Chapter Ten
Evie
Sunday evening, while I’m working on the artwork for Colt’s game, I get a text.
Penny: What are you doing?
Evie: Drawing this kickbutt detective. Why?
Penny: Hannah and I want to go to Dynamite. You in?
I frown. Dynamite is her favorite teen club a few towns over. I’ve been there a few times and wasn’t really into it. Edenbury has a club, too, but Penny doesn’t like that one. If it was up to her, she’d go to Dynamite every night.
Evie: Pass.
Penny: Come on! Do you want to look back on your senior year and regret not having fun? We’ll be in college soon. Don’t you want to be a kid?
Ugh. She knows exactly what to say to persuade me. Darn it, my friends know me too well.
Evie: I promised Colt I’d finish the sketches on Detective Ret. And Dynamite is so far away…
Penny: Excuses…
My phone beeps with more texts from her, but I tune her out, focusing on my work. Colt’s not paying me, but a job is a job.
My phone rings. Glancing at the screen, I realize it’s Hannah.
“Did Penny call you for backup?” I ask.
She laughs. “You bet she did. And I agree with her. We haven’t really been spending time together.
You’re always drawing or painting and now you’re married with a kid.
Can you find time in your busy schedule for your friends?
We’ll just pop in for, like, a second. Squeeze in a dance or two. That’s all we’re asking.”
I frown. “If we’re hanging out, you bet your butt it’ll be more than just a pop in.”
“So you’re coming? Yes!” She cheers. “I’m calling Penny.” She ends the call.
I twist my mouth, hoping I didn’t make a mistake. I don’t really like crowds, but I’ll do this for my friends since it means so much to them.
After all, these are our last few months to spend together before we start the next chapter in our lives.
***
I’m wearing a pretty purple shirt, a skirt that reaches just above my knees, leggings, dangly earrings, and some makeup. I washed and blow-dried my hair, letting it cascade down my shoulders.
Yep. I’m ready.
It’s not long before Penny and Hannah pull up before my house. After telling my parents I’m leaving, I climb into the backseat of Penny’s car. “I hope I don’t regret this.”
As Penny drives, Hannah turns around, scanning me from top to bottom. “You know we’re going to a teen club, right? Not a fancy dinner.”
I scowl at my outfit. I knew I overdressed. Why am I so bad at these things?
“Should I change?”
“No time,” Penny says. “We’re late.”
“For what?”
Hannah rolls her eyes. “Her parents gave her a curfew because she was out too late last week. They caught her sneaking back home.”
I laugh. “Serves you right for breaking the rules.”
“As if you’re such a saint, Miss I-come-to-class-two-seconds-before-first-bell,” she jokes. “Anyway, we don’t have to stay long. Just get a few dances in and mingle. Maybe we’ll find ourselves some boyfriends.”
“Ha,” I snicker. “Not me.”
Penny and Hannah exchange exasperated looks. We’ve gone over this hundreds of times and they still don’t understand why I’m so reluctant to go out with guys. Breaking up with someone because we’ll go our separate ways doesn’t sit well with me. And long-distance relationships? No thank you.
The ride is kind of a long one, but the traffic isn’t too bad. We listen to music and talk about random things.
“We’re here,” Hannah announces as Penny snatches an available parking spot. Lucky us. Penny would say it’s a sign that we belong here, but I don’t really believe in signs.
Hannah has to practically drag me out of the car because I’m so not into this. Sweaty bodies pressing up against each other, guys and girls hitting on one another…is it too late to flee to the sanctuary that is my basement studio?
Hannah and Penny wrap their arms around my shoulders, leading me inside. I guess the only way to get me in here is with a leash.
The place is vibrant with people dancing, chatting, laughing, and there’s a band on stage playing loud music that will burst my ears. Geez. And there are so many people…
“Don’t look like you’re going to your death,” Penny hisses as she sends smiles to all the people—specifically guys—we pass.
“But I am,” I hiss back.
She and Hannah are still smiling at everyone as we make our way to an area with less people because they know crowds aren’t my thing.
“We should get drinks,” Penny shouts over the music. “And start mingling, guys.” She walks off, heading to a group of guys who must be college-age. We can forget about those drinks because once Penny starts flirting, there’s no stopping her.
Hannah turns to me, moving her body to the beat of the music. “You’re happy you’re here, aren’t you?”
“What?”
She moves closer and repeats what she said. I try not to roll my eyes. “Only because of you guys.”
