Before we reach the front of the line to get our hands stamped, I grab Corinne’s shoulder and turn her slightly toward me. “Look, I don’t want to be a buzzkill, but you might want to throw out that water bottle. They might not let us in if they check your bag and think you’ll be drinking.”
I can vividly recall a time last year when I managed to sneak my own bottle full of vodka into an on-campus concert. Although my group was walking and nowhere near the wheel of a car, it hadn’t stopped the campus police from stopping us on the way back to our dorms late that night—something about making too much noise—and I’d received the first of my three underage drinking violations.
Corinne stares at me dumbfounded for a second, but then her springy curls move around her face as she nods in understanding. When we pass by a large trashcan that’s nearly overflowing with fast food wrappers and energy drink cans, she tosses the half-full bottle on the top.
After I pay both our cover charges, we push our way inside the bar. It’s nearly filled to capacity, which immediately speaks volumes for the band’s popularity. I spot Mac easily thanks to her high, stubby blond ponytail and the fact that she’s standing up scanning the crowd for me. She introduces Corinne and me to her three friends, two of whom I recognize from Ensemble Choir, but there’s no Eli in sight.
“Is he coming?” I ask as I sit beside her at the round table. She shakes her head and grabs a chip from the giant nacho appetizer parked in front of her.
“They’ve got some Thirsty Thursday party going on there tonight, so he begged off.” Leaning in to me, she tells me in a conspiratorial whisper, “But between us, he thinks the guitar player sucks. That’s how we met, by the way. In a camp for gifted musicians—he played guitar, I sang arias. It was awkward lust at first sight.” She pushes her plate of nachos toward Corinne and me, and my roommate grabs a few as Mac continues, “I think he’s just being an elitist asshole about the guitar thing, though.”
Corinne holds a napkin over her mouth to hide her chewing. “How long have you two been together?”
Mac pretends to think but I can tell from the way she smiles that she has her dates memorized like the back of her hand. “Since the start of my junior year of high school and his senior year, so a little over four years.” A second later when a tall girl with the brightest red hair I’ve ever seen bounces over to our table to talk to Corinne, stealing my roommate away only a moment after that, Mac lifts her eyebrow. “She’s dating that one guy on the team, right?” I watch her eyes roll up as she tries to remember Daniel’s name.
“They’re friends.” When she gives me a slow nod, I cast a quick glance at her friends who are currently engrossed in something one of them is showing off on her phone before scooting in closer to her. “This is purely me being curious but since Eli’s a baseball player ...”
“Oh, I’m all over it. There are way too many jerks on that team for me to let that girl get screwed over. I had my heart ripped out by a douche master before Eli and I started dating, so I don’t stand for that crap.” When I shoot her a grateful smile, she gives my hand a hard pump. “I’d do the same thing for you.”
With that said, we spend the next few minutes talking about music before the band comes on stage. As soon as they play the opening number of their set, I can quickly see why Mac was so insistent on me coming. The talent pulsating from them is undeniable, and I watch transfixed as the guitarist—who turns out to be a gorgeous strawberry blonde with boobs that somehow make me feel inadequate with my small C-cups—scans the crowd, her gaze turning sultry as she rakes it across the very back of the room.
Turning in my seat, I follow her eyes. My breath catches when I take in a very familiar, very infuriating, face that’s currently in the middle of pouring drinks behind the bar. Rhys Delane is officially everywhere for me.
“He works here?” I blurt out, causing Mac’s eyebrow to shoot up. Turning around a little, she gives him a onceover before returning her focus to Red Denial.
“Yep, I wasn’t sure he was working tonight because I didn’t see him when I came in.” Pointing at the stage, she looks at me out the corner of her brown eyes. “Before he was sucked in by the dark side known as Hilary Cameron, he used to front the band during my freshman year. Now I’m going to sound like the elitist ass, but I think he was better. Way better. Plus it doesn’t hurt that he’s—well, sexy.”
I steal another glance in his direction, feeling a little pang in my chest as I watch him wink at some girl who’s practically throwing herself on top of the bar. “Why’d he quit?”
The second she answers me, I immediately regret the decision. “Some big family emergency. I don’t know the details, but I remember that all the shows were cancelled for a couple months while they found a replacement.”
Tight knots form in the bottom of my belly because I already know that his family emergency is the same thing that ripped my family apart. Clenching my fists in my lap beneath the table, I tell myself not to think about that. I came out tonight to have a good time, not to let myself be beaten down by thoughts of the past. I close my eyes for a second and when I open them, Mac regards me with a curious smile on her face.
“Cari’s”—She nods to the guitarist, who’s now focused intently on her instrument—“his ex, in case you’re wondering.”
Well that sure as hell explains why she was eye-humping him a couple minutes ago. Pretending to be indifferent, I shrug. “I don’t wonder.” Still, I can feel my skin heat up as I mutter the words.
“I just figured since you keep looking back at him. And because I, you know, saw your name on the Tuesday sign in sheet for the practice room I usually use and kind of figured he was the reason you were—” Her voice trails off at the sight of my wide eyes, and she quickly holds up her thin fingers defensively. “Look, I wasn’t spying. Like I said, I practiced in there yesterday and when I saw your names I automatically assumed he was the reason you were so worked up the other day.”
“Or maybe it’s because he busts my ass every time we have a lesson.” I don’t add that at the moment, there have only been two official lessons, because Corinne comes back to the table. Instead of sitting, she leans over me, her slinky V-neck top riding down and showing me so much boob that I can’t help but reach out and adjust it.
She giggles. “Hey, I’m going over to Baseball House with Ella.” She points and I follow her finger over to the girl she’d disappeared with ten minutes ago. “If you decide to come, send me a text, okay?”
I have no intention of going to Baseball House, but I quickly say, “If you need a ride home, call me, okay? I don’t care how late it is.”
“Or I can do it,” Mac speaks up beside me. She gives my roommate a stern look. “I’ll be over there a little later, so just find me if you need anything.”
As soon as Corinne promises she will and she leaves, I tell Mac, “Thanks. Seriously.”
She waves it off. “God, of course. The campus cops are dicks, and I’d hate for her to get one of their gross tickets. Speaking from firsthand experience here.”
At the sound of the band taking a break, Mac flicks her tongue over her teeth. “I’ve got to use the bathroom, so can you grab me a virgin ... you know what, surprise me?” She doesn’t give me time to protest as she slips ten bucks in my hand and shoves her way through the crowd.
I consider keeping my ass exactly where it is and making her get her own drink upon her return, but finally, I release a relenting sigh and push away from our table. Rhys is busy taking another drink order when I slide on one of the bar stools, so I wait patiently, tapping my fingers on the countertop in sync with The Black Keys song the house DJ is playing.