Haze by Andrea Wolfe (best motivational books for students txt) 📕

When he got up to make me a fancy cocktail, everyone else noticed and collectively asked him for their own fancy drinks. Jack just groaned and laughed, turning back to the bottles of liquor and getting to work.

Everyone served, he sat back down and relaxed. "I might be too tired to perform now."

"I hope that's not the case when we get home tonight," I whispered in his ear. He gave me a wicked smile and said nothing further.

The party continued until finally, it was show time. Jack stood up and hugged me. "Here we go," he said happily.

"Figuratively break a leg," I said, my words a little slurred from the alcohol. I was drunker than I had intended, but then again, Jack was the one feeding me the drinks.

Karla and I walked back out to the venue ahead of the band—I had somehow managed to convince her to join me in the seats—I was amazed when we didn't see a single open seat in the house outside of the front row that was roped off for us. A total transformation from the empty interior we had seen earlier.

Everyone was laughing and talking, all excited to see the main event: Lexy Brown featuring The Jack Teller Band.

I didn't pay to get in like they did, but that didn't mean I was any less thrilled about the show. I couldn't believe how many photographers were there, scrambling around at the front of the stage to try to get the best possible photo for whatever their hip publication was.

The stage lights dropped, and then Lexy walked out alone, acoustic guitar in hand, gushing sex appeal. I joined the roar of the crowd, ecstatic about being there for this moment. She did the first song solo, and then as she strummed the final chord, a guitar lead broke out, one that made the audience even wilder.

It was the single—and they were crazy about it.

Bright lights exploded across the stage as Jack and band joined her. I almost choked on my drink as Jack sprang to life, not unlike a super hero on that stage. I rarely saw him practice guitar, and here he was, strumming away like a pro. His adroit fingers could do it anything, it seemed.

The bass drum rocked the whole theater as everyone joined in. I had never seen a more enthusiastic backing band in my life. Jack switched back and forth between guitar and keyboard duties depending on the song. It didn't matter what he played; he was great. He sang backing vocals too, his voice familiar from my brief foray into his hidden catalog.

They played through a long, full set, the only band on the schedule for tonight. Lexy had such a huge variety of songs so early in her career. Yeah, it felt like I was watching a seasoned veteran of the industry, not some beginner that Jack was just launching at this very show.

He definitely knew talent when he saw it. Paired with his own abilities, I knew Lexy was going to be unstoppable.

The band ripped through emotional highs and lows, tender moments, and moments of unremitting rock 'n' roll. Karla and I had a great time watching, dancing occasionally, spouting off compliments that only we heard.

"Jack is so fucking awesome," she shouted at me more than once.

"I know!" It was my very likely inaudible answer each and every time.

I was so captivated that I lost track of time, lost track of the world. I was totally absorbed by this experience. Going on tour sounded like a blast, especially if every night was anything like this. It wasn't clear whether it would still be as fun after a month straight, but I didn't need to worry about that right now.

"I want to thank everyone for coming out. And I especially want to thank Jack Teller. This is our last song."

The crowd roared and I joined in again. Jack gave me an award-winning smile and then started their last song. When it was over, the crowd wouldn't shut up and there wound up being two encores. Honestly, I became as much of a screaming fan as everyone else in that audience. Like them, I wanted more too!

Finally, they finished and departed the stage. The crowd slowly started clearing out behind us, and due to our position in the VIP area, the security left us alone. My heart pounded as I realized the genesis I had witnessed. This was a huge day for Lexy and a huge weekend for Jack and me. The energy in the room was almost a tangible thing, something I could hold in my fingers.

Lexy eventually came out from the back and was flooded by desperate stragglers looking for an autograph. Security tried to herd them out, but they were relentless. Lexy seemed appreciative, however, and signed whatever was thrust in front of her.

Jack met us on the side of the stage, motioning for us to follow back to the lounge area again.

"How was I?" he asked as I approached him.

I ran up and hugged him, unable to contain my excitement at all. "Fucking hot."

"You're the superficial one! God." He stroked my hair gently.

"You were awesome and talented and brilliant and all that other stuff." I kissed his cheek, the saltiness of his sweat immediately apparent.

Karla stood behind us, acting like she was peeved about our public display of affection. "Is there a problem, Karla?" Jack asked jokingly. I slid to his side, remaining attached to his waist the whole time I moved.

"I'm just fine, Jack. And damn good job out there. Haven't seen a better show in ages."

"NYC's finest," he said with a nod. "And now the album is gonna blow up and make us all rich."

"I hope," Karla mumbled. "I'm gonna go get more drinks and act like I care what the bloggers have to say."

Jack laughed and smiled as she walked away. "Do you want to party more?" he asked.

I was exhausted, but I didn't want to say anything that might ruin