The Jacket Snatcher

Chapter 47- Ready to Beg Yet?

Instead of being out in the audience the whole time for this show, about halfway through, I come back and hang out in the wings, taking photos of the boys from a different angle. From where I'm standing, I get some really cool shots of them interacting with one another when they turn and face the drum kit during transitions.

As soon as their set ends, they come streaming off the stage and Luke practically tackles me in a sweaty hug. I accept it before I know what I'm doing, and then promptly push him off when I feel his perspiration soaking into my own clothing.

"Go change!" I command, pointing to the dressing room.

He smiles at me. "Are my pheromones too irresistible for you? You're right, it's probably not fair with the bet and all."

I pretend to gag, and he rushes away with a wink.

The back tunnels are full of people getting ready for One Direction to go on, so I have to sidestep and hug the walls a lot. At one point, I am forced to stop and let a man with a forklift full of set pieces drive past. By the time I make it back to the dressing room, Luke is already freshly showered and sitting next to a clean Ashton. With the sound of running water coming from the adjoining locker room, I figure Calum and Michael must be taking their turns.

I fling myself onto the couch between the two boys. "So what do we do now? I haven't been to one of your One Direction shows yet."

Ashton pats me on the head. "Don't worry. We'll go out and see them perform. We just chill for a bit first. They won't go on for a while anyway."

I nod my head, trying to contain my excitement, but failing miserably as my legs bounce up and down.

That's when Luke reaches over and places his hand on my knee. His hand is so big that it stretches up my thigh and his fingers nearly wind all the way around my leg. I practically shiver as his thumb rubs slow circles into my skin, but I try to hold it in. Apparently, he has already decided to start his plan to win the bet.

"Calm down," he says with a chuckle. I'm not sure if he's referring to my jitters about seeing the concert, or my reaction to his touch.

Gingerly, I pluck his fingers from my skin and stick my tongue out at him. I blink when his response is to lick his lips and bite down on his ring. Dear lord, I'm not strong enough for this...

Thankfully, Calum and Michael choose that exact moment to come join us, distracting me from the thought of Luke's mouth. Tired of watching them play video games all the time, I find a deck of cards and beg the guys to play a game with me. Eventually, I coax them all to join me on the floor in a cirlce.

"What are we even playing?" Michael groans, pitching a fit about being pulled away from his electronics.

"Well, it's normally called spoons, but if we don't have any, we can still play, it's just called tongues instead," I start to explain.

"Whoa, whoa! I don't want to play any game called tongues with these guys. Especially with this guy-to-girl ratio!" Ashton says, glancing around the circle.

I laugh. "It's not like that. It's only called that because you stick out your tongue instead of grabbing a spoon to win the game."

He shakes his head.

"Even still." With that, he jolts up, runs over to the cabinets in the corner of the room and starts digging through them. "Ah hah! How many do we need?" he calls to me, holding up a box of plastic spoons.

"Four."

After he rejoins us on the floor, I set the four spoons in the middle fanning out in a circle. I explain the rules and that the point of the game is to be the first person to get four-of-a-kind, and once you do, you grab a spoon. After the first person grabs one, it's a free-for-all to get the rest of them-like musical chairs-until one person is left without a spoon. That person is out, and the next round, we take one spoon out and keep going until one person wins.