His New Jam (13 page)

Sydney walked through the unlocked door and into Hunter's crowded apartment. As she unwound her scarf, Hunter appeared out of nowhere.

“Hey,” he said, tugging her elbow. “We're about to start playing.”

She followed him, taking off her jacket as she walked. “Sorry I'm late. Trish wanted to have a little drink and toast before I left since we won't be together at midnight. Traffic was a bitch, and I had to park, like, two blocks away. To top it off, I had to walk slow because half your neighbors didn't salt the ice and I didn't want to fall.”

He gently shoved her toward the drums. “You want me to get you a drink?”

She shook her head. “I'm good.”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” She sat behind the drums and pulled out her sticks. “Shoot.”

He shot a glance over his shoulder. He opened his mouth, but Jay cut in. “You ready to start?”

Hunter nodded and grabbed his sax. They did a little warm-up, but were ready to jump right in. They played a couple of songs, but no one was dancing. It made her wonder why they didn't just turn on the radio. After a set, they took a break.

Hunter looked out over the crowd of people and took Sydney's hand. He pulled her through the apartment and straight to his bedroom. He shut the door and then closed in on her.

“What's going on?”

“Nothing. I missed you. And given your dislike of people knowing about us, I didn't want to do this in front of everyone.” He held her hips to his and kissed her.

When he took it deeper, she was glad they were alone because his dick was prodding her stomach. “You told the band to take five. We don't have time for all that.”

“I can't help what you do to me.” He kissed her neck and ran his hands up the sides of her body.

She pulled away before they both lost control. She touched his face. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. You want a drink or something?”

“You don't have to wait on me. I can get my own drink.”

“I know. I should probably check on people and food and stuff. If you need anything, you can ask Adam or Free.”

She chuckled. “I suppose I could if I knew who either of them were.”

His eyes widened. “Uh, well, you can't miss Free. He's dressed like Doctor Who. Adam is the one drawing tattoos on people.”

It wasn't quite an introduction to his friends, but it was better than nothing. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Huh?”

“When I first got here.”

“Oh, that. Uh . . .” He got shifty and blew out a breath.

This wasn't the Hunter she was used to. No flirtation or quick smile here. “What's wrong?”

“There are a lot of people here—”

Syd's hand flew to his chest. “Don't worry about it. I know I told you I wanted us to be a secret, but I knew that people from marching band would be here. It's okay.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, but she kissed him. “Let's get back to the party.”

They left the bedroom and walked in opposite directions. Hunter was acting weird. Maybe it was because he had to play host and bandleader all at once. Maybe it was because this was the first time they'd be around other people as a couple. If anyone should be nervous it should be her.

She grabbed herself a crappy draft beer from the keg and a handful of chips. As she headed back to the living room, she spied the guy who had to be Free, but he was deep in conversation with a busty brunette in a clingy green dress. Although she saw people walking around with ink on their arms and hands, she didn't see anyone doing the actual drawing, so she didn't have any luck finding Adam.

Jay strummed his guitar to get everyone's attention. Syd made her way to the drums and set her beer on the windowsill behind her. Hunter stood next to her with his keyboard on a stand. With a quick smile for her, he counted for them to start.

Chapter 13

B
urning seared through Sydney's arms. They'd played almost nonstop for hours. The party was in full swing and people had had enough alcohol that they were dancing like they would at a club. It gave her a rush of adrenaline like nothing else and propelled them all to keep playing.

It was nearing midnight and Sydney watched as couples paired off on the dance floor and in corners of the room. She wondered how many arrived as couples and how many jumped at the chance to be with someone for the night.

Hunter had no shortage of admirers as he played, but then again, so did Lance. She wasn't immune to the whole falling-for-a-rock-star thing, but she liked knowing that she'd be the one kissing Hunter at midnight.

As if he read her mind, he turned and winked at her. Then he called out to the crowd, “It's almost midnight.” He pointed at her. “Drumroll, please.”

She did the drumroll as the partiers did the countdown. Noise erupted through the whole apartment. The band broke out in “Auld Lange Syne.”

The drunks attempted to sing the words, but Sydney didn't think any of them had a clue as to what the lyrics actually were.

The band set down their instruments and the guys all did the man-hug with a “Happy New Year.” Lance and Jay both gave her a real hug, but the only one she wanted to have her arms around was Hunter.

