Read Blue Horizons (A Horizons Novel Book 1) Online

Authors: Kathryn Andrews

Tags: #Horizons Series

Blue Horizons (A Horizons Novel Book 1) (5 page)

BOOK: Blue Horizons (A Horizons Novel Book 1)
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The three of them laugh and turn to walk off. The blonde takes one quick glance back at me and our eyes lock again—her blue eyes to mine, blue to blue. Her face is completely devoid of any emotion, but her eyes are so penetrating that my heart skips a beat and I feel frozen.

Who is this girl? And can’t she see what she’s doing to me?

She spins around, they blend into the crowd, and they’re gone.

What the hell just happened?

I’ve never given much creed to the idea of instalove or soulmates, but damn if I didn’t just feel something instinctual about her in the deepest part of me. It’s crazy. My heart is thundering through my ears, not because it’s interested in her, but because it feels like it knows her.

Turning back to my beer, I take a deep breath as a warm flush spreads up my neck and into my face. Rich is staring at me with a knowing grin on his face.

“What?” I ask him, annoyed, wiping my hands across the top of my thighs. They’re sweating and I didn’t even realize it. His grin turns into a smirk.

“Well, can’t say I’ve ever seen one get to you like that before.” He knows I was never one of those guys that was looking for female company. I enjoyed my friends and I enjoyed the music.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I turn and look back over the crowd of people, pulling my hat down lower. That’s the benefit of the wide, flat brim on a cowboy hat—it hides and shades what’s underneath.

“Whatever,” Rich mumbles.

I spot Clay’s hat as he pushes through the crowd. He’s smiling from ear to ear and looks like a freaking kid in a candy shop. His eyes swing past me and spot Rich, lighting up immediately.

“Hey, Rich, nice to see you, man.” Clay leans across the bar and wraps him in a bear hug. Clay has always been more hands on than I have and people are drawn to him.

“You too, kid, although you look less like a kid now and more like an old man.”

“Old man? That’s funny coming from you. What’s it been, like five years?”

“Something like that.” Rich pats him on the shoulder and steps back.

“It’s really good to see you.” Other patrons have begun tapping on the bar and yelling his name, trying to get Rich’s attention.

“You too! Duty calls.” He glances back down the bar.

Clay turns to face me and his smile is back in full force. “Bro! The girls here tonight are smokin’ hot! I talked to this one little brown-haired girl—she’s small, reminds me of a pixie, but I bet she’d be a fire pistol in the sack though. Speaking of which, am I allowed to be escorted home?” He looks at me with hopeful eyes.

“No. Sorry, man, I don’t need everyone knowing about the new house yet, just let it go. Head to her house and you do the walk of shame.” Clay talks a big game, but hooking up with girls is a rarity for him. He’s enjoys their company when we’re out, but he’s always been more of the “wine and dine” them type of guy versus one-night stands.

“If I get to be so lucky in doing her, trust me, there will be no shame.” He grins, takes a big swallow of his beer, and then wanders off back toward the dance floor.

Four guys walk out onto the stage and begin to mess around with their instruments. The singer approaches the mic, the front stage lights kick on, and my heart jumpstarts with a forgotten familiarity. Adrenaline instantly courses through me, and my body falls in sync with the movements happening onstage. I’ve missed this feeling and I realize I’ve missed the music.

“Hey, everybody . . . how’s it going tonight?” The lead singer pushes his cowboy hat back up off his face a little, smiles, and the crowd lets off a cheer. “We’re The Storm Chasers and we’ll be your entertainment for tonight. Mostly cover songs, but a few of ours will be mixed in as well. We do take requests, so feel free to drop them in the jar.” He fingers the guitar pick up and down his knuckles, grabs it with his thumb, and rips out the first chord. The vibrations pulse through me, something about that sound that gets me every time. Peace washes over me and I settle into my spot. This is home.

 

 

THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, I find my eyes wandering back to the quiet guy sitting at the bar. I don’t know why I am so intrigued by him, but I am. Unlike most of the people here, he doesn’t seem to be into the night crowd and having fun, but instead keeps his eyes shielded under his hat and his body angled to where he can watch the band. Occasionally, he leans over and talks to Rich. The two of them interact like they know each other pretty well, which makes me wonder if he’s local.

I find myself liking the fact that his eyes aren’t wandering over every single girl here. Maybe he has a girlfriend . . . he must have a girlfriend. This thought suddenly saddens me—I don’t know why; it’s not like he’d ever be interested in me anyway. But if he does, I hope she realizes how lucky she is.

My mind drifts to his eyes. When I turned around and mine connected with his, every hair on my arms stood up. It’s dark in here and they were shaded by his hat, but even so, they were so bright, clear, and blue. I was certain that he recognized me by the way his eyes scanned over my face, but it felt like more than recognition. And then he smiled. It was slow, lopsided, and dimples pierced his cheeks. As my heart fluttered in my chest, I quickly catalogued every detail—from his build, the clean smell of his cologne, to the crispness of his shirt—and then pulled myself together. I couldn’t let him know he affected me, couldn’t give him any reason to believe that I was interested, but for the first time in a long time, I wished I was normal.

“You’re staring at him, you know?” Emma slides up next to me and bumps me in the shoulder. She’s spent most of her evening flirting with the guy we met when we walked in, Clay, and I’m glad. Justin, her on and off again boyfriend, has been a little more off lately, and it’s been hard on her.

“I know,” I say, letting out a sigh. “There’s something about him. I can’t put my finger on it, but he looks familiar.” Both of us look his way—he’s talking to Rich again and something said between the two of them causes him to laugh. Even from across the crowded room and past the loud atmosphere, I remember exactly what his laugh and voice sounded like.

