I’d deal later.
Braden was waiting for me, leaning against the wall just inside the back door with his arms folded over his chest. When I came back into the bar, he straightened, and his arms dropped back to his sides. “You okay?”
“Uh.” Not really. It felt as if an invisible hand had punched a hole in my chest and then wrapped around my heart. “I’ll deal.” Luke was on stage, warming up with Emerson. The two grinned at each other, and, man, that hand squeezed around my heart almost painfully. Then my cousin saw me and sobered instantly. He glared at me.
Luke followed Emerson’s look to me. Our eyes caught and held.
“Bri?”
“What?” Braden had been waving at me. “Sorry. What?”
The corners of his mouth dipped down, and he saw Luke, too. “I don’t know, Bri. I don’t know. You just broke up with Elijah.”
That hand just kept squeezing. “Don’t worry. It’s not going there.”
“Right.”
He didn’t believe me, but I didn’t care.
“Subject change, please.” I nodded at Emerson. “Am I right to assume I won’t be playing tonight then?”
He sighed. “I guess. Will you stick around? I meant what I said. I want you back in the band. Stay. Hang out with us. Luke wants you in. I can tell. He just needs some hint from you, you know.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t even know what I wanted, though. There was a reason I’d been avoiding him for the last three years. Braden patted the empty stool at the end of the bar, and I slid on it and rested my hands on the counter. “Barkeep. That’s her name, right?”
He patted my shoulder. “I wouldn’t use that term.”
Kelly came over, shaking her head. With a half-grin, she poured a beer for me and slid it over the bar. “Here you go, and just so we’re all clear, your sister can call me that, but you, buddy, you better only be using that term as a safe word.”
I liked her.
Braden cocked his head to the side. “Safe word? I didn’t know that was a possibility.”
She chuckled, wiping her hands on a towel before resting a hand on the counter. She gestured to the stage. “I’m not saying it is. Aren’t you needed up there?”
He winked at me, but beamed at her. “It’s more fun here.”
“Get up there, Rock Star. You need to work all these single females into a thirsty frenzy. Sales go up the second you and that heartthrob singer of yours start crooning those notes.”
I really liked her. Catching the adoration and a hint of something more in the depths of my brother’s eyes, I shoved him away. “Hurry. Get up there and keep bringing in the cash, Brother.”
Tap, tap.
Luke leaned closer into the mic. “We need our drummer.” He was watching us. “Any day, Braden.”
A crowd had already congregated in front of the stage, and they all turned. A few waved their hands in the air. “Come on, Braden!”
“Yeah, Braden!”
“Come on, Hot Stuff.”
“#hotdrummerneeded.”
Someone laughed and added, “#hotdrummerneededinmypants.”
That sent another round of laughter around the bar. My brother saluted my beer in the air, then hit the bottom back of the counter and chugged the entire thing.
The crowd responded with whoops, wolf whistles, and cheers.
He pumped a fist in the air and hollered, “Let’s do this!” Then he pressed the empty glass to me and headed through the crowd, jumping onto the stage in one leap.
“Hey.”
I turned.
Kelly had leaned closer. She glanced toward the back door. “I saw you head out there with Elijah Turner, right?”
I nodded. “That was my boyfriend.”
“Good guy.”
My eyebrow went up at that. “He’s a drug dealer.”
She winked at me, handing a glass to a customer. “Good guy, just misguided at times.”
I snorted. “I’d like to think that.” But I did. Elijah had good in him. He just . . .wasn’t for me anymore. I shook my head. “Okay. I need a drink now. Braden took my beer.”
“Not a problem.” She gestured around the side of the bar. “We’re going to get slammed. Your brother’s band brings in the crowd, and we’re down a girl. If you help out later on, if we’re in a pinch, you can drink for free.”
“I don’t know how much help I’d be if I did drink for free.”
She laughed before moving farther down the bar. “You’d be surprised how sober you get when twenty people are shouting orders at you. Think about it, but help yourself until then.”
Shit. Free beer? Maybe I had come to the right place to deal with my break up. Laughing at my lameness, I slid off the stool to grab my first one. Braden hit the first beat on the drums, and Luke began singing. I went back to my seat, but as Luke kept singing and I kept hearing the band playing, that void reopened.
I’d need a second drink. Soon.
They took a short break ten songs in, and when they hopped back up, Luke’s voice came over the microphone. I heard the crescendo starting from Braden’s hands, and then Emerson joined in, building the bottom note.
I was going to be gutted by the end of their set. I wanted that. I wanted to be up there, creating the tension and setting the rhythm as Luke’s voice cast its spell.
“Hey, Bri.” Kelly came over to my end of the bar. She signaled around to the growing crowd. “You mind hopping in? You can do the beer. It’s not hard.”
“Yeah.” I stood and heard Luke’s words behind me. “Leaving my body, leaving my heart, leaving my soul, bloody and broken—” My knees were unsteady, and I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Taking position behind the beer taps, I faltered.
He was singing about that night.
I had no idea he had written a song about it. They never asked to practice this song while they were in the basement.
“Two tall tap specials!” a waitress yelled from the side.
I jerked my head in a nod and reached for the tall glasses. Luke’s haunting voice sounded over the crowd’s growing buzz. “She healed me up, cared for my wounds. Then left and ripped them open once more. Broken. I was left broken.”
“Hey!”
I came back to reality at the waitress’s voice and saw the beer was overflowing. Cursing, I switched the glasses and glanced at Kelly. “I’ll cover the loss.”
