Page 41 of Poet & Protector

Okay, fine. I had some kind of attraction to Nev. Because of poems…and because I couldn’t pretend he wasn’t insanely appealing. His face. His eyes. His body. And ever since the near-kiss incident in the garden, I hadn’t been able to stop myself from thinking about what it would be like if we did kiss.

Damn it.

“It is odd he ran off like that,” Caleb commented, pulling me out of my thoughts. He angled his chin toward the abandoned guitar case. “We’re supposed to rehearse in an hour. He said he had to go something thing? Did he say what?”

“No.” I cocked my head, frowning at him. “What do you mean, rehearse?”

“For the show tomorrow night,” he replied. “We’re playing upstairs. Nev’s vocals and guitar. I play bass. Tom’s on the drum kit.”

“Like, in front of an audience?” I was trying to process this shocking new information and failing.

“It’s more fun than playing to an empty room.” Caleb flashed me a wry smile. “Nev’s a regular at the Burnout.”

Nev is a musician?

Wonderful. Now he was even more intriguing.

I needed to get rid of this fascination with him.

The sooner we finished our assignment and went back to ignoring each other the better. Otherwise…

Nope. There would absolutely be no otherwise.

And yet I heard myself ask Caleb, “How hard would it be to get my name and a friend’s on the list for your show tomorrow night?”

Eight

The Burnout

Friday

MASON

Ansel climbed in the car and gave me a once-over. “You look different.”

“I’m trying something out.” The truth, but I wasn’t going to elaborate on why I was dressed differently than usual.

When I set my mind on heading to the Burnout for Nev’s show, I decided that if I was going to a grungy dive bar and trying to blend in with the regulars, I couldn’t wear my usual clothes. I wanted to see Nev play, but I didn’t necessarily want him to know I was in the audience. Better to be as incognito as I could manage. I’d cobbled together a black t-shirt, black jeans, and boots, all topped with a black leather racer jacket I bought a while ago because it was gorgeous, but rarely wore. It simply didn’t work with my usual aesthetic.

“Uh, Mason.” Ansel turned in his seat to look at the exit we’d passed. “Vail is the other way.”

“I know,” I replied. “We’re not going into Vail.”

“What about the movie?”

I tossed him a careless smile that belied my jumping pulse. “I found something better for us to do.”

“Yeah?” Ansel sat up, eyes alight with excitement. “What?”

His delighted expression made guilt bite into me and I wondered how long he’d stay happy. When he found out where I was taking him, he might seriously reassess our friendship.

When Ansel and I had made plans to see a movie, I didn’t know about Nev’s show. I’d asked Caleb to put our names on the list as an impulse. I knew going to the Burnout wasn’t wise. If Nev wanted me at his gig, he would have told me about it. He hadn’t.

All day I’d tried to persuade myself to skip the show, that everything about it was a bad idea. Yet, when the time came to get ready to go, I dressed for the Burnout instead of a movie.

“I found some live music for us to see,” I told him.

“Really?” Ansel grinned. “Where?”