Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
SERENITY
The fire I was shooting from my eyes did nothing to quell the excitement coming off those two as they began chanting my name. I was going to get my revenge. I didn’t know when, and I didn’t know how, but I’d do it, damn it.
Stella stood up and whooped loudly, her arms in the air. “Come on, Sere! Sing for us,” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
I was still shaking my head—a lot of damn good it was doing me—as hands from different patrons began pushing and guiding me toward the stage. I wasn’t getting out of this. Everyone was going to make sure of that.
I moved woodenly toward the stage, feeling like I was trudging through cement. The lights felt blinding as I climbed up the single step that took me onto the platform.
“Come on, darlin’,” the lead singer coaxed gently, leaning in to speak closer to my ear. “You’ll get used to it in no time.” I wasn’t so sure about that. It felt like it was a million degrees hotter up here than it was on the floor. “You know what you want to sing?”
Did I know? Of course I didn’t know! I wasn’t even supposed to be up here. “Uh . . .”
“What’s the last song you listened to?” he asked, guiding me toward my choice.
I remembered the last song I’d queued up on my phone and sang along to as I cleaned my tiny apartment earlier that day. “Do you know ‘Lighthouse’ by William Prince?”
He grinned big and nodded. “Mic’s all yours, sweetheart.”
I took place front and center as he informed the rest of the guys in the band what song they’d be playing.
Before I was ready, the music swelled and the crowd went quiet.
Fortunately, the gentle, calm melody filled me up.
I closed my eyes against the lights and people and transported myself right back to my living room.
I was all alone, singing for myself, not a packed bar.
Feeling a sudden peace wash over me, I let the words flow past my lips.
Hunter
“My God, Stella. Your sister has the most incredible voice,” I heard Gypsy exclaim from farther down the table.
I heard mutters of agreement from the rest of the crew at our table, but I couldn’t pull my eyes off the woman standing behind the mic, her long, delicate fingers wrapped around the stand.
She gently swayed side to side, unconsciously, as she sang.
Everything about Serenity in that moment was mesmerizing.
I understood now why her laugh always affected me the way it did and why it reminded me of music.
It was because she’d been hiding this gift.
There was a quality to her voice I hadn’t expected, a smoky huskiness, like the smoothest hit of whiskey sliding down your throat.
It was sexy and sultry, not high like something you’d expect to hear on one of those cartoon princess movies.
It was dark and moody, like rich chocolate.
“I love when she sings,” I could hear Stella saying from the other end of the table as my attention split in two, one half listening to her, the other entranced by her older sister’s bluesy, hypnotic voice.
“She could be famous. I don’t have a single doubt about that.
I’ve told her a million times that if she just tried, she could really go places. ”
“Why doesn’t she?” Sage asked.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Stella shrug. “She doesn’t want it. She’s always said she just wants a normal, happy life. Being a star was never appealing for her.”
A normal life, I thought to myself. I wasn’t sure there were many people out there who wouldn’t jump at the chance to be famous if it was presented to them.
It was interesting to know Serenity Ryan wasn’t one of them.
I was quickly coming to realize that there were layers to the woman I’d never expected.
She was so different than I’d originally thought.
She was an onion you could keep peeling and never reach the center.
It was intriguing as hell.
Not that it mattered.
The song reached its crescendo and Serenity’s voice rose higher, hitting notes that had the crowd inside the Tap Room going nuts, before finally drifting back down quietly as she closed out the song.
As soon as the last note faded, people shot to their feet, clapping and whistling and whooping for the incredible performance put on by the gorgeous woman on stage.
Her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink as she laughed awkwardly and covered them with her hands. “Thanks. Thank you,” she stuttered into the mic and waved nervously. “I appreciate it, but I’m handing it back over to the professionals.”
Kyle Makin, the guy who fronted the local band, returned to the microphone and pulled Serenity into a hug that made my muscles tighten inexplicably. Get your shit together, I silently chided myself. There’s nothing between you and her, and there never will be.
I knew the jealousy churning in gut at the platonic hug was ridiculous, but I couldn’t help but think back to that kiss we’d shared just a few yards from here, right outside. It had thrown my whole world off balance, and as hard as I tried, I still hadn’t managed to right myself fully.
The hug finally broke apart, and he lifted her hand in the air as he spoke into the microphone. “Give it up one more time for the lovely Serenity Ryan, folks. Wasn’t she incredible?”
The noise swelled again, and I watched her like a hawk as she moved off the stage and headed toward the bar, stopping every few feet when someone wanted to praise her performance.
The smile that stretched across her face was so big it was damn near blinding as she took the time to show genuine gratitude to each and every one of them.
Wanting to be close to her, but needing an excuse, I sucked back the rest of my beer and stood. “Need a refill,” I said to no one in particular.
“I’m sure Sere will be over any minute,” Stella said.
I gave her a casual shrug. “It’s no big deal.” And I had no intension of waiting, no matter how long or short a time it was.
It was easy enough to get through the thick crowd.
When a man my size was moving through, people tended to clear out of the way quickly enough.
I was only a few feet away when I had to stop and cut a glare at the man standing closest to her at the bar.
All he was doing was waiting to order a drink, but he was in my way.
He caught my look and quickly scampered off, clearing the space beside Serenity so I could fit into it.
