by R. M. Lynn
“Hey, isn’t that our neighbor?” Mackenzie suddenly says and elbows me in the side. “The one who brought you home last week?”
I cringe when Alice perks up, her pixie cut blonde hair bouncing. Her smile broadens once she looks Kyler over from afar.
“That guy brought you home?” Alice questions me. I nod weakly as my eyes jump back to him. Alice goes on to say, “You’re kidding. What’d you guys do? Give me the details.”
“We didn’t do anything,” I insist. “He just brought me home after Mackenzie ditched me at a house party.”
Mackenzie puts her hand up in objection and argues, “First, I did not ditch you. If anything, we ditched each other. Second, you guys didn’t do anything, but did you not confess to me the other night that you tried to invite him in?”
My cheeks flame, and I glare at her. “I told you not to ever repeat that information.”
Alice snorts out a laugh before cutting in with, “I’m honestly really proud of you, Liv. You’re the least likely to invite a guy home out of the three of us.”
She’s right, of course, but her praise doesn’t do anything to subside my embarrassment. I asked him in, sure, but I don’t even know what I would have done if he actually agreed. Besides, was I even on an actual break with Scott at the time of said invitation? I wasn’t sure then, and I’m not sure now.
“He’s really hot, though, Liv,” Alice praises. “If you don’t want him, I call dibs.”
“He’s all yours,” I tell her before I can even stop myself.
Her smile gives me immediate regret, and suddenly I’m questioning why I even care. Kyler is a nice guy, and he’s been somewhat of a friend to me even with it only being a week of knowing him. There’s a level of comfortability with him, and the idea that someone, even someone like Alice, could potentially jeopardize whatever may or may not be budding between us stirs something strange within me. Envy, maybe?
I’m pulled from my thoughts when a hand grasps my shoulder. I startle slightly and glance up to see Dylan grinning down at me.
“Hey, Sunshine,” he greets happily. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Mackenzie and Alice have wide eyes as I smile up at him and mutter, “Hi, Dylan. How are you?”
“I’m fucking great, thanks. Introduce me to your friends, yeah?” he asks with a smirk and nod their way.
“Dylan, this is Alice and Mackenzie,” I announce. “Mackenzie and I are your neighbors, maybe you’ve seen her around? Alice lives closer to campus, and she’s an education major, so you probably haven’t seen much of her.”
“Well, maybe we can change that,” Dylan says before stepping over to shake hands with Alice and then Mackenzie.
He definitely has a type. Both my friends are blonde, busty, with small waists and long legs. Meanwhile, while I have a decent bra size, I definitely don’t compare to them. My ass is my best feature, I know this, but I can’t help but wish sometimes as I squeeze into my skinny jeans that I had a smaller one like my friends who sit across from me.
“You know, I’ve never met a fairy in real life,” Dylan says to Alice, and I snort.
What a line.
“Dylan, man, c’mon,” I hear in front of our table. Looking up, my eyes meet the brown ones that belong to Noah. “Hey, Alivia. I didn’t know you’d be here tonight. Kyler didn’t mention anything.”
I shrug and explain, “I haven’t seen much of him, but coming here was my friend Alice’s idea.” I gesture to her. “When you said you were in a band, I guess I didn’t realize you guys actually had gigs. I thought it was more of a hobby.”
Noah laughs. “Yeah, well, it definitely started out that way. A year and half ago, though, Kyler and Dylan walked all through downtown for days, begging and begging bar owners to give us a gig. Taps was the only place that’d actually listen to them, being they’ve only been around for a few years or so. Graham, the owner, told us we can play for him. It started out with us just playing on fucking Tuesdays, but then when we started drawing a crowd, he gave us Fridays. That shortly turned into us playing Saturdays, too.”
“That’s awesome,” I acclaim and squeeze his forearm that’s draped on the table. “It’s a great way to get your names out there, if you guys are really serious about this.”
“Yeah, for sure,” he tells me with a smile. “Let us buy you and your friends a drink. What are you guys drinking?”
