Authors: Nicole Dykes
“Hey,
I know.” Alex interrupts again. “Why don’t you guys join us at our table?
We’ve got plenty of room, and then Trevor and the band will be going on. You
can party with us.” I think she sounds like she’s up to something, but I’m
taking the invite just to spend time with Brooke.
“Sounds
good to me. Jackson?”
He
looks at me before answering. I’m warning him with my stare not to be an
asshole, which he ignores. “Dylan, when I told you to find us some girls, this
isn’t quite what I meant.”
“I
found the girl I want to spend time with. You’re on your own if you don’t want
to join us. And if you do join us, don’t be an ass.” I warn.
“Man,
are you sure this is a good idea? This is going to be all kinds of awkward.”
“Yes,
I’m sure.” I know he’s been warning me off this attraction I have for her, but
right now, with Brooke being so….relaxed…. I just wish he would stop and let me
enjoy this small amount of time with her.
“Okay,”
he grumbles. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you when this blows the hell up in your
face.”
I
turn back to Brooke. My arm is miraculously still wrapped around her waist. I
lean in and ask her, “What are you guys drinking for shots?”
She
leans into my side, and I happily accept her slight weight. “Always shots of
tequila right before show time,” She announces proudly.
“Well,
we don’t want to fuck up a ritual. I’ll send Jackson to get the guys and
shots. How many in your group?” I'm the good guy here, and I hope her
roommate appreciates this. Which she apparently does.
“Oh,
goody, but you don’t have to get them. We have a waitress assigned to our
table. Jax, be a sweetheart and round up the rest of your guys. We’ve got
plenty of room, and you can meet the band before they go on.”
Jackson,
who doesn’t usually take orders from any female, except Cassie, looks all kinds
of thrilled. I have to wonder if it’s from the pixie now hanging off his arm
or the fact he gets to meet the band. I would bet my Camaro that it’s the
pixie.
“Sure
thing, darlin’, we’ll be right over.”
He
looks at me like I’m supposed to follow him, but I’m not letting go of Brooke,
probably not even when we make it to the table. I follow Alex back through the
crowd. My arm isn’t around Brooke anymore because she’s reached out and
grabbed my hand. When we reach the table, I steer her to the other side and
away from the tall guy who watches me suspiciously. She said she wasn’t with
him, so I don’t give a fuck how suspicious he is. When I sit, I slide my chair
as close to Brooke’s as I can get so that we can talk, of course.
Tall
guy gestures at me. “Brooke, you gonna make introductions, or do you and Alex
just bring over random fans nowadays?”Ahh, finally introductions.
“Of
course. Trevor, this is Dylan Monroe, a friend of mine I know from work.
Dylan, this is Trevor. He’s Alex’s brother and the lead singer of Days of
Chaos, or the DOC, as the groupies like to call them. And that’s Camden. He
plays drums, and he’s seriously got beats in those sticks. Roscoe the bassist
and Caleb, who plays keyboards, are partying in the back, but they’ll be out
her for shots right before they go on.”
I
can tell she’s proud of them by the way she introduces them. It also doesn’t
go unnoticed by me that she introduced me as a friend and not a client. And
I’m extremely relieved that she’s not with
Trevor
. As soon as she said
he’s Alex’s brother I didn’t want to punch him anymore until he opens his mouth
again.
“Do
I get my good luck kiss after shots, Brooke baby?” Now I want to knock his ass
out. I can’t keep track of the extremes I experience when it comes to her.
Luckily,
she saves his ass. “Yeah right, I have never kissed you before a show.” She
laughs and waves him off before turning to me. “So, is Luke home with the
kids?”
“Oh
yeah,
and he was thrilled about it,” I say sarcastically.
She
gives me her perfect smile, “Yeah, I bet he was.”
