Miss Pen

Chapter Eighteen

That was my cue to leave, but as usual, things didn't work out in my favor.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to impose-"

"I think that's a great idea." Stepping from behind Adrian, Rhode emerged with a wicked smile resting on his lips.

Of course he thought it was a good idea, just like how he thought bringing Serene to my house was one too. Obviously, he wasn't aware that his ideas freaking sucked! In my short time knowing him, I realized that anything involving Rhode Harper was not good a good idea. And what was with him coming out of nowhere to finish peoples' sentences? Creep.

"Uh, don't you two have something important to talk about?"

"No worries, we can save that for another time." Rhode came to stand next to Adrian, locking gazes with him. Looking like a silent conversation between the two men, ended with Adrian turning to smile warmly at me, his hazel eyes soft and pleading.

For some strange reason, I didn't want to upset Adrian. He was one of those people that you couldn't bear to offend or say no to, or else you'd beat yourself up over it later. Being the pushover I was when it recently came to him, I put a smile on my face and accepted his invitation for the night-just for him, though.

Less than a half an hour later, the three of us were seated in a dimly lit, cozy booth of a bar & grill located in the city next to ours. According to the older Harper, Tito's had the best live bands in the area, plus, they made the 'meanest margaritas'. I had yet to be the judge of that.

While we waited for our appetizers and drinks, I couldn't help but become intrigued by the band on stage. It wasn't because they covered Chet Faker's Talk Is Cheap - a favorite of mine - but because watching the lead singer made me momentarily tune out all the crap that had happened lately, even with a piece of it sitting directly in front of me.

Though he sat on a stool, the singer's hands and body moved in sync with the music, accenting the lyrics as they flowed past his lips. His eyes were closed for almost the entirety of the song, and when they opened during the last line, a wave of warmth crept down my body, filling it with the emotions from his midnight depths.

He has a spotlight shining on his face, and there's a crowd of people separating us. There's no way he's looking at me... Right?

As the last note died down, I was released from his gaze, my muscles relaxing and heart rate returning to normal from the trance he had me in.

"That's the end of our set for tonight. Thank you all for listening."

Much like his singing - though, slightly deeper - a rich, gruff voice projected through the microphone. I internally laughed when the front-man briefly waved to the mass of people before helping his bandmates haul their equipment off stage. It was only coincidental that he locked gazes with me from across the room, but in the few seconds of us holding contact, it felt as if we were the only two in the building.

"-Aubrey?"

"Hmm?" My attention turned back to the two brothers; one with a worried look on his face, the other with a knowing expression as he sipped from his straw.

I'd been so out of it, not realizing our beverages had been delivered to the table.

"I said," Adrian dragged out the second word, leaning closer to me. "they were really good, huh?"

"Very."

I nodded, not able to control my eyes as they drifted back over to the small stage. Next to it, the band was surrounded by your typical groupies just waiting to be taken somewhere by one of the members to... well, you get the idea. Attached to the lead, a girl with hideously dyed red hair and jean shorts that looked more like underwear, rubbed up along the side of his body, like a cat that desperately tried to get your attention. The interaction between the two was short-lived, because once again, his dark eyes captured mine, and it didn't seem so coincidental the second time around.