Thank goodness Lauren always made her see clearly. Of course, she couldn’t get kinky in a music class. But after class… No. She needed to be strong. Why exactly? It wasn’t professional, that was why. The school would most likely frown upon it. Her internal debate was giving her a headache.
She knocked back the remains of her drink and pushed herself from the chair. “I’m going to go talk to him.”
“That’s my girl,” Ava cheered. “I hope you’re wearing cute underwear.”
Jade rolled her eyes. “I’m going to talk to him. That’s all.”
“Sounds boring.” Ava huffed.
Shaking her head, Jade left her friends and weaved through the tables to get to Nate.
* * * *
Nate had never felt more alive and in tune with music as he did playing in front of this crowd of roughly fifty people with only his guitar and a microphone, performing the music he loved. No amount of screaming fans or sold-out stadiums could fill him with the same joy.
Sure, he had fun playing the stuff he wrote for the band. Even got a kick out of the crowds they pulled in, but keeping the music alive was for his father’s memory. But the mellow, more chilled, laid-back tunes were what got his blood pounding, the adrenalin flowing through his veins. And while he took a break from the band for a few weeks, playing at Jovi’s Pub was something he intended to keep doing.
Jade slid onto a barstool next to him and said, “You’re great, you’ll do.”
Turning toward her, he raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
Tonight she wore her hair down, and it tumbled in a mass of curls past shoulders exposed in a pale yellow, strapless top. When she sat, she’d crossed her legs, and the split of her white skirt fell open, showing slender legs. His hands itched to trail along her smooth skin.
“I said…you’re great, you’ll do.” She frowned like it hurt to repeat it.
“For what? Because I can take that to mean many different things I’m great at. Should I show you?” He grinned slowly.
For a moment Jade’s gaze landed on his mouth. Oh yeah, she knew exactly where he was going with this.
“I meant…” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “I meant you’ll do as a music teacher. I was teasing you.”
“And I was teasing you.” He smiled.
“Oh.” When pink flushed her cheeks, she looked adorable. No, it was more than that. She was sexy as hell. “You’re so talented. You sounded amazing.”
“Thank you.” He pulled back on his beer and flicked his gaze at the sport on the TV for a second in an effort to drag his thoughts away from wanting to mentally strip naked a primary school teacher.
“It’s so different from what I heard the other night.” She screwed up her nose.
“You didn’t like the concert?”
She fidgeted with a lock of her hair. “Well…if you like that sort of music, it was great.”
“But you don’t like it.” He made himself sound disappointed and loved watching her squirm. She didn’t like Harvey’s Territory, and he didn’t care.
“Oh no, I did… It’s just…different from what I’m used to,” she fumbled.
Nate chuckled. “It’s okay, you don’t have to like it, I won’t take offense.”
Her shoulders slumped with relief. “It’s so loud and rough. I much prefer the music you played tonight.”
“Yeah, me too,” he admitted.
She frowned. “So why don’t you play more of it on stage?”
“It doesn’t exactly fit in with the band’s brand.”
Someone called Jade’s name. The friends she’d been sitting with signaled they were leaving. She mouthed give me a minute. But they gestured for her to stay, and the pregnant one gave her a salacious wink before they walked out.
