The six of them had VIP tickets to the Grammys. Of course they did. Emily's hit "Flashlight" had been nominated for "Record of the Year". They were seated three rows back, near the right/center aisle, Emily and Benji, then Jesse and Beca, finally Chloe and Tom. Emily and Beca had to be there, as artist and producer of "Flashlight". When they were awarded six tickets, Emily and Beca agreed that, as a Bella co-captain, Chloe and her date should round out the group.
All of the men were wearing black tie, of course, but the women's fashions were much more edgy and interesting. It was the Grammys after all. Emily wore a white, shoulderless floor-length dress. It's fitted bodice and slit up one side showed off all of her assets, including her knee-high purple boots. Beca wore a chic black and white checked mens-styled jacket and pants with a revealing black lace strapless top and pink heels. Chloe wore a black patterned sleeveless mini with over the knee boots.
The house lights dimmed signaling the start of the awards show. Opening was the pop/rock band Firestorm. They had just come off a successful tour promoting their platinum-selling sophomore album. All five members, all women, all lesbian, opened with their cover of "Addicted to You", which had been nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance" category. Typically Firestorm did not open with the very intense and sexual song, but they had no choice tonight.
Dressed in a black leather biker jacket, partially zipped (with absolutely nothing underneath it), skin-tight black leather pants, black knee high boots and a wide silver studded belt, their front woman, the stunning Quinn MacKenzie, stood center stage, right at the edge. She looked every bit the "rock star".
If you Googled "hot lesbians", Quinn's image would be in the top ten. She was tall, standing 5'10" in her bare feet. Not WNBA tall, but tall enough, especially in heeled boots. Slim, strong and athletic, it was her coloring that was striking. Born in the US, she was of Scottish/Swedish/Brazilian ancestry and got the best qualities of those ethnicities. Naturally dark-skinned, she looked like she had a perpetual late-summer tan, but her hair was very blonde, nearly white, and her eyes dark brown, almost black. Her hair was cut short but shaggy, always looking like it had been tousled (think Shane McCutcheon). She had high prominent cheek bones, a strong jaw line and big wide-set eyes. When she smiled, it was the kind of smile that touched those brown eyes. She'd likely have crows feet when she got older, but right now in her mid-twenties, those were far off. She also sported a deep dimple on her left cheek, making her grin appear a little lopsided at certain angles and her smirk even more so. Perfectly straight teeth, thanks to her childhood orthodontist, gleamed and contrasted with her dark skin, making them seem impossibly white. She didn't think of herself as hot, she thought of herself as average looking.
Quinn was known to have a habit of opening her set by finding the most attractive woman in the first few rows and singing directly to her, seldom breaking eye contact during the first song. It was fun, she enjoyed it and, on occasion, it amped up the intensity she felt while performing. Of course her fans swooned or squirmed at this and were regularly recorded doing so for future promotional footage. Due to the lighting, Quinn could only see the first few rows of the venue. That was nothing new to her. Although she had a lot of beautiful and famous women to choose from on this night, she quickly identified her target and dropped her head as the songs' intro began.
The audience hushed and Quinn's rich voice sang the desperate lyrics as her eyes locked on Beca Mitchell:
I don't know just how it happened,
I let down my guard,
Swore I'd never fall in love again,
But I fell hard
Beca knew about Firestorm, about how Quinn opened a set, knew they were all gay and enjoyed their music very much. She had no clue that she would be the focus of Quinn's attention. As the nationally televised cameras swung to pick up her reaction, she visibly blushed all the way from her cleavage to her ears. Not wanting to be in any promotional footage, she determined she had to play this cool, though she grabbed Chloe's hand. She decided to play along, subtley, and didn't break eye contact with Quinn, not that she wanted to. Quinn was gorgeous, Quinn was intense, Quinn was singing to her.
Guess I shoud've seen it coming,
Caught me by surprise,
I wasn't looking where I was going,
I fell into your eyes
It was all Beca could do to maintain that gaze. She locked onto Quinn's striking deep eyes and held them, barely breathing. Hyper-aware that all of this was being broadcast nationally, likely on split screen, Beca didn't move.
You came into my crazy world
Like a cool and cleansing wave,
Before I, I knew what hit me baby
You were flowing through my veins
Quinn was not accustomed to her antics having absolutely no effect on her chosen victim. While she held Beca's eyes, she decided that, what the hell, this is the Grammys, let's turn up the heat. She took a few steps to her left to stand directly in front of Beca, three rows back.
I'm addicted to you,
Hooked on your love,
Like a powerful drug
I can't get enough of,
Lost in your eyes,
Drowning in blue,
Out of control,
What can I do?
I'm addicted to you!
Beca watched her move across the stage, swallowing hard. Oh god, she thought, please don't come down the aisle. When Quinn stopped on stage right in front of her, she let herself exhale. People in the rows in front of her were turning to see who Quinn was singing to. She wanted to hide under the seats, but opted to let a small smirk cross her lips as though this kind of attention happened to her every day. She had Chloe's hand in a vice grip.
Midnight blows in through the window,
Dances round the room,
Got me hypnotized,
I'm getting high on your perfume
Quinn held one hand out, palm up, clearly gestering at Beca. She returned Beca's smirk with one of her own, knowing full well that this would register on camera as some kind of inside joke the two were sharing. Beca licked her lips and took a deep breath. With that, Quinn dropped to her knees on stage, clearly begging Beca with the lyrics.
I couldn't live without you now,
Oh, I know I'd go insane,
I wouldn't last one night alone baby,
I couldn't stand the pain!
Beca inhaled sharply. She felt like she was being seduced, and successfully at that. Her gut twisted and her throat constricted, mouth going dry. Jesus, she thought, what the fuck?
I'm addicted to you,
Hooked on your love,
Like a powerful drug
I can't get enough of,
Lost in your eyes,
Drowning in blue,
Out of control,
What can I do?
I'm addicted to you!
Quinn rocked back on her heels and stood, winked at Beca and blew her a kiss. Beca, determined to continue this charade, pretended to catch the kiss and put it to her heart. Quinn grinned wide at that, enjoying the back and forth of the interaction with this beautiful stranger. She bowed to the audience applause and exited the stage with her band. The Grammys went to commercial.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Flashlight - sung by Hailee Steinfeld; written by Furler, Guzman, Moore, Smith; produced by Kurstin, Harrell
