Fireworks 1 and 2

Jungle: Chapter Fifty

    After shopping, it was time for the second rehearsal and sound check. Mia stood center stage while Drake attached a microphone pack to her lower back. She shivered at the feel of his knuckles brushing against her skin.

    "Are my hands cold?" he asked her.

    She shook her head. "No, I just..."

    "You just...?"

    "I like the way your hands feel," she said, feeling idiotic. She covered her face with both hands.

    He chuckled low and deep as he continued connecting her microphone pack. When he was finished, he ran his fingertips up and down the length of her spine.

    She closed her eyes and breathed out a sigh of contentment.

    He leaned into her and moved his hands to her sides, caressing her arms with his fingertips.

    She could feel him, long and hard, pressing into the top of her rear end.

    "Are we ready for sound check?"

    Mia and Drake both turned their heads.

    Future strode towards them, but the closer he got to them, the slower his steps became. His eyes lowered to Drake's hands. "Oh..." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "Should I give you two a minute? I can come back out when you're ready."

    Drake grinned and gave the microphone pack at Mia's back one last check before stepping away from her. "Nah, man, we're ready. Cue it up." He moved to stand in front of Mia. After giving her a once-over, he reached out and swept her hair behind her shoulders. "Your hairstylist and make-up artist will be here within the next few hours."

    "Hair and makeup?" she repeated. "I told you I would do my own."

    "Not fitting for a star," he told her, smoothing down her hair. "Which is what you are...whether you decide to strike out as an artist or not. The monitors are going to give the audience close-up shots of you while you're onstage. You want everything to be perfect."

    Her mouth slanted into a frown. "Is that your way of saying that I fuck up my makeup on a daily basis?"

    He burst out laughing. "No, of course not," he insisted. "But a professional makeup artist is a master of their craft. So...just trust me on this, will you?"

    "Hmph." She folded her arms across her chest.

    With a boyish smile, he wrapped his arms around her. "You know you can't stay mad at me for long."

    "I should have never told you that," she muttered.

    Music started to play out over the speakers and Drake raised his head. "First up is the sound check, to make sure all of the audio equipment is connected, and up and running. Then we're going to do a rundown of each of the songs for tonight, including the ones you won't provide backup vocals for. Pretend that this isn't a rehearsal. Pretend that it's the performance. Okay?"

    "Okay."

    He dipped his head down and kissed the top of the head. Then he backed away from her. "Grab your mic and let's go."

                                                                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The second rehearsal had gone a lot more smoothly than the first. Then again, it was a lot easier for Mia to focus on rehearsing when she didn't have to worry about the stability of her relationship. Drake had her wear heels during the rehearsal, so she could get used to walking around the stage in them. His consideration and thoughtfulness knew no bounds. He truly considered everything.