive? I furrowed my brow, hoping he didn’t do that. He could get hurt…or fondled to death.

As he propped a foot on a speaker and leaned out to grab a fan, I idly wondered why that one. Did he like her hair? Was she the most excited one in that section? Did she have the biggest…voice? Shaking my head, I pushed it out of my mind. He had so many things to concentrate on up there, he probably wasn’t thinking at all. Just reacting to a fan asking for more of him. And they could certainly touch him. I wasn’t such a jealous harpy that I couldn’t handle a few caresses. Within reason, of course.

And Kellan was good with keeping most of his flirtations on the stage. He would never look or act the way he was while he was singing in our day to day life. You wouldn’t even know he was practically a rock star in-between his shows. Really, he seemed a little lazy to the untrained eye. But I knew his mind was always busy, even if he was just slinging back cold ones at the bar.

As the heat only increased throughout their set, I started to wonder if Kellan might strip down. It wasn’t a preposterous idea; he’d done it before while singing. A couple of times, from what I’d heard. He was wiping himself off with the lower half of his shirt whenever he got the chance, his shirt rising to the edge of his upper abs, each line still gloriously defined. With the symphony of screams whenever he did that, I was sure the crowd would approve if he chose to remove it. The bulk of the crowd, anyway.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about women ogling my boyfriend in that way. I wasn’t sure how I felt about his tattoo being exposed either. That sort of bothered me more. But after a quick wipe, he always let his plain, white t-shirt fall back into place. I preferred to believe that he liked keeping his tattoo a secret too, like it was something just between us. And it should be. Even though it was on his body, it was incredibly personal for each of us. It had kept him connected to me while we’d been apart. It had helped seal us when we’d gotten back together.

Once their allotted time had diminished, the band members each gave small bows and Kellan thanked the crowd for listening. He was happier than I’d ever seen him as he backed away from the stand. His eyes flicked down to mine in the crowd. No, I was wrong before. The look he was giving me now was the happiest look I’d ever seen on him.

The crowd around us started shifting, some staying to watch the next show, some leaving to check out another venue. Bumbershoot had dozens of artists playing at any given time, from the big names, to the locals, like the D-Bags. Having been here just last year with them, when Kellan and I had just been friends, well, as much of friends as we had ever been, it was a little surreal to see their name on the lineup posters. I’d snagged about three dozen of those posters as mementoes.

Giggling, Jenny locked her arm with mine and pulled us towards the side of the stage. The guys were alternating between acknowledging the fans and unplugging their stuff. Kellan grabbed his prized guitar, and with a smile and a nod at me, ducked behind the stage. Jenny and I approached a metal railing fencing off the backstage area from the rest of the populace. And just in case the fence wasn’t enough of a warning, a couple of yellow-shirted security guards were shooing people away.

Waiting in the spot where I knew Kellan would eventually appear, I, for a moment, wished I was forward enough to sneak behind the fence. I wanted to be with him, to give him the huge congratulatory hugs that were bursting my prideful stomach apart. But it was off-limits to normal folk, like me, and I didn’t want to cause a scene by getting busted by the burly guys who put Pete’s bouncer to shame.

Sighing as I watched Evan and Matt disappear from the stage, Griffin leaning over to suck face with some blonde before he too vanished, I again wished my sister was here. Anna was hot, by most men’s standards, and she could get into places closed off to plain-Janes, like me.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kellan came out, sans guitar, sans the rest of the guys. Rushing up to me, he leapt over the metal rail. The security guards glanced at him, but they were more interested in keeping people out, not in. A small scream erupted from the knot of people also waiting for their rock-god, but this god headed directly for me.

Immediately his arms were around me, sweeping me into a hug. With his exuberance I thought he might sling me over his shoulder and twirl me around. If I also hadn’t been sure that he’d smack my bottom a few times, turning my face beet-red, I might have let him do it. But I’d prefer it if those sorts of things were done in a more private setting. And Jenny and I weren’t the only girls waiting around back here for the band.

So, giggling as he lifted me up, I made sure to sling my arms firmly around his neck so he couldn’t get too carried away. His smell hit me instantly. That undeniable aroma that was purely him. Clean, manly, seductive…it was a scent that lingered with me, even in my dreams.

Kellan laughed and squeezed me tight, the air compressing from my lungs until he set me down again. Pulling back, his impossibly blue eyes glowed at me. "That was so much fun! I’m so glad you were here…did you like it?"

