Page 3 of Verses

It had to be because I was so pissed off at Kyle.

“You’re a good guy. Thank you.”

“I’mnot. And you’re welcome.” As he screwed the lid back on the bottle, he asked, “So what did Kyle say this time that pissed you off so bad?”

Was he so damned perceptive because of his experience as a bartender? Or was he just getting to know me far better than I’d expected?

“What makes you think it was Kyle?”

After placing the bourbon back on the shelf, he turned, a slight smile on his full lips. “You telling me I’m wrong?”

I couldn’t lie to this man, even if I’d wanted to. “No, you’re right.” Butdamn. How had he known? At the tender age of barely twenty-four, was I already that predictable?

“Then I think we need another shot.”

I started laughing but before I could protest, he’d picked up the bottle of the usual whiskey the guys and I drank, the stuff that felt like it was peeling the enamel off my teeth, and he was filling up the shot glasses again.

As he pushed the filled glass my way, what he said next made the hair on my arms stand straight. “He doesn’t treat you the way you deserve to be treated. If you were my girl…” Swallowing the shot, he started to make eye contact with me again. But he didn’t finish his thought. “Drink up.”

But I wouldn’t look in his eyes because…what would I see? Did he feel the same way about me that I was starting to feel about him? After staring at the glass my fingers touched, I picked it up and slammed it like it was medicine and I was on death’s door.

I didn’t want to ponder why he’d said what he said…because I didn’t want to know. Kyle was my boyfriend and, although he was struggling, he needed me.

I’d never cheated on him and I wasn’t about to start.

“Kyle’s just having a hard time right now.”

“Like you’re not?”

“Liam might have been a bandmate and a friend to us all, but he was Kyle’s brother.”

“Damn.” Wolf must not have known. Shaking his head before picking up the rag, he polished the bar again. “Still…you’re not chopped liver. You don’t shit on everyone else just because you’re hurting.”

“Well, unfortunately, they don’t make all guys as good as you, Wolf.” Pushing the little glass toward him, I finally forced myself to look in his eyes instead of avoiding them, only because I was certain he couldn’t tell in the dim bar that my cheeks were turning pink. To throw him off the scent, I asked a question I already knew the answer to, just to change the subject. “Do you know if Adrian and Pedro left already?”

“Yeah. Pedro started putting his bass in its case before you guys were out of earshot. And Adrian left with him.”

“I can’t really blame them. Kyle was being a real dick.”

Wolf raised an eyebrow. “If he’s not careful, one of them’s gonna knock his teeth out.”

“Yeah, well, that’s part of his charm.”

Wolf started laughing as a couple walked into the bar, a draft of cool air following them in, reminding me that autumn was on the way. “If that’s his charm, I’d hate to see his crabby side.”

Lately, it was all crabby—but, as pissed as I was at the guy, I knew he was going through a lot of shit. “I’m cutting him a break. For now.”

His voice lower, Wolf said, “Just make him treat you right, little bird.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

His eyes told me he had more to say, but the couple had already made their way onto two stools, and Wolf was close to being labelled a shitty bartender. Fortunately, he had it under