Part 2: The Song in Your Head
"Sorry, I don't think I'll make it tonight." Diana's frustration was clear in her voice, even over the phone. "Maria's having a total fit, and if I'm not here to talk her down she's liable to skip town."
"Yeesh, she's still going on about that conspiracy shit?" Sheena replied, rolling her eyes so hard she was sure Diana could hear it on her end. "Who's trying to brainwash her now? The CompHet Illuminati?"
Sheena was parked at the end of the bar in a nearby club, nursing a cocktail. She'd come here straight after classes ended, and was supposed to meet up with Diana. A friend of Diana's was in a band having their first big show tonight, and Sheena had agreed to come along, specifically to avoid dealing with Maria back at the house.
"I don't even know anymore. But I can't let us lose a third renter in two weeks, so I've gotta keep her calm."
"Good luck with that. You want I should just come home?"
"No, please, stay for the show, at least until Nightshade's set is done. I promised Ruby I'd be there to support their gig, and, well..."
"It's fine, Di. If you like 'em, then I'm sure the music can't suck too bad," Sheena joked. "I'll be sure to pass along your support after the set. Maybe I'll catch a few drinks with them if any of the guys are hot."
"Thanks. Be careful with Andrew though -- he's smooth. Nice, but smooth."
"Don't worry, mom, I'm a big girl. Good luck with Maria. Love ya."
The call ended, and Sheena let out an exasperated sigh. Truth be told, there were plenty of things she'd rather be doing than playing messenger to some no-name band. But even that beat going back home to deal with a neurotic roommate convinced their college campus was filled with mind controlling slave lords. Besides, the club itself was pretty cozy -- nothing amazing but better than some dives she'd snuck into in high school. So she finished her drink as more people trickled in from outside, before joining the crowd to wait for the opening act.
Eventually, the crowd solidified, and Sheena found herself right at the front of the stage. The lights dimmed, all the crowd chatter slowly dissipated. Just as it became totally silent, a loud guitar riff blasted from the speakers, and the band walked on stage to applause.
First was the drummer, a lanky guy with long brown hair, wearing a tank top with "NIGHTSHADE" printed on the front in red, ornate letters. Then their guitarist strolled out, holding the chord that announced them. He was a lot cuter, if Sheena had to pick; tan skin and a mop of curly black hair, with tattoos peeking out from the sleeves and neckline of his tight band t-shirt.
Lastly, the tiniest frontwoman Sheena had ever seen marched out on stage, practically dwarfed by the bass guitar she was carrying. Sheena herself was petite, but was sure she could beat this chick, even with the girl standing atop 4-inch platform boots. Her bright red hair was done up in messy pigtails, and the stage lights sparkled on her face as they reflected off her silver nose and labret piercings, before doing the same with her shiny, studded choker. As she stepped to the mic, the guitarist quieted.
"What's up, y'all!?" the girl shouted in a shockingly husky voice, laced with a southern drawl. "The name's Ruby and we are Nightshade! We're psyched to be here tonight, and we're gonna get y'all started off right. This one's called 'Audio-Erotica'!"
With that, they kicked off, and Sheena had to admit they were pretty good. She wasn't a big metalhead, but they had a fast and hard Motörhead style to them. The crowd loved it, and a roar of cheers echoed at her back. She figured this was good enough to have a good time with, and joined in. That was what ruled about going to shows -- losing yourself in the people and sounds and lights. So that's exactly what she did.
At some point during the set, she locked eyes with the guitarist, and had to amend her earlier judgment. He was
definitely
the cuter one, and she kept her eyes on his baby blues, smiling as she jumped with the rest of the crowd. For a few seconds, it felt like they were the only two people in the room, and her heart was beating in time with his strums. Her face felt hot. Her mouth watered.
The moment passed, and the rest of the world came back to flood her senses, but Sheena couldn't keep her eyes off the guy for the rest of their set.
"That was fuckin' fantastic, y'all!" Ruby shouted as their last song ended. "Thank you so much! Be sure to hit us up at the merch tables in the back!"
"We'll be hanging out all night," the guitarist added, leaning in to reach the mic. "So be sure to come have a drink with us. We're real friendly." He winked to the audience, but Sheena couldn't help but think he was looking at her. On a whim she winked back before the band left the stage.
The stage hands starting prepping for the next band, and Sheena took the chance to to move back through the crowd. It was only once she was out of the mass of people and back at the bar that she realized she was soaked with sweat and out of breath. Panting, she collapsed into a booth at the back of the building and leaned back to recover.
"You were goin' hard out there, girl," said a familiar southern drawl. Sheena looked up to see Ruby and the guitarist approaching her booth.
"You guys made it hard not to."
