drink in her hand. Long black lashes shadowed her pink cheeks. The shy, uneasy girl had returned. Fucking sweet and vulnerable and intoxicating to look at. Didn’t need beer or weed or anything for this kind of high, just the girl. But she was standing with Everly, who had no doubt filled her head with an ugly fucking description of me. And she probably hadn’t been too far off. But it didn’t bother me enough to pick up my beer and walk away.
The microphone released a high-pitched whistle as Gabe, the owner’s son, switched it on. “All right, there is a five hundred dollar pot for tonight’s contest, and we only have eight people signed up. If you still want to get in on your chance to win the money, go to the bar. Brooke has the sign-up sheet. You can pick your song from the list. Who is first?” he called to his bartender.
“Dane Wolfe,” Brooke called out. A good round of laughter and cheers rumbled through the bar.
Everly looked sideways at me. I shrugged. “You know Dane. He’d get up there and do a fucking striptease if it meant five hundred bucks. Actually, that’s probably not a good example. He’d do that for a pitcher of beer.”
Two minutes into Dane’s torturous rendition of Crazy Train , Everly looked over at Tashlyn. “Five hundred bucks and he’s part of the competition.”
Dane hit a note that sent everyone’s shoulders up around their ears. Tashlyn put down her drink. Every damn head in the place turned as she walked through the crowd to the bar. She signed up and was completely oblivious to the amount of attention she was drawing, completely unaware of the trail of glittering light that was following her through the dark, crowded room. Or maybe I was the only person who saw the glow.
Katy had walked back inside, and I was getting the full evil eye from her and her friends. Yet the scowls they were shooting my direction were light-hearted compared to the looks they were tossing at Tashlyn. Again, Tashlyn had no clue it was happening, but Everly, who knew the venom of Katy and her friends, caught it right away.
Everly raised a brow and huffed angrily at me.
“What are you huffing and puffing about, Ever? Or is it just my presence that’s irritating you?”
“Yes, that is it. Plus, now you’ve fired up the bitch posse across the way. Tash will probably get tomatoes thrown at her on stage.”
Tashlyn, who’d been genuinely sizing up the competition, caught the remark. “Who wants to throw tomatoes? I haven’t even gone on stage yet.”
“The girl, who, at the first sight of you, Jem so politely jilted tonight is extremely pissed. And trust me, her middle name is Bitch.”
Tashlyn’s wide blue eyes peered up at me over Everly’s head. “I don’t understand.”
I tilted my head at Everly. “She tends to be dramatic.”
“Since when?” Everly snapped.
“Uh, since the fourth grade when I cheated off your paper, and we both got sent to the principal’s office. Or did you forget that you threw up twice on the way up there?”
“Yeah, because you cheated, and I was being sent up the river for it.”
I smiled. “Ah confess, Everly, you pushed your paper so I could see it.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure of that.”
“We have a new face in the crowd,” Gabe announced when the music stopped. “Tashlyn, come on up. It’s your turn. I see you picked Anna Nalick’s Breathe . Good choice.”
She gave Everly a quick hug and pointed to me. “If I die of humiliation up there, it’s going to be your fault.” She took a long sip of her martini and scooted around the table. I followed her to get a better view. I pushed through the crowd gathered around the stage and got a few grunts of complaint, until they saw it was me. They made room for me up front. One of the perks of being a Wolfe.
Tashlyn looked nervous, and suddenly, I just wanted to be up there with my arms around her.
The room was dead silent as she climbed onto the stage. But it
The microphone released a high-pitched whistle as Gabe, the owner’s son, switched it on. “All right, there is a five hundred dollar pot for tonight’s contest, and we only have eight people signed up. If you still want to get in on your chance to win the money, go to the bar. Brooke has the sign-up sheet. You can pick your song from the list. Who is first?” he called to his bartender.
“Dane Wolfe,” Brooke called out. A good round of laughter and cheers rumbled through the bar.
Everly looked sideways at me. I shrugged. “You know Dane. He’d get up there and do a fucking striptease if it meant five hundred bucks. Actually, that’s probably not a good example. He’d do that for a pitcher of beer.”
Two minutes into Dane’s torturous rendition of Crazy Train , Everly looked over at Tashlyn. “Five hundred bucks and he’s part of the competition.”
Dane hit a note that sent everyone’s shoulders up around their ears. Tashlyn put down her drink. Every damn head in the place turned as she walked through the crowd to the bar. She signed up and was completely oblivious to the amount of attention she was drawing, completely unaware of the trail of glittering light that was following her through the dark, crowded room. Or maybe I was the only person who saw the glow.
Katy had walked back inside, and I was getting the full evil eye from her and her friends. Yet the scowls they were shooting my direction were light-hearted compared to the looks they were tossing at Tashlyn. Again, Tashlyn had no clue it was happening, but Everly, who knew the venom of Katy and her friends, caught it right away.
Everly raised a brow and huffed angrily at me.
“What are you huffing and puffing about, Ever? Or is it just my presence that’s irritating you?”
“Yes, that is it. Plus, now you’ve fired up the bitch posse across the way. Tash will probably get tomatoes thrown at her on stage.”
Tashlyn, who’d been genuinely sizing up the competition, caught the remark. “Who wants to throw tomatoes? I haven’t even gone on stage yet.”
“The girl, who, at the first sight of you, Jem so politely jilted tonight is extremely pissed. And trust me, her middle name is Bitch.”
Tashlyn’s wide blue eyes peered up at me over Everly’s head. “I don’t understand.”
I tilted my head at Everly. “She tends to be dramatic.”
“Since when?” Everly snapped.
“Uh, since the fourth grade when I cheated off your paper, and we both got sent to the principal’s office. Or did you forget that you threw up twice on the way up there?”
“Yeah, because you cheated, and I was being sent up the river for it.”
I smiled. “Ah confess, Everly, you pushed your paper so I could see it.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure of that.”
“We have a new face in the crowd,” Gabe announced when the music stopped. “Tashlyn, come on up. It’s your turn. I see you picked Anna Nalick’s Breathe . Good choice.”
She gave Everly a quick hug and pointed to me. “If I die of humiliation up there, it’s going to be your fault.” She took a long sip of her martini and scooted around the table. I followed her to get a better view. I pushed through the crowd gathered around the stage and got a few grunts of complaint, until they saw it was me. They made room for me up front. One of the perks of being a Wolfe.
Tashlyn looked nervous, and suddenly, I just wanted to be up there with my arms around her.
The room was dead silent as she climbed onto the stage. But it
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