“No harm, no foul.” He shrugged but kept his eyes glued to the bar scene behind her. She worked her jaw as she watched him purposely avoid looking at her.
Silence descended again. Harry’s fingers drummed along the table-top and his legs jiggled, belying his nerves. “What’s up?” she asked.
He glanced at her and cocked a brow. “What do you mean?”
She nodded to his fingers and pointed to his legs. “You runnin’ a marathon?”
He stopped moving abruptly and looked away again. “Nope.”
She refrained from sighing, but just barely. “Alright then…”
Harry didn’t even glance at her and Bailey sagged. Coming to talk to him had obviously been a bad idea and she abruptly turned on her heel to walk back to her table. If he wasn’t going to talk to her, then she wasn’t going to waste her time doing it. It was obvious that she was the last person he wanted to see at his table.
She stepped away, hoping Harry might call out to her, but he remained silent. She returned to Karlie and Jax with her tail between her legs, dejected. It had never been this way before. As she slid back into her seat, a pit opened in the bottom of her stomach. She didn’t know how she felt or what it meant.
“What did Harry say?” Karlie asked.
She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Oh, nothing much. Want another beer?”
Karlie shook her head and Bailey stood again, walked to the bar and leaned against it as she waited for the bartender to make her way to where she was standing.
While she waited, she glanced through a curtain of her hair toward where Harry was sitting. The girl had returned and they were sitting closer than before.
“What can I get ya?”
Bailey snapped her attention back to the bartender in front of her. She came up for a beer but suddenly had the urge for something stronger. “Two shots of tequila and the biggest fucking margarita you can make.”
The bartender’s brows rose toward her hairline, but she didn’t comment as she poured out two shots and slid them over the bar to Bailey.
Bailey smiled her thanks as she threw them back in quick succession, with no salt or lime. She grimaced as the flavor hit her tongue and shuddered as she swallowed. Tequila really was nasty, especially without the accouterments, but it got the job done. What’s the saying? Tequila makes the clothes come off.
That was certainly true for her and it also made her blackout. That was perfect. She didn’t want to remember anything about this train wreck of a night. In fact, the less she remembered the better, in her mind.
The bartender placed a large glass filled with a frosty concoction in front of Bailey. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the sheer size of it. When she asked for the biggest, she didn’t realize she’d get something large enough to allow several people to drink out of it. But her mama didn’t raise no quitter, so she would make sure it was finished.
She passed the bartender her card and took a small sip of the frozen drink while she waited for her tab to be run through the machine.
As the first taste of frozen goodness hit her tongue, the alcohol overpowered everything else. If nothing else, this would get her well on her way to forgetting this entire evening and the preceding week.
The bartender brought her card and the receipt back. She scribbled her name on it and pushed it back to her before turning to wind her way back to her table. Karlie was alone again, the band members already on stage and getting ready for the next set.
Karlie raised her brows when she caught sight of Bailey and her drink.
“Wow, think you got enough?”
Bailey shrugged as she plonked the drink on the table and slid back onto her chair. “I think it’s just perfect.”
“Alright, everybody! Who’s ready to continue this party?” Harry spoke into the microphone, causing the crowd to roar in agreement before quieting down a few notches.
The crowd cheered as Harry whispered something to Veronica before nodding to Bentley, who tapped out the beat. They started the set with “Carry on my Wayward Son” and moved into a rousing rendition of “Brown Eyed Girl.”
Bailey kept her eyes glued to Harry the entire time, slowly sipping her drink. She watched every move he made. When his hands ran through his hair between songs, her eyes followed their movement.
When he played his guitar, she watched his fingers glide across the strings.
When he crooned into the microphone, she noted each word that came from his lips.
The straw made a slurping sound and she looked down to see she had drained her drink. She blinked at it in surprise. She had no idea she’d drank that much that quickly.
She turned her head to look at Karlie and clutched the side of the table when the world spun. After a few moments of deep breathing, she was able to focus on her friend.
“Are you okay?” Karlie asked, brows furrowed.
Bailey nodded, which made her see two Karlie’s instead of one. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out which one was her friend and which was the imposter. But she couldn’t.
She swallowed against the thickness in her throat, suddenly very thirsty. “Yeah…I’m…fine.”
“I don’t think so…I think you need to go home.” Karlie slid off her chair and placed a hand on Bailey’s shoulder.
She tried to shrug Karlie’s hand off but only succeeded in knocking herself off balance. She clutched the edge of the table again. “I’m fine!”
The room was now spinning without reprieve and Bailey couldn't even make out the people around them. She scanned the room, looking for Harry and could just make him out across the dance floor sitting with the girl from earlier. When did the concert end?
She snorted. “All the same…”
“What?” Karlie asked, making Bailey jerk around to look at her.
Karlie’s eyes widened at her sudden movement and she grabbed Bailey’s arm to stop her slow slide off the chair.
“Nothin…”
“Right. Well, I think we need to get going.” Karlie grabbed her purse and turned to face Bailey more fully. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
“I don’t wanna go.” Bailey tried to jerk herself away from Karlie but found her body didn’t want to cooperate and she just sat there, half on, half off the chair.
