Chapter Two
CHELSIE
I wasn’t headed home for the night.
"You are such a mirror hog, Lis," Julia snapped, pushing the redhead out of the way with her hip.
"Hey, straightening this mop takes time. Not all of us were blessed with shampoo-commercial hair."
"Are you two almost ready?” I tapped my foot against the laminate flooring as we freshened up in the lounge bathroom. "I'm exhausted."
Marley’s was not my scene. I was the kind of girl who liked to curl up with my cat and a good book after a long night of work, and then call it a night.
Julia and Lisa were constantly trying to get me to party more often, but I’d always decline, the nightlife far from enticing.
What was so appealing about getting drunk and trying to impress unworthy men?
Sure, I enjoyed a cocktail every now and then, but overall, booze and bad boys were not my thing.
“Ready,” Julia said, popping the cap back on her cherry lipstick. “How do I look?”
“You know how you look,” I smiled sincerely.
Five minutes later, we were piled into Lisa’s Jeep, on our way to Marley’s. It was a popular bar in New York City, down the street from The Pit Stop with a dance floor and a V.I.P. lounge upstairs. It was often occupied with beautiful and recognizable people.
I wouldn’t know from experience, though—I’d only been there once for Lisa’s mandatory twenty-fourth birthday party two years ago, and I’d been wildly unimpressed.
"This is unbelievable," Julia said. She bounced up and down in the backseat. "We're seriously going to hang out with Freeze Frame!"
Lisa nudged me in the ribcage as she drove through town. “And hopefully do more than hang out with them. Right, Chelsie?"
I scoffed at Lisa’s statement from the passenger’s seat. "We all know that's not happening. I'm sure the moment Devon sees you two, I'll be a blip on his ever-growing radar."
Julia leaned forward with a melodramatic roll of her onyx eyes. "Stop selling yourself short, Chelsie. You’re gorgeous. Men are completely enamored with you, and you refuse to believe it."
The compliment made me itchy as I shifted in my seat. I’d believed that once. "You're sweet, Jules, but it's usually just the scary ones who hit on me."
"Or… hot lead singers,” Lisa said.
Julia threw her hands up. "Thank you!"
I buried my insecurities as Lisa pulled the car into a parking garage, slinging my purse over my shoulder and gripping the strap with a tinge of nervous excitement. My heart was lub-dubbing against its normally peaceful confinements, pulling my expression into a frown.
Knock it off, heart!
I wasn’t sure why my heart was acting so out of character, but maybe it was because Devon Sawyer was a legend in the making, and I was merely a down-on-my-luck cocktail waitress with a tormented past.
Or maybe it was the look he had given me when I’d traipsed up the stage steps with water bottles in my hands and forced indifference in my eyes.
Or maybe it was the look he’d given me when I was re-filling cups of ice water and had accidentally zoned out, pouring a pint of it into a furious customer’s lap.
Or maybe it was the look he’d given me when I was handing out plates of jalapeno poppers to the group of envious fraternity girls who had, in turn, stiffed me.
I took a moment to scold myself for documenting all of Devon’s provocative looks like a meticulously maintained Excel spreadsheet.
My sigh was weary as I strolled out of the parking garage with my two best friends.
It was a short walk over to the upscale lounge. The entry line had to be a few blocks long. We pinned on our badges and marched our way up the sidewalk to the front of the building, where we were greeted by a bouncer who offered us a blank stare.
"Badges," he deadpanned.
We flashed our badges with pride and were swiftly let into the bar, the sounds of booing trailing behind us as we breezed through the entrance.
"Suckers!" Julia shouted back. She inched down the neckline of her very revealing silver blouse. "Now, where are those yummy boys?"
My heart continued to race as I scanned the crowd. The loud music reverberated right through me, my arms linked with Lisa’s and Julia’s, and it wasn't long before we were smashed between dancing bodies and blinded by colorful DJ lights.
Yay. So much fun.
Julia's eyes lit up as she pointed to a staircase leading up to a private room. "Bingo," she grinned.
Before I was hauled away to the elusive staircase, the guitarist of Freeze Frame ambled down the steps, exuding an equal amount of sex appeal and surly nonchalance.
"Holy gorgeous," Julia swooned.
A look of disdain swept across my face, and I puckered my lips. "Don't get all excited. That guy is a dick."
"Uh-huh… sure…" Julia trailed off, pushing through the masses to approach him.
"Julia!" I called out, but was promptly ignored. "Shit."
