“But what about War?” I asked.
“War talks. He doesn’t listen.”
“And all those other girls—”
“We don’t do a lot of talking,” he said quickly. “Not about anything that matters.”
“I can see where talking might be a problem.” Just sitting across from him, I found it difficult to concentrate. I leaned back in my seat, frowning.
Bryan was never with any girl very long, never the same one twice, except off and on again with Missy Rivera. I didn’t know what it was about her that was different, but I knew she’d been with War and Bryan.
I didn’t like her.
“So many times,” he said, “I was tempted to pick up the phone and talk to you like I used to.”
“You have my number.” Confused, I squinted at him.
“Let me rephrase that.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t call you. It wouldn’t have been right. Not when you were with him. Not when most of the stuff I wanted to talk about involves him, you, and the group.”
“Oh.” My eyes rounded. “I guess I never thought of it that way.”
“But now . . .” He let that hang, giving me a meaningful look.
“With War and me broken up, it’s different.”
Bryan nodded. He was unguarded, now that the wall that had stood between us was gone. Looking into his warm familiar eyes without it there, I suddenly didn’t feel so alone or quite so sad.
“Well then.” I leaned forward, put my elbows on the table, and propped my chin in my hands. “We have a lot to catch up on. So, start talking.”
“About what?” he asked.
“Everything I missed that you wished you’d shared. Everything you thought about asking me but didn’t.”
“That’s a lot of stuff, and pretty open-ended.” His lips curved upward.
“Start with the band, and we’ll move on from there.” I tilted my head. “How would you rate our . . . the band’s performance last night?”
“I thought we nailed it.”
“I thought so too. But it was a hard-core set. Don’t you think there needs to be a ballad or two thrown in for balance?”
“You might be on to something.”
I knew I was, but decided to leave it there. With the idea planted in his mind, it could germinate and grow. With War, I had to hit him repeatedly with my ideas to get them through.
“So, you and War?” I raised a brow. “Does he piss you off as often as he does me?”
“Oh yeah.” Bryan’s eyes dancing to a familiar shared tune, he leaned forward. With only a handful of inches separating us, I could see the individual pixels of light gray and dark green within his thickly lashed, dream-inducing eyes.
“But he’s still your closest friend.” I pulled in a labored breath. The rapid exposure to the high-altitude pine-scented air made me dizzy.
“We’ve been through a lot together. He’s basically a good guy, but that little voice inside your head that should stop you from saying shit you shouldn’t? He doesn’t have it. You and I talked about this a while ago.” His eyes flickered with shadows I somehow knew weren’t caused by our conversation about War’s character, but involved circumstances between the two of them that I wasn’t privy to. “In Southside, you have to be tough or you lose the things you care about.”
“Strength not weakness. Alliances over enemies,” I said, knowing how it worked and wishing Bryan was an ally, wanting to be one for him.
I might not currently be one of his closest friends, but maybe with time, I could regain that position. Sometimes who had your back was the only thing that stood between success and failure, or life and death. And even then, like with King’s brother, sometimes it wasn’t enough.
“It’s the escalation with War that worries me.” Bryan’s expression sobered. “Problems for him are battles to be won at all cost, even when it involves someone who really matters to him.”
Does he mean I matter to War?
Bryan exhaled heavily. A little shiver ran up my spine as his warm minty breath lifted tendrils of my hair. This was probably the closest I’d ever get to sharing a kiss with him. As I imagined his lips on mine, his tongue in my mouth, and his breath mingling with mine, my stomach fluttered.
“What happened after I left last night?” I asked. “With the record label reps?” I didn’t really want to know if War had slept with someone else, or for that matter, if Bryan had.
He studied me for a beat before answering. “They said we have potential but are too inexperienced. They left business cards. Told us to call them back when we’re headlining.”
“I’ll bet that pissed War off.” My brows lifted as I imagined it.
“He was already mad. But yeah, it was like gas to a flame.”
“He didn’t make a good impression with the reps. With his temper.”
“No. Not hardly. And he got completely shit-faced right in front of them too.”
“I’m sorry. It sounds like you had an upsetting night.” Without stopping to think about it, I reached for Bryan.
The instant my fingers touched his arm, I felt a spark. Heat singed my skin, but I also felt something deeper. With him, there was that foundation of shared experiences that settled me. Sure, he was all grown up and sexy as hell, but I also knew him, knew with him I was always safe.
Immediately craving more of that heat—I was, after all, an addictive personality more like my mother than I cared to admit—I swept my thumb across his skin in a wider arc. More of what I craved blazed through me like wildfire.
Bryan wasn’t unaffected either. His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared.
“I don’t believe my evening was nearly as upsetting as yours,” he said low, his gaze dropping to his arm.
“Who told you about it?” Withdrawing my hand, I used it to toss a strand of my hair over my shoulder and affected a casual expression. But my pulse continued to fly, and my skin burned.
