Read Online THE BIGGEST STAGE (A Brothers of Rock - WILLOW SON - novel) by Karolyn James - Free Book Online

hand again. He pulled her
through the crowd of people. They were cheering louder and getting braver this
time. Colby blamed the booze for loosening everyone up. Everyone wanted a piece
of Willow Son.
    Rightfully so.
    Portis would be a smart man to
learn that and scoop the band up as soon as possible.
    “ That
was pretty awesome, ” Harry
said with open arms, wanting to hug the band.
    Colby slipped by Harry without
hugging him and went straight to the bar. “ What
would it take to get a bottle of vodka? ”
    “ Excuse
me? ” the bartender asked.
    “ Quickly, ” Colby said. “ I have to get out of here. ”
    “ I
can ’ t …”
    “ You
can do anything you want. Name your price. ”
    “ Sir …”
    “ Fuck
it, ” Colby said. He reached
into his pocket and took out a single hundred dollar bill. He put it on the
bar. “ Take this. Put the
vodka on the counter and turn your back. Now. ”
    The bartender nodded and actually
listened.
    Colby then had a bottle of vodka in
one hand and the hand of a pretty woman in the other. The night was shaping up
just fine right now.
    Just as Colby was about to bust
through the open doors and give a quick goodnight wave to the banquet room,
Harry appeared from nowhere.
    Hands out in defense, a worried
look on his face.
    “ Colby. ”
    “ Harry,
move, ” Colby said.
    “ You
can ’ t leave. What about
Portis? ”
    Colby looked back and saw Portis at
the bar. Laughing and drinking, pointing to his swollen lip. It pissed Colby
off that him punching Portis was going to become some kind of story now. It
wasn ’ t meant like that.
What Portis said was a shit thing and he deserved more than a smack in the
mouth.
    “ I ’ m not on his time, ” Colby said. “ You could be. I promised the
beautiful woman a night. ”
    As he passed Harry, Harry grabbed
him. “ Please …”
    “ Look.
You have the demos and CDs. You have the history of Willow Son. He ’ s seen and heard what I can do.
He ’ s already made his
decision on the band. Now he ’ s
just trying to be a prick. I don ’ t
have time for it. ”
    Colby shook Harry away and left the
room.
    “ Sorry
about that, ” he said to
Tessa.
    “ Are
you in trouble? ”
    “ I ’ m always in trouble, pretty
eyes. It makes me charming. ”
    “ You
punched that man …”
    “ He
had it coming. ”
    “ Why? ”
    Colby eyed Tessa. He really wondered
how much she already knew about him. “ Tell
you what. When you tell me about yourself, I ’ ll
tell you anything you want to know about me. ”
    “ I ’ m seriously boring compared to
you, ” Tessa said.
    Colby led the way through the
parking lot. They were skipping cars and everything tonight. They were walking
right to the edge of the world. At least Colby ’ s
version of it, which was the ocean.
    The night was a little warm with a
soft breeze. The sky wide open with stars.
    A perfect night with a beautiful
woman.
    “ If
I ’ m boring to you then that
means you ’ ve read about me, ” Colby said.
    He helped Tessa up over a small
barrier that separated the parking lot to a side street.
    “ Do
you know where you ’ re
going? ” Tessa asked.
    “ Not
a clue. Just following the sounds and smell. ”
    “ Where
are we going? ”
    “ To
the water. Hope you ’ re not
afraid to get that dress a little wet. ”
    Tessa laughed and tugged at Colby ’ s hand.
    They stopped walking, somewhere
between two buildings.
    “ What? ” Colby asked.
    “ What ’ s your stance on fate? ”
    “ Fate?
I don ’ t know. I believe in
this. ”
    “ What ’ s this ? ” Tessa asked.
    “ Whatever
I ’ m looking at and
enjoying. Right now, that ’ s
you. ”
    Colby watched Tessa nibble on her
bottom lip again. He wasn ’ t
having it this time. The first time watching it was damn torture. This time he
slipped his hand to the small of her back and pulled her close to him. He
pressed his lips to hers. Their first real kiss … and it was, in a weird romantic way, kind of fitting. They were