Page 93 of Fractured Rhythm

Chapter 21

Jamie:How do you know when a drum solo is really bad?

Cassie:Again, you’re the drummer, remember?

Jamie:The bass player notices. Ha. See, that’s a joke on Tris.

Cassie:So mean. How was the show in San Diego?

Jamie:Epic as always. Miss you, Cas.

Cassie:Miss you, too.

CASSIE

I had noidea what had gotten into me. Maybe it was the tight pants that molded to every inch of his legs. Or his shirt sliced halfway down the middle, giving me glimpses of his perfectly muscled chest.

Jesus. I was too young for hot flashes, but they barreled through me as the guys started playing. “Monsters” was up first, as usual, and Bash looked hot as fuck. His body bent over his guitar as he played the solo I remembered him working on relentlessly when we were younger.

I could see part of the crowd from where I stood. The place was packed, fans jumping and screaming along with Jax. He ate it up. They all did. Charlie’s hair was flying as she rocked out along with the rest of the guys.

“How’s everyone doing tonight?” Jax yelled out to the crowd after Charlie played the last beat of their second song of the night.

The audience shouted back and Jax grinned.

“It’s great that you all came out on a work night. Try not to have too much fun. We can’t have everyone calling out sick tomorrow,” he said.

The tour had only been announced two weeks ago, and every venue on the list was sold out. Steelwolf hadn’t played in two years and fans were antsy to see what the band would look like—what they would sound like—after Jamie’s death. From the reviews and posts on social media after Friday’s show at Connors, they’d taken to Charlie and the new music.

“We’re working hard on new music—well, Wolfie is since he finally has his muse back,” Jax said before he turned and spotted me. Then he blew me a kiss and laughed when Bash called him a dick.

“What do you think? Want to hear something new?” Jax asked.

As the fans shouted back their encouragement, the band launched into “Far Away.” A part of me loved that the song highlighted Charlie. She was proving her skills—her worth—to the fans. She could hold her own with the guys, and I loved Bash for wanting that to be obvious. This song showed how much they had accepted Charlie as one of their own.

My chest tightened as it always did when I thought about Jamie. I was tired of thinking about how much he should be on that stage. I thought about his song. He’d been fighting to breathe, and I’d missed it. I’d pulled away because it hurt to be around Bash, and the family that didn’t feel like mine anymore. I’d missed what was going on. Berating myself wouldn’t bring him back. No matter how much I wanted that.

“I love you, Cas.” Bash’s words came out of nowhere, pulling me back from my spiral as he pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

He was gone in an instant, back in front of his mic so he could sing background vocals on the next song, an old song from their third album. An album he’d written after we’d ended. I’d always wondered if he was thinking about me when he wrote them. At the time it’d seemed egotistical to think he was writing about me, but when he’d fessed up to that the other day, it made me want to listen to every song he’d ever written again.

I stared at him, willing him to glance at me again. When he did, I mouthed I love you right back. Because I did. No matter what happened, one thing would be true for the rest of my life: I loved that man with every part of me, even the parts I’d tried for so long to ignore.

The rest of the concert went by in a blur. I sang along with Jax and the fans, and maybe shook my ass a time or two when they played a few of their more upbeat songs. I also collected more than a handful of kisses from Bash throughout the night. He left me breathless and turned on, and I couldn’t wait to go back to our room. I was not looking forward to the meet and greet Josh had set up for after the show.

“Still want to find that amp?” Bash asked as he cupped my head and sealed his mouth to mine. I moaned against him, my tongue darting into his mouth to tangle with his, as he walked me backward.

“Come on, man, we have at least one encore to do,” Jax whined.

“Be right there,” Bash yelled over his shoulder before he kissed me again, a bruising, hard kiss that told me all I needed to know about how fired up he was right now.

The feeling was more than mutual.

“Go. Finish. I’ll be here when you’re done,” I said, breathless when he kissed me one last time before he ran back out on stage.

They played two encores before finally wishing the crowd a good night, and then I was in Bash’s arms again. I couldn’t resist jumping up to wrap my legs around his hips, to press his sweat-soaked body against mine. Fuck. I needed him. Lust and desire had been rocketing through me all night, and now he was mine—well, at least until the meet and greet started up.

“Thirty minutes to clean up, and then you have adoring fans to meet.” Josh’s voice barely registered as I continued to kiss Bash.

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