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I couldn’t see Huxley’s face from where I was, but I could hear him easily enough. “I—I think Cole’s at work. I’m doing coursework.”
David stepped into the room. “Just coursework?” The suspicion in his tone made me wince. He still didn’t trust Huxley, that much was clear.
“No. Uh, I’ve been practising for a gig. The band’s playing tomorrow.”
“Oh, really?” David’s eyes narrowed on Hux. “June and I will come to watch you. Let me know the details.”
It was a threat, and it made me want to run to Huxley’s side and defend him.
But all I could do was hide there in the bathroom with my heart pounding out of my chest until his dad went away.
Tomorrow, though.
I’d make sure that our parents both realised just how fucking talented Huxley was.
24
Unlike last time, the small pub was packed. I tried to tamp down my smile in case my mum and David wondered why I was so happy, but I was buzzing for Huxley and the rest of the band. While David went to the bar for drinks, my mum and I found a spot off to the side where we could see the band easily but wouldn’t be caught up in the middle of the crowd. I commandeered a chair from a nearby table so my mum could sit down and then leaned back against the wall, watching the band setting up.
“Here.” David appeared next to me, handing me an overflowing pint. “I wasn’t expecting it to be this busy.”
“This is where they played the last time I watched them. That one was a test gig, and this time it’s their very first paid gig.” It was impossible to keep the pride from my tone as I pointed out the band members. “That’s Tom—he works at Revolve with me. He’s studying for a PhD as well. Curtis is their drummer, and he’s a student at LSU. That guy behind the keyboard is Rob, and he’s an accountant in his day job.”
When I glanced over at David, he looked completely taken aback. “I…I have to confess, I had a different image in my head. I assumed they would be…well, layabouts, I suppose.” He muttered something about how he should stop making assumptions, shaking his head.
My mum reached up, patting his arm. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, love.” Turning her gaze back to the stage, she said, “Do you think Huxley has noticed us yet?” Before I could stop her, she started waving madly in his direction. Huxley glanced up from his guitar, probably catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, and he tentatively lifted his hand in a brief acknowledgement, a flush on his cheeks.
Hi, I mouthed, and his flush deepened. So fucking cute.
I could feel David’s gaze on me, so I quickly looked away from Huxley, tipping my pint to my lips and letting the chilled liquid slide down my throat. Mmm, cloudy lemon cider. So good.
Tom tapped the mic, doing his soundcheck, and thankfully, it took David’s attention away from me. Huxley had more or less ignored me earlier today when we’d been around our parents, and I knew it was because he was shaken up by almost getting caught last night. I was too, but Hux seemed to be struggling. He’d kicked me out of his room as soon as David had gone, his eyes wide and his face even paler than usual, and the last thing he’d whispered to me was that I should lay low. Then this morning, he hadn’t even spoken to me at breakfast other than to inform me of the time of the gig after I’d asked him directly, tired of being ignored. I could tell that our parents were wondering what had happened because they kept shooting us both concerned glances and then having wordless conversations with each other.
I needed to speak to Huxley to make sure we were on the same page. We’d agreed to give this thing between us a go, and I just hoped that what had happened last night hadn’t given him second thoughts. I wasn’t ready to give him up. Not at all.
Lost in my thoughts, I jumped when there was a loud screech of a guitar, and the band launched straight into their first song. The crowd roared its approval, the noise filling the small pub, and thanks to the time I’d spent learning the lyrics, I was one of the many people singing along with Huxley’s sexy-as-fuck voice. My mum rose to her feet, gripping David’s arm as she leaned over to shout in my ear, “They’re brilliant, Cole! I’m so glad we came.”
I nodded at her with a grin, glancing over to David to see if I could gauge his thoughts on his son’s performance. His face was mostly impassive, but a small smile was ticking at the corner of his lips.
He liked it. Exhaling heavily, I slumped back against the wall. I hadn’t realised just how important it was to me to know that Huxley’s dad appreciated what he was doing with the band, that it wasn’t just an exercise in time-wasting, that he was so fucking talented. His voice gave me chills, and the way he played a guitar… I knew nothing about guitars, and guitar bands had never really been my thing until Hux came along, but one thing I could say for sure was that watching him play was so fucking hot.
The time seemed to fly by, and before I knew it, the first chords of “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” by Oasis sounded. I knew that the band had a more upbeat song prepared for a potential encore, but this was the final one on their main set list. It was the first time I’d heard Huxley sing it in person, and from the first note, I was completely fucking mesmerised by him. I couldn’t look away, my heart swelling and overflowing with feelings that were so powerful it made my breath catch in my throat, and I had to blink rapidly to stop anyone from noticing the sudden moisture that had appeared in my eyes.
“Oh, Cole.”
I turned, wide-eyed, to find my mum’s gaze fixed on me, a sad smile on her lips. Spinning away from her, I scrubbed my hand across my face, forcing myself to take deep, even breaths in an attempt to regain some semblance of composure. Fuck. What had she seen on my face?
I could have kissed David for breaking the tension right then when he spoke up over the applause of the crowd and the shouts for more. I was so fucking proud of Huxley, but now I didn’t even dare to look at him.
“Oasis. I introduced Huxley to their music. Did he ever tell you that? When he wouldn’t settle as a baby, I used to put their album on, and it worked like magic to stop him crying.” He laughed softly. “Takes me back. He was so tiny then. My little boy.” His gaze returned to the stage, and I saw something in his eyes.Pride. “My little boy’s all grown up now. He’s a man.”
The way he said it, it was like it was the first time he’d realised that Huxley was a man and not the fuck-up child that he’d been seeing him as. It filled me with another wave of emotion, and I really needed to get a fucking grip because everyone was going to know there was something going on with me.
“Need air,” I choked out, pushing off the wall and into the crowd, heading for the door. Behind me, the band began their encore, and I was sad I was missing it, but there was no way I could stay in the pub with my mum and David without them learning my secret.
I wasn’t just in lust with my stepbrother. I was completely, one hundred percent head over heels in love with the bleached blond fucker.
Fuck.
