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.Everyone else chatted, but I heard nothing.I searched around the bar for Shane, and then wanted to hurl myself off a building for doing it.The more I thought about him with someone else the antsier my body felt.As the minutes passed, it got worse.I jumped up and lugged my guitar and myself into the bathroom.Lea was too busy in some sort of heated discussion with one of the other girls to notice.I half expected to see Carl sitting on one of the toilets, but the room was empty.“Azazel?” I whispered.No one answered.If he knew how to get me out of this hellish punishment, then maybe I needed another talk with him, just for informational purposes.I washed my hands and put on some more lipstick, and then made my way back through the crowds.I glanced over to the stage and saw Shane sitting by himself in the back, just out of view.I didn’t know if he was alone, but I jumped onto the stage anyway.He sat on a metal folding chair with his legs up on another chair, playing his guitar.He lifted his head only slightly when he noticed me, but he didn’t stop playing.“Hey,” I said.“What’s doing?” I brazenly pushed his legs off the second chair and sat down.His expression was guarded.“Oh, are you talking to me? I thought we hated each other.” His lips curled down, his sadness peeking through.I wanted to kiss those lips desperately.Shit! This is getting worse! I smiled at him.I didn’t even mean to, it just burst from my lips.My cheeks burned.“Stop smiling, Grace.” He leaned forward, a smile appearing on his face that matched mine.“A smile like that can give a man hope.”But I couldn’t stop smiling and neither could he.We sat there smiling, staring into each other’s eyes, until Ethan walked up to us and cleared his throat.“What is with the two of you?”My eyes snapped from his and I couldn’t quite catch my breath.This is too dangerous.I needed to find Azazel before I give myself, body and soul to Shane.I shivered; I needed to end my time here.It’s not like me to want someone or to need someone, especially when I knew it would only be for a few hours.The crowd screamed for us to play, and when we emerged from the back of the stage, the sound was deafening.Shane struck a chord and that silenced the audience.The rest of us took his lead and the crowd roared back to life.The music was intense and electrifying.It pulsated along the walls and through the stage rocking me to my core.I played as if it was the last time I’d ever hold my guitar.After the set, we all jumped off the stage.Sweaty and on fire, we ran to the bar to try to quench the flames.Laughing and singing our last song, Ryan lined up shot glasses of Kamikaze shooters for us, fruity and sweet.I gulped one back and slammed in on the bar.Someone leaned against the bar next to me, “May I buy you a drink?”I lifted my head to the voice.“Hi, I’m Steve,” he said, and then pointed to my empty glass, “May I buy you a drink.”I smiled politely at him, “Thank you, but the band has a running tab at the bar, so there’s no need to.”Ryan slid over another Kamikaze shooter to me and the irony of name of the drink and my life made me giggle.Steve smiled down at me with sexy green eyes.“You were amazing up there,” he said to me, nodding to the stage.“I’m sure you hear this all the time, but you are incredibly sexy and your eyes.I’ve never seen a more beautiful color.”Before I could thank him, Shane stepped between us.“Hey, excuse me, um, Steve was it? Yeah, well Grace and I have band things to take care of, so goodbye.” Shane stood there glaring down at him until he backed away.“Walk the fuck away from her right now; she’s not up for grabs, Steve.”Steve held my gaze, “She’s not up for grabs? Calm down, jackass.I just wanted to buy this beautiful woman a drink.”Shane stepped in closer to Steve, blocking my view of him.“Just walk away, dude.”Steve shook his head laughing and held his hands in the air.He leaned past Shane and spoke directly to me.“Listen, my friends and I will be here for a while, so if you’d like to dance or something, come and find me.”I watched Shane’s knuckles turn white as he balled his hands into fists.I slid off my barstool, smiled at Steve and placed my hand on Shane’s chest, softly holding him back.“Thank you, Steve, but I’m wiped from the show, so I’m calling it a night.I’m Grace by the way.It was nice to meet you and I’m glad you enjoyed the music.” I turned to face Shane letting Steve know that our conversation was over.I kept my hand on Shane.“I am leaving now.Don’t ever do that again to me.Don’t ever stop someone from speaking to me.I’m not your property.I’m barely even your friend.”His eyes bore into mine, “Do you want to go home with him?”“What the hell is wrong with you, Shane? Are you serious right now? You’re the guy who has slept with almost every girl in this bar, and I can’t have someone buy me a drink?”“You told him no thank you and he didn’t listen.And Grace, I haven’t slept with anyone since you walked into this bar that first Friday.”I raised my eyebrows.“Liar.You’ve been here with girls, sucking their faces off right in front of me.”“I haven’t slept with any of them, Grace.”“Please don’t say anything else.Please don’t.I have to get out of here.I’m exhausted and I don’t have the energy to fight with you.”“Then, I’m taking you home and I’m staying.”I folded my arms across my chest, “Excuse me?” That’s what came out of my mouth, but my mind was high-fiving myself, trying to think of the sexiest thing I could wear to tease the hell out of him.We grabbed our equipment and headed for the door without saying our goodbyes.I texted Lea when I got outside, because I didn’t want her to worry, and I knew she and Conner would come home when she read the message.We walked through the snow in silence.The only sound in the streets was the sounds of our shoes crushing the snow beneath us.When we reached the apartment, Shane went in first and searched all the rooms, while he made me stay in the front hallway.When he felt that Carl Sumpton was not hiding somewhere, we raided the refrigerator.Shane settled on making pancakes, while I jumped in the shower to wash the night’s show off [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]