She walked around writhing bodies wondering where he'd taken off to, when a hand suddenly wrapped around her wrist. She spun to yell at the asshole for being grabby, but she faced Hunter and her anger melted away. “Been looking for you.”

“Come here.” He pulled her into his embrace. He cupped her jaw and their gazes locked.

“Hey, Hunter, I thought I was getting the midnight kiss.”

He froze, his lips hovering over Sydney's. A look of fear came into his eyes. She could almost hear him thinking, “Busted.”

Syd pulled away from him and turned to see who spoke. The girl was cute with long brown hair bouncing around her shoulders. She wore nothing fancy, just a Northwestern sweatshirt and jeans.

Behind her, a perky blonde smiled. “Is this the line to get a kiss from Hunter?”

Syd took another step back. She looked at the women and back at Hunter. A third one came up behind him and stroked a hand across his shoulder. It was a move she was obviously comfortable with. As she took in the scene, Sydney felt a whole new burn run through her.

Embarrassment. Foolishness. Heartbreak.

The night came into clear focus. Hunter had been acting weird because he hadn't wanted her here. He'd assumed she wouldn't come because of the band members who might see them together, so he'd invited other girls.

He kissed her hello in the privacy of his bedroom not because he wanted to be alone with her but because he didn't want the others to see.

She was such a fucking idiot.

She had no words. She was more upset with herself than anything. Shaking her head, she turned away. She grabbed her jacket from the floor near the drums and wove around couples oblivious to the pain she felt.

“Sydney, wait.”

She didn't stop. What could he say?
I didn't mean to hurt you.
She didn't need the bullshit.

By the time she got to her car, tears streamed down her face. The cold wind whipped against her cheeks, threatening to freeze the tears in their tracks. Before her car was even warm, her phone started buzzing.

Hunter. She ignored the call.

She drove home in a daze and was glad to find Trish wasn't there. She couldn't talk. Not to anyone.

Her phone had gone off repeatedly since she'd left Hunter's, but he'd left only one message.

In the kitchen, she found a bottle of whiskey Trish kept for her boyfriend, and she slammed a shot. Then another.

Then she was ready to listen to Hunter's message. Between the tears and the alcohol, the buttons on her phone were blurry. After one failed attempt, she hit the right sequence to hear the message.

“Syd, please come back. I didn't invite these girls. I went out with them before, yeah, but I didn't ask them to come tonight. When I found them at the party, I asked them to leave. I told them I was with someone. They didn't take me seriously. Just like everyone else. Please. At least call me back so I know you're okay.”

She threw her phone against the couch. No, she was not okay. She didn't know if she could believe anything he said. And what did that say about her and their relationship? She didn't want to be with a guy if this was going to be her reaction every time some woman talked to him. It would make her crazy.

But she wanted to believe him.

She closed her eyes and remembered the look on his face when they'd been interrupted. He'd been blindsided.

But he said nothing to tell them off. He didn't grab her and tell them she was his girlfriend. He'd said nothing.

His lack of response was pretty telling, too. She slugged back another shot and collapsed on the couch.

Hunter came back inside from the cold. Of course Sydney didn't answer her phone. Why would she? She thought he was cheating on her. Anger surged through him as he walked back into the apartment. He needed to go after her, make her understand.

Inside, the party continued. No one took any notice of what had happened with Sydney. The three women who interrupted his midnight kiss were still standing in the middle of the living room.

He strode up to them and said, “Get out of my house and don't ever come back.”

Amy looked up at him with wide eyes. “What did we do?”

He threw up his hands. “I told you all when you got here I was off the market, that I was seeing someone. None of you took me seriously. Listen to me now.” He made eye contact with each of them. “The best thing that ever happened to me just walked out the door because of your stupid games. I don't ever want to see any of you again.”

Kelly spoke up. “Damn. You're serious.” She turned to the other two. “Guess we didn't have it, girls. Let's leave him.”

Together they walked away as if they hadn't just destroyed his relationship. He made his way through the apartment looking for Free or Adam to tell them he was leaving. He couldn't find either of them. He glanced around. Would anyone notice if he took off, too?