“If I thought for one moment that I could get away with it, I’d murder you both so hard for that,” I heard Serenity say to Rory and another one of the Tap Room’s waitresses. Apparently they were the ones behind the ploy to get Serenity on stage.
“You were awesome, doll!” the woman in a “Tap it Real Good” shirt stated. “You should be thanking us. And don’t think for a second that’s the last time you’re getting your pretty little ass up on that stage.”
Serenity let out a growl that sounded cute as hell as she snatched up a tray and tucked it under her arm. “You’re lucky I need to see to my tables, or I’d practice trying to make your head explode with my mind.”
She spun around, spotting me for the first time, and sucked in a gasp.
I was close enough to see her pupils dilate and smell the jasmine on her skin, and not for the first time, I was hit with a thought that it was a shame I was a broken shell of a man, because a woman like Serenity deserved so much better than me.
Serenity
I couldn’t believe Hunter had managed to get that close without me noticing. Usually, I felt his presence like a physical caress, a tingle that started at the base of my neck and worked its way down my spine like fingertips dragging across my skin.
It had to have been the adrenaline dump still working its way through my bloodstream that had come with singing in front of the entire bar that had clouded my mind to his sudden closeness, but now that I knew he was there, every inch of me became aware of him.
The manly spice of his blocked out all other smells, and I could practically feel the heat radiating off him.
I was going to have to get used to pushing down that initial punch of lust I felt every time I caught sight of him. I could only hope it would eventually go away for good. “Hi.” I looked down and noticed the empty glass in his hand. “I’m sorry; you need a refill. I’ll get right on that.”
He shook his head to stop me as I started to lift my hand to catch the bartender’s attention. “Don’t worry about that. I just wanted to tell you it was damn impressive what you did up there, Wildcat.”
I felt the nervous heat I’d only just gotten control of return to my cheeks. My chin dipped as I tucked a few loose strands of hair behind my ear and muttered, “Thanks. It wasn’t exactly planned.”
“Then I guess we’re all lucky we showed up tonight.”
I gave him a teasing scowl and poked at his chest. There was no give whatsoever to the firmness of his pec, and my mind instantly fell ass over elbow into the gutter. I couldn’t stop wondering what he looked like without his shirt, or any of his clothes, for that matter.
I bet it was a work of art beneath all those clothes, not that I’d ever get to find out.
Damn it!
“I wouldn’t say it was luck that got you here tonight. More like a friend pulling your head out of your ass.”
The word friend might have tasted bitter on my tongue, but I’d get used to it. I’d say it over and over again if that was what it took to remind myself. Because that was all we were.
Cue internal pout and poor-poor-pitiful-me whine.
He smirked, and damn but he made that smirk look good. Everything from the perfectly grown scruff on his face to the creases in the corner of his icy eyes. A smirk like his was the best kind of lady porn.
“True enough,” he conceded. “Guess my friend’s a whole lot smarter than I am.”
I grinned. “And don’t you forget it. Now leave the glass and go sit back down. I’ll be at your table soon with refills.”
He gave me a salute before moving away from the bar and returning to his table. As hard as it was, I forced myself to get back to work. Even if I wasn’t able to banish thoughts of Hunter from my mind, there was no reason I couldn’t be productive.
Think of the shoes, I reminded myself, focusing on something else I wanted and would actually be able to have.
I managed to find my groove and worked the rest of my shift without a hitch.
It helped that I wasn’t forced to sing another song, but I could reluctantly admit—to myself only—that the performance seemed to have made a difference with my tips, because I ended up closing the night out with more cash than I’d ever made on a Friday night.
And I had to say, I hadn’t hated it. Once the nerves had dwindled, I actually enjoyed myself. It had been fun, and who knew? Maybe I’d do it again some time.
Last call came and went, and the bar steadily emptied out. I helped Tammy, Rory, Mona, and Dan close things up for the night, and by the time I stepped out into the brisk, black night, I knew I’d be out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I called out my goodnights and headed toward my car parked behind the building in the staff lot.
I beeped the locks and reached for my door handle just as a strange, twitching sensation spread across my neck and down my arms, like someone was watching me. It wasn’t like the awareness I felt with Hunter, however.
This feeling was darker, less thrilling, almost ominous.
I paused with my hand on the door and did a scan of the parking lot.
There he was. Just outside the lot, standing on the sidewalk beneath a dingy pool of light cast by the streetlamp.
There was a good bit of distance between us, so I didn’t have the best view, but I could make him out just enough to know two things: first, I didn’t recognize him, and second, he creeped me out in a very major way.
He wasn’t doing anything wrong, exactly, just standing there on public property. But the way he was watching me left me all sorts of unsettled.
I didn’t know what his deal was, and I had zero intention of sticking around to find out.
Yanking the door open, I climbed into the car and automatically engaged the locks. The music I’d been listening to on the way to work earlier blared to life as I cranked the engine, and in a matter of seconds, I was pulling out of the lot and heading toward my apartment.
It didn’t take long for thoughts of the stranger to be snuffed out by thoughts of Hunter, and by the time I’d washed my face and brushed my teeth, the weirdo outside the bar wasn’t even a memory.
Because I went to sleep and dreamed of the same man I’d been dreaming of for weeks.