When he’d chuckled, the smooth and deep baritone timbre of his voice sent every nerve-ending in my body firing. People’s voices don’t generally strike a particular melodic chord one way or another, but being an expert on tone and pitch, I understand that some are more appealing than others. But I swear, it’s as if the sound of his voice was made just for me, and I could not only hear it, but feel it.

“Yeah, he kind of does, but it could just be that tall, dark, and handsome in a cowboy hat look he’s got going on.”

I laugh at her assessment of him and realize she’s probably right.

“You should go back over there, order another drink, and talk to him.” She gently shoves me in the arm, forcing me to break my stare.

I glance over to her; she’s smirking at me, and I’ll never tell her this, but the way she pushes all the time irritates me and hurts my feelings. “No, I can’t.” She knows this too.

“Yes, you can.” Her tone is more encouraging and compassionate than it is antagonizing, and that makes me feel even worse. I know she thinks it’s way past time for me to let go and move on, and one day I might, but today is not that day.

“When was the last time you tried to talk to a guy?” she asks. My heart sinks, she knows the answer to this and I hate that she’s still pushing.

“You know when,” I snap back, crossing my arms over my chest. “Besides, he hasn’t talked to anyone all night except for Rich. He has to be here with someone, right? I mean, if he came here by himself, that’s kind of weird.”

“Why is that weird? And who cares if he’s here by himself? Dude obviously wanted to go out tonight instead of sitting at home in front of his television, and he isn’t trying to hit up every girl in here. He’s easy on the eyes, so why not go talk to him?”

She glances back to look at him and something stirs in the bottom of my stomach. I don’t want her looking at him, and I don’t want her to think he’s easy on the eyes.

“You’re right. He isn’t trying to meet anyone. A guy like that screams ‘girlfriend.’”

Emma lets out a sigh and looks at me with sadness. I hate that look.

“Tell me about Clay.” I’ve had enough about me and it’s time to turn the tables. Her cheeks redden as she smiles.

“Not much to tell. He hasn’t really talked that much, but when he does, he’s funny. I haven’t stopped laughing all night.” Her eyes are bright; she’s happy.

“Cora and I noticed. We also noticed he can’t keep his hands off of you.” Relaxing a little, I uncross my arms and tuck my hands in my back pockets.

“Oh my God, his hands. The boy doesn’t even need to talk, his hands do enough for him . . . whew.” She takes a step back, starts fanning herself, and then her eyes light up as she glances over my shoulder. “Speak of the devil, we were just talking about you.”

“Oh yeah?” He grins at both of us, handing Emma a drink.

“Yep,” Emma says, scooting a little closer to him. Clay pushes the brim of his hat, tipping it up, and looks down at her adoringly. His features are lighter than that of the guy at the bar who has that rugged, handsome appeal to him; Clay seems more like the boy next door. His eyes are light, his skin coloring is more golden, youthful, with blonde hair curling around the collar of his shirt. His shirt is light blue and inviting, whereas mystery bar guy is wearing black.

My phone vibrates under my hand in my back pocket, and I’m thankful for the interruption. Standing next to the two of them as they stare at each other—no, thanks. Pulling it out, there’s a text from Mona.

 

Mona: Just got an interesting email. When you’re up, call me.

Me: I’m up, give me five.

Mona: Okay.

 

“Hey, this is Mona, I’m going to take a step out and call her.” Both of them look at me and surprise flashes on Emma’s face.

“It’s so late; I wonder what she wants?” Emma asks.

“Well, I’m about to find out. I’ll be right back,” and I step past them, looking around the bar for a way out.

“Who’s Mona?” Clay asks Emma, and I pause to hear what she says.

“Oh, we work for her.” The perfect answer.

It’s a lot more crowded than I thought, and I realize there’s a good possibility of a line out front. If not, then there are certainly people lingering around the entrance, and that’s not good. I spot the red glowing exit sign and head for the hallway. I hate going out the back door, but this conversation can then be private.

Stepping out the door, I shiver from the cold and laugh at myself as I stare out at the darkness of the trees directly in front of me. I hate being in the dark, and I’m thankful there’s a floodlight on so the back is somewhat illuminated.

Dialing Mona’s number, she picks up on the first ring.

“Well, aren’t you out a little late this evening?” she says mischievously. I lean back against the door to settle into the call.

“Tell me about it. Emma dragged us out to Smokey’s.” I scan the back area to see if there is any movement, but there isn’t. Just a couple of dumpsters and a few chairs lined up against the back of the building.

“How’s the talent there tonight? Any good?”

“They’re all right. They don’t even come close to the band that used to play here.” I look down and realize my fingers are tapping against my leg. I guess I’m more nervous back here than I thought. But then, it
does
have that murder-scene-from-every-horror-movie kind of vibe.

“Well, speaking of playing, what are you doing on Black Friday?”

Her question catches me off guard and I can’t help but laugh. “Shopping.”

She snorts. “You know what I mean. Are you going home or will you be in the city?”

“City.” She knows that I never go home unless forced. My relationship with my parents all but ended when I was eighteen, and the thought that I might accidentally run into
him
is more than I can handle.

“Talk to the girls—a job was offered I think you’ll want. It’s in Nashville.”

“Nashville!” I jerk up off the door. “We haven’t been there in years. Sounds good to me . . . I’ll run it by them and let you know.”

BOOK: Blue Horizons (A Horizons Novel Book 1)
4.66Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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