“It’s one appointment,” Julia said. “She’s a very nice lady. You don’t have to spill your entire life in one session, Johnny. Just go, and see how it makes you feel. If you don’t like her or if you don’t mesh well, you don’t go back. We both want to see you move on and be happy. Please.”

I sighed, pushing my sandwich away from me. I’d never in my life gone to a shrink and sure as hell didn’t want to start now. I pictured a gray haired lady studying me and trying to figure out what made me tick. But I was good at putting on a front. I could go and just say what she wanted me to say to appease them. There was no way I was going to sit on a couch, spilling my guts to some strange woman to make things better. There wasn’t any way to make things better, no matter how much I ‘talked about it.’

“When is it.” It wasn’t a question, because I shot the words out of my mouth like bullets. I was being an asshole, and neither of them deserved it.

Carter and Julia exchanged a look. “Tomorrow,” Carter answered. “At noon. I figured even if you were helping at the bar, you wouldn’t have to be there that early.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Julia’s voice was so hopeful it immediately squashed my attitude. This was my baby sister, the only one that truly looked out for my best interests.

I forced a smile across my lips. “Okay, pipsqueak.” She narrowed her eyes at the nickname but didn’t complain.

“Thank you,” she said, picking up her sandwich and resuming eating. Carter smiled at me, nodding his approval. All I knew was, this was the only time they were getting me to do this.

“Thank you so much for coming in to help me.” Cal and I were sitting in his office with the door open so we could see out to the bar. All I could think of while sitting next to him was doing Geena against every surface I could get her on. Damn, I missed her already. I had zero emotional connection to her; I just wanted what she gave me.

I looked out to the bar, where a young guy with hair in a bun was wiping down the bar. I hadn’t seen him before.

“That’s Yoda,” Cal said. Yoda. My body tensed, and I forced myself to breathe out, the panic threatening to bubble to the surface.

“His name is Yoda?” My voice didn’t sound right, even to my ears.

Cal laughed. “No. I call him Yoda. His name is Seth.”

“Oh.” I shook the memories that threatened to take me under back into their box and sat on the lid. “Okay, let’s get started. So when I did this for the bar where I worked in Denver . . .”

A few hours later, I had the website all built and had included photos of their prior talent. There was an upload feature for demos. Cal was ready to go.

“Thank you, bro. This is fantastic. You’re really talented at this.”

I didn’t tell him why I was good at computers, but he was right. I’d been trained to do many things that weren’t exactly legal, even if I didn’t do that anymore. Website creation was fun, and I was good at it, so it wasn’t any big deal.

“I’ll manage it for you while I’m here if you want me to. I can schedule the talent and run it by you first.”

Cal shook his head. “Take it. I’d be glad to have one less thing on my plate. You know the business and have done this before. I don’t need to look over your shoulder. You’re hired. I’ll pay you a weekly salary to manage the band calendar and the website. Does that sound good? I’ll take your bartending days down to two so you can still have time to spend with your family.”

“Thank you, Cal. I appreciate it. I love doing this stuff.”

“Oh, before I forget.” Cal tapped a calendar on the wall. “We have a new band coming in this weekend. They’re local and have quite a following already. A small label has signed them and their music is now on iTunes. It should bring in quite a bit of business. They’re playing Thursday through Saturday night.”

My eyes followed Cal’s finger to the promotional poster that was hanging on the wall. It featured The Outrigger’s logo, their band logo, and the dates they were playing. “Jaded Regret?” I liked them already.

Cal nodded. “Yep. The lead singer is hot as hell, too. She plays guitar and can sing like nobody’s business. I saw them live at an outdoor showcase a few months back. They’re extremely talented, but she puts the icing on the cake if you catch my drift. Definitely not hard on the ears or the eyes to watch them. I’d let her. . . . never mind.”

Now I really wanted to see this band. “Sounds like we need more staff to work this weekend.”

“Already on it.” Cal stood up. “I’m heading out to help Yoda prepare for the rush. Feel free to use my computer to do whatever you need to do. I can get another desk in here if you want your own space.”

“Nah. If you’re cool with me using your computer, that’s all I need.”

He nodded. “Sounds good. You moving in with me?”

“No, but thanks for the offer. My sister begged me to stay. She was upset I’d even think about not being with her since that’s why I came here.”

“She sounds like a good one.”

“She’s the best. And married, so don’t get any ideas.”

Cal laughed, walking out and leaving me alone in the office.

I tapped the search bar with the mouse, typing in the words ‘Jaded Regret.’ I wondered about the name of the band. Who named it? What was the story behind them? Was she really jaded? What did she regret? I could identify with that, for sure. As the page loaded, I looked out to the bar. It was starting to fill up, the dinner rush almost at its peak. I was glad I wasn’t working tonight because I was exhausted.

I leaned back in the chair as the results came up. The band’s website popped up first, so I clicked on it, impressed as images and editorial reviews of their performances scrolled across the screen. Someone was good with website design.

An up close picture of the only female in the band, the lead singer according to Cal, popped up, and I paused the slideshow. Holy shit. He’d been right. She was fucking beautiful. Her long dark hair fell in waves past her shoulders, curling just at the ends. Her skin was flawless, a small diamond sparkling in her nose. Her mouth wasn’t smiling, her lips almost pouting as she looked over her shoulder at someone else in the band. Oh, the things I could do to that mouth.

She was wearing a leather jacket with a white shirt underneath that didn’t cover her flat, toned stomach and accentuated her full breasts. Another piercing dangled from her belly button. I felt a familiar stirring in my libido. She wore low-slung jeans, the bare skin showing that she was extremely fit but still curvy like a woman should be. She had a tattoo I couldn’t make out on her lower stomach, just barely peeking out of her jeans. I was getting hard.

I forced myself to allow the slideshow to keep playing. The three other members of the band were guys, just as Cal had said. I wondered how many of them wanted to fuck her. Or had fucked her. I wondered if she was married, or attached. Not that I cared. I just wanted a romp in the sheets, or two or three, with her. Female lead singers were my favorite, especially ones that looked like her.

I had to find their music. I opened up iTunes on my phone and typed in the name. An entire album came up, her sexy face filling most of the cover. She still wasn’t smiling, her face serious as she looked directly into the camera, the guys behind her. Large hazel eyes, while beautiful, looked closed off and wary. I could identify with that. I wanted to know her name.

I purchased the album, telling myself it was ‘research’ and then went back to the computer to their website. I went to the ‘about’ section, hoping it told their names.

Lead singer and lead guitarist Bexley “Bex” Bryant and her three band mates Beau Anderson (drums), Tanner Hart (bass), and Ryver Chavez (second guitar) are from the Gulf Coast of Florida. The band has been playing together for the last ten years and has made a name for themselves in the indie rock community. They signed their first record deal with an indie-specialized record label, Chaotic Records out of New York, earlier this year. They’re getting a lot of buzz and are scheduling appearances at some of their favorite places in Florida before going out on tour to open for Halestorm later this year. Check the calendar to see if they are coming to a place near you!