Page 13 of Electric Touch

The sound of the bar fills my ears, the thumping bass and drums from above and the stamp of hundreds of feet. Shit, is it hot in here? A bead of sweat runs down the middle of my back. It takes a lot to drag my eyes from her to look at the tattooed giant.

“Give it to her,” I say.

“Oh, it’s okay,” she says, seeming to get her wits about her again. It happens slowly, but she is becoming more alert, and her eyes have gone wide. “He can give me it later.”

“Nope, a bet is a bet.” I don’t take my eyes off him until he takes out his wallet. I watch him hand the notes over. She flushes again and folds up the money, shoving it into a pocket in her dress.

“Thank you,” she says, looking more embarrassed than ever. She grabs the giant’s hand and pulls him away, and all but runs out of the room. The big asshole is laughing the whole way.

I watch after them like a moron. That was one of the best kisses I’d had in a long time. The bartender whistles and taps my beers with a grin.

“Dude, that was hot.” He holds out a fist.

I bump it, but feel like I’m cheapening what happened. I don’t like the idea of him listening and watching what we did. He is going to say more, but I grab the beers and hurry upstairs, my head reeling.

When I get back, Dylan asks me where the fuck I’ve been. Shit knows how I am supposed to explain what happened. Fortunately, it is way too loud, so I shrug.

It is better I don’t explain. And, weirdly, I find I don’t want to share. I try to put the encounter downstairs out of my head and enjoy the rest of the show.

It doesn’t matter, anyway, she’s gone and the chances of running into her again are slim to none.

So why can’t I stop thinking about her as we walk back to the hotel?

Chapter Five

“You, my friend, are out of your mind. What on earth were you thinking?”

A week after the gig, I sit across from Sasha, my fork pauses halfway to my mouth. I give her an incredulous look. She just told me Apollo filled her in on what happened at the Vista Kicks show. I would have told her myself, but he beat me to it.

“You got a second bite of that cherry. You could have done the one-night stand with someone famous, never mind just kissing him.”

“He only did it because he thought I was going to win money.” I frown. “And also, he was pissed at Apollo. To a stranger, our conversation must have sounded peculiar.”

Sasha waves her hand like that doesn’t matter. “It was fate. How often do you bump into a guy you have already tried to hump?”

I shake my head and shove pasta into my mouth. “I was not trying to hump him. When I came to my senses, I remembered he has a girlfriend.” And that dampened my mood. Any guy who kisses a girl like that, while he is in a relationship, gives me the ick. I feel awful for allowing it. And dreaming about it.

“They broke up.”

“Huh?”

“Nash and Riley. Haven’t you read the news? They split up. Apparently, it happened months ago, but they kept it out of the press. You were good to go and wasted a golden opportunity.”

Well, that is news, and explains the mood he was in at the auditions. Nash and Riley did not look like a happy couple that day. His quip about fucking the blonde and Riley’s lack of reaction shone a different light on everything.

“I still can’t believe Apollo told you,” I grouse. “When did you find the time to get together to conspire against me?”

“We don’t conspire, we strategize. We promised to help and you’re procrastinating.”

“He said that too,” I mumble.

“He showed me the tattoo design. Tia, it’s beautiful. You should get that done. How about we get Apollo to take you in tonight? I’ll come with, hold your hand.”

“It’s movie night with Mama. Plus… I’m still not ready.”

“It’s only a tattoo.”

“A permanent mark on my skin. I don’t see you running off to get graffitied all over.”

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