“King.” Bryan’s gaze remained on mine, but it was darker and twinkled with something else. Anger? Desire? Amusement? I wasn’t sure. “He said you were ballsy as hell.”
“He exaggerates.” I shook my head. “Truthfully, I was scared shitless.”
“I should have gone with you. I don’t like that I wasn’t there to protect you.” He frowned. “Diz said your uncle laid into you last night too.”
“He laid into both of us. Diz and me.” I dropped my chin, and Bryan gently lifted it.
“Why didn’t you tell me how terrible he is to you?”
“Because . . .” I lost my train of thought, falling, tumbling headlong right into the depths of his understanding gaze. Bryan’s tenderness always got me. The thoughtful boy I’d once crushed on remained, but he was a man now, strong with edges like War. Maybe not as lethal, but sharp nonetheless.
“Because why, Lace?” Bryan asked softly. The sharpness of him was a compelling contrast to this sweetness, a nearly irresistible one.
“Because it’s sad to be treated the way he treats me, and it makes me feel vulnerable for you to know.”
“You think you deserve to be treated that way.” His expression hardened. “Which is not happening, I hope you realize.”
Words, simple ones, but profound coming from him.
“We’ll just have to prove to your uncle that he’s all wrong about you.” Bryan had been leaning forward, but he scooted back in his seat as the waitress returned with the breakfast special—two eggs over easy, hash browns, toast, and bacon, a large platter-sized plate for each of us.
“He’s not wrong. I totally bombed the test today, Bry.”
He went completely still. I realized what I done, what I’d said. And he didn’t miss it. “It’s been a long time since you called me that.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s been a while since I felt like you were in my corner.”
“I’m sorry for that. It’s been difficult balancing my loyalty between two people I care about. But the truth is, I’ve never left your corner. I’ll always be
there for you if you need me.”
My eyes burned, stinging with emotion. I’d been with War nearly a year and hadn’t received that kind of declaration from him.
“So, you bombed the test today. You can retake it, can’t you?”
My chest tightened. “One more time before the scholarship deadline.”
“One time is all you need. You’re gonna kick SAT ass. We’ll do it together this time. Me helping you.”
Bryan blew out a breath and took in another that expanded his muscular chest distractingly. But his words and his sincerity distracted me more.
“I know today was important for you,” he said, sincerity ringing in his tone. “You’ve told me about your goals outside the band. But I’m not here to tear you down or try to talk you into a different goal. I’m here to support you, to show you I care, to help however I can.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Lace
After Bryan walked me home, I went to my room and crashed. When I woke from my nap, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. Was it going to turn out to be a decent day?
My cell pinged as if to answer my question. Reaching for it, I detached it from the charging cord and scraped my hair out of my eyes to read the message.
BRYAN: You up?
His was the most recent message. That was promising, but there were others.
DIZZY: We need to talk. Come to my room when you wake up.
CHAD: Call me. I want to know what happened with Bryan.
JANET: I need you to work a shift tomorrow. Call me.
Although I pretended it wasn’t, it was disheartening that none of the messages were from War.
I called Janet first.
“Hi, honey,” she said in her sweet but age-warbled voice. “How did the test go?”
“Not well.” I sighed.
“Oh no. You studied so hard.”
“I know.” Even with Bryan helping me, even renewing my efforts, was it realistic to believe that I could do better?
“Maybe you should take one of those prep courses.”
“I’ll look into it,” I said, but truthfully, I already had.
The decent ones were expensive as hell. I couldn’t afford it, but I didn’t tell Janet. She would want to help, and would feel bad that she couldn’t. Her profit margin was so low at the shop that she could barely pay me.
“You need me to work tomorrow?” I asked, forcing enthusiasm into my tone.
“Yes, I’m going to hit the yard sales in the afternoon. If you could work from lunch to closing, that would be great.”
“Absolutely.” I could bring my homework with me. Sundays were slow at the shop, but good days for her to pick up bargains when the yard sales shut down.
“Thank you, honey. Sorry about your test.”
“It’s okay. See you tomorrow. ’Bye.” I hung up, pocketed my cell, and opened my door.
The hallway was quiet. Uncle Bruce’s door was closed, which meant he was either sleeping or at his girlfriend’s house.
Dizzy’s door was ajar. I knocked softly and pushed it the rest of the way open. He was on his bed, headphones on, a steno pad with crumpled pieces of yellow notebook paper all around him. Seeing me, he lowered the headphones to his neck.
“How are you doing?” he asked, his eyes searching mine.
“Better now that I rested.”
“How’d the test go?”
“I didn’t even finish the math section.”
“Oh, Lace.” His expression fell. “You can retake it, can’t you?”
“Once more.” I swallowed with difficulty. I was scared. My grades were good, but I wouldn’t even qualify to apply for a scholarship if my test scores didn’t reach the minimum requirement. “But I don’t really want to think about it right now.”
“You have to think about it,” he said gently. “You can’t stay here. If you don’t get the scholarship money, what are you going to do?”
“Work, I guess.”
“Janet can’t pay you full time.”
