Pretending Hearts (14 page)

My gaze moved away from the women in the crowd. The band was on stage, but hadn’t started playing. Before I could check out the rest of the band, my eyes were pulled to the back where Levi was tinkering with his drum ensemble. He was cute in his maintenance uniform, but I felt a little swoony seeing him in a tank top that showed off his defined arms and shoulders. I could see more of the tattoos he had on each bicep, but still couldn’t make out the images. He wasn’t covered in ink, but had enough to draw attention to his toned upper body. He wore dark blue jeans and I watched him tap his foot to a beat he seemingly only heard in his head.

I’d been dumped less than a week ago, but my lack of heartbreak over Wyatt was telling in the way my body reacted to Levi. My heart sped up and my mouth felt like cotton. In my defense, any girl with a heartbeat would feel drawn to Levi. As a brown lock fell into his eyes, I imagined each woman in the room collectively wishing to run on stage and brush the hair away. It was a crime to have anything blocking the hazel eyes framed by midnight black lashes.

To calm my racing pulse, I decided to check out the rest of the band. Levi’s twin brothers were standing next to each other, tuning their guitars. I could see the resemblance to Levi, but they also had their own distinct looks. The twins had their dark hair shorn, but the guitarist had left enough hair on top to create a faux-hawk style. They had the same imposing height as their younger brother, but were bulkier in build. They would almost appear threatening, but the image was altered when I saw them doubled over in laughter at a shared joke.

I swallowed hard as I looked over at Levi’s “best friend.” He had failed to mention his best friend was a girl and she was stunning. Despite being on stage, I could tell how diminutive she was. She couldn’t be more than five feet or weigh more than one hundred pounds. Her jet-black hair was sleeked back into a stylish bob and her smoky eyes looked out at the crowd in a disinterested way. Her red dress was painted on her body and I was sure the men weren’t the only ones with groupies in the audience.

I stayed towards the back of the room as the lights came on stage and the radio died down. The crowd quieted and turned their heads expectantly to the stage. The lead singer sashayed up to the microphone and stopped to run her hands over the front of her dress. She had a perfect silhouette with perky breasts and a small waist. Even I was turned on.

“Hi everyone. Thanks for coming out to see us tonight.” Her voice was a sexy growl and I already guessed what a fantastic vocalist she would turn out to be. “We’re Trojan Jedi and we hope you like what you hear tonight and come check us out again.”

The singer finished the introduction and smiled back at the rest of the band. Levi gave her a wink before tapping his drumsticks together and starting their first song. My stomach felt a little queasy over the interaction until I reminded myself I was there to develop a new
friendship
.

The twins began to play as well and a few notes into the song I recognized the beat. The guys sounded amazing as the introduction built up the crowd’s excitement. When the singer set the microphone against her scarlet full lips, the room roared. “
There’s a shadow just behind me, shrouding every step I take, making every promise empty, pointing every finger at me.”

The cover of “Sober” was slower and the singer filled each lyric with incredible emotion. By the end of the first song, I could safely say my mind was blown. There was no doubt to say Trojan Jedi was the best-sounding cover band I had ever heard. With the singer’s unique sound and sex appeal along with three gorgeous brothers playing the instruments, it would only be a matter a time before they were discovered. I wished for my camera, so I could freeze the moment forever.

I got lost in the music and the first set flew by. Disappointed groans were heard when the singer announced they would be taking a break. My nerves returned as I saw Levi get up from the drums and stretch. He began to descend the stage, but had only taken a step when people from the crowd inundated him.

I wasn’t normally shy, but I suddenly felt hesitant as I watched him from across the room. Did I march over and pull him away from the beautiful women surrounding him? Would that be seen as staking a claim I had no right to make?

Levi saved me from my indecision by looking around the crowd and spotting me in the back corner. He grinned and waved me over. I saw him excuse himself from his fans and take long strides in my direction. We met in the middle of the dance floor.

“You came,” he said.

“I did.” I found his grin contagious and I smiled back at him. “You were amazing!”

“Thanks,” he said. “Come on. I want you to meet my brothers and Rain.”

Her name was
Rain
? Her stock was climbing by the minute. Maybe Rain was her stage name and she really had an awful name like Edna or Bertha. The feel of Levi’s hand on mine distracted me from my unnecessary jealousy. He gave me a tug and led me toward the bar. I noticed he didn’t let go once I began to follow him. His grip was firm and I felt a few calluses on his fingers, likely from hours spent drumming. There was something sexy about the idea of the rough pads of his fingers touching my bare skin.

There was an intimacy holding his hand I was unprepared for. I was used to sex-only relationships and the simple gesture made me feel vulnerable.

His hand slipped out of mine as we arrived at the bar where his brothers and Rain were sitting. Rain was sipping at a bottle of water while the twins had three shots lined up in front of them. My arm brushed against Levi’s as we stopped in front of the trio.

“Delia, these are my brothers.” He pointed first to the guitarist with the faux-hawk. “This is my brother Evan and,” he pointed to the bassist, “my brother Cole.” The brothers both said hello and I could feel the evaluation in their eyes. They appeared to be a couple years older than Levi and I imagined they looked out for the youngest of the family.

“Hi, I’m Rain.” Before Levi had a chance to make the introduction, Rain cut in. Rain tilted her head in my direction and offered a warm smile.

“Nice to meet you all,” I said.

“How do you know Levi?” Rain asked.

“I’m a freshman at Cook and I met him at the library.” Rain nodded and took another sip of her water.

Levi leaned his head closer to me. “I’m going to order a water. Would you like anything?”

I smiled. “I’ll have a water too.” Levi moved to an open spot a few seats down the counter and tried to signal the bartender. Cole and Evan clinked their glasses together before downing their respective shots.