Alice shouts out, “Vodka sodas!” just as I say, “No, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s no problem. Think of it as an appreciation for you guys coming out to listen,” Noah clarifies. “We’ll get those drinks.”
He grabs Dylan by the collar of his shirt to pull him away from Alice and Mackenzie. They dip into the crowd, occasionally stopping to talk to people they know. Or at least, the people know them. They’re clearly a popular group of guys. I look back at the stage where Kyler and Ayden are tuning up the guitars. Oliver steps up to each microphone, checking the sound. The crowd cheers every time the words “check, check” come out of his mouth and through the speakers
“Liv, why didn’t you tell me you were in with the entire group of them?” Mackenzie scolds.
Alice nods and adds, “For real, they are so hot, and you were just going to hoard them for yourself?”
“I wasn’t hoarding them from you. And I wouldn’t say I’m in with them either. We have a class together, and we got stuck in a group for a project, that’s all,” I explain. “It’s nothing.”
“What’s nothing?” I hear from behind me.
I look up at Noah as he hands me a drink and places the other two in front of Alice and Mackenzie. Dylan trails behind him with a handful of caramel color shots. He places them down in front of me, his hands going to my shoulders afterward.
“Bottoms up, ladies,” Dylan exclaims over the noise of the crowd. “We do a shot of fireball before every set. We’ll let you join this time.”
He grabs four of the eight shots and heads back over to the stage. I watch him hand them out to Ayden, Oliver, and Kyler. He says something to them and gestures over to where we stand at the same time Noah takes the extra seat for himself.
“You mind if I sit with you guys for their set?” he asks, looking between the three of us.
“Of course not,” Mackenzie assures him. “Thanks for the drinks, by the way."
He smiles and shrugs it off like it’s no big deal. We all look up when we hear a loud whistle come from the stage. Dylan puts up his arm, shot in hand. A smirk is on Kyler’s face as he raises his arm with him. Ayden and Oliver follow, and next to me, Noah raises his arm to them.
“Ladies, arms up,” Noah tells us. “Cheers.”
We do as we’re told, Alice and Mackenzie giggling, and I find my eyes going back to Kyler. Ours eyes lock, and I swear he winks at me before the four of them knock their shots back. The arms at our table lower, Noah clinks his shot glass with the rest of ours, and we take down the warm liquor. The warmth spreads through my body as the alcohol runs down my throat and into my belly.
“So, they said you make music, but you’re not in the band?” I ask Noah as he takes a swig from his beer bottle.
“I’m in the band, technically. I do a lot of behind the scenes. I deejay and produce music. So, like they told you, I basically create beats. Whenever they create an original that may need more than just a guitar and drums, I step in and make it happen. I write songs, too, but I’m definitely not as good at it as Kyler,” he explains to me. “I’m taking some classes at the university, so hopefully those help. But, yeah, the deejay gig is my hobby, you know? I like that it’s something I can do myself.”
“So, you’re like Calvin Harris?” Alice asks, her eyes wide with admiration.
I bite back a grin while Noah smirks and says, “Yeah, like Calvin Harris.”
“That’s really cool,” Mackenzie adds and gives him a look I’ve seen every time she’s prowling.
She definitely likes what she sees when it comes to Noah. She begins as
king him more questions about his music, his major, and literally everything else that can be asked about a person. Thankfully, for my ears and Noah’s sanity, she’s interrupted when the lights dim and the crowd begins to cheer. A moment later, the lights below the stage light up, revealing the guys. Oliver has his bass with a microphone in front of him. He stands in the middle of the stage separating Ayden, who’s sitting at his drum set, and Dylan and Kyler. Both stand at the front of the stage, microphones in front of the them, and guitar straps around their shoulders. They leave space in between them so the crowd can see Ayden and Oliver as well.
My body buzzes when Kyler puts his mouth to the microphone. His deep, gruff voice comes out of the speakers, causing females across the bar to squeal and scream for him.
“Evening, ladies and gents,” he says, a smile playing at his lips. “We call ourselves Violet Lane, but hopefully, you all already knew that, right?” The crowd cheers, and his smile broadens. “I thought so. We hope you enjoy what we got tonight, and don’t forget to buy more drinks.”
