The whole world stopped

Chapter 5

— Offroad —

I arrived at the venue and was greeted by Daou's manager Erng.

"Hi Offroad! I'm Erng, nice to meet you. Here's your backstage pass, so you can move around freely. Daou is getting ready in the dressing room, do you want me to take you to him ?" She asked kindly.

"Nice to meet you too ! Yes I'd love to see him please."

Erng led me to Daou's dressing room, knocked once, then opened the door. I came face to face with a shirtless Daou and took a minute to admire. His chest was solid and defined, muscles etched with precision beneath his skin. Each movement revealed the strength he carried, and I had to remind myself to breathe.

I thought that if I firmly put Daou in the friend category, my brain and heart would get the memo that he's a no-go. But the more time I spent with him, the more I realized how easily I could fall in love with this man and, let's be honest here, the hornier I got because damn ... I really needed to get a hold of myself, I'm the one who asked for friendship but this past month had proven that when it came to Daou, I had zero control over myself.

"You're here !!" Daou said, snapping me out of my wandering thoughts. "I'll be ready in 5 minutes, then we can walk together towards the stage."

"Okay, I'll wait for you," I smiled. I turned around and waved to his makeup artist and stylist when I heard someone talking behind me.

"You must be Offroad ! Nice to finally meet you, Daou talks about you all the time. I'm Mix" said his choreographer, grinning.

"Not always, he's exaggerating » interjected Daou with an indignant tone.

"Nice to meet you as well" I replied with a smile. The fact that his friend heard of me gave me this little tingling feeling in my chest.

I chatted with Mix and Erng until Daou finished getting ready and we all made our way toward the stage. As we walked, Daou leaned toward me.

"I'm so happy you are here but I'm a little nervous."

"You are going to crush it" I reassured him. Then, without thinking, I gave him a little kiss on his cheek "Here's a little good luck charm" he gave me a smile and headed toward the stage.

Watching him perform was mesmerizing.  He owned the stage. Gone was the happy and playful puppy I knew and he was replaced with a sexy performer. Every song and every move was flawless. And before we knew it, he was about to start his final song.

"Thank you guys for coming to see me today ! I am so happy and honored to perform for you today. Now, we're going to slow down the tempo for the last song" he said into the mic a little out of breath. He started to sing while looking straight at me and suddenly, I was the one who couldn't breathe.

*I could say I never to think about you in that way

But I would be lyin' yeah

And I pretend I'm happy for you

When you find some dude to take home

But I won't deny that

In the midst of the crowds

In the shapes in the clouds

I don't see nobody but you

In my rose-tinted dreams

I don't see nobody but you*

The lyrics to Double Take by Dhruv, sung by Daou, hit me hard. He sang with such raw emotion, his eyes fixed on me.