We
both laugh, and Jackson comes to the table followed by the guys. This male
bonding is going for shit, mainly because my focus has been on Brooke all
night. The way she wraps me up is as confusing as it is thrilling. I don’t
know how to put a label on what I feel around her. My head is all over the place,
and nothing is making sense. I know none of this is going to change until I
fuck her. That’s the only way my life is going to go back to normal.
So
I must seduce her, slowly, so she doesn’t know. The problem with this, I’ve
never had to seduce a single woman in my life.
I’ve been fucking spoiled
until Brooke.
That’s why I want her so fucking bad, because what is every
spoiled child’s MO, “throw a damn fit until you get what you want.” I don’t
plan on a fit; I don’t think anyway, but some good ole sweet seduction, kind of
like buttering up your parents, is not out of the question.
This could be
fun. Frustrating as hell, but fun.
Jax
grabs the seat next to Alex and slides his arm around her. “Okay, sexy girl,
where are those shots?” He doesn’t know yet that he’s sitting next to her
brother. I’m not saying a damn thing after the way he’s been acting toward
Brooke either. So let Trevor say whatever the hell he wants. Now, if fists
fly, as much as I hate the thought of getting into trouble, I won’t let anyone
hit my best friend. We’ve always had each other’s backs in sticky situations.
That’s why more than a dozen bars in Oklahoma City have our name on a special
list, one that bars our entry.
“You
want to take your hands off my sister?” Trevor asks, surprisingly politely. I
think he’s had to do this before.
I
lean my shoulder into Brooke’s. “You don’t think he’ll get violent do ya?”
“Nah,
he’s never messed with any of her dates. He just comes off acting like an
overprotective big brother. I think it’s his job. You know, I happen to be
very well acquainted with another big brother whose overprotective, much more
so than Trevor.”
“Touché.”
We both laugh and I notice Jackson has removed his arm, but still stayed close
to Alex.
“So,
how did things go with Cassie? I wanted to call and find out, but I didn’t
know if you would….you know….want me butting in, I guess?” She’s back to
uncertain.
“Brooke,
why in the hell would you think that? You can call and ask about the kids
anytime. And I’m sure Cassie has wanted to talk to you. I told you,
they….we….all miss you hanging with us.” I pick up her hand and take it
underneath the table resting them on the soft skin of her thigh. I
congratulate myself on this move. I feel her legs clench together. But she
doesn’t try to break the connection.
I
guess we’ve all but tuned out the scene around us because we didn’t notice two
waitresses waiting to pass around shots and beer to everyone at our table. If
I weren't trying to stay sober so I can remember every moment of this night, I
would be grateful that these people can party.
Trevor
stands. “Okay, Days of Chaos, this is to my smooth voice, Camden’s beats,
Roscoe’s rhythm, and Caleb’s ivory tickling, let’s make this gig our bitch.
When I take look around the table, I notice that there are two more guys. I
just don’t know when they joined us because I was lost in being this close to
Brooke. “Now, two shots for everyone.” The waitresses start passing out
drinks, two shots, and a beer for each person. Brooke tries to decline after
staring at me sideways. Trevor notices it first. “You’re drinking, Porter, so
lift your fucking glass.”
“Yeah,
social worker, what are you, 90? You need to be sociable and drink those
shots.” Jax calls out.
I
lean in and whisper, “You don’t have to listen to these assholes.”
Alex
joins in this awkward teenage peer pressure moment among 20-plus-year-olds.
“Take the shot, Brooke.”
“No,
really
.
I can’t do shots of tequila; I’ll just drink…..”
“Oh,
fuckin, please. I’ve seen you down three shots before….”
“Okay,
Alex, fine. Shots it is.”
At
the other end of the table Roscoe is the first to raise his glass, “DOC, he
yells.” Everyone follows suit and slams back the first shot.
I’m
thinking this round is getting chased by the beer, but everyone just grabs the
second shot and slams it as well. Before I reach mine, Brooke’s already
grabbed it and downed it as well. In case you’re not keeping count, that’s
three fucking shots of tequila for one tiny uptight social worker.
