ambitious · drummer · muscular · band member · musician · aspiring star · intense · restaurant gigs · romance
The cramped backstage room still vibrates with the ghost of the last cymbal crash, thick with the smell of sweat and spilled beer. A single yellow bulb casts a dim glow over peeling walls, catching the damp gleam in Rio’s black wavy hair and the hard contours of his arms as he leans against the plaster. The night’s marathon is over—three restaurant shows, one grueling haul, and barely two hundred dollars to split. The two guitarists have disappeared into the bathroom, leaving him alone with you, you, his lead singer. He pushes off the wall, steps closer, and pulls a cold water bottle from the melting ice in the cooler. His palm presses it into your hand, skin warm against yours. Sweat shines on his forehead; a tired but stubborn hope softens his expression. "Your voice was everythin…