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“No.” I pushed past him and went back into the house. I knew he would follow, could feel him just a foot or so behind me as I went through the quiet house and opened the front door. “I’m sorry, Harris.”
Those beautiful eyes of his bored into me and he stood there for a long moment. I averted my eyes, scared he could see through everything and make this even harder on me. Fuck, I was such a coward. My hands started to tremble and I pushed them into the pocket of my hoodie to hide it.
Finally Harris muttered a curse and stepped through the open door. “I’ll call you.”
“I’ve changed my number.”
“Good thing Layla gave me the new one then, huh?” He turned and winked down at me. “See you soon, Lu.”
“Not going to happen,” I bit out and slammed the door in his handsome face.
“Lucy?”
I blinked back the memories and met Marcus’s gaze. He was standing with the back passenger door open, his hand out waiting for me to take it. Blowing out a frustrated sigh, I took it and let him help me out. Kin was already standing on the sidewalk waiting on me, her bright blue eyes darkened with concern.
“You really don’t want to be here, do you?” Kin grasped my hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “Look, we don’t have to do this. I can come back by myself another time.”
I mentally kicked myself. My cowardice was going to hurt my friend and I just couldn’t do that. Kin needed my support more than I needed to hide from Harris Cutter. It was time I pulled up my big-girl panties and started acting like a real friend. I returned her squeeze. “No. We are doing this. I’m sorry for being such a drag. It’s over now, though. I’m going to go in there and fan girl the place down when you get up there.”
Her face brightened and she hugged me tight. “Thanks, Lucy.”
Marcus cleared his throat and Kin stepped back, taking the guitar case he was holding. It had surprised me when she’d told me that she played guitar a little. When she’d met all of my family, Drake had pretty much pushed his favorite Fender into her hands and told her to play something. The way his jaw had dropped when she’d started playing “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica still had the power to make me grin. Kin didn’t play ‘just a little’ she played like a freaking dream.
The bouncer at the front of the line stopped us again. This guy was different from the one who had been keeping the crazed club goers at bay on Saturday night. When I told him my name he rolled his eyes so I pulled my ID out of my back pocket to prove who I was. The fact that five different pap photographers were screaming it from across the street as their cameras flashed over and over again just didn’t convince him.
After taking his time looking for my name on the list, he begrudgingly let us in. Tiny stepped out from the darkness by the stairs that led to the VIP lounge but I shook my head at him. We weren’t here to party with the other VIPs. Kin was here to amaze the music execs and we couldn’t do that upstairs. Open mike was on the first floor, so that was where we were going.
“Miss Thornton, my security staff can’t guarantee your safety in there.” Tiny’s voice was softer than it had been the last time I’d heard it, imploring. “Please, come up and join the other VIPs. It will be more enjoyable.”
I glanced at Marcus who lifted his lips in the closest thing resembling a grin I’d ever seen from him before turning back to the extremely large man. “I don’t need you to guarantee anything. That’s what he gets paid the big bucks for.”
Tiny stepped back but he didn’t look particularly happy about it. Kin tugged me forward and we entered the first floor of the club. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as it had been Saturday, despite the line outside being just as long, but there were still very few seats to choose from.
Marcus found a nearly empty table, scared off the two twenty-something guys sitting there and held out a chair for me and then for Kin. Once we were seated he stepped back a few paces and stood there assessing the room. It offered us some measure of privacy, which we were thankful for.
A waitress stopped by our table minutes later and asked us what we wanted to drink. “Ginger ale,” I told the girl in the classy dress pants with a white button-up top. She had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and the top three buttons undone, showing off a hell of a lot of nice cleavage. The girl was pretty, seemed nice, and was quick to get us our drinks.
With our glasses of ginger ale sitting in front of us, Kin glanced around the room. For the first time tonight she looked nervous. Open mike was about to start and I knew she was starting to have second thoughts.
Reaching over, I grasped both of her hands. “Kin, you’re going to kick ass up there. Don’t worry about getting the chords right, or if your voice gets off key. You aren’t here to become a rock star. You’re here to get your songs recognized, maybe even sell it. You are a gifted writer and you are going to bring the house down with that song of yours, babe.”
Her lips quivered at the edges for a moment before she pursed them together. Inhaling deeply, she blew it out in a rush and grinned at me. “You’re right. Now, where do I sign up for my chance to get up there and kick some ass?”
“From what Aunt Emmie told me, you tell the bartender and he adds you to the rotation.” I glanced over at the bar where I saw two chicks in the same outfit our waitress had been wearing pouring drinks. “Best bet is over there, babe.”
Straightening her shoulders, she stood and moved through the crowd to the bar. I watched as she spoke to one of the bartenders who quickly pointed toward the end of the bar. Kin’s face tightened and I followed her gaze to find Jace sitting there with a beer in hand, talking to Harris.
Groaning, I raked my hands through my hair. If I hadn’t spent two hours straightening the crazy curly locks, my fingers would have tangled, but they went through the straightened length easily. Would it have been asking too much to have had Harris take a night off? Just one? Damn him and his work ethic.
Even from across the club, I could see the determination that entered Kin’s expression, followed by an evil-ass grin. Oh shit. What was she going to do? I might have only known her a few weeks, but I’d learned really quickly that she had a devious mind. Especially after seeing how pretty pink both her stepsisters’ hair had turned after they had pissed her off just days after she’d moved in with her father and his family. That had been hilarious, but I didn’t know if I wanted that evil genius loose tonight when all I wanted was to avoid Harris as much as possible.
Kin moved and when she walked there was a new sway to her hips. The girl was nearly six feet tall and her long legs encased in the skinny jeans she was wearing made them look like they went on for miles. The way they molded to her ass, making it look so perfect, would have seriously made me jealous of her if I didn’t love her so much. The heeled sandals she was wearing were classic black and probably the only pair she owned since her taste in clothes wasn’t far from my own.
We both liked comfort and if it weren’t for the dress code at school, we would have both been wearing jeans and classic rock T-shirts every day. Tonight her rocker shirt had been replaced with a simple white tee and vintage black leather half vest. She looked the part she was going to play on stage tonight.
Like a kick-ass rock star.
As Kin drew closer to the two guys my gaze drifted toward them. Jace looked like he was dressed more for comfort in jeans, a Tainted Knights T-shirt and biker boots. His facial hair was scruffy and his hair was styled in an I-don’t-care-but-you-still-think-I’m-sexy look. I wasn’t all that into the slightly shaggy look.
