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Some people sat at a desk for their job. Some people stood up all day working behind a cash register trying to sell someone something they didn’t need. Some people saved lives, like many doctors. Some people ruined lives, like many lawyers. And some people got to entertain thousands upon thousands of people under one roof with songs they created.
This was Slater Heart’s job and he loved it.
The band hit the stage with their music loud, it pumped into the crowd and fed off their energy. Slater Heart hit the stage just moments after the intro to the opening song. Flashes of fire and sounds of thunder boomed as he jumped through smoke and seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The screams from the crowd were deafening. The sea of people moved in time to one of Heart & Soul’s very first hits. Mouths moved along to the words. Fans who had seen concerts throughout the years had become seasoned with not only the lyrics from the original song, but additional words and hand gestures Slater threw into the live show over time. It never ceased to amaze him to see diehards know exactly what his next move would be when he sang certain lines.
He worked the front of the stage, pointed to fans, smiled at young, hopeful girls, and high-fived anyone lucky enough to reach their hand close to him. He was here to entertain them, and he was here to deliver. He lived for this.
The size of tonight’s house had been Heart & Soul’s norm for nearly a decade now. Some of them were bigger, none of them were smaller. Every person in the venue meant something to Slater. Without the fans, the band wouldn’t be where they were, where they had stayed for so long. The house was full of eager fans he was more than happy to please, but the truth was there was only one person he was performing for tonight. Alexandra Heart.
Alex stood off the side of the stage with Mona. She volleyed between smiling with pride while she watched Slater move on stage and staring in awe at the size of the crowd and the energy in the air.
“Wow.” Mona leaned down to speak loudly in Alex’s ear. “I can’t believe this is the first time we’ve ever been to one of their concerts, and we’re not even watching it from the audience!”
“I know,” Alex answered. Her mouth watered with want for Slater once more as she observed his performance. “But I think Ben was right, it’s too risky. Look at that crowd. We would definitely get trampled out there!”
Mona followed Alex’s gaze and read her friend’s mind. She only had eyes for Chris James, but she appreciated sexy men, and Slater Heart oozed sex as he performed. She nudged Alex with her elbow to get her attention and yelled over the noise. “You better tell him tonight!”
Alex matched her volume. “I am, I promise! I’m ready for him to know! Oh, my God!”
Alex’s eyes widened as a new song started. She and Mona gripped each other’s hands, jumped up and down with excitement, and yelled simultaneously, “I love this song!”
Chris stood front and center with Slater, one leg propped on a speaker as he played the chords to the song. He sang into the microphone with Slater when he stepped to his side and hooked his arm around Chris’s neck. He moved a few steps to the side to let Slater interact with the crowd, then looked offstage at Alex and Mona and laughed to himself at the show the two of them put on. He nudged Slater to take a look at their women on the side.
Alex and Mona stood back-to-back, they shook their bottoms together, eyes closed as they sang along to the song. Alex lifted her arms over her head with abandon. She got lost in the music and shimmied her body sexily when Mona turned to face her.
“Damn!” Chris yelled to Slater at a break in the song. “I want to join their party. They’re having a great time!”
Slater nodded with Chris. He kept up with the song, looked offstage, and made eye contact with Alex. He winked at her and beckoned with his fingers for her to come to him.
It took a moment for his gesture to register with her, she was so caught up in the song. She continued to dance and blew him a kiss. “No way! No!” She shook her head vehemently and waved him away so he could finish their song.
Not a stranger to adjusting to spontaneous moments in their show, Slater finished the song, signaled to Mark and Chris, and did a half-turn with a nod to Drummer to hold off on beginning the next song. He spoke to the audience. “Thank you. You guys are awesome! This is a great crowd, but I have to apologize.” He walked to the drum platform and grabbed his bottle of water to soothe his throat and catch his breath. “I keep getting distracted by a hot little number standing on the side of the stage here.” He looked at Alex again and motioned for her to come to him once more. He chuckled when she stood behind Mona’s shoulder with another negative shake of her head. “If you can all give me a minute,” he said with a laugh. “Hang on!”
Chris kept up with his adlibbing and strummed gently on his guitar.
Praying Slater would let it go for her to join him on stage and banter with the crowd, Alex stood still and watched him. She slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans, her eyes widened when Slater walked her way with purpose. “What the hell?” She looked at Mona questioningly.
Wondering what Slater had up his sleeve, Mona shrugged her shoulders at Alex. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Slater stood directly in front of her and spoke into the microphone. “You’ll forgive me later,” he decided as he tucked the mic into his back pocket.
