Page 30 of Fractured Rhythm

Jax grinned. I waited for the bastard to call me out, but he didn’t.

“Tell Josh to relax. We’re working on new material and he’ll get it soon,” Jax said.

“How’s that going, anyway?” Cassie asked, her eyes darting to mine before she focused on her drink on the table.

She ran her finger along the fragile edge of her martini glass, and my body tightened, remembering the touch of her fingers on my skin. It took everything in me not to reach for her across the table.

Baby steps.

“Not bad. Different, but it’s going. We have a few songs ready to try out in the studio. You should come by when we’re recording,” I said.

“Umm. Yeah, maybe. It might be weird seeing someone else behind the drum kit,” she said, her words fading to a whisper, and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching for her hand and linking my fingers with hers.

“Fuck. I’m sorry, Cas,” I said, and her fingers tightened around mine before she looked up, the pain clear in her eyes.

“It’ll never be the same, but I think Jamie would be proud of the new music,” Jax said.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll come down sometime. How long are you all in the city for?” she asked, pulling her hand free from mine.

I didn’t miss her soft sigh, and it took everything in me to not reach for her again.

“At least until we have half of the songs and auditioned a few drummers. We have to find the perfect fit, even if it’s using a session drummer to record the album and finding another drummer once we’re ready to tour again,” Tristan said.

“That means we’ll have plenty of time to go out dancing with you, Cassiopeia,” Jax said, trying to lighten the mood.

I’d forgotten about Jax’s nickname for Cassie. The guy was out there, but he was the perfect frontman, so we tended to overlook his insanity.

Cassie laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“We need more drinks,” Jax yelled out, and a waitress popped up to take our order. “And then more dancing,” Jax continued after the woman left. “Wolfie still hasn’t shaken his ass tonight. Not that I blame him. The man has no rhythm out there. It’s a crying shame.”

I shook my head. “You’re so full of shit. I’m an excellent dancer and have great rhythm, right, Cas?”

She’d just taken a sip of her drink and sputtered at my claim.

“You okay?” I asked, not sure what had possessed me to address her with my comment, but she’d always said I was an excellent dancer. And fuck, we had our rhythm down perfectly. Not that we’d ever discuss that in front of the guys.

“Yeah, Cas?” Jax repeated sarcastically, and I glared at him. He only shrugged his shoulders and gave me a wink.

Bastard.

“Umm. He’s an okay dancer from what I remember. It’s been so long, though,” she said.

“We should fix that. Dance with me?” I asked, holding out my hand, willing her to put me out of my misery and agree.

“Umm,” she said, her gaze darting between me and Jax.

“We’ll all go,” Jax said, standing up. “Hey, Hols, want to get back out there? Cassiopeia needs to shake her ass.”

Cassie’s shoulders shook as she laughed at Jax’s outburst.

“You’re such a dick,” I said.

“I believe the words you are looking for are comedic relief,” he replied, sounding like a stern schoolteacher.

“It’ll be a relief when we’re dancing and we can’t hear you over the loud music,” I shot back.

Jax clutched his chest. “You wound me, man.”

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