Chapter 9
Tera was panting behind me by the time she caught up, Katie slung against her shoulder. All three men, taller and lankier, watched with an odd curiosity. I shook my head and grabbed Sydney’s arm, attempting to pull her away.
“We’re sorry for interrupting,” I said to them and tugged my best friend’s arm again.
“Don’t apologize for me,” she slurred, and the one I think was called The Reaper chuckled.
“I remember you guys,” he said, and Sydney squealed, slapping my fingers off her arm.
“You do?” Katie gasped, and he nodded.
The shaggy, brown-haired guy with a nose ring to the left of The Reaper furrowed his brows for a moment. “Oh yeah, you girls were at the meet and greet.”
I leaned toward Tera. “Who’s that one?” I whispered, and she giggled.
Pointing toward the man who’d just spoken, she replied loudly for everyone to hear. “That’s Slayer, or Jaxon. The cute blond with long hair is Drake, or the Soul Shredder, and—”
“Thank you, Tera,” I hissed through gritted teeth. I knew who Kieron was; the process of elimination made that clear.
Drake furrowed his brows. “You were there, too, and you don’t know who we are?”
Sydney giggled flirtatiously and slumped forward, pushing me back. “Cosette here has issues. So of course, until I convinced her to come to the concert, she’d never even heard your music outside of when I played it loudly over speakers.”
I shook my head, frustrated.
“Do you guys not have security or something?” I interjected, wondering why no one was pulling us away. Sydney was getting dangerously aggressive and close.
Kieron nodded to his left and right. “Yeah, they’re here. But I think we can handle a few drunk girls on our own.” My eyes met subtle nods from some rather intense-looking men blending in with the crowds around us.
Ugh, plan A went out the window.
Sydney clicked her tongue and then reached forward, grabbing the closest arm to her, which was Kieron’s. “She only likes classical music. You have no idea how much convincing it took to get her to come to the concert.”
“Classical music?” Kieron asked, raising a brow. He tipped his head, his gaze turning strangely suspicious.
“Let’s go, Sydney,” I hissed, and she glared at me, returning her attention to the band.
“She even plays piano incredibly well,” she continued, as the three men raised their gazes over her head.
A voice spoke, interrupting the conversation and making my stomach churn. “You play the piano?”
Asher.
Clenching my jaw, Sydney gasped in delight as I slowly turned around and saw the very man I’d left at my house.
“Yo! He lives!” Drake said as Asher stalked our way. Dressed all in black, but not his protective riding gear, he now donned just a simple T-shirt and jeans.
I quickly looked away, meeting Kieron’s blue eyes. He furrowed his bushy brows, curious. Part of me wondered if he suspected something. I needed to get out of here, and now. Like right now.
“Sydney, say your goodbyes, and let’s go,” I begged my best friend again, and she jerked backward, away from me.
“Why would I go now?” She threw a thumb over her shoulder toward the man who was staring at me. Spinning around, she smiled giddily toward Asher.
“If you only like classical music, why’d you decide to come to the concert? And buy a meet-and-greet ticket no less?” Asher asked, stopping beside Kieron, who offered him a beer, but he quietly refused it.
“She didn’t buy the ticket, I did,” Sydney said, and Asher briefly glanced toward her before narrowing his gaze at me. I shook my head, silently telling him to not ask more questions.
“What’s your name?” he asked Sydney, and I glared at him.
“Sydney. We’ve met before,” she replied with starry eyes.
Lifting a hand toward him, he grabbed it, keeping his gaze locked on me, and kissed the back of her hand.
She giggled, pulling it away with a blush as Kieron shifted his eyes back and forth between Asher and me.
How would he know? Did he know? Or was he simply picking up on the subtle exchange right now? Or was I reading into things?
“You know, I’ve been trying to get a hold of your manager, but it always goes to voicemail when I call,” Sydney suddenly slurred, swaying back and forth.
“Oh? Why’s that?” Asher asked, a smirk slipping across his features. I glanced in confusion toward Sydney.
“Cosi’s birthday is next weekend, and her parents are coming. Plus Danny.” She gagged. “Anyway, she agreed—”
“To nothing. Let’s go.” I cut her off, suddenly realizing where she was going with this.
Of all the things she could’ve spent her money on, this was not what I’d remotely even imagined or wanted would be her way to stick it to my parents and my ex.
She knew they hated any metal music or tattoos, or men who were involved in all of that.
Jealousy was not the reaction that would ensue.