“What?” Alex asked with confusion, her heart raced at the look of determination in his eyes. He didn’t answer her, simply pulled her into his arms and bent slightly at his knees, tossed her over his shoulder, and carried her onto the stage with him. “No!” Alex screamed, stunned as she watched her world turn in front of her eyes. She looked up at Mona from over Slater’s shoulder with a look of shock on her face. Laughing and screaming at the same time, she smacked at Slater’s backside and demanded he put her down.
Slater stopped center stage and took the mic out of his pocket. Alex was still over his shoulder, her jean-clad bottom on display for the full house. “What’s up?” he said to the crowd without a care in the world. He adjusted Alex on his shoulder while she squirmed to get away.
Alex looked at Chris with a pleading look on her face. She gritted her teeth in frustration when Chris shook his head and wouldn’t stop laughing. He didn’t know what the hell Slater was up to, but he was enjoying every minute of this.
The crowd screamed, whistled, and clapped as they waited for Slater to continue. He set Alex down but held onto her tightly so she wouldn’t run away. He kissed her and turned her around to the audience. “Some of you may recognize this pretty lady right here.”
Alex pushed at him. She blushed to her core and sought for a way to get off of the stage, but that felt impossible with the hold he had on her. She attempted to walk away when he kept his arm tightly across her body so she couldn’t move.
From behind her, he said to the crowd, “Unless you were living under a rock for the last year, you’re probably aware that Alexandra Lorraine and I had a little secret.” More screams came from the crowd. “After ten years of hiding that from everyone, you all found out, didn’t you? Well,” he said smugly. “I finally did something about it and married her and now she’s Alexandra Heart.” He waved his hand in front of her shirt to show off her title. More screams and applause accompanied that announcement. “Smart move, don’t you think?” He paused for effect and let the crowd respond the way he knew they would with more cheers. He looked down at Alex and spoke into the microphone. “You’re probably thinking of a thousand ways to murder me right now, aren’t you?”
Alex did the only thing she knew how to do in such an impromptu situation. She played along, snagged the mic out of his hand, and spoke into it with warning. “A thousand and one.”
He squeezed her to him, his chest shook with laughter against her back while the audience reacted to the play fight between husband and wife. “You know,” he informed her as he took the microphone back. “Over the years, I wrote a few songs about you.”
“Yes, I know.” Alex nodded while Slater held the microphone up for the crowd to hear her response. “And if you’re thinking about singing the one I’m afraid you’re thinking of singing; this marriage could be short-lived.”
“Aw, honey,” he chuckled with the audience. “You wouldn’t leave me over a little strand of pearls, would you?”
“No!” Alex gasped over the noise in the house. Her skin was bright red as she turned her body close to his. “Don’t you dare! Oh, my God, Slater no!”
He put his mouth close to her ear, saying for her only, “I’m determined to make you love that song, just like I was determined to make you love it when I want to taste you, and I accomplished that, didn’t I? You sure as hell weren’t complaining about that half an hour ago, you were asking for it.” He winked at her when her mouth opened in shock.
Her attention was diverted when Chris ran up to them and handed Alex a microphone of her own. “I’m not singing with him, Chris!” Alex yelled over the noise, horrified.
He shook his head and spoke in her ear. “No. Use it to start listing the ways you want to murder him while he sings the song. It’ll be funny as hell. The audience will love it!” He grinned at her and ran to his guitar.
“You know...” Slater turned Alex toward the crowd and held her tightly to him as he continued speaking. “We never made an official video to this song because there was only one person I wanted in it.”
“Never gonna happen, pal,” Alex said quickly.
Slater smiled and gave the audience a knowing look. “Never say never. Got you to do that other video with me, didn’t I?” He nodded at Chris to start the music.
Alex tried to break out of Slater’s hold once more and run to safety off the stage, but he had her tight, and he wasn’t letting her go. She looked over to Mona and Ben with pleading eyes, but they were no help at all. They laughed along with everyone else.
As Slater started the intro to the song, with a breathy “oohhh”, she could feel the vibrations of his chest when he started to sing. The music was so loud, her heart thumped against her chest as loudly as the drums.
Slater sang the first line. “Put on your pearls, touch yourself for me.”
Alex thought quickly about what she wanted to do to him at that moment and voiced her intentions into the microphone. “Way number one to murder you. A plastic bag over your head while you sleep.”
Slater smiled and sang the next line. “I want to see the blush, cover your body.”
“Number two cut the brake lines on your car,” she said playfully and tried once more to wiggle free.