She beams. “I’ll take it!” She scans around the area for a short while before her eyes light up. “He’s cute.” She tilts her head to where a group of guys and girls are chatting, each holding cups with soda in their hands.
“No he’s not,” I mutter, crossing my arms over my chest. I have no idea which guys she’s even talking about.
“Go over and introduce yourself,” she urges.
I’m about to refuse, but she says, “You don’t have to, like, date him or be his girlfriend or anything. Just have a fun night talking and dancing. Trust me, you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.”
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I scan the screen and groan. We’ve only been here for five minutes.
I gesture to the group where the guy who’ll give me a “fun night” supposedly is. “He’s all yours.”
She frowns at me. “When you’re old and gray and alone, you’ll wish you listened to me.” She walks off in pursuit of that hottie.
“I won’t be alone,” I say, more to myself because there’s no way she can hear me.
“I’ll meet a guy one day and I’ll fall madly in love like my parents and we’ll have a happily ever after…
what the heck?” My eyes widen as I take in the four guys who just walked onto the stage.
I think they’re the next band to perform.
What in the world is my husband doing up there? And…is that his guitar strapped over his shoulder? I didn’t know he plays publicly.
Blinking a few times to make sure my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, I tell myself that Noah has a lookalike. Some people claim everyone has a doppelganger, right?
But as I watch him set up with the other guys, I notice they’re Wyatt and Mateo, his best buddies. Could all three of them be doppelgangers? Highly unlikely.
What the heck is going on?
Scanning around, I search for Hannah or Penny to make sure I’m not going crazy, but I don’t see them anywhere. They’re probably dancing or kissing guys and don’t even realize there’s an imposter on that stage.
When the band is done setting up, Noah walks up to the mic with a smile on his face. “Hi,” he talks over the crowd. “We’re The Rock’n Jocks. Are you ready to rock?”
The crowd cheers.
Noah nods to the drummer and then they start to play.
Rock music isn’t my thing, but I find myself dancing to the beat. It’s like the music wraps around me, making me feel all these different emotions. Good emotions, like I’m floating up to the ceiling. I can’t really describe it, but I’ve never felt like this before, not even when I paint.
My jaw drops to the floor when Noah starts singing into the mic. Wyatt and Mateo sing as well, but they’re backup. Noah is totally and completely shining up there. His eyes are shut as he sways and sings, and his voice…
His voice has got to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard in my life. And it’s rock music, something I’m not sure is supposed to be beautiful, but it is.
It’s like he’s a different person up there. A rockstar. The way he carries himself, how the music and lyrics must wrap around him, too. If I didn’t know the guy, I’d think he was a famous musician.
And the only way to really describe him up there? Glowing. Yep, he’s glowing. Like there’s an aura around him.
Who is this guy and what has he done with Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt? Because that is not the Noah Barrington I know.
The room has suddenly gotten hot, but that’s probably because of all the people here. They’re cheering and dancing and basking in this music, just like I am.
Wow. Have I been converted into a rock music lover or is it because of the way Noah belts out the words?
Wait, what am I saying? It’s Noah. Mr. Unemotional.
Yet there he is on stage, still with his eyes closed, the mic centimeters from his mouth as he sings, and his fingers strumming the guitar.
I spot Hannah and Penny dancing with many other people, and I squish through the crowd, grabbing their arms and pulling them to a semi-empty spot. They scowl at me, probably because I took them away from their fun.
“Am I seeing things or is that Noah up there?” I shout over the music.
Penny and Hannah turn toward the stage and their jaws practically drop to the floor.
“It is Noah up there,” Hannah says. “Evie, you knew he’s in a band?”
“Is that Wyatt and Mateo?” Penny points.
“Apparently,” I say.
Penny shrugs. “That’s cool. I’m going back to dance.”
“Same,” Hannah adds. “You should join us.”
I wave them off, then focus on the stage and the guy belting out the words. Dang…that voice. The room is getting hotter by the second.
When Noah’s band finishes the song, the crowd cheers even louder than they did before. I still can’t take my eyes off the lead singer.
“Thank you,” Noah says to the crowd, smiling as he gazes around. Then they start their next song and it’s just as fabulous as the previous one.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that it’s Noah up there, when his eyes open and roam the crowd, taking in the excited vibe from the audience. And he smiles again, a full smile, like he can’t believe this is happening. Well, that certainly makes two of us.
Then his eyes land on me and widen. He looks a little horrified to see me here. He stops singing and just stands there, like he has no idea where he is or what he’s doing.