"We try, we try." The guitarist smirked as he invited himself to sit next to her. "Always a pleasure to see a lovely lady enjoying my work."
"Andrew, at least by the darlin' a drink first," Ruby said, sitting down across from them.
"Ah, so you're the one I was warned about." Sheena gave a flirty look to Andrew before offering her hand. "I'm Sheena. Diana sends her apologies for missing the show."
"Oh, you're Di's friend? She texted us saying she was coming with somebody. Sorry she couldn't make it." Andrew shook her hand, and made a point of holding it just a little longer than normal. Sheena recalled Diana's warning. Smooth. Sure. She could work with smooth.
"Suppose you liked our set then, Sheena?" asked Ruby "It's our first in a real venue. Before now we've just been hittin' basements and house parties."
"It was great! This isn't really my scene, but you three had a great energy. I loved the solo on that third track..."
They spent the second band's entire set there, chatting and drinking. Ruby was excited to hear Sheena's take on their performance, and Andrew was excited to flirt and hear praise about his guitar. Frankly it was a little obnoxious, but the dude was a cute musician -- ego came with the territory. He kept offering to buy Sheena's drinks, and after her second, she started letting him. The band members made good company, and before she knew it, the headliner was coming on stage.
"Oh shoot, I didn't realize it was so late!" Ruby said as the crowd started to roar. "It was great meeting you Sheena, but I gotta go. Mas- er, uh, Dave is manning the merch table and I promised to take over. Talk to ya later!"
Sheena paused for a moment, while Ruby scurried off like a chipmunk in platform boots. Had she just been about to call the drummer "Master"? She remembered that studded choker Ruby was wearing. It had looked like a totally normal fashion statement, but was it actually...?
"Yeah, they're like that," Andrew said, reading the look on her face. "She's been Dave's for about a year, nearly as long as I've known them."
"That's...wow," Sheena said, staring down at her drink. "I never would have guessed. She seemed...uh.."
"Normal? Decidedly un-sex-slavey? Not waiting at his beck and call on a leash?"
"...yeah, that."
"First time meeting a collar couple?"
"Actually..."
Sheena wasn't sure why she was being so open with Andrew, but right then and there she spilled her guts over everything going on with her roommates, including how uncomfortable seeing Renee had made her.
"It was just so...weird. I never pictured her as some kind of sub like that."
"If I'm being honest," Andrew responded after a moment. "I think you've built up the whole slavery thing in your head a little bit."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like, sure, there are some hardcore S&M couples out there who act like living porno characters. But most slave couples are just people with a different way of showing their connection. Take it from somebody who sees them every day: Ruby and Dave are the most mundane, sickeningly in-love couple I've ever seen. I'm sure your friend Renee's the same."
"That does actually make me feel better. Thanks." Sheena turned in her seat to really look at Andrew, and quietly put a hand on his bicep.
"Though, as somebody who shares an apartment with them, I can also tell you they fuck like rabbits. Loudly. Every damn night."
Sheena broke out laughing and felt a weight lift of her shoulders. It was like letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding for days. From there, she and Andrew talked into the night, letting their drinks slowly count up, oblivious to the crowd or the concert. Eventually, they found themselves in relative silence, looking into eachother's eyes.
Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the waning adrenaline from the show making her maudlin. Whatever it was, she leaned in and broke the silence with a whisper.
"This might sound weird but, during your show, I feel like...like we had some kind of connection. For a second it was like-"
"Like there was nobody else but us," he interrupted, leaning in until she could feel the heat of his breath on her lips. "Like the world had stopped, and you couldn't look away."
"You felt it too?" Sheena suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine, and a tingling light up in the back of her head. She looked into his eyes, diving into that sense of vertigo again.
"It's why I had to meet you. I couldn't let you leave."
Then they were kissing, and she was moaning, and her arms were wrapping around his torso while his hand gripped the back of her neck and pulled her deeper into him. Sheena's head was spinning, like she was rushing down a backwards roller coaster, but she couldn't stop. A voice in her head was shouting non-stop that right now, she needed to be as close to this man as possible.
"Sorry to interrupt you two," Ruby's voice broke through their shared silence. "But the place is closing and I don't think the bartender will wait for y'all to get sick of suckin' face."
Sheena looked up to see Ruby and the drummer, Dave, looking at them with amused smirks. Behind them, the lights for the club were all up, and most of the crowd was funneling out of the front exit. A crew was disassembling the stage. She blushed, realizing just how long they must have been making out.
"Sorry about that," Andrew said with heavy breaths. His hands were still clasping her hips, and seemed in no hurry to leave. "I'll be ready to help load the van in about...ten, twenty minutes."
"Two steps ahead, dude," Dave said. His voice was deep and raspy. "Van's ready to go, just didn't know if you were coming back with us or not."
