3. Rosie

3

Rosie

A week later we are standing in a beautiful conference room while Maggie tries to convince Phoebe and me to wear holiday-themed dresses instead of our usual performance costumes.

"Why did you wait until today to ask us?" Phoebe whines. "I've already done my makeup and it doesn't work with this dress."

"You just have to redo your eye makeup."

Phoebe gives Maggie an epic eye roll and I laugh. The outfits are cute, but mine is a little too boobtastic. I may have been gifted with some epic breasts, but I try not to show them off when I'm performing. That's not who I am.

"I'm afraid my boobs will pop out and I'll flash the crowd," I laugh as I hold up the dress to my body. It is gorgeous and still fits our retro vibe.

"You can wear the cream-colored one, I'll wear the red one and Phoebe can wear the green," Maggie says with a smile. "They're perfect and we can tape your boobs in if you're really afraid after you try it on."

Rolling my eyes at her, I slip off my robe and put the dress on. It fits perfectly, which is rare with my hips and chest, and while the cleavage is more than I usually show it isn't as in your face as I thought it would be. I twirl and watch the skirt move around my thighs.

"Mags, you did great. I feel beautiful in this dress. Phoebe use that silver shadow on your eyes and then change into the dress. I promise you're going to love it."

I slip into a pair of chunky glittery red heels. The dress would look better with a daintier heel, but I learned early on that I can't be on stage in anything but a chunky heel or tennis shoes.

We are all ready when Liz comes into the conference room that has served as our green room. "Are you guys ready to play?" she asks nervously.

"Absolutely," Phoebe starts out the door with Maggie following.

"Liz, is everything okay?" I ask our friend as we slowly make our way down the hall toward the stage.

"Yes, sorry, I've been distracted making sure everything is perfect. Alex, um, the guy who runs the firm this party is for, is an old friend, but I still don't want to mess anything up. This party is important to him and to the community."

"Liz, not to sound conceited, but you were able to get us to play this gig. I think that's got to be a huge win as far as this guy's concerned."

"It is. It is. I'm just being my normal dramatic self who thinks every event is going to blow up in my face until it's over," she laughs. "You better get out there. I can hear your sisters already warming up."

"Wish us luck," I whisper as I walk onto the stage. It's set up in the corner of a huge ballroom and perfectly set where the doorway allows us to enter and exit without anyone seeing us.

I see my sisters getting their instruments ready. Maggie plays the bass and Phoebe has her guitar. I usually play the keys, but tonight we have a few of our backup band here to do the drums and the keys. I'm just singing tonight.

Maggie and Phoebe start playing the beginning notes of our first hit song "Ever After" as I walk up to the mic.

"Hi, everyone. We are so thrilled to be here tonight to help raise funds for Hope Foundation. The Pandemonium Pixies will be matching the donations one hundred percent, so make sure you give generously. Tonight, in the spirit of Christmas in July, we plan to sing some good old-fashioned holiday songs and a few of our hits too."

Everyone claps and cheers. The crowd is a little bigger than I expected and that's great news for fundraising.

Turning, I nod to each of my sisters, and we start our show. Every time we play together, I feel so much joy.

We've made it through three-quarters of our playlist when I feel him watching me. I'm used to being the center of attention and having an audience stare and watch my every move, but when I look up, I find something I've never seen before.

My face flushes and my heart begins to rush. We are halfway through "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and I feel like I might faint. His eyes feel like a caress and as much as I try, I can't look away.

I miss a note, but quickly recover and turn away from him. I spend the rest of our show looking everywhere but in his direction. I never feel him take his eyes off me though and it's like I can feel him moving closer and closer to the stage. When we finish our last song and announce that we are taking a quick break before coming back in thirty minutes for a surprise sing-along, I look up and see that he is right at the edge of the stage.

He's gorgeous and my body responds with a fierceness I've never felt before. This is crazy.

"Who is that silver fox staring at you?" Maggie asks as we walk back to the makeshift green room.

"He stared at her the whole night. I was getting a little hot under the panties from the looks he was giving her," Phoebe laughs.

"I know. If Rosie doesn't want to him, I've always had a thing for older men. I'm willing to try to redirect his attention."

"That's enough," I cry out. "I don't know who he is or why he was staring. Now, we need to go out and mingle. Can the two of you do that without acting like horny teenagers?"

My sisters both look at me, stunned and then laugh. "Oh, yeah, she was affected by him. We have to make sure that they meet," Maggie squeals.

Before I can say if I want to meet the mystery silver fox or not, they've both touched up their lipstick and run out the door and into the ballroom. I fix my red lips a little slower and make sure everything else is still perfect. Not because of him…or maybe it is.