Finding Orion (15 page)

"What
happened last night?"

"He came
over."

"Did he
meet the guys?"

I laughed. "Yes,
he met Simon, and I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t claimed
Jace
as my own, Simon would’ve kidnapped him. Hell, even David was talking about him
the other morning."

"Good
thing
Jace
isn’t gay then."

My cheeks
colored.
"Yeah.
Good thing."

"You
didn’t!
Bree
, please tell me you had some kind of
decency…oh my, God, you did."

"I’m not
saying anything."

"Then
maybe I should call Simon and ask him."

Shit, Simon.
I completely forgot
about the guys last night. Had they heard us?
If they did, they were probably cheering you on.
And crying because
I was with a guy they were both eye-humping in Simon’s cell that very same
morning.

I leaned my
head back. "Go ahead. Simon won’t know anything."

Karie
frowned,
then
turned back to her register. "You owe me."

"Uh
huh.
Sure I do."

She waved at
me without looking back, and I knew she was referring to the details of my
night with
Jace
more than her covering my ass at
work.
Now, so long as you can get off
work at a reasonable hour, you’ll be set.
If only…

Chapter Twelve

I texted
Jace
during my lunch hour to let him know I’d be at least
an hour late to his thing tonight. I wasn’t even sure what I was going to wear
let alone how to get there. I only knew a few places in town, and they were
usually on the way to work or home. I did my best to keep from deviating from
my usual path, but tonight, I’d make an exception.

Karie
was willing
to come, but in all honesty, I needed someone who was just a little more down
to earth. And just to drop me off. I’m sure
Jace
or
one of his buddies would give me a ride home. Getting there on the other
hand…that was something else entirely.

Of course this wouldn’t be a problem at all if
Farrin
wouldn’t have been an ass and let you off early.
Not after my screw-up
this morning. At least now I knew not to do it again.
Ever.
And
Karie
wondered why I never called in sick.
We’re shorthanded as is.
Even more so
with the temps going back to school. I really did screw up today, and the
perfectionist in me was doing a number on my ego.

Remembering
how
Jace
reacted last night to my blouse and
miniskirt, I decided it would be best for the both of us if I was wearing
something a little more casual. And after what felt like an hour in front of
the mirror, I settled on my black slacks, a green blouse, and a loose fitting
sweater in case it got cold. According to
Karie
, the
club I was going to
had
an indoor and outdoor area,
and
Jace
had failed to mention where he’d be playing.

David
whistled at me when I walked out of my apartment.
"Looking
good."

I punched him
in the arm and smiled. "I thought Simon was taking me."

"And
what am I?
Second rate?"

"No no,
it’s nothing like that. I was just wondering."

"Relax."
David rubbed my shoulders. "You’re too tense."

"Okay,
think of that for a second will you? I’m going to see a hot guy play in a band.
He’s probably going to be dripping with sweat by the time I get there. How
would you feel?"

David bit at
the inside of his lip. "I’d probably be worse off than you. Damn it,
Bree
, now I have that image in my head."

"Nice,
isn’t it?"

He nodded. "Don’t
tell Simon."

"Don’t
worry. I’m sure he’d react the same way. And I’ve had that image in my head all
day!"

David offered
me a reassuring smile and hooked his arm with mine. "Shall we?"

"
You taking
over for Simon?"

"Yeah, I
should be able to spot the floor while he’s gone. Just make sure you send him
straight home. I don’t need him getting any ideas."

"Fair
enough."

We reached
the bottom of the stairs and I weaved through the crowd as David made his way behind
the bar.

"There
she is," Simon called out as he wiped up the counter. "Be right
there."

"Take
your time."

I inspected
the old black and white photos along the walls of the bar, just like I’d done a
million times before. The longer Simon took to clean up, the more time I had
between getting in his car and fainting as soon as I saw
Jace
on stage.

"Ready?"
Simon asked, resting a hand on my shoulder. I jumped. "
Geeze
,
David warned me you were tense, but he left out you’re being a
skitz
. You okay?"

"Yeah.
Nervous."

"Honey,
we all are at some point.
Shows us you’re human."

"And
that was actually a concern before?"

Simon rolled
one of his shoulders back and winced at the possible kink that was there. "Not
really. But people talk."

"Right.
People…"

I smiled and
let the subject drop as Simon led me to his car. It was about as beat up as my
old Camry, but so long as it went from point A to point B, I didn’t care. He
opened my door for me and waited until I got inside before closing it behind
me.

It had been
so long since I’d ridden in his car, I’d almost forgotten about the bucket
seats he and David had installed last fall.

Simon turned
on the ignition, followed by the seat warmers, passing me a knowing glance when
I slid down in my seat.

"That
feels great," I murmured, closing my eyes.

"It gets
even better when it’s all snow and ice outside."

"I bet
it does."

Simon drummed
his fingers on the wheel, but he didn’t turn out of his parking space. "You
sure you want to go through with this? I don’t mean to
pry,
I’m just looking out for you."

"It’s
just a gig, right?" I laughed nervously.

