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“Right.” Bryn drains his glass and pushes back his chair. “Getting a drink.”
Jax watches him go and laces his fingers through mine. “Your hands are damp,” I whisper.
“I just outed us to your brother and anybody else whose line of sight we’re in,” he whispers back.
The rest of the table watches proceedings with interest, and I’m aware the voices around the room have quieted too; the sounds of 60s rock and roll taking over.
“Dude…” Liam shakes his head and follows Bryn.
Jem lounges back in his seat, arm across Ruby’s shoulder. “Did you know about this?” he asks Ruby.
“Yeah, none of my business though. Or anybody’s.”
“Makes no difference to me. Just curious,” replies Jem.
I bet this does make a difference to him. Jem’s as aware as I am of the undercurrents in Ruby and Jax’s relationship.
“Bryn’s just gonna have to suck it up,” remarks Jax, stunning me. Talk about change in attitude.
“Jesus, this is funny,” says Dylan. “I wouldn’t underestimate him though.” He throws a beer mat across the table at Jem. “Hey, Jem, remember what happened that time you pissed Bryn off?”
“Which time?”
“Well, several but the big one. When we...” He glances at Sky. “That evening in Sydney. First overseas tour. Remember?” Jem frowns, but Dylan continues, “Man, never seen him so pissed off. How long did it take your arm to heal?”
Jem gives Dylan a sly smile. “Ah, that time.”
Jax pales. “What?”
“Really?” I know my brother has a temper; but he’s also aware of his strength, and it would take a lot for him to lose control and hurt somebody.
“Mmm. Still have the scars.” Jem shakes his head. “Don’t envy you, Jax.”
“Bryn. He’s all calm and collected on the surface, but after a few more of those —” Dylan points at Bryn’s empty glass.
“Fuck, but I thought —” begins Jax.
Sky smacks Dylan on the arm. “Behave! I know this isn’t true!”
“Yeah? How?” he asks, mouth curling into a smile.
“Because I know you, and you’re lying!” She looks at Jax. “Ignore the pair of them. I think it’s sweet.”
Jax visibly winces at the word. “Sweet?” His fingers trail along my leg. “I don’t do sweet.”
“Oh! Listen to you, Mr. Badass,” snorts Ruby. “You’d better be sweet to Tegan or —”
“Or what? I don’t think you’re in the position to get high and mighty about relationships affecting the band.”
“Whoa, okay, mate. We went through this earlier!” says Jem. “No more trash talk about Ruby fucking up the band. End of.”
Awkward. Now I really want to know what happened in that meeting.
A waitress appears with our meals, setting down a huge plate of chips and burger in front of me. Jax and Ruby avoid looking at each other, and Jem glowers at Jax.
My head spins. On tour, I expected the famous Blue Phoenix debauchery, totally forgetting their situation these days. In front of me are a pregnant couple and the lead singer famous for being a heart breaker, now so loved-up he’s part of a poster couple for squishy romance. Next to me? The so-called bad boy Jax Lewis who announced we’re dating.
Rock stars don’t date.