He grabbed Mike from marching band, who at least looked kind of sober. “I have to leave. If you see my roommate, let him know I'll be back later.”

“Will do. Great party, by the way. Lots of single women. I don't know how you do it, but I'm grateful.”

Hunter slapped Mike's shoulder. “Enjoy yourself. They're all yours.”

And he meant it. No one else could capture an ounce of his attention. As he put on his jacket, he tried to think about what he would say to Sydney to convince her that she was the only one for him. He saw his sax sitting by the window where less than an hour ago he'd played side by side with Sydney.

He grabbed it, thinking he might need all the help he could get, and left his own party.

He parked in front of Sydney's apartment and called her again. She still wouldn't pick up, but he knew she was home because her car was parked behind him. He got out and rang the bell. Still no answer.

Back in his van, he sat rubbing his hands together to keep warm. He eyed his sax. If she wouldn't listen to words, maybe she'd listen to music. He climbed out and stood on the frozen sidewalk.

He played the one song he needed her to hear: “Have a Little Faith in Me.”

“What is that?” Trish asked from the kitchen.

“What?”

“That music.”

Sydney shrugged. “It's New Year's. Everyone's loud.”

“Uh-uh.” Trish crossed the room and looked out the window. “Oh my God. It's Hunter.”

“Damn him.” Sydney's head was even fuzzier than it had been a half hour ago even though she'd stopped drinking. When Trish came home, she gave her the abridged version of the story. “I thought he left when I didn't answer the door.”

“Honey, if you want to pretend to not be home, it's not a good idea to park your car in front of your house.”

“I'm not pretending anything.” Her heart hiccupped because she hadn't faked any of it with Hunter. “I don't want to see him.”

Trish stood, holding the curtain aside. “What song is that?”

Syd closed her eyes and listened. It didn't take long for her to recognize it. With recognition came a fresh bout of tears. “ ‘Have a Little Faith in Me.' ”

“The dude's gotta be freezing out there. It takes guts to not only come after you but to stand out there and play solo.”

“Putting on a performance is no big deal for him.”

“But this one's for you.”

Syd brushed away the tears.

“I'm letting him in.” Trish opened the window and yelled, “I'm buzzing you up.”

“No,” Sydney said.

Trish went to the buzzer and pressed the button. “You need to talk to him. Even if it's just to say fuck you. Plus, our neighbors are going to start getting annoyed.”

A soft knock sounded on the door.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Syd shook her head. Trish was right. She needed to do this.

Trish opened the door, offered Hunter a small smile, and said, “Good song.” Then she went to her room.

Hunter closed the door behind him but didn't come all the way into the apartment. Sydney stared at him. For a change, he was hard to read. He looked miserable, but angry and defiant, like he was ready for a fight.

Too bad she wasn't.

He took a couple of steps forward and set his sax on the chair. He took off his jacket and laid it over the sax. Then he sat beside her on the couch, careful not to touch her.

All she wanted was to curl into him and that made her mad all over. She was so damn weak.

“Thanks for letting me in.”

She snorted.

“I know it was Trish, but you didn't stop her.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I knew those girls. I'm not going to lie. I dated all of them. But I didn't invite them to the party.”

“I heard your message.” Her voice was scratchy from crying and a lump was still lodged in her throat, making talking painful.

“Do you believe me?”

She nodded.

“Then why are you crying?”

She swallowed and pushed words past the lump. “Because this can't work.”

“What?” He moved closer and touched her thigh.

His fingers were frozen and she felt the cold through her jeans.

“Even if I believe you weren't doing anything with those girls, how can we have a relationship if that's what I think of you?”

He held her hand and she wanted to cry again. She stared at the way his fingers slid into hers.

“Sydney, look at me.”

She did.

“I haven't lied to you about anything. I should've told you about those girls as soon as you showed up. I was going to tell you. When you first came to the house and when we were alone in the bedroom. But I chickened out. I knew you'd get mad and probably leave. I thought I could just keep them away from us and everything would be okay.” He licked his lips.

“So you were trying to protect me?”

“No. I was protecting me. And us. I didn't want anything to mess with us because I love what we are together.”

“We're a mess.”

“A little, maybe. I want that mess with you.”

“You'll get tired of my insecurities, my getting jealous when I see you with another girl, my fear of what people will say about me when they see us together.”