Was Lace inside the house? Or was she out with that basketball buddy of hers?
Chad had the hots for Missy, but I knew he’d had a thing for Lace first. I’d had a discussion with him about his interest in her. One involving a threat from me should he ever cross the friends-only line with her.
“You don’t look so good,” Sager said as he clacked open the latches on his Fender case.
Refocusing on him, I watched him withdraw a small sketch pad from a felt-lined compartment in his case. “Thanks for noticing,” I grumbled.
“Drugs will mess you up. Mess up the group. Mess up everything in your life.”
“Who said I was doing drugs?” I asked.
“People talk.” Pencil in one hand, he flipped through the pages on his pad. “Heard you hit the shit pretty hard this weekend.”
“I might have,” I said noncommittally.
There were lots of portraits in his book—a dignified old lady with her hair in a bun, King, and Lace. Sager stopped on an unfinished one of me.
“Go back,” I demanded.
“Huh?” He gave me a blank look.
“I wanna see the picture you drew of Lace.”
“It’s not finished.” He flipped back, and when I reached for his pad, he let me have it.
“Looks finished to me,” I whispered. “Beautifully finished.” He’d captured her expressive eyes perfectly and her wide kissable lips. I hovered my thumb over the regal sweep of her high cheekbones.
“You can have that one, if you want. I have more.”
“Nah.” I swallowed to moisten my dry throat. I didn’t need to torture myself. I handed him the sketch pad back. “Who’s the older lady with the bun?”
“King’s abuelita.” Grandmother.
“Thought so.” I nodded reflectively. “King talks about her a lot. So do you.”
“She’s really cool. Been through a lot. Wise.” Sager eyed me for a long beat. “What’re you gonna do?”
“About what?” I returned a question for a question, and he gave me a funny look.
“About Lace?”
I frowned. “I’m done with her.”
“If you say so.” He shrugged. “But if you want some advice—”
“I don’t.”
“But if you did.” He gave me a pointed look. “Abuelita always says, ‘El amor es como el agua que no se seca.’”
Sager’s Spanish was flawless. He lived with the Acenados. They’d taken him in after some really fucked-up shit went down with his drug-dealing brother. But as perfectly spoken as his Spanish had been, I still couldn’t figure out what he said.
“What the fuck does that mean?” I asked.
“Love is like water that never evaporates.”
“Even in English that doesn’t make fucking sense.”
“True love lasts forever.”
“True love is bullshit,” I said flippantly.
But what if I was wrong?
“It’s rare,” Sager said, sketching on his pad. “I agree. But some people find it. King’s parents have. It’s not impossible.”
Did I love Lace? I had no fucking clue.
She drove me batshit crazy, and I thought about her all the time. Jacked off to her too many times to mention. I’d changed and rearranged my whole life to include her. She made my empty life seem full, and without her, it reverted to empty.
Laughter—her laughter—drifted to my ears, and my heart started pounding. My eyes burned. I leaned forward, straining to see her.
When she appeared, it was like she was surrounded by light. Her golden hair framed her pretty face, and she was wearing her schoolgirl garb. But Lace wasn’t alone. It wasn’t the basketball dude at her side. It was Bryan.
My hands curled into my palms. The light extinguished in a sudden downpour of red. I’m going to kill him.
“No hay peor sordo que el que no quiere oír,” Sager said softly.
“What the hell?” I asked.
“There isn’t a worse deaf person than the one who doesn’t want to hear. There is none so blind as he who will not see. You’re in love with Lace, War.”
“Maybe.”
“Whatever you want to believe, man. Get her back or get over her. The choice is up to you. But if you intend to get her back, I wouldn’t wait too long.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Lace
Life was better with Bryan and me as friends. I was free to do as I liked, but not quite, since War was never far from my mind or far away. Every weekday, I saw him at school and at the house in the evening for band practice.
On Monday when I’d seen him sitting on the amp, the glare he’d given me when I arrived with Bryan had stopped me in my tracks. My laughter had died and my smile disappeared, and so had the brief euphoria from believing Bryan’s plan could work.
And that was just the War side of the equation.
The other part that made it impossible for me to be Bryan’s friend was me.
I didn’t have friend-only type feelings for Bryan. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted him to touch me. I was hyperaware of him as a man and me as a woman. The imagining and yearnings didn’t stop with War not being my boyfriend. They accelerated.
“Whatcha doing tonight for your birthday?” Bryan asked me on the way home from school.
“Chad asked me to come to his game, then he’s taking me out to Dick’s Drive-In for ice cream.”
“That sounds nice.” Bryan’s brow creased beneath his wind-tousled hair.
“Is something wrong with that plan?” I fidgeted with the crystal buttons on my wool sweater set.
“No, of course not. It’s just that . . .” He trailed off, and the crease between his brows deepened.
“Did you want to come with me to the game?” I asked, wishing he would say yes.
“Yes,” he said, then quickly backtracked. “No. I mean, I can’t.”
“Why not?” My voice rose, my disappointment obvious.
“War wants me to tag along with him to visit a couple of new clubs downtown.”
“To get more gigs?”
