Free Flirting With Chaos by Kenya Wright Page A

smoothed over their faces as they realized Kaden had jumped off the stage and begun arguing with some guy in a Bart Simpson hat. People pulled out their phones and were recording their arguing. The music drowned out both of their words, but their faces said that nothing sweet passed between them.
    This is ridiculous.
    I hit Jude on the back. “Come on. We can finish later. Let’s just enjoy the night.”
    “I don’t want to fucking finish later,” he countered.
    “Oh, stop being a spoiled baby.” I got on the tips of my toes and whispered in his ears, “And if you grab me like that again, I’m going to make your nuts regret it.”
    He scowled at Kaden and stepped around him. “Fine. We’ll finish later.”
    “Okay. Let’s go. I have a surprise for you, Rainbow.” Kaden clasped his hand on mine, guided me past dancers with gaping mouths and onto the front of the stage. “You thought you were going to escape me tonight?” He signaled for the band to cease with playing “After the Storm” and placed the microphone to his lips. “Hey, everybody. It’s time to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Rainbow.”
    I cringed at the name. It was one thing to annoy me in the privacy of his home with it, but to constantly yell it out in front of hundreds of strangers was another.
    “Everyone join me.” He set the microphone in the stand and strung out a riff on his guitar that vibrated through my whole body.
    A silly grin hit my face. No matter how hard I tried to look cool and collected versus goofy, swooning fan, it didn’t work. Kaden’s guitar playing always melted me into a fanatical pile of mush. My whole face turned red. He strummed the chords some more with his attention on me and sang the “Happy Birthday” song. Everyone joined in.
    Someone tapped me on my shoulder. A kiss to my cheek came next. I twisted around to see Jude without his furry hat, purple glasses, or even the scowl from earlier. Two of the guys in his entourage pushed over a large cart with a huge cake on the top. The cake rose three feet high and arched over in the shape of a rainbow. Candies of different colors represented each ray on the big rainbow cake. Sparkles burst in glittery flares around it.
    “Happy birthday to you, Rainy.” Jude landed a quick peck on my lips.
    Kaden returned to the riff and screamed into the microphone. It was his signature move at the end of a concert. When he finished, he handed the guitar to me. “Tear it up, Rainbow. You’re the birthday girl.”
    I covered my mouth with my hand. “I’m not ruining a perfectly good guitar.”
    “Destroy it!” he yelled into the mic.
    “Destroy it! Destroy it!” the audience roared.
    I got on the tips of my toes and put my lips next to Kaden’s ear. “Maybe you can sign it and give it to a charity in my name or—”
    He shook his head. “Destroy it! Destroy it!”
    I rolled my eyes. So mature.
    The guitar weighed heavy in my hands. No wonder he possessed those huge arms. It was a workout to just hold it. My muscles strained as I raised it up above my head. Everyone jumped out of the way.
    “Rock and roll, bitches!” I smashed the end of the guitar onto the stage. Pieces of metal flew in the air. Some hit my legs. Laughter soared out of my mouth. I could barely get a grip on myself in the silliness of the moment. I beat the ground with the instrument again, slamming and banging it until it was only a shredded and destroyed image of its earlier self. All that remained was the neck and some dangling strings.
    “‘Rock and roll, bitches’?” Jude laughed and embraced me.
    “Oh. Should I have said something more poetic before breaking a guitar like an idiot?” I ruffled the side of his hair. “Thanks so much. This is more than I could have asked for.”
    “You mean the world to me, girl. I had to do it big for you tonight.” He nodded his head toward the back stage entrance and slipped out a small joint from his jeans’ pocket. “Now, for surprise—what