Cole gestured to the remaining shot glass on the bar counter. “Do you want Levi’s shot?” he asked. “Levi swears he becomes tone deaf if he drinks while playing so he passed.”

“No thanks,” I said before swerving my head back and forth between Cole and Evan. I hadn’t known many twins and I tried to wrack my brain for a safe conversation topic to talk about with Levi’s brothers. “So identical twins? Are you very close? Is twin ESP a real thing?” 

“No, but I can read your mind and sorry we’re not interested,” Evan replied with a stony expression. “We’re not into threesomes, so get it out of your head.”

“Excuse me?”

“I know a lot of girls have fantasies about being with twins. Especially two as hot as us.” Evan smirked. “But it’s just not happening, sweetheart.”

“Will you shut it, Evan.” Levi came up from behind me and I could hear his annoyance. He turned his head to face me. “He’s messing with you. My brothers have a warped sense of humor.”

“You guys were really great,” I said awkwardly as I felt all eyes on me. When no one replied, I asked, “How did you come up with the name? Trojan Jedi is um… pretty unique.”

“We combined a reference to sex and Star Wars,” Evan said. “Because what two things do men like better?”

Rain rolled her eyes. “Obviously, they came up with the name before I joined. We’re open to better suggestions.”

“Not happening. We already have a rep and we don’t want to alienate the fans,” Evan said.

“By fans, he means the girls who come to the shows to sleep with them after.” Rain directed her statement at me. I felt the stirrings of jealousy deep inside and couldn’t help but hope she was referring to the twins and not the youngest brother.

Rain slid off the bar stool and glided over to stand in front of Levi and myself. “Our break is almost over, so I’m going to head back up,” Rain said. “Nice meeting you, Delia.”

“Great to meet you too.” Rain made eye contact with Levi and I felt something silently pass between them before she turned and walked away. Her movements and voice were leisurely as if she knew she was worth waiting for. The brothers waved and followed Rain back to the stage area.

I cleared my throat. “Do you have to go too?”

Levi smiled. I loved how his hazel eyes glittered with amusement as he considered me. “I have a minute or two.” He took a sip of water, but kept his eyes locked on my face. Once finished, he set the water bottle behind me on the bar counter. “Did I tell you how glad I am you came?”

“You may have mentioned it.” I was beaming at him like a complete fool. Levi was such a departure from most guys I’ve hung around. He was sweet and open and I loved spending time with him. I admired how genuine he came across. However, I’d learned from experience people could hide their imperfections by presenting themselves in brightly-colored wrapping paper. 

“Can you stay a while?” he asked. “We could hang out after….”

I lifted my eyebrows. “Just hang out?”

Levi let loose a strangled laugh. “Oh… the stuff Rain said, she was talking about Cole and Evan.”

“And not you?” I asked while attempting to keep out any inflection from my voice.

Levi shook his head. “That’s not my thing.”

“Sleeping with girls after your rock show isn’t your thing?” I didn’t conceal the disbelief in my tone. Levi shrugged and looked a little uncomfortable with the topic. Of course, his reaction made me all the more curious. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No girlfriend. And my brothers think I’m lame, but I don’t like hooking up with randoms each night like they do.” He scrubbed his jaw and continued, “I’ve had two serious girlfriends with a few bad dates in between.”

I smirked. “Are you a real boy? Because I don’t think I’ve met any guy like you before. You’re nice, polite, and into committed relationships. There must be some secret flaw you’re hiding.”

“Maybe you’ve just been hanging out with the wrong type of guys.”

“Maybe you have a point.” My words were barely audible over the sound of my hammering heart.

He looked to the stage area where Cole was flagging him down. “I gotta run, but I hope we can talk more after.”

I nodded. “I’ll be here.”

As he returned on stage, I realized there was nowhere else I’d rather be than listening to Levi play. I liked him. I wanted nothing more than for him to turn out to be the legitimately nice guy he’d portrayed since we met. But I knew my instincts when it came to men were horrendous. Even when the red flags were waved right in front of my face, I still seemed intent on focusing on the good. I didn’t want to trust another man who would let me down.

“You met a guy? Thank god Wyatt Johnston did not ruin you against men forever,” Casey said in a breathless voice. She leaned forward and waited for my reply.

She was planted on the sofa next to Autumn. They had arrived twenty minutes earlier to watch Baltimore play Cleveland on the big screen TV. Because I still hadn’t made time to go grocery shopping, Autumn and Casey had brought over pizza and wings.

“I’m not dating Levi. I only went to see his band play. We hung out after, but nothing happened,” I said with a shrug.

I’d wondered if something would happen between Levi and me. Despite my inner musings on how I should steer clear of relationships and dating, I doubted I could have stuck to my convictions if Levi had made a move after his show. But he hadn’t.

We had hung out with his brothers and Rain at the bar for an hour after Trojan Jedi finished playing. Before he had to pack up the band equipment, he walked me to my car. When he reached for me, I’d instinctually closed my eyes. But instead Levi had given me a brief hug complete with a quick tap against my back and a promise to call me soon. I slinked away—embarrassed over how I misread his signals.

“He’s in a band? Musicians are so hot,” Casey sighed.

“Casey thinks every guy is hot,” Autumn mock-whispered.

“I do not. I have very discriminating taste when it comes to men,” she replied.

“Casey, you hit on our TA last week. Our married TA—”

“How did I know he was married?” Casey cut in.

“He had a ring.”

“A
tattooed
wedding band. I mean, really, who does that? I’m relieved he turned me down in that case,” Casey countered. She wiggled in her seat and gave me a small smile. “Enough about me. Tell us more about Levi.”

“Not much to tell yet. He’s really nice,” I said.

Autumn giggled. “Oh no. You said the word
nice
to describe him. Casey is going to accuse you of thinking he’s boring.”