Okay, maybe I should’ve known. Those were all also good reasons…
“Bitch, I’m talking,” Sydney drunkenly bashed me.
She was not filtering her thoughts anymore.
“Cosi never lets me spend money on her or asks for my money. I’m rich, and she’s not, but she agreed for her birthday party this one time that I could do whatever I wanted to to stick it to her ex.
I’ve been trying to hire you guys to come perform.
Her parents will be livid, Danny will be jealous, and it will be poetic justice. ”
“She’s drunk, she doesn’t know what she’s saying,” I quickly said, but Asher was having none of it as he raised his brow.
“Next weekend, you say?”
“Yes, it’ll be at my parents’ house!” Sydney squealed in hopeful glee.
“No,” I demanded.
“We’ll have our manager call you in the morning.
” Asher grinned wickedly as my mouth fell open.
His bandmates chuckled, shaking their heads as Sydney turned toward the rest of the bandmates with an excited grin on her face.
Taking advantage of her temporary shift in focus, I stepped forward and snapped my fingers around Asher’s arm.
“Can I talk to you? Privately?” I asked politely, but let the malice snake behind my words.
“Why?” He feigned innocence, and I glared at him, dragging him away.
Sydney fell forward, directly into Drake, as I pulled Asher away from the group.
All my girlfriends were drunk, and I was praying that they would forget this entire encounter.
Katie and Tera giggled as Sydney blushed, but she didn’t push away from Drake, who helped tip her back upright.
We rounded a corner, and my friends disappeared from view. The moment that we were out of sight, Asher pulled his arm from my grip, slammed a hand around my wrist, and it was his turn to drag me forward.
Kicking open a bedroom door, he tossed me inside and shut it behind us.
“What the hell, Asher?” I whipped around, glaring at him. He stalked directly toward me.
“I should be asking you the same damn thing! You realize that if Sydney wasn’t drunk, how suspicious it would look with you dragging me out of the room like we know each other?” He pulled his face tight, and I rolled my eyes.
“She is drunk. And so black-out drunk, I will end up pulling over at least twice on the drive home so she can barf out the side. In the morning, she will wake up and not remember a thing,” I hissed in reply, and he shook his head.
“Trust me, I’ve picked her up from enough parties to know how it’ll go. With Katie and Tera too.”
He glared at me but remained silent.
“Which brings me to my initial point. You can’t come.”
“What? Why not? Sydney invited us.”
“Like I said, she won’t remember asking you guys in the morning, so you can’t have your manager call her. You can’t come.”
“I’ll pretend like we only met at the concert and this party. Our little secret will remain a secret.”
“I don’t care about that right now.” I clenched my fists and turned away from him, facing the lacy bedspread. Large windows rose on either side, framed in intricate curtains of expensive colors.
“I don’t get it. Aren’t you asking me to not come because Sydney will be there? She’s your best friend that you keep rejecting me for, isn’t she?” he asked. I closed my eyes.
“Yes, she is, but that’s…” I took a deep breath in. That wasn’t my more pressing concern. It was the fact that Danny was going to be there with my parents. But how do I explain that to someone who doesn’t know a thing about me? Who really doesn’t care about who I am as a person.
“It’s your birthday. I’m coming,” he demanded.
I opened my eyes and slowly turned around.
I blinked, a little shocked. Asher shoved his hands into his pockets, tipping his head and raising his brows.
“Unless you can give me one actual reason why I shouldn’t come, I’m coming.
We’re coming. And we will perform, and I’ll make this ex of yours pissed that he even thought about showing up to your birthday. ”
“He’s the reason, Asher. Please,” I begged, and his brows twitched.
“Is he going to hurt you?”
“What? No.”
“Are you still into him?”
“Absolutely not. That has nothing to do with it.” I shook my head, annoyed, and walked around him, facing the ornate wooden dresser. I stared at myself in the mirror, which had flowers carved into its frame.
He had no idea how ruined my parents could end up if I pissed Danny off, even Sydney didn’t.
I’d only agreed to let her do this because I thought it wouldn’t escalate to something like this.
He may not have ever raised a hand to me, but he wasn’t above manipulation.
Obviously. That was apparent to everyone except my parents, who continually fell for his good-guy act.
What’s worse, if I made my parents mad at me, that would give more ammo to Danny.
It would fuel his fire and give him another shell to shoot at me in an effort to get me back.
“Then why would you have an issue with me coming to piss him off?”