The crowd cheers wildly, but it immediately quiets when Ayden raises his drumsticks and raps them together three times. They open with an original song. Kyler sings lead about broken promises and time that’s been wasted while Ayden and Dylan sing back up. His voice is pure sex. I can’t even think of any other word to describe it. It’s absolutely breathtaking. Watching Kyler play his guitar is mesmerizing. He’s quick, steady, and completely skilled at his craft. He doesn’t even have to watch his hands in order to play, something I often struggle with when playing piano. His eyes flirt with the crowd, smiling for them while he sings.
When the first song ends, he chats with the crowd some more, banters back and forth with Dylan, which the crowd eats up as well. Noah goes to the bar with Mackenzie, bringing the table another round of drinks just before the next song starts.
“You guys may know this one,” Kyler says before Dylan starts strumming his guitar.
They perform Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down. Kyler’s voice works so well with the song that it might be one of my new favorites. The crowd is pleased as well with the majority of them singing along with him. At one point in the song, his eyes meet mine, his hands gripping the microphone as he sings, and this time I know he winks at me even though a group of girls in front of me think it was for them.
The rest of the set includes two more originals and a few other covers by various artists. When they finish their last song, the crowd cheers so loud, I’m almost positive I can feel the building vibrate with their excitement. Kyler tells the crowd to join them again tomorrow night, and soon three of the bar’s bouncers are there to escort them off of the stage and to the back of the bar where they escape out of the back door. The bouncers return to the stage and little by little they get the stage cleared. One remains to set up a stand at the back center of the stage.
“Are they going to come back?” I ask Noah, trying not to sound as desperate as a I feel.
He nods and leans in to tell me, “Yeah, when there’s this big a crowd, we usually have to escape out back for ten minutes or so until they forget we exist again. They just get a bit rowdy sometimes. Graham started using the bouncers after a night when some girls scratched up Kyler pretty bad. Oli and Dylan have had their shirts ripped and everything.”
My eyes widen slightly at the news. “At least they’re popular,” I insist, searching for a bright side.
Noah nods. “Totally. Violet Lane is all over the internet every time we play here. The buzz around us, them with just their raw talents, and me with my producing, is getting bigger by the day. One day, who knows?” He shrugs with a grin on his face. “Somebody could really take an interest in what we have going on. At least that’s what Kyler is banking on.”
The whole thing is exciting to me. I’m about to respond when I see the back door open from behind Alice. I point toward it to tell Noah just as Kyler steps inside. Noah stands from his seat and leans down, his mouth close to my ear.
“I’m going to go get them. Don’t move and don’t let your friends leave,” he orders me before disappearing into the mass of bodies.
I watch Kyler as Noah approaches him. They both laugh about something said before Kyler sticks his head out of the back door. Moments later, the entire band makes their way through the crowd and surrounds our table. Kyler casually stands next to my seat, his arm draped over the back of the high-top chair.
“Alright, Oli, come with me to the bar,” Ayden says to his friend. “Ladies, what’re you drinking?”
“I already know what they want,” Dylan tells him with a coy smile. “I’ll go with you.”
The three of them head straight to the bar while Alice and Mackenzie watch their backs disappear. Noah and Kyler are chatting, Kyler asking him what they can do better for next time. I can’t hear what Noah says in response, but I don’t know if it’s because of the noise of the crowd or if it’s because of all the blood rushing to my head with Kyler standing as close to me as he is.
“Do you need help setting up?” Kyler suddenly asks, causing me to look up between him and Noah.
Noah shakes his head and says, “Nah, man, I got it. Oli helped me bring all my shit in. I just got to plug it in.” Kyler nods in response, and Noah leans onto the table with his elbows to talk to us. “I got to go, ladies, but thanks for the company.”
“Where are you going?” Mackenzie asks with a slight whine in her voice.
“Not far,” Noah tells her and gestures back to the stage. “I deejay, remember?”