Slater walked backward, he still held onto her tightly and sat on a speaker. He pulled her onto his lap as he sang the next line. “I want to see your fingers, move against your skin.”
“Number three,” Alex said with maliciousness. “Gas, it’s quiet and painless.”
“I want to see your fingers, moving out and in... out and in.”
She closed her eyes and cringed while he sang that line and spoke with clenched teeth. “Number four, find out what you’re allergic to and sneak it into your food!”
“Shit!” Slater laughed out loud at that one and stumbled over the song. “You’d do that to me, baby?”
“I’m considering it,” she answered dryly.
Slater returned to the song. For every line he sang, Alex came up with a way to end his life. Each murderous act was more vicious than the one before as she played along. The crowd loved every minute of it. She was still mortified to hear this song but would now look at it in a different light, thanks to Chris. She wasn’t sure she would have gotten through the performance without his suggestion to turn it into something funny.
Slater finished the song. He had to improvise the lyrics a bit with Alex’s threats thrown in. The gleam in Alex’s eye held a hint of warning that he was going to catch a bit of hell from her when the concert was over. With his grip still tight on her, he sang the final line while he looked into her eyes. “Shatter under your touch, I want you so fucking much.” He pulled her to him and kissed her.
The screams and applause from the crowd were piercing. Slater finally loosened his hold on Alex so she could stand up. He linked his fingers with hers and held her hand. She humorously bowed to the audience and gave them a moment to quiet down before she spoke into her mic.
She playfully glared at Slater. “Ok, you’ve had your fun. Can I go now?”
Slater still held onto her hand as she started to step away from him. “Only if you promise not to leave me.”
Alex let go of his hand. She wanted to get off the stage as quickly as she could. The crowd was silent and hung onto their every word. This funny little exchange between husband and wife would be spoken about for years.
“I’m not leaving you,” Alex promised. She shook her head and held her hand against her stomach as she blurted out, “I’m not raising this kid on my own. Oh, my God!” she gasped, her eyes were wide with shock. Her microphone dropped to the stage floor with a loud thud as she clapped her hands over her mouth.
Slater stopped dead in his tracks as he walked toward her. His heart stopped as Alex’s revelation sunk in. “What the fuck did you just say?” he demanded loudly into the microphone.
They stood frozen and stared at each other. The volume of the audience was chaotic while they fed off of the moment. Alex glanced quickly over her shoulder to see Ben shake his head. Her head whipped back to the stage to see Chris as he leaned against a speaker and clapped his hands with the crowd. She looked over her shoulder once more and somehow heard Mona’s voice above the noise. “Now thousands of people know!”
“Oh, my God,” Alex whispered, as she looked into Slater’s eyes. She desperately needed to escape, and silently demanded her legs to move.
Still looking at Alex in shock, unable to believe the news, Slater picked up Alex’s mic off the floor. He turned to Chris and handed him both of their microphones and yelled over the noise. “Do your guitar solo, I need a minute!”
The moment he turned away, Alex made a break for it and ran off the stage. Close behind her, Slater grabbed her arm, steered her toward his dressing room, and slammed the door shut behind him. Alone at last, he searched her eyes and stared at her in awe. “Allie?” he questioned.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen... I didn’t mean...” She stumbled over her words as she gestured toward the stage. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that.” Her voice cracked and her eyes filled with tears.
Slater took one step closer to her, cupped her face in his hands, and smiled into her eyes. “Allie?” he questioned again. “Honey are we having a baby?”
She smiled softly, tears spilled over onto her cheeks, her eyes fluttered as she nodded her head. “Yes,” she confirmed. Her voice hitched with emotion and her chin trembled. “But it wasn’t supposed to be like that. I didn’t mean to do that, I’m sorry.” She spoke quickly as she sniffled. “I wanted to tell you in a cute, creative way. Something memorable.”
“That was definitely memorable.” He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers to let the news sink in. “When did you find out?”
“I’ve suspected it since you left, but the doctor confirmed it yesterday.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you suspected something?” he asked quickly.
“I didn’t want to worry you-”
“Why didn’t you tell me when you knew?” he interrupted her.
“I didn’t want to tell you over the phone. Then I didn’t want to tell you until after the concert so you wouldn’t lose focus on the show, and...” She took a deep breath, her body sizzled with electricity at his presence. “If I had told you right away, you wouldn’t have had sex with me the way you did. You would have been scared and gentle with me and I wanted it rough and dirty.”
Slater shook his head with a laugh. “As long as rough and dirty is safe, I’ll still give it to you that way. But, you’re right, now I want to be gentle with you. God!” He kissed her softly, then thought about her behavior since her arrival. “This explains so much. The emotions, the eating, the sleeping, the sex. You’re feeling ok, right?”