Karlie sighed. “Bailey, come on. I’m not leaving you here and you’ve had too much to drink.”
“So?” Bailey glared at Karlie and then turned her attention back to her glass. She sighed when she realized it was still empty. She’d forgotten that. She pouted at the thought that there wasn’t some magic fairy to refill her drink.
“Everything okay?” Jax asked as he came to stand by the table. Bailey squinted, trying to figure out why there were three Jax’s instead of one.
Karlie sighed. “I’m trying to get her to leave.”
“I’m not goin’.”
“Right,” Jax said.
Bailey felt two hands clutch her biceps, pulling her from her chair. As her feet touched the ground, she wobbled a bit, but the person holding her didn’t let up. She looked up and saw Jax standing there holding her up.
“Are you going to walk out? Or am I going to have to carry you out?”
Bailey glared at him but mumbled, “I’ll walk.”
He nodded. “Good.”
He released one of her arms but kept a light grip on the other as they pushed their way through the crowd. As they drew closer to the door, embarrassment rose in Bailey and she was mortified by the way she was acting. She kept her eyes down as she shuffled behind Karlie the last few steps to the door.
Once outside, she jerked her arm from Jax’s hand and stumbled without the assistance to remain upright. “I can walk by myself.”
Jax held up his hands in surrender. “If you say so.”
Karlie shook her head and started walking to her car while Bailey wobbled after her. Though she was wearing flats, she still felt like a newborn calf learning to walk as she stumbled behind her friend. Several ti
mes, Jax had to catch her before she pitched headfirst into the gravel.
After what felt like ages, they finally reached Karlie’s car. Helping her like a child, Jax opened the door and arranged Bailey in the seat. She wanted to bat his hands away and do it herself but suddenly found herself very tired. And she couldn’t quite remember where they were or how they got there.
The click of the seatbelt roused her and she blinked at Karlie who was now sitting next to her.
“Wha? When’d ya get over there?”
Karlie snorted and shook her head as she started her car. “Don’t worry about it. Worry about not throwing up.”
“Hmph.” Bailey snorted, her head lolling to the side.
She barely paid attention to the passing scenery, instead, trying to figure out where they were going because she couldn’t remember. Her head felt heavy though, and it was so hard to concentrate.
Her head jerked when the car stopped and she looked around wide-eyed as Karlie got out and walked around to her side. Bailey tried to get herself out of her seat but couldn’t; something was holding her down. She stared at it in confusion, not understanding why she couldn’t move.
Karlie sighed as she leaned over her and released the seatbelt. Bailey stared at her when she realized she was free. “You’re a wizard…”
Karlie snorted. “No, I’m just Karlie. Come on.”
Though it wasn’t easy, Karlie was able to help her from the car and upstairs to her apartment, even helping her into her bed. Once she was alone, she watched the spinning light pattern on her ceiling, trying to figure out where she’d been earlier that night and why she felt sad.
She couldn’t figure it out. That was okay. If she was sad, she didn’t want to know why because being sad wasn’t okay. She didn’t deserve to be sad.
Chapter Ten
Harry
“Y’all played so well tonight!” Emily gushed when Harry joined her at the end of the show.
He smiled, his first genuine one of the night, at her words. It meant a lot that she thought they did well. It meant that they’d done their duty as musicians. If she felt that way, then there was a good chance others did as well.
She started talking about a chord progression on one of their songs while his gaze slid across the dance floor to where Bailey was sitting with Karlie. He'd sworn he wouldn’t pay attention to her at the start of the night, knowing she’d probably show. Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from checking on her and looking her over whenever he had the chance while playing or even when he’d been with Emily.
His eyes narrowed as he took in her slumped posture. She was swaying in her seat, not even paying attention to Karlie, who was talking to her. That wasn’t like her at all.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Emily asked him, placing a hand on his arm and drawing his attention back to her.
He shook his head and sipped the water he’d snagged from the green room after the show. “Nothing, just people watching, ya know?” He endeavored to push Bailey and whatever was going on across the dance floor from his mind and refocus on Emily. Their getting together tonight might be casual, but he did invite her and he didn’t want to be rude.
Emily nodded and scanned the room. She had a sharp intake of breath and Harry followed her line of sight to see what she was staring at. Apparently, it was Bailey trying to stand while Jax held on to her arms.
“Wow, someone obviously can’t hold her liquor.” Emily tittered at her words, covering her mouth as she laughed. Harry cut his eyes to her at her comment but didn’t say anything.
The two of them watched Jax help Bailey through the bar, making sure she didn’t fall down or bump into anyone. “That’s a bit crazy.” Emily turned back to face him once the trio was through the door.
“What do you mean?” Harry asked, sipping from his water as he eyed her. He wasn’t nearly as amused as she was, but she also wasn’t aware that he knew each of those people very well.
Emily shrugged and dragged a finger through the condensation that had collected on the table. “I mean, she was super drunk. She had to be walked out of here. If she’s that messy, maybe she shouldn’t be drinking in public. It’s just…sloppy.”
