“Someone to understand them, and you just may be the one!”
Peter waited a few moments, then effortlessly ran through the bass riff. Several girls who were huddled around the stage sighed; Peter grinned, shimmying his hips and listening in amused appreciation as two of them shrieked.
The high-pitched sound of Micky’s laughter reached his ears and he turned, grinning openly at the drummer. Peter returned his attention to the crowd; that was when he spotted them.
The girl was medium height, medium build, with long brown hair combed straight down the sides of her face. She was dancing by herself when a young man came up to her, smiling invitingly as he danced next to her. She frowned and moved away, and the young man followed, his grin growing wider. The song drew to a close, and the girl clapped, keeping her eyes firmly focused on the stage. The young man at her side wasted no time, slipping his arm around her shoulders and whispering in her ear. She placed her palms on his chest and firmly pushed him away; he grabbed her wrists and pulled her close as Mike counted off for ‘The Girl I Knew Somewhere.’
Peter watched as she struggled against him, trying to wrench away. Everyone around them was dancing and laughing, so her struggle went unnoticed.
Suddenly the young man pulled her to him and kissed her; her eyes went wide and she looked right at Peter, silently begging him for help.
Peter looked behind him, spotting Micky’s spare drumsticks on the riser next to the bass drum. Ignoring the puzzled looks of his bandmates—who were obviously wondering why he hadn’t started to play yet—he grabbed one of the sticks. Straightening, he raised his arm and fired it at the young man. It caught the youth right on the temple with a loud crack; he reeled, his hand going to his head.
The girl looked at Peter and mouthed the words “Thank you” before disappearing into the stunned, silent crowd.
“Peter!” Mike shouted—not in surprise, but in alarm. “Uh, sorry about that, folks—we’re gonna take a ten minute break. We’ll be right back.” He unslung his guitar and grabbed Peter, hauling the dazed bassist from the stage as Micky and Davy brought up the rear.
“Peter, what the hell were you doin’?” he demanded once they were safely backstage.
“He was grabbing this girl,” Peter explained. “He was hurting her. I had to do something, Mike.”
“Peter, that’s what the bouncer is for! You have a microphone in front of you! Use it!”
“I’m sorry, Mike,” Peter said. “I just reacted.”
Mike pulled himself up a little straighter and pinned his bandmates with a deadly serious look. “Guys, reacting is just what’s gonna get us in trouble.”
On to Chapter One
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