His eyes sparkled in a shaft of sunlight as he grabbed my shoulders and squatted down to look me square in the eye. I giggled more at his question. Really? Of course I liked it, I loved watching him perform. His expression was so sweet, in his joy. Almost innocent. Cupping his warm cheeks, I nodded. "I loved it. You guys were amazing! I’m so proud of you, Kellan."

His face beamed even more at my praise, then he seemed to notice something that he hadn’t before. His fingers around my arms pushed me back a smidge and his eyes traveled down my chest. I swear I felt the heat increase in a straight line down my body by his gaze alone. Stopping at my exposed navel, his lips twisted devilishly and he peeked up at me from under his so-long-it-wasn’t-fair eyelashes. The smoldering desire in his gaze was enough to quicken my breath. Kellan’s innocent moments never lasted very long.

"I like your shirt."

His voice was melted sex. Yes, melted…sex.

I flushed all over. He could still make me feel like he was looking at me for the first time, not the thousandth time. He still gave me butterflies.

Just as I was about to come up with some response to his comment, Kellan was attacked. Not literally, but female hands did grab his arms and twist him around. Laughing adorably, he let go of my shoulders and basked in the affections of his fans. Some of them looked at me with raised eyebrows, but then I was ignored. That was fine by me. I’d rather not be in Kellan’s spotlight, if I could help it.

As Kellan started signing things and getting his picture snapped with cell phones, I shook my head. It was so weird. I constantly forgot that he was a little famous. I mean, I was used to the girls at Pete’s, but we weren’t at Pete’s. Watching that fame follow him to such a public venue was kind of hard to wrap my head around. As I watched, the next girl in the crowd clamoring for him to notice them pulled down her tank top to expose the cups of her bra. She begged him to sign her chest. He glanced back at me really quick, but then he did it…and he had plenty of room to sign his name, if you know what I mean.

My cheeks flamed hot and I felt a knot of tension in my stomach. Yeah, I tried to be cool with his life, but his face in her chest while he signed away with a sharpie was a little much. As was her hands on his ass. Just as I thought to shove the vixen away, a firm hand rested on my shoulder.

"He loves you, Kiera. He’s just playing."

I looked over my shoulder at Evan. He’d come out from behind the metal fence while I’d been preoccupied with watching Kellan. Kellan could do that to me-make me oblivious to the world. My habit of getting so wrapped up in him that everything else around me blurred into the background was sort of a weak point in me. I was working on it.

Evan’s jovial face was grinning at Kellan as he slung his tattooed arm around Jenny’s waist. The perky blonde gazed up at Evan with adoration. Being the front man, and drop-dead gorgeous, Kellan got a lot more notice than the other guys, but Evan certainly had his followers, too. They were behind him now, waiting for the sweet, teddy bear of a man to disengage from his girlfriend.

His warm brown eyes glancing down at me, he pointed his other tattooed arm at my boyfriend. "It’s sort of his job, you know, to keep the fans wanting more."

I glanced over at Kellan, now smashed in-between two girls kissing his cheeks while a third forever captured the moment with her camera. I was certain the photo would be on the internet within hours. I sighed. At least he drew the line at them kissing him on the lips since we’d gotten together. He didn’t used to. And yes, those pictures were on the internet too.

Looking back up at Evan, I shrugged. "I know…I just wish he wasn’t so good at it." My voice came out a little sullenly and Evan chuckled, clapping my shoulder as he finally twisted to acknowledge his fans.

With Jenny by his side, Evan signed autographs and made playful small talk with complete strangers. Jenny did too. Standing back from the mayhem a bit, I marveled at how comfortable they both looked. Me? I’d rather die than have to make multiple introductions over and over again.

My eyes darted to Kellan’s broad back, where a woman had her hand resting a little too low for my taste, and I quickly averted them. No point in making myself jealous by watching. Instead, I glanced over at where Matt had quietly joined the fray. He looked just as uncomfortable with this part as me. He enjoyed playing, enjoyed being on the stage, enjoyed creating and making music. That was where his passion lied, not in the people-pleasing part. But he nodded politely, taking a couple pictures and signing a couple of t-shirts.

Attached to Matt’s arm was his equally quiet girlfriend, Rachel. She was a beautiful mix of Latin and Asian with bronze skin and deep brown hair. She held the hand of her spiky, blond boyfriend, not looking jealous by the attentions he received, but not looking like she wanted to partake in the socializing either. Not one for crowds, Rachel had watched the performance from the lawn nearby. She was quieter and shyer than me…which was saying a lot. Rachel was Jenny’s roommate, and she and Matt had started seeing each other last spring, around when Kellan and I had officially gotten together. The low-key pair was still going strong. Their personalities blended very well. They were sort of adorable.