I am all
kinds of fuckin impressed.
Even Jackson nods and whoops in approval. I
must say; I’m getting more and more turned on.
While
everyone is talking about the upcoming set, the lights flicker twice. The band
stands up and Camden yells out, “Let’s fucking rock this place.”
After
they’re in place and Trevor has the audience in near chaos with introducing
himself and the guys behind him, the music begins. And I’m not lying when I
say they can rock. Their original work is fuckin awesome, but their 80s cover
songs raise the roof every time. I can see them riding this music train to the
top of charts. I find myself wondering about their management.
Brooke
and I had done this song and dance more than once in my kitchen when we cooked,
and it just all falls back into place. She sings a part, I sing a part, and we
sing parts together. While we’re doing our best to harmonize with Journey’s
Anyway
You Want It;
I feel my phone vibrate in my back pocket.
A
look at the screen, and I get a bad feeling. I wonder briefly if this is the
first thing parents think when they get a call from their teenage children at
10:30 at night when they’re supposed to be safely at home.
Date nights must
be for shit.
I answer loudly to be heard over the music and screaming bar
patrons. “What’s wrong?”
“Dylan,
where are you?”
“I’m
at a club listening to a band.”
“Oh?
Are you with Jax?”
“He’s
here. I’m with Brooke right now.”
“Hey,
that’s cool.”
I
have a feeling he’s stalling about something. Looking at Brooke, I mouth, ‘its
Luke’. I get up from the table and head for a door behind the stage so I can
go somewhere to hear better. Brooke follows. “What’s up, Luke? I know you
didn’t call just to shoot the shit.”
I
can feel Brooke’s eyes on mine tuning into the conversation. Luke finally
decides to start talking. “Okay, this is totally not my fault.”
“What’s
not your fault? And you better talk fast.”
“Well,
I guess Cass kind of snuck out tonight.” He rushes out.
“What
the fuck do you mean she snuck out?”
“Okay,
she snuck out, but you can’t blame me. I was here the whole time. I didn’t
tell her to sneak out.”
I
try to stay calm. Obviously, the talk with Cass meant jack shit. “Have you
tried calling her?”
He
hesitates again. “See, I know she snuck out because she just came in the front
door crying, and then just went downstairs and locked herself in her room.”
“You’ve
got to be shitting me, right now. All I asked you to do is watch the kids for
one damn night, and you didn’t even know Cassie left? Luke, how did you not
know she was gone?”
“After
I fed them they all went to their rooms.”
“And,”
I say impatiently. I know he’s leaving something pertinent out of this
conversation.
“And,
well, I kinda had a girl come over since I couldn’t go out, and we hung out in
my room for a little while until she had to go home.”
My
head is going to fucking explode. “Alright. Do you think you can keep an eye
on doorways to keep from losing anyone else? I’m on my way now.”
“Yeah,
see ya.”
After
I hang up, I look at Brooke. “Everything okay?”
I
shake my head no. “Cassie snuck out.”
“Oh,
no. Is she okay? Do you know where she is?”
“She’s
home apparently. Luke said she came through the front door crying and locked
herself in her room. I’m gonna have to go home and see what the hell happened,
out of interest. Because then I’m gonna kill two of my damn siblings.”
“What?
Why two?”
“Because
Cassie was able to sneak out because Luke was holed up in his room with a
girl.” I open the door to return to the table. “I’m gonna tell Jax I've got to
go.”
She
grabs my hand and follows me through the screaming crowd. When I reach Jackson,
I get his attention. “I have to go home. Luke called, and shit’s going down
with Luke and Cassie.”
“Okay,
man. I’ll follow you.” He leans in behind Alex, who’s jumping and screaming
with everyone else. “I need to leave with Dylan. There’s some trouble at his
house.”
Brooke
steps forward. “You two stay. I’m going with Dylan. Enjoy the show.”
Her
words surprise me considering she’s been so distant with the kids lately.
“Are you sure?” I ask.