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But Ryan could fly under the radar most times.

Three girls picked up speed and headed right for him.

Not today, evidently.

He pasted on a bright smile. “Hi, ladies.”

The slighter girl in the middle with wispy dark hair, glasses, and a vaguely Asian look was trying to melt behind the taller, prettier blond girl. The blond stepped forward. “You’re Ryan from Warning Sign, right?”

He nodded and gave them a half grin. “Guilty.”

“See, I told you.” The blond dragged the shy girl in front of her. The girl ducked her head and spun back around behind the blond. “I’m Jen. This freak is Dani. She’s in love with you.”

“Oh, God.” Dani tried to make a run for it, but the third girl chased her down and brought her back.

Ryan never quite knew what to do when strangers blurted out declaratives like that, but he didn’t think he was in trouble this time. He laughed and stepped forward. “I’m harmless.” He held his hand out to the girl. “Nice to meet you. Dani, was it?”

She nodded and hugged a bag against her chest. She quickly shook his hand and went back to gripping her well-loved messenger bag. “I, um…” She swallowed and shoved her dark-rimmed glasses up her nose. “I play the sex—” Her eyes went wide before she slammed them shut. “Oh, my God.”

Ryan stepped a little closer and patted her arm. “Saxophone?”

“Yes!” She blew out a breath. “Yes, I do. I saw you playing it on YouTube during one of the secret shows and it was so awesome. I never knew anyone could play sax in rock music.”

“Aw, c’mon. Clarence Clemons did it for years, God rest his soul. The Boss is the perfect one to emulate. You’re an itty-bitty thing, but the instrument can make you huge onstage.”

She nodded. “Right, but he’s…well, he’s so old.”

Ryan laughed. “Don’t let Bruce hear you say that. He can run circles around us young guys. But yeah, older crowd. I get it. But really, it doesn’t matter what others think. Our friends in Oblivion have a violinist that can rock out with the best of them. You just keep doing what you do.”

She nodded. “I’ve been trying different musical styles thanks to you. My music teacher kinda hates it, but I just wanted to say thanks. I was thinking about giving up my instrument and you made me want to play again. So…I just wanted to say thanks.”

Ryan’s throat went dry. “Wow. That’s really awesome to hear. Thanks, Dani.” He cleared his throat. “You want a picture or something?”

“Yes!” The blond stepped forward with the other girl, who gave him a flirty smile.

“Great.” Ryan made sure to bring Dani closer to him and slid his arm around her shoulders as they all gathered close and Jen took a couple selfie shots with all of them.

“Perfect.” Jen flipped through them and gave him a satisfied smile. Then she looked at Dani. “One more with just her?”

Ryan gave Jen a real smile this time. He respected a friend who didn’t just think about herself in the moment. After a few tries, he got Dani to actually look up and smile without being a second away from a panic attack. He signed the inside of her messenger bag with the Sharpie he always kept clipped to his belt. The miniature Sharpies made their lives easier.

“Ryan? They’re waiting on you.”

He turned to Denver’s voice from the doorway. She had her arms folded over her chest and her hip cocked. “Yeah, coming.” He turned back to the girls. “Boss calls.”

Jen frowned. “She’s not in the band.”

“Maybe not, but I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.”

“Is she your girlfriend?” Jen asked boldly.

Ryan pushed his hair back around his ear and handed back the bag to Dani. “See you at the show?”

“We’ll be there,” said the third girl.

“Awesome. Nice meeting you.”

He loped after Denver, but heard Jen say, “He didn’t answer,” before he got out of earshot.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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