Play No More (Player Next Door sequel) ✓

65 | Pass Him By

Thank you @tinex3007 for the basketball themed poster! 

Chapter 65: Pass Him By

We were sitting on sound equipment. Hand in hand, I mindlessly traced his fingers as my hand rested on his open palm. I was happier here than back in the beach club party. I could still hear the music and felt zero desire to return.

All my desire was locked in the shape of Luke Dawson.

A handsome shape that left me in a dreamlike state.

Song lyric maybe? Suddenly, we heard shouting behind us.

Two bouncers were carrying Austin out of the backstage area. He was yelling something, and I looked back to see DJ Pumpa T himself, standing there and looking amped.

"How did you even get in here, dawg?!" the DJ yelled out, "I thought we had good security here for real!"

His blue tipped spiky hair created a weird halo effect around him. He was wearing a hoodie with cartoons and a mad splattering of color on it. It felt strange seeing him up close after watching him on stage for two hours.

Austin yelled back, "You lay another hand on-"

The bodyguards wrestled him back and one wrapped an arm around his neck, preventing him from talking.

"Stop, you're hurting him!" I yelled out.

Luke reacted faster than me. He was already walking towards them.

He passed Oma and said, "You filming?"

She quickly took her phone up and pressed 'record' in case anything went wrong. Documentation was a defense.

"Put the flash on," Cearra said, so it'd be obvious they were on camera.

I ran up after them, wondering what I could do to help.

Luke started talking to the bodyguards, but they yelled at him to back off. He didn't. And when they took a more aggressive stance against Luke, that relaxed their grip on Austin, who ducked out of the chokehold and danced back to the rope separating him from backstage access.

He continued to taunt the DJ. The bodyguards tried to go back to Austin, but Luke got involved, creating a scuffle that I couldn't quite see.

"There!" Oma said, pointing her phone in the direction of an opening door.

The phone's flashlight followed the movement and cast a spotlight on Lara as she stepped outside.

Lara flicked her dark hair over her shoulder and raised her hand over her eyes, trying to see through the scuffle that was happening at the entrance. She held a wine glass in her other hand.

"Austin?" she asked, and her expression became alarmed when she saw the violence escalate, "Austin!"

She approached the velvet rope, where the DJ was busy raising his fists in random motions against us. He was boxing the air and protected by a rope that separated him from all of us.

"Try to get a piece of this!" DJ Pumpa T yelled out.

"What are you playing at?" Lara asked him, pointing at his 'boxing hands'. She lowered them so she could pass him by, and then said, "I'm leaving with them."

Lara unclipped the velvet rope, though the DJ tried to stop her with words that sounded like lyrical flow. Luke helped her undo the rope, stop the DJ and lead her across.

DJ Pumpa T tried to intervene again, but Luke told him, "This rope doesn't protect you from anything."

"Get off of me!" Austin yelled, shrugging the bouncers off.