“I know. But maybe she would let me stay with her in exchange for working at the shop.”
“That’s an option.”
“Is it my only one?” I asked, holding his gaze and my breath. “Am I out of the band?”
His gaze hardened. “War’s not the only member in the band who gets to decide things.”
His non-answer was answer enough. I was out.
“Come sit down.” He swept a space clear for me, and I plopped down. “War was pissed as hell last night. But if you talk to him today—”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not doing that. Me being in the band shouldn’t hinge on whether I obey his every command. If he wants me in for my ability, fine. But he’ll have to come talk to me and apologize, not the other way around.”
“You know he won’t.” Dizzy gave me a sad look. “He’s as stubborn as you are.”
“Is there anything else you needed?”
He shook his head.
“Okay.” I stood and moved toward the door.
“Lace,” he called, and I turned.
“Yeah?”
“You should know I told him I’d quit the band if he doesn’t reinstate you.”
“No, Dizzy.” I shook my head. “Don’t do that. Take it back. Tell him you didn’t mean it. Heat of the moment and all, whatever you need to say. Fix it with him, but leave me out of it.”
“Final word?” he asked.
“Final,” I said and exited his room.
Hearing a door slam downstairs, I hurriedly returned to mine. Shutting my bedroom door, I leaned against it and told my hammering heart to slow. I didn’t know what to do exactly about the band, but it would be okay somehow. I wasn’t going to beg War to let me back in the group.
Heavy footsteps outside my door made my heart beat even faster, but luckily the footsteps faded and a door, Uncle Bruce’s bedroom door, I assumed, clicked closed.
Not in the mood for another lecture today, I exhaled in relief. Returning to my bed, I pulled my phone from my jeans pocket and pressed Chad’s number. Tears pricked my eyes when I heard his kind voice.
“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked.
“I’m still breathing. But I’m out of the group. Dizzy confirmed it.”
“Oh, Lace. It didn’t go well with Bryan either?”
“Actually, that part did go well. He wants to be friends again. Real ones.”
“That’s good. But was that all he wanted?”
“Yeah,” I said, not allowing myself to speculate further.
Bryan might think about kissing me. I certainly thought about kissing him. But I didn’t think there was any scenario where we could be more to each other than we were. Not while he remained so committed to War.
“He doesn’t look at you like he only wants to be friends.”
“We have some chemistry,” I said, staring at my guitar in its stand on the other side of the room. “But it’s not like he has a shortage of girls willing to sleep with him.”
“None that are you.”
“I’m no prize.”
“Well, that’s not true.” Chad sounded irritated. “We need to do something fun and get that wrong thinking out of your head.”
“What do you propose?” I asked. “For fun?”
“A movie and popcorn.”
My mouth started to water. “I love popcorn.”
“I know you do, and you need to kick back and get your mind off everything.”
“Are you offering to take me out?” I asked.
“I’m not offering. I’m telling.”
I smiled. “You’re a great friend.”
“You are for me. But do you really think you can you make a friendship-only deal work with Bryan?”
“Of course I can,” I said airily. “We’ve done it before.”
“You were kids then,” Chad said, his words taking the wind from my sails. “You’re not kids anymore. Friends don’t look at each other the way you two do.”
&n
bsp; “I’m wise enough to know not to make it complicated.”
“Wisdom doesn’t count for shit,” he said. “Not when you’re totally hung up on him.”
“I’m not that hung up on him.” Lying, I braced, knowing I risked a lightning strike.
Chad snorted. “You look at him like you want to fuse your essence to his.”
“That obvious?” Worried, I bit my lip.
“To me it is, but we’ve been friends a while.”
“As long as I’ve been dating War,” I said reflectively.
“Is that completely over?”
“Oh yeah.”
He scoffed. “Does War know?”
“I told you what he said last night. He dismissed me without a backward glance.”
“Yeah. But, babe, the way he is with you is a carbon copy of the way you deny being about Bryan. And I don’t think War gives a shit about it being complicated as long as he gets what he wants in the end.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Lace
I texted Bryan on my way to take a shower.
LACE: Just woke up. Is everything okay?
Not expecting an immediate response, I set my phone on the counter and took my shower. But when I shut off the water, I heard the phone ringing and picked up the call.
“Hello,” I said, dripping water all over the place.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Bryan asked, his tone both sexy and irritable at the same time.
“I am answering it.”
“I called several times before this.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was in the shower.” When the connection went silent, I asked, “Are you okay?”
“Are you naked now?” he asked, sounding a little choked.
“No, I’m in a towel.”
“Fucking hell,” he muttered.
“What’s wrong now?”
“Nothing. Only you, wet, and . . .” He went silent again, but I could hear his heavy breathing.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “You sound out of breath.”
“I’m trying to erase from my mind the image of you in only a towel.”
“Oh.” I licked my dry lips. Now I was trying not to imagine him imagining me and sounding turned on. “Maybe you need to think about something else.”
The Complete Tempest World Box Set Page 16