Her eyes light up, but I’m sure mine and Alice’s do, too. Kyler gives Noah’s shoulder a squeeze, Noah gives us a wave, and then he heads to the stage to set up his equipment. I freeze in my seat when seconds later, Kyler’s mouth is at my ear.
“So, what’d you think?” he murmurs. “Pretty good, or no?”
My eyes connect to his before I tip my head, my lips centimeters from his cheek, and reply, “You guys were amazing. I honestly didn’t expect you guys to sound so…”
“So fucking awesome?” he fills in the blanks for me, a smile in his voice.
I laugh and tell him, “I was going to say professional. But you were that, too.”
Kyler smiles wide and stands straight as Dylan, Ayden, and Oliver return to the table with a ton of drinks and shots. They definitely were trying to kill me. The four guys quickly take a shot together and then another. Mackenzie and Alice tip back shots of their own when they throw back a third round. This was quickly turning into binge drinking at its finest. Kyler hands me a glass of bubbling vodka soda with a lime on the rim. I take it from him and take a gracious sip.
“You’re not going to take your shot?” Dylan asks me from across the table.
I shake my head and explain, “I’m good on shots. The last time I did shots, I ended up on top of a table.”
Ayden and Oliver laugh, and Oliver exclaims, “That’s my kind of girl right there!”
Dylan snags the shot from in front of me and dumps it into his mouth. The lights around the dance floor suddenly light up a deep purple, while lights along the stage start to flash. Girls are already climbing up onto the stage as music begins to play through the speakers. Noah has headphones wrapped around his neck, and he leans in as a girl says something against his ear. The dance floor begins to fill up quickly as he plays a remix of a popular song.
I lean up and ask Kyler, “Does he remix songs, too?”
He nods and takes a drink from his beer. Alice grabs Dylan’s hand before pulling him onto the dance floor. Oliver says something to Ayden before he heads to the bar and sidles up to a girl with colorful tattoos down her arms and baby blue dyed hair. Ayden heads off to play pool with some friends a minute later, and Mackenzie gets pulled onto the dance floor by a guy from the next table over. This leaves Kyler and I alone at the table. He takes Mackenzie’s seat next to me and sips his beer while peering over at me.
“What made you come out tonight?” he asks me after a moment.
&
nbsp; I lean onto the tabletop with my elbows and shrug. “Alice wanted to come out. I guess she heard the band was pretty great, and when Mackenzie heard about the drink deals, we just had to come.” I smile and so does Kyler. I add, “But you guys were really great, honestly. I’m glad I came. I almost didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“I wasn’t prepared to be dragged home by a neighbor again.”
A smirk appears on his face and he leans in to murmur, “I wouldn’t mind taking you home, Liv, I swear.”
I don’t miss the innuendo in his voice, and I take a sip of my drink so I can distract myself from it.
“So, I haven’t seen you except for in class,” Kyler goes on to say. “You been busy?”
I shrug and tell him, “Kind of. I saw you on campus yesterday, but I didn’t want to interrupt.”
He scowls. “Interrupt me from what? At the very least, I would’ve said hi.”
I bite my lip and argue softly, “You were with people. I didn’t want to be awkward, and I’m very good at being just that.”
"I don’t think you’re awkward,” he insists. “I think you’re fucking cute as hell, and I promise you, the people I may have been with are definitely not as high on my priority list as you are.”
My mouth opens to respond, but the words are lodged in my throat. I think he’s cute, too. He’s more than cute. Yet, I shouldn’t be even entertaining this conversation. Scott would be furious, and even though he did me wrong, I didn’t have to play the same game in return.
“Kyler,” I mumbled and nibble my lip. “I’m really trying to work things out with Scott.”
He gives me a stiff nod. “So, you’ve told me. I know. But if I think you’re cute, I’m going to tell you you’re cute.”
Before I can respond, a hand squeezes my shoulder. Looking up, my eyes meet those of Benjamin Hemlock. He’s one of Scott’s best friends, and they’re members of the same fraternity. He smiles and leans in close to greet me.
“Hey, Liv, is Scott here with you?”
“No, he’s hanging out with some of the guys in the fraternity. I think he mentioned someone named Tyler?”