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Battle of the Bands
    By J.M. Snyder
     
    Published by JMS Books LLC at
Smashwords
    This story is included in the print book Shorts by J.M. Snyder.
    Visit http://www.jmsnyder.net for
more information.
     
    Copyright 2010 J.M. Snyder
    ISBN 978-1-45240-271-0
     
    For more titles by J.M. Snyder at Smashwords
visit https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jmsnyder
    * * * *
    Cover Photo Credit: Darko Novakovic
    Used under a Standard Royalty-Free
License.
    Cover Design: J.M. Snyder
    All rights reserved.
     
    WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is
for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it
is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will
be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
    No portion of this book may be transmitted or
reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in
writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts
used for the purposes of review.
    This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It
contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language
which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store
your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.
    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s
imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be
made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.
    Published in the United States of
America.
    NOTE: “Battle of the Bands” originally
appeared online at Ruthie’s Club and also appears in the anthology Love Notes , published by Ravenous Romance.
    * * * *
    Battle of the Bands
    By J.M. Snyder

     
    Backstage at Catch-22’s third annual Battle of the Bands , members of the local rock group Tainted
Black waited for their turn on stage. Lead singer Benjamin Cooper
leaned back against the stage door, arms crossed and head down so
the curtain of brown curls that hung to his chin hid his face. His
drummer, Scott McKree, stood nearby, beating his drumsticks in a
rapid rattat rhythm on Benjamin’s left arm. The sticks made a light
popping sound on Benjamin’s leather jacket and struck so fast that
he didn’t feel them. Their bassist, Mark Johnson, had wandered off
in search of a joint or a soda machine, whichever he could find
first.
    Under the cover of his hair, Benjamin watched
someone in the shadowed wings of the stage. He knew the guy, knew
him well—Ty Haiden fronted a rival band called Hazard. He wasn’t
hard to miss, with long black hair that fell straight down past his
shoulders and dark eyes that seemed in this dim light to be all
iris, wide and dilated. He had a bit of a goatee, dark hair kept
short on his chin that rimmed his mouth and edged his cheeks. It
gave him a devilish appearance.
    As if he felt the steady weight of Benjamin’s
gaze burning into him, Ty glanced over his shoulder. When their
eyes locked, an arc of energy shot between them, closing the
distance and canceling out everyone else, a shock that jolted
Benjamin’s already racing heart and sent it plummeting to throb
somewhere below his belt. Ty gave him a slight nod, just a tilt of
the chin really, very professional. Nothing overt, nothing personal . Benjamin’s return smirk was hidden by his
hair.
    Suddenly Mark stepped in front of him,
blocking his view. “So how about it?” he asked.
    Benjamin forced his thoughts away from Ty
Haiden. “How about what?” he wanted to know. When had he returned?
“Are you talking to me?”
    Mark sighed dramatically and turned to Scott
instead. “What do you think about a different cover? Maybe a
little Free Bird , eh Skree? We can do that, right? The
change ups are wicked—”
    “We ain’t changing the song now,” Benjamin
muttered. According to the competition schedule, Tainted Black
played next, followed by Hazard. There was no time to practice a
different song…was he serious?
    Mark didn’t let it