Julia didn’t hold back in flirting with the cocky guitar player, and I watched as she flipped her hair over one shoulder with a bright grin, leaning into him as far as she could. He seemed to be charmed by her advances, but that was no surprise. Julia was a next-level babe.
They both looked over in my direction, causing me to stiffen in place. The guitarist nodded, his eyes dancing between me and Julia. I maintained my look of disinterest and sipped my cocktail through a tiny straw, unable to hear the conversation over the deafening music.
Julia hadn't been lying when she'd called him gorgeous. He was good-looking, but in a different way from Devon—Devon’s hair was light and shaggy, where the guitarist had dark, sable hair, mussed with gel.
He was tall and well-muscled with a distinct edge about him, evident by the stubble across his jawline and a tattoo on his right forearm.
And the asshole persona.
A few more moments passed before Julia began waving me over. Great. I swallowed my drink with a clunky gulp and grabbed Lisa’s hand, pushing our way through dozens of women who had started noticing the musician’s presence.
Julia beamed as we joined them at the base of the private staircase. "Hey, guys! This is Noah Hayes," she introduced, her eyes glowing with enthusiasm. "As we all know, he's the guitarist for Freeze Frame.”
Blinking, I slapped on my most noteworthy “unimpressed” face and eyed Noah with guarded apprehension. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of a greeting—much like he had unkindly done to me earlier that evening.
Then I felt Julia's elbow ram into my ribcage. "Ouch!" I hissed.
Noah crossed his arms over his faded green t-shirt, clearing his throat. "Right. You were the one who brought us the water," he said, holding up a finger in remembrance. The muscles in his forearms twitched, his eyes glimmering by way of DJ strobe lights.
"You're welcome, by the way,” I quipped.
Noah quirked an eyebrow at my boldness. “Well, you’re not shy.”
“You were disrespectful. I just thought you should know.”
"You walked up there all googly-eyed. What was I supposed to do?"
A feisty comeback teased the tip of my tongue.
Julia noticed, quickly maneuvering herself between us. "Ooo-kay! How about we meet the rest of the guys?"
Lisa gave an enthusiastic nod in agreement.
Noah narrowed his eyes in my direction. “Sure,” he said flatly.
I trailed behind the group, indignation swimming through me. I wasn’t even sure what had gotten me so fired up—Noah Hayes was a stranger. He didn’t owe me anything… even respect. And yet, my veins were pumping hot with adrenaline.
"Don't worry, Chelsie. I'm sure that guy's just a bad egg. Devon will be great, I promise," Lisa said, squeezing my hand. "Don't let this ruin your night. You're the luckiest girl in the room right now."
My smile felt forced. “Thanks, Lis.”
We traipsed up the staircase and entered the private lounge—a spacious room, illuminated with multi-colored lights. My eyes scanned the plush red couches and a minibar against the far wall as soft music filtered through a speaker.
My sour mood scattered when I spotted Devon sitting in the corner of the suite, chatting with the two other band members. I swallowed, my gaze traveling back to the bar where two buxom blondes were giggling over martinis.
"Hello, boys," Julia purred. It was no surprise she was the first to speak. "I'm Julia."
Noah cleared his throat. "And this is Water Girl," he said, making an animated hand gesture toward me.
Annoyance squeezed my chest. I jerked my head in his direction, glaring at him with impassioned eyes. His own eyes sparkled in reply, and my stomach pitched at the realization that he was getting off on tormenting me.
"Chelsie has a better ring to it.” Devon appeared at my side, holding out his hand in greeting, a slow smile curling at his Cheshire lips. “It is Chelsie, right?"
I nodded, my anger dissipating. "Yeah. I mean… yes. I'm Chelsie." When our hands met, a spark shot through me, and that anger dissolved into ash.
"I'm Devon," he replied, our palms still clinched together. "I'm glad you could make it out tonight."
I tried to keep my flush of excitement in check and swallowed back my nerves, but my heart rate increased to a concerning pace as we maintained eye contact.
Oh, boy.
"So," Devon continued. "I see you and Noah have already met."
“Unfortunately.” I spared Noah a side-eye, clearing my throat. “But I'm confident I got the worst out of the way."
The room broke out into laughter.
"Ouch," Noah said, holding a hand to his heart like an invisible dagger. "You're just all sorts of sassy, aren't you, Water Girl?" He sauntered over to the minibar and threw his arms around the two model-wannabes. "At least Sadie and Sophie are nice to me."
The blondes nuzzled in closer, and I looked away in disgust, trying not to outwardly gag.
Devon rolled his eyes. "Just ignore him. I know I do. Here, let me introduce you to the rest of the band."
CONTINUE READING…