“Yeah, we’re going to try out with a stripped-down sampler of Tempest’s set list. He sings, and I play the guitar.”
“That’s a great idea.”
“I guess.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Just wish it didn’t have to be tonight.”
“Because of my birthday.”
Bryan nodded. “It’s a significant one. Seems like you should do something more than ice cream.”
“What did you have in mind?” I asked, wondering if the milestone of me being a woman factored for him.
“I thought about taking you to the beach.” He placed his hand on my lower back to steer me around the heave in the concrete I had a habit of tripping on, and my stomach fluttered from his touch. “Building a fire. Looking up at the stars. Blankets on the sand.”
“Wow. I’d have really liked that.”
“Me too.” He gave me a long glance, his focus lingering in certain areas. Those areas tightened and throbbed, just from a look. “Remember when we used to go up on the roof at University House?”
“We laid up there on a blanket and stared at the sky. Such dorks, we thought the planes were shooting stars.” I’d held his hand back then, my thoughts innocent. But they were far from innocent now.
“Until my mom told us there was too much light pollution in Southside to see stars.”
I had the thought that Southside polluted a lot of things that could potentially be beautiful . . . like us.
“Could you swing by my uncle’s place after you’re done at the clubs?” I asked. “We could do the beach after, if you want.”
“It’ll be late. It’s a school night. I know how important school is for you.”
“Chad’s game goes until ten. We weren’t planning for ice cream until eleven.”
“It’ll probably be near midnight before I could pick you up.”
“I’ll stay up,” I said. “Promise.”
&nb
sp; “I’ll barely be back in time to catch your birthday.”
“I don’t mind waiting.”
“If you don’t,” he said, his gaze darkening, “I certainly would like to see you.”
“Then it’s a date. I mean . . . a birthday celebration between friends.”
Bryan stopped and moved in front of me to put his hands on my arms. I registered the seriousness in his expression and the heat of his fingers where he gripped me.
“Can I give you your present now?” he asked.
“Sure.” I wet my lips and his gaze dipped.
He had no backpack. Nothing in his hands. Surely, his present was a kiss. His gaze lifted, his eyes darker gray now than green.
“Oops.” He released me. “Can’t very well give it to you with my hands on you and not inside my pocket.”
“What?” I blinked the haze of anticipation from my eyes, though nothing in the world could extinguish the fire blazing inside me with him standing so close.
“This,” he said, shoving his hand in his leather jacket and withdrawing a folded piece of paper with a flourish.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have.” I grinned, taking the paper from him and hugging it to my chest. “It’s lovely. Whatever shall I do with it?”
“Dork.” He smiled, his gray-green eyes sparkling like an alpine meadow aglow with fireflies.
My world turned upside down. My heartbeats slowed behind the paper. But inside my mind, my thoughts raced. One on top of the other, a flurry of memories came to me.
Bryan walking me home. Bryan looking out for me. Gentle, protective, smiling, serious, even frowning. Bryan wasn’t just in the memory reel. He was the reel. And I knew what I felt for him was deeper than desire.
“You okay?” he asked, his smile fading.
“Yeah, sure. I just wasn’t expecting anything. You caught me off guard.”
He glanced pointedly at the paper. “Read it.”
“Okay.” I did, and my racing heart screeched to a stop when I realized he’d paid for an SAT prep course for me. “I can’t accept this.”
“It’s done. No refunds, only rescheduling. And we both know there’s no more time left for you to do that.”
“Oh, Bry. Wow.” I threw myself at him, twining my arms around his neck. “Thank you.”
Ducking my head inside his jacket, I laid my cheek against his chest, and his arms came around me. Experiencing his embrace without the wall between us was as significant to me as what he’d done.
Elation lifted my feet from the pavement. Desire pounded hot in my blood. And that feeling that I was only now beginning to acknowledge burned bright like a beacon inside me.
“Can you arrange your hours at the shop to take all the sessions?” His voice sounded funny, a little gruff. Maybe holding me did beacon-type stuff to him too.
“Yes, I can.” I eased back to look at him.
“Good.” His eyes were heavily hooded. Unreadable. “So, you like my gift?” He swirled his thumb in a circle on my lower back, and liquid heat pooled between my thighs.
“It’s the nicest, most thoughtful present anyone has ever given me.”
“That’s not right.”
“It’s me. You know how my life is. No presents on birthdays coming from my mom or my uncle.”
Not even from my brother. He was a guy, a great guy, but Dizzy didn’t do the thoughtful-presents bit.
I glanced up at Bryan through my lashes. “I can never repay you for this.”
“It’s a gift, Lace. It makes me happy to see you happy.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He released me. “So, I’ll see you tonight?” he asked as we resumed walking. “For the between-friends beach birthday celebration?”
“Yes.” I resigned myself to the fact that he might be too honorable to cross any friendship lines, but I certainly wasn’t. “I’ll be waiting for your call.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
War
“I can’t believe we got the gig,” Bryan said. Looking as pleased as I was, he stretched his long legs out into the aisle.
“Our first headlining gig.” I grinned. “Now the music reps have to take notice. We killed it in that tryout.”