“So far,” she answered. “Just weepy, tired, hungry and-”
“Horny,” he finished for her. “I wondered what the hell was going on with you!”
“Now you know.” She slipped her arms around his neck, her eyes filled with tears once more. “You’re going to be a daddy.”
“And you’re going to be a mommy. Wow,” he breathed. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her tightly. “I know you wanted to wait a while. You’re not upset, are you?”
“No!” Alex shook her head and smiled at him. “I couldn’t be happier.”
“I’m so happy.” Slater pulled her close again, did a quick turn with her in his arms, then stopped suddenly. “Shit! The way I threw you over my shoulder.” He placed his hand gingerly on her stomach. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No,” Alex promised with a quick shake of her head.
“What about the baby, I didn’t hurt the baby, did I?” he asked, his voice full of worry.
“No, it’s ok. This little guy is in there securely. Everything is fine,” she assured him.
“Oh, Allie.” He embraced her again. “I can’t believe this.” He tilted her head back by her chin and kissed her.
“Slater,” she gasped and pulled away from him. “My hormones are on overdrive, so unless you plan on finishing this, you better stop kissing me that way.”
“We’ll get to that later,” he promised. The music from the stage interrupted their moment. “I guess I better get out there.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Alex whispered.
He didn’t make a move to leave his dressing room, his mind still raced with the information. “We have so much to talk about.”
“I know.” She understood there were a lot of details to be worked through now that the news was out. “But you have a show to finish. Come on.” She took his hand in hers. “Let’s get you back on stage, mister.”
Hand in hand, they walked to the stage. The two of them accepted congratulations from various people they passed. They stopped on the side of the stage and waited for Chris to finish his solo.
Mona turned to Slater with a smile as she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. “Congratulations, papa.”
“Wow.” Slater returned her embrace. “I can’t believe it. You knew all along?”
“I suspected all along. I didn’t know until she heard from her doctor yesterday.”
Slater placed Alex in front of Mona. He took Mona’s arms and wrapped them around Alex from behind. “You take care of her while I’m out there, ok?”
“Of course.” Mona’s eyes glistened with happy tears. She hugged Alex from behind and rested her chin on the top of Alex’s head. “I won’t let her out of my sight,” she promised.
Alex sighed as Slater leaned down and kissed her. With her hands on Mona’s arms, she leaned into her friend and felt the love and support. If there was anyone else in her life she loved as much as she loved Slater Heart, it was Mona Davis. She was certain in the near future there would be a third person who held that honor. She watched as Ben approached Slater before he returned to stage.
Ben shook Slater’s hand. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks, Ben.” Slater hooked his arm around Ben’s neck in a casual hug and said for Ben’s ears only, “No one touches her, got it?”
“Got it.” Ben stepped away from the scene and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He knew that additional security would be needed for when Slater and Alex left tonight.
Slater walked onto the stage as the audience showered Chris with their love and appreciation after his solo. He accepted handshakes all around from the band and looked at Chris with a smile. “Now I understand what you meant when you said the night might get even better.”
Chris grinned at him. Their heads were close together as they spoke over the noise. “How do you feel, man?”
“Pretty fucking awesome!” Slater smiled, grabbed his microphone, and turned to the audience. He waited a beat for them to silence. “Well,” he said with a wide smile. “I’m the first person to tell you not to believe everything you read in the magazines or see about us on TV, but you all just heard that straight from the source. I’m going to be a father!”
The crowd went wild with screams and whistles. Chris started the intro for the next song. Slater kept time with him as he danced to the music then jumped onto Drummer’s platform. He bent at the waist with his hands on his thighs while he shook his head in wonder. “Holy shit!” he yelled into the microphone as Drummer punctuated his excitement with a good hit to the snare. “I’m going to be a father!”
Slater punched the air in victory and jumped off the platform as fireworks and flashes of light were set off. Heart & Soul rocked the house like they never rocked it before. The energy was alive and electric throughout the rest of the concert. Slater was pumped full of elation at Alex’s news, unable to hold back smiles and occasional laughter to himself when he had flashbacks of how she announced it to him.
Alex watched the rest of the concert with Mona’s arms protectively around her, beaming with pride at Slater’s performance. She smiled and laughed with him at the numerous times he caught her eye from the stage and winked at her with happiness, able to feel the love he had for her in just a look. Her heart was full of such love, emotion, and anticipation with what lie ahead for them in their new adventure.