Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story by Ann Lister Read Free Book Online Page A

night. 
    In the far off distance, Annie heard the roar of Michael’s car engine slice through the stillness of the night.  She closed her eyes and smiled, hugging herself tightly.  She shivered at the memory of his touch, collected her music and guitar, and went inside. 
    She wanted him so badly and it wasn’t purely physical.  It reached beyond his kiss, far deeper than the burn he left on her skin from the touch of his fingers.  It was something she saw behind his eyes.  She felt like a moth to his flame.  Every time he looked at her, he drew her in deeper.  Every part of her body ached for him.
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Annie and White Rush hit the stage on time, just as Michael slipped in from the back door escorted again by his bodyguard.  He quietly grabbed a stool and sat stage left, out of view from the audience.  Annie’s face beamed with excitement when she saw him and quickly missed three chords in a row.  Michael skewed his face, grinned back at her, and teasingly shook his head in mock disgust.  Annie was relieved when the set was over and darted off stage to say hello to him.
    “Aren’t you going to play solo while they take a break?” Michael asked.
    “I wanted to say hello to you first,” Annie replied, feeling like a young girl trying to impress her teacher.
    “Why don’t you play the song you played for me last night.”
    “No way.  I can’t,” Annie shot back, shocked by his suggestion.
    “Why not?  It sounded great to me,” Michael coaxed.
    “It’s too personal.  I can’t.”
    “Then, you wrote that song for yourself?”
    “I guess you could say that,” she replied.
    “That’s a cop-out and you know it.”
    “Michael, I can’t.  Gary hasn’t even heard it and I don’t feel it is ready to be played on stage yet.”
    “Okay, fine.  Then I guess we’ll have to work on it some more.”
    Annie grabbed her acoustic guitar and headed back on stage to a roaring applause from the audience.
    “That’s what it’s all about,” Michael nodded, knowing exactly what Annie was feeling at that very moment.
    An hour and a half later, White Rush was packing up their equipment with another exuberant gig under their belts.
    “Before you leave, Michael, I have something for you,” Annie said, touching him on the arm.  Then she bent behind her guitar cases and picked up his leather biker jacket. “You forgot this last night,” she said, casually handing it to him.
    “I knew it!” Gary shouted, as he headed for the van with his arms loaded down with cables.  “He’s screwing her!  I told you guys this would happen,” Gary screamed toward Buzz and Ivory.
    Michael tossed his coat onto a nearby cocktail table and caught Gary just as he came off the stage stairs.  Quick as lightening, Michael clamped his left hand around Gary’s throat, and pushed him up against the wall with a loud thud.  His right hand coiled behind his head, balled into a fist, and aimed for impact against Gary’s face.
    Michael’s speed caught Gary off guard and the cables fell from his arms.  Gary stood there, arms flailing like a helpless rag doll, desperate to loosen Michael’s grip around his neck.
    “I'm not screwing your ex-wife,” Michael spat his words between clenched teeth into Gary's face.  “And I resent the fact that you're implying I am.”
    An eerie silence fell around the stage stairs while the bodyguard swiftly flanked Michael’s right side, every-ready to quell a fight.  Luckily, the only people left in the club were the wait-staff and bouncers picking up after a busy night.  Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard the raised voices coming from the stage area.  You could have heard a pin drop.  Annie was afraid to draw a breath.
    “I think you should show her some respect and say you’re sorry,” Michael hissed, as he squeezed the flesh around Gary’s esophagus a bit tighter.
    “Go to hell,” Gary coughed.  Before the last word was out