“Paid top billing.” Bryan shook his head in disbelief, his eyes aglow beneath the overhead lights. “On a Friday night.”
“This Friday night.” Rocking side to side, I sat on a bench on the opposite side of the train from him. I leaned forward, propping my elbows on my knees, just about to ask him a question, when his cell pinged again.
Dropping his chin, he glanced at the display. His lips curved, and I frowned.
Bryan had been getting texts all night. Each time he read the messages, he smiled that same secret smile. I had a bad feeling it was Lace texting him. It was her birthday. She was seventeen today, and I’d have been naked with her right now if . . .
I had a terrible thought to go along with the bad feeling.
Did Bryan have similar plans with her?
We’d had words about her on Monday. He denied having feelings for her, but I knew he was into her. She was sexy and sassy with a dash of sweet vulnerability that made you want to be her champion. All the guys at school were halfway in love with her.
Was Bryan taking advantage of our breakup to make a move?
When she was mine, I trusted—no, I knew—he wouldn’t cross the line. But what about now?
“If you want to get her back, I wouldn’t wait too long.”
Sager was right. I’d been stewing on his advice all week, the part that made sense. I thought I had time, but time was running out if Bryan was pursuing Lace, because it wasn’t just him having a thing for her. I’d seen Lace get starry-eyed over him, as if he were somehow better or different from me.
Angry. Damaged. Prone to dark emotions. He and I were both products of our upbringing. My damage was on the surface, but his was deeper underneath.
“Hey, man,” I said, and Bryan glanced up, the soft look in his eyes fading as he focused on me. “Can you duplicate the acoustic chords you did tonight on your electric guitar?”
“I can try.” His brow creasing, he glanced to where his acoustic guitar case sat near his booted feet.
He could do it. He didn’t need to try. There wasn’t anything my best friend couldn’t do with a guitar in his hands. The way he felt, ten feet tall and dangerous onstage with that instrument bowing to his command, was the way I felt at center mic with Lace harmonizing with me.
I made my choice. Right then, right there, on the train speeding along on the return trip to Southside. Watching Bryan’s fingers moving, one on his cell as if it were the headstock, the other on his thigh, he was already working out those chords in his head.
“Speaking of trying,” I said, my voice thick with the heaviness of my decision. “I’m going to visit Lace, see about getting her back.”
“What?” He froze, his fingers stilling.
“Tonight,” I said. “I’m going to her place.”
“It’s late.”
“Yeah, but her uncle will be working, and she’ll be up. She’s at Phillips’ game right now.”
“How do you know?” His brows rose.
“How do you know?” I frowned, my suspicions rising. “That her texting you?”
His brow a deep V like mine, he nodded.
Fucking hell. “She’s mine.” I gritted out the words, my teeth clenched.
“Not right now, she’s not.”
He was going to make his move with her, and we were going to have it out. Bryan wasn’t going to back down this time. I saw the determined look in his eyes. I loved him like a brother, but I wanted to wring his neck.
Knowing at this juncture that I couldn’t push back hard like I usually would, I was going to have to appeal to his honor. He had that in spades. I had none, except that what I wanted, I got, by whatever means necessary.
“I’m gonna have to ask you to bow out of the running.” My eyes gleamed every bit as dete
rminedly as his. “Right now.”
His gaze was steady as he held mine. “I can’t.”
“I love her.”
When I dropped the L-bomb, he closed his eyes, and his hand tightened until the knuckles blanched around his cell. His other hand on his thigh curled into a fist.
“When did you decide this?” he asked, opening his eyes. They were as bleak as a night sky without any stars.
“I think I loved her from the first moment I set eyes on her. But I wasn’t ready to admit it, even to myself, until now.” Love wasn’t an emotion I trusted. “Knowing how I feel, I’m gonna have to ask you to stand down.”
“War, fuck. You don’t know what you’re asking me. She’s—”
“Bry, seriously.” I shut him down. “I know, all right. I know she’s different. But she and I have a relationship. Is it really too much to ask you to step aside when she’s only an idea in your head, and she already means so much to me?”
He dropped his chin, staring down at his feet for a long beat. When our stop was announced, he looked up, his expression firm. “You lay out your feelings tonight. If she returns them, you reinstate her in the band. Then I’ll take myself out of the running.”
“For good?”
“Don’t push me, man.” His voice was strained as if he were one of his guitar strings cranked too fucking tight and about to snap. “I get that I owe you a debt I can’t repay. But more than that, you’re my brother in all the ways that count. As long as you have her, as long as she wants you, as long as you do right by her, I’ll back your play and keep my distance.”
I exhaled, and his phone rang. Tension shot through him when he glanced at the display.
“It’s her.” His thumb brushed across the screen. Bringing it to his ear, he said. “Hey, Lace, I—” Whatever she said cut him off. “Oh no!”
My blood ran cold. “What—”
He waved me off, his eyes narrowing as he continued to listen. “What hospital?” he asked, then nodded. “Okay. We’ll be right there.”
Staring at me, he nodded as she apparently said something more.
The Complete Tempest World Box Set Page 19