Harry struggled to remain calm. Emily’s words bothered him, though he knew they shouldn’t since it was obvious he and Bailey were on one of their out periods. Yeah, she didn’t know who Bailey was, but she was passing judgment on someone she didn’t know and that didn’t sit well with him. What gave her the right to comment?
“Maybe she had a bad night.” He shrugged nonchalantly as he watched her.
“Hmmm, maybe, but I doubt it. She just looks like someone that drinks too much.”
Harry was taken aback. That was pretty rude and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. “That’s kinda mean, don’t ya think?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Maybe, but it’s true.”
“And how do you know that? I’m curious what someone that drinks too much looks like.”
She looked at Harry and paused with her mouth open. He obviously couldn’t see himself, but he imagined he didn’t look happy and he couldn’t find it in himself to school his features.
“Just…uh…I mean…ummm…well, she looks like a girl that drinks a lot?” Emily’s voice rose at the end and he knew that she was starting to doubt her comments.
They lapsed into silence. Harry felt disgusted with Emily, but he didn’t want to let them ruin the evening either. He was sure he looked angry and unapproachable and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to rein it in anytime soon. Maybe he should consider calling it a night and giving Emily a call in a day or so.
Harry scanned the bar and saw Jax step through the main door. He was looking around the room and tilted his head up when his eyes met Harry’s. He kept his eyes on his best friend as he slowly made his way through the thinning crowd to Harry’s table.
Jax shot Emily a half-smile before leaning down to whisper in Harry’s ear, “Karlie is taking Bailey home.”
Harry nodded but didn’t bother to say anything. What would he say? Besides, he didn’t want to let on any more than necessary that he knew Bailey.
Jax leaned back slightly and studied Harry’s face before leaning in and whispering, “We should probably head out. Packing for the tour will take most of the day tomorrow.”
Harry glanced at his watch and saw that Jax was right. Though they got an earlier slot to play tonight, it was still almost midnight and tomorrow promised to be a long day.
Jax stepped back and clapped him on the shoulder. “See you tomorrow bright and early?”
“Yeah. Let’s get that shit packed.”
With a nod to both Harry and Emily, Jax turned and walked toward the stage, slipping through the backstage door to.
“What are y’all packing?” Emily asked him.
He looked at her. “We’re packing all of our gear: instruments, amps, speakers. Everything. We’re going on a month long tour of the Carolinas and Virginia.”
“Oh.” Her brow furrowed. “When do you leave?”
“It’s Friday?” he asked, confirming the day.
She nodded.
“We leave Sunday, then.”
“Oh,” she said softly, looking at her hands, which were knotted in her lap.
He continued, hoping to knock her out of whatever funk she was now in. “Yeah, we got approached by one of the big bands out of Raleigh to be their opener a few months ago. It took a bit to hammer out the details, but this should be some good exposure for us.”
Emily nodded. “That’s…great.” Her tone of voice didn’t agree with her words.
“You certainly don’t sound like it sounds great.” He scanned her body language; her shoulders were bunched around her ears and her legs were jiggling pretty fast.
“Oh, no. I am.” Her voice certainly sounded more peppy, but it still didn’t seem genuine. “I was…well…” She paused and sighed, color rising in her cheeks. “Well, I was just going to see if you wanted to go to dinner with
me next week.”
Harry’s mouth formed an O at her confession. That wasn’t what he had anticipated.
“Oh, well, rain check?” he asked.
“Yeah, for sure.” She nodded.
They lapsed into silence again. It was awkward, and Harry wasn’t sure what to say or do to fix it. He still felt angry about her earlier comments and it seemed she was now uncomfortable because of the revelation about the tour. “Do you want to maybe text and chat while I’m gone?” he asked.
Emily flashed a wide smile at him. “Yeah, sure! That’d be awesome!”
Hopefully talking while he was gone would allow them to grow closer to each other. Though he knew that he liked Emily, it was still early and he had no way of knowing how their relationship would develop.
He finished his water and stood. “I hate to run, but I do need to get home. We have a long day of packing and getting ready to hit the road.”
Emily nodded and stood as well. “I’m going to hang out a bit longer, finish my drink.” She gestured to her glass.
He looked where she gestured and saw that she still had half a martini left. He nodded. “So I’ll, uh, talk to you later?” He scratched the back of his neck.
He felt awkward and wasn’t sure why. Should he hug her? Try to kiss her? Shake her hand? None seemed right, so he just slowly backed away and gave a little wave before turning around so he didn’t bump into anyone.
As he waded through the crowd, he berated himself for waving at Emily. Pretty lame. He could have at least hugged her since that was a bit more intimate. Instead, he'd just waved and walked off. He shook his head as he neared the door.
He nodded to the bouncer as he stepped outside and slid his phone from his pocket where he saw Jax had texted him to let him know the van was parked at the warehouse. Harry replied before walking to his car.
When he slid behind the wheel, he paused with his keys in his hand. His mind flashed back to Bailey being walked out by Jax and how she'd stumbled all over the place. She had been drunk and he just now realized he might have had something to do with that.
Harry (Southern Sands Book 2) Page 7