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Once I was seated, I turned my attention back toward the performer and immediately my breath caught in my throat. A strong shock of electricity jolted through me, tightening my chest to the point where my nerves made my body vibrate.
Through narrowed eyes, I squinted up at the familiar-but-not hot rugged guy sitting up on the stage. Everything about him was insanely attractive as he belted out the famous rock tune to the audience with his eyes half-closed.
My gaze honed in on his long nimble fingers as they worked effortlessly over the fret, and my attention was riveted to the man I knew far better than I should have.
Confusion and denial had me reasoning it couldn't possibly have been Sawyer, because the hot bearded musician before me was dressed a mile apart from my Sawyer, and was so naturally talented and at home up there he'd been performing for years.
From what I could remember the similarities were remarkable, and when I couldn't reconcile the man in the suit from the wine bar with the man I was looking at, I felt completely confused.
It had been ten months since I'd seen my stranger in the wine bar, yet his image was firmly ingrained in my mind. Despite how different the guy singing on the stage looked, he still bore a striking resemblance to the man I knew as Sawyer Wild.
This man had a similar hairstyle and same dark brown color with a satiny-looking texture, though it was an inch or two longer on the top. He looked more rugged, far wilder, and less aware in his appearance than the immaculately dressed man I had encountered before.
However, with every minute that passed, I grew more certain the hot-as-hell musician performing in front of me was the same young man who'd defended my dignity in front of my husband and his mistress.
Bewildered, I sat while my whole body trembled from seeing him again, and I was stumped by his change of career from the suave lady-killer I'd met in the wine bar to that of the grungy, sexy rocker up on stage.
It was only when he began to sing "Jealous" by Labyrinth that his beautiful hazel eyes roamed over the audience and they casually happened upon mine. I knew the instant he recognized me when he rewarded my presence with huge wide eyes and a perfectly wicked toothy smile.
A shock of electricity thrilled me as it coursed through my veins, heated my blood, and made me instantly blush. I couldn't believe it when he acknowledged me with a salute during a break in the beat and my heart almost burst out of my chest.
Tricia's head snapped in my direction, her huge wide eyes bulging in question. "Was that for you? That salute? Do you know him?" Tricia shrilled, her hand grabbing my wrist and locking it tight to my thigh.
"Maybe," I stated, a little embarrassed because I was out on a date and unsure about how to explain who Sawyer was and how I had met him. For starters, his business card had said he was a male escort, not a musician.
Secondly, I wasn't at all sure the name he'd given me at the time was his real one, despite the business card. And thirdly, how did I tell her I had once locked tonsils with him when he was a gentleman escort? The whole story sounded like something I'd have said during a game of Never Have I Ever.
"You're a dark horse, lady. How do you know him?" she probed further.
"Shh," demanded the guy behind us, which made us both turn and focus a glare on him before we looked back at the stage.
"I'll tell you later," I promised in a whisper, glad for the burly bald guy's timely interruption. As Tricia settled down, I began to have a quiet meltdown about what I would say to Sawyer if he were to approach our table after the gig to speak to us.
Glancing toward Vince and Graham, I felt grateful they were both wrapped up in the music and hadn't noticed the interaction between me and my friend.
A break in Sawyer's performance gave us the opportunity to talk to the guys, and during the conversation, my mind drifted again to Sawyer. Luckily, it was only a ten-minute intermission and by the time the lights dimmed again no one appeared to have noticed I hadn't been paying much attention to them.
The instant the spotlight shone on stage, my gaze was pinned toward it and the handsome young man who had broken all the rules in a wine bar ten months before when he'd kissed me.
Perching his butt on a high four-legged stool, Sawyer lifted his guitar and flipped the thick leather strap over his head. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a guitar pick and placed it nimbly between his teeth.
As my hungry eyes followed his every move, they settled on his full, sensual mouth and my core pulsed. Situating himself comfortably on his stool, he adjusted the mic and leaned forward to speak.
"About nine or ten months ago I heard this song on a playlist a day or so after an all-too-brief encounter with a very beautiful lady. Since then, each time I've heard it played on the radio, it has reminded me of her and that rainy day afternoon," he told the audience, with a wicked grin and a suggestive raise of a brow. All coherent thought scattered when I realized he was referring to when he met me.
A ripple of laughter ran through the transfixed crowd. "It isn't a song I can sing to myself, so let me find someone to help." Pretending to look through the crowd for a suitable candidate, his gorgeous hazel eyes scanned over the crowd in the bar before they settled on me. Being shy, I instantly felt like I'd wanted to die.
Staring up at him open-mouthed, I shook my head slowly, my eyes locked into his in a silent plea not to single me out, but when he pointed at me and I refused, he engaged the audience to coax me when I wouldn't budge.
Quietly dying inside from all the attention, I relented. I could see he was hell-bent on not backing down, and with the help of Vince and Graham, I was hoisted up onto the stage as Sawyer swung his guitar behind him and engulfed me in a warm embrace. As soon as he wrapped his arms around me, a thrill of desire shot through me and I felt weak at the knees.
Leaning back to look at me he shot me a wicked sexy grin, stepped back, but placed his large warm hand in mine. Another shock of electricity raced all over my body like a chaotic pinball, waking my desires as his hands moved to my waist and he settled me onto his stool.
When he leaned forward and I felt his hot breath on my cheek, a shiver ran down my spine. The smell of beer, spearmint gum, and the mandarin body wash he'd used surrounded me as he whispered sensually into my ear, "Damn, you look so fucking hot with this long curly dry hair."
When my eyes snapped up to meet his, he grinned, and my previously stuttering heart suddenly began to beat out of my chest with a mixture of desire, fear and longing. He winked, softened his smile, and turned us back to the audience before I could think on my feet.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the lovely Billie. Give her a round of applause, guys." My heart leaped again when he mentioned my name. He hadn't forgotten. As the audience indulged Sawyer the showman, he placed the mic close to us both, and grinning, he leaned toward it like he was having the time of his life. "Billie, this is for you," he murmured in a tone laced with seduction.
He began to play "Perfect Strangers" by INXS, and when I saw everyone staring at us, I thought I was going to faint. I tried to tell myself that his choice of the song had been in his set all along. I had just about convinced myself of this, but the words he sang couldn't have been more fitting for what might have happened had I used the business card he left for me to call him.
By the second verse of the song, I had lost all sense of reality. The world fell away, as it had once before when I became lost in his intense gaze. At that moment, we were alone. I had never been so tempted to kiss a man nor had I been hypnotized by the dulcet rich tones of another performer. Then again, no one had ever sung to me like they had meant it as Sawyer had either.
Why is he doing this to me? My flustered brain felt swamped by the seductive words of the song, as I sat there stunned by the whole unexpected episode. I wondered why such a young Adonic-looking guy was focused on me. Sawyer was the type of man most women dreamed of sharing their bed with. At the same time, the thrill of this wasn't lost on me.
Before I knew where I was the song had come to an end. My 'other life' fantasy where a virile, stunningly handsome man like him would be interested in someone like me came to a screeching halt when he turned and unpredictably thanked my date, Vince, for being a good sport and allowing me up there with him.