Braden was waiting for me, leaning against the wall just inside the back door with his arms folded over his chest. When I came back into the bar, he straightened, and his arms dropped back to his sides. “You okay?”
“Uh.” Not really. It felt as if an invisible hand had punched a hole in my chest and then wrapped around my heart. “I’ll deal.” Luke was on stage, warming up with Emerson. The two grinned at each other, and, man, that hand squeezed around my heart almost painfully. Then my cousin saw me and sobered instantly. He glared at me.
Luke followed Emerson’s look to me. Our eyes caught and held.
“Bri?”
“What?” Braden had been waving at me. “Sorry. What?”
The corners of his mouth dipped down, and he saw Luke, too. “I don’t know, Bri. I don’t know. You just broke up with Elijah.”
That hand just kept squeezing. “Don’t worry. It’s not going there.”
“Right.”
He didn’t believe me, but I didn’t care.
“Subject change, please.” I nodded at Emerson. “Am I right to assume I won’t be playing tonight then?”
He sighed. “I guess. Will you stick around? I meant what I said. I want you back in the band. Stay. Hang out with us. Luke wants you in. I can tell. He just needs some hint from you, you know.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t even know what I wanted, though. There was a reason I’d been avoiding him for the last three years. Braden patted the empty stool at the end of the bar, and I slid on it and rested my hands on the counter. “Barkeep. That’s her name, right?”
He patted my shoulder. “I wouldn’t use that term.”
Kelly came over, shaking her head. With a half-grin, she poured a beer for me and slid it over the bar. “Here you go, and just so we’re all clear, your sister can call me that, but you, buddy, you better only be using that term as a safe word.”
I liked her.
Braden cocked his head to the side. “Safe word? I didn’t know that was a possibility.”
She chuckled, wiping her hands on a towel before resting a hand on the counter. She gestured to the stage. “I’m not saying it is. Aren’t you needed up there?”
He winked at me, but beamed at her. “It’s more fun here.”
“Get up there, Rock Star. You need to work all these single females into a thirsty frenzy. Sales go up the second you and that heartthrob singer of yours start crooning those notes.”
I really liked her. Catching the adoration and a hint of something more in the depths of my brother’s eyes, I shoved him away. “Hurry. Get up there and keep bringing in the cash, Brother.”
Tap, tap.
Luke leaned closer into the mic. “We need our drummer.” He was watching us. “Any day, Braden.”
A crowd had already congregated in front of the stage, and they all turned. A few waved their hands in the air. “Come on, Braden!”
“Yeah, Braden!”
“Come on, Hot Stuff.”
“#hotdrummerneeded.”
Someone laughed and added, “#hotdrummerneededinmypants.”
That sent another round of laughter around the bar. My brother saluted my beer in the air, then hit the bottom back of the counter and chugged the entire thing.
The crowd responded with whoops, wolf whistles, and cheers.
He pumped a fist in the air and hollered, “Let’s do this!” Then he pressed the empty glass to me and headed through the crowd, jumping onto the stage in one leap.
“Hey.”
I turned.
Kelly had leaned closer. She glanced toward the back door. “I saw you head out there with Elijah Turner, right?”
I nodded. “That was my boyfriend.”
“Good guy.”
My eyebrow went up at that. “He’s a drug dealer.”
She winked at me, handing a glass to a customer. “Good guy, just misguided at times.”
I snorted. “I’d like to think that.” But I did. Elijah had good in him. He just . . .wasn’t for me anymore. I shook my head. “Okay. I need a drink now. Braden took my beer.”
“Not a problem.” She gestured around the side of the bar. “We’re going to get slammed. Your brother’s band brings in the crowd, and we’re down a girl. If you help out later on, if we’re in a pinch, you can drink for free.”
“I don’t know how much help I’d be if I did drink for free.”
She laughed before moving farther down the bar. “You’d be surprised how sober you get when twenty people are shouting orders at you. Think about it, but help yourself until then.”
Shit. Free beer? Maybe I had come to the right place to deal with my break up. Laughing at my lameness, I slid off the stool to grab my first one. Braden hit the first beat on the drums, and Luke began singing. I went back to my seat, but as Luke kept singing and I kept hearing the band playing, that void reopened.
I’d need a second drink. Soon.
They took a short break ten songs in, and when they hopped back up, Luke’s voice came over the microphone. I heard the crescendo starting from Braden’s hands, and then Emerson joined in, building the bottom note.
I was going to be gutted by the end of their set. I wanted that. I wanted to be up there, creating the tension and setting the rhythm as Luke’s voice cast its spell.
“Hey, Bri.” Kelly came over to my end of the bar. She signaled around to the growing crowd. “You mind hopping in? You can do the beer. It’s not hard.”
“Yeah.” I stood and heard Luke’s words behind me. “Leaving my body, leaving my heart, leaving my soul, bloody and broken—” My knees were unsteady, and I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Taking position behind the beer taps, I faltered.
He was singing about that night.
I had no idea he had written a song about it. They never asked to practice this song while they were in the basement.
“Two tall tap specials!” a waitress yelled from the side.
I jerked my head in a nod and reached for the tall glasses. Luke’s haunting voice sounded over the crowd’s growing buzz. “She healed me up, cared for my wounds. Then left and ripped them open once more. Broken. I was left broken.”
“Hey!”
I came back to reality at the waitress’s voice and saw the beer was overflowing. Cursing, I switched the glasses and glanced at Kelly. “I’ll cover the loss.”
