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Chapter Three

The band played at least four songs before Sierra realized that she was running low on her drink. She had to admit, they were actually really good. As she was about to attempt to squeeze through the large crowd to head back to the bar, the stage went silent as the song finished.

"So, for this next song. I'd like to have someone join me on stage if that's alright with you guys." Asher slowly strummed at his guitar while talking to the crowd. He looked out to all of the people and the girls standing in the pit went crazy around Sierra. They were screaming like banshees. Including Nora.

She tried to walk backwards, the last thing she needed was to go onto that stage. No, what she needed right now was another drink, and to keep dancing with Nora along to some pretty good music. Plus, there was no way in hell he would even pick her anyway. There were tons of gorgeous girls that had shown up to this club tonight.

Sierra turned around to walk away, and that there, was her mistake. It made her stick out, as if a golden light was shining like a beacon upon her head. Before she noticed however, Asher got back to the microphone.

"Leaving so soon?" Sierra looked over her shoulder and made direct contact with Asher Jay's intense gray eyes. Suddenly she needed more than just one drink. Quickly, shaking her head hoping it would suffice, he kept speaking, "Actually why don't you just come up here instead? I promise this show is fun. C'mon."

His grin was wide, and his teeth were perfectly white. Sierra didn't even notice Nora practically screaming in her ear for her to go, or the security at her side slowly walking her toward the stage. She was slightly speechless and a bit out of touch with what was happening.

Before she knew it, she was at the barricade and Asher was directly in front of her. Sierra shrieked a little when the security guard behind her lifted her up and over the rail. Jeez, how strong were these men? Sierra reminded herself not to mess with any bouncers, ever. She glanced behind her, trying to catch Nora's eye for any type of reassurance. Nora was a little bit back, but she could still see her giving her a big thumbs up. Great. Not the reassurance Sierra was exactly looking for.

Sierra hoisted herself up onto the stage, suddenly frightened. Over 150 people had their eyes on her directly, including a very attractive singer and his bandmates. She wrung her hands together and just kind of stood awkwardly not knowing what to do. Time seemed to go by extremely slowly until Asher walked over to her.

"Hi, love. What's your name?" He asked sweetly into his microphone.

Oh, he probably does this to all the girls at every show.

Sierra was thinking in her head, but then came back to reality to answer his question, "Sierra." She said into the microphone when he pointed it into her face. It was slightly odd hearing her voice like that, being heard throughout the building. He smiled again at her, "Well, Sierra, this song is for you."

Too awkward for this. Is this like a slow dance? Or do I make a run for it? Would a stage dive be more dramatic? Should definitely just stage dive my way out of this. Shit...too late.

These were the kind of thoughts running through Sierra's head as Asher grabbed her hand and took her to center stage as the rest of the band started to play what seemed like a slow song. She had no idea what to expect, this was nothing like she'd ever experienced. She always lived a boring life, never on the edge, never doing anything remotely like this. Hell, she'd hardly been this close with a guy. Let alone an attractive one, and a singer at that.

Asher pulled her close and started to sing in a gorgeous voice. She hadn't really been paying attention before as she'd been dancing with Nora, but she definitely was now. He was staring right into her blue eyes as if he could really see her. Understand her. Nobody had ever looked at her like that. She was tempted to walk off right then and there. The song, the look, the closeness, she wasn't used to this. It was all so much.

Sierra started to pull away, and he let her body go and just held on to her hand. He caressed her palm with his thumb as he sang in a slow, melodic voice. It was almost mesmerizing. She took a deep breath and decided, this can just be a moment. A moment to enjoy good emotions. Sierra hadn't truly had that since her mother had died, she'd been so sad, so maybe she would just let herself enjoy it. She deserved to enjoy this.

She stepped back in Asher's embrace and his arm wrapped around her waist while the other kept the microphone against his lips.

He continued the song, while the crowd lit up the lights on their phones. Sierra glanced at the beautiful sight in awe. It must be amazing doing what he does. Being able to do something that you actually love for a living. She didn't even notice that she had started to softly smile.

She sighed into him, and he pressed his forehead against hers as the song came to an end. They just stared into each others eyes for a few moments before he kissed her cheek as the stage went dark.

The crowd was suddenly screaming again, and Sierra came back to reality. None of it was real, he was a singer and she was a city girl barely making ends meet. He was just giving the crowd a good show, she reminded herself. He was too good looking anyway, someone like him was probably dating a model.

Sierra smiled back at him anyway. He gave her a good memory, for one night, and she felt happy again. For once, she had forgotten everything and just lived. Before she knew it, however, she heard Nora in front of the stage shouting to her. Sierra had no idea how she'd managed that one, but then again, Nora was capable of just about anything. She took another deep breath before walking out of Asher's embrace.

Sierra thought she might've heard him say something, but didn't think anything of it. She couldn't see his expression, the stage was too dark. All she knew was that she should get back to Nora, go home, and sleep off the hangover she would most likely have tomorrow.