"Sure.
But what happens after that? What if they want to go out for drinks?"

"That’s
easy. I tell them to head back to the bar."

"Don’t
you tempt me, woman. You keep him as far away from me as you can if you know
what’s good for him."

"Not to
mention for you and David."

"Hey,
but if you ever want to swing partners…" He smirked, but was shaking his
head just as fast.
"Yeah.
It’s probably too soon
for that kind of joke, isn’t it?"

"Probably."

"Last
call.
You in or out?"

I glanced
down at my hands which I’d set in my lap. "I’m in."

Simon took
the car out of park and pulled into the street.
Fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes to collect my thoughts and to
possibly get some kind of ground under my feet before I had to get out of the
car again.
I can do this.
It was just
a show. It was still
Jace
, the same guy I was with
last night.

Yeah, but now you’re going to see him on stage.
With a crowd around him.
Not to mention the squealing
girls.
Ugh, I hope
Karie
stays home tonight.
But knowing her, she’d show up just to see if the
stories were true. Maybe I could convince Simon to stay with me.
And maybe David can actually run the bar.
Yeah, not such a good idea.

I checked the
time on Simon’s dash and cursed every time a light didn’t turn red before we
drove under it. Ten minutes and counting…

****

I could feel
the vibrations under the car before we’d even arrived, and it took everything I
had not to cover my ears. Simon wasn’t doing any better. He grimaced and gave
me a ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ kind of look, to which I could only shrug.

The music
playing inside the club was horrendous, and I hoped for all our sakes it wasn't
Jace
and his band.

"Maybe
they already left?" Simon yelled over the ambience.

"He said
he’d be here until at least ten." I checked the clock on the dash again, but
it was just a bit after nine.

"Want me
to walk you in?"

"You’d
like that, wouldn’t you?"

Simon
squinted at the neon sign hanging above the building.
"With
that kind of music?
No thanks. I think I’ll pass."

"It’s
probably for the best. I’ll tell him you said hi."

"And
with any luck, he’ll be able to hear you. Either that, or he’ll learn to read
lips after going deaf."

I laughed at
that, leaned over to give Simon a hug, then climbed out of the car. I watched
him go, and for the second time tonight, I hoped against all odds whoever was
playing wasn’t related to
Jace
.

The inside of
the club was just as packed as I’d expected, even for a weekday. Between the
blaring, tasteless music and the neon lasers sweeping across the room, I wasn’t
sure which would give me a headache first.

I eyed the
band on stage, but
Jace
was nowhere to be found.
Oh good, it isn’t him.
But if he wasn’t
on stage like he’d said he’d be
,
where did he go?

I rummaged
through my pocket and pulled out my cell. It was highly unlikely that he’d be
able to hear it ring, so hopefully he had it on vibrate in a place like this.

I turned on
the backlight and sent him three simple words.
"Where are you?"

I’d just hit
send when someone bumped in to me with their drink. I grumbled, but they didn’t
seem to notice.
God, I hate places like
this.
Karie
was the one who liked to go to clubs.
Me? I was fine sitting at the bar with Simon or just staying at home.

Clubs got too
loud, too crowded. And more often than not, you ached all over the day after.
It was more trouble than it was worth.
But
you’re here for
Jace
.
I’d come for moral support.
That was it.
And the
outfit.
And
to hear him sing.
And…
Okay, so it wasn’t
like I wasn’t going to get anything out of it.
Anything
positive.

My cell
vibrated and I held the screen close to my chest to keep the dancers around me
from knocking it out of my hands.

"Head out back.
Damn manager canceled."

My heart
dropped for him. Now I understood why he was so guarded.
This has probably happened before.
Pocketing my cell, I went back
out the way I came in and walked around the building. I figured it was a lot
faster than trying to shove my way through the mob of screamers.

I almost ran
in to someone when I turned the corner.
"Oh, sorry."
I bowed my head and was about to shuffle by when a hand grabbed at my arm.

"Found
her!" the guy beside me said, smiling ear to ear when
Jace
appeared in front of us.

"Sorry
about that,
Bree
."
Jace
glared at the other man, but from this angle, it almost looked as if it were an
empty threat. "Okay, Kyle, let her go."

Kyle, as
Jace
called him, had a full head of gold curls and felt
just as out of place in a band as
Jace
first did.
There were others with them as well. A women with long dark hair leaned against
the building while what may have been her brother packed some equipment into a
car.

"
Bree
, I’d like you to meet my
bandmates
,"
Jace
said, gesturing to each one as he spoke. "You’ve
already met Kyle. He handles the bass guitar. That over there is Amy, our main
guitarist, but she also makes for one hell of a singer."
Jace
paused and pointed to the man who was still packing
their things. "And that man over there is our drummer, Derek. Derek, leave
that there and come say hi." To me,
Jace
said, "He’s
super shy."

"How
does that work when you’re in a band then?" I asked, somewhat amused. "That’s
like a skydiver being afraid of heights."

"Hey,
I’ve heard of those," Derek said, smiling. "You aren’t filling her
head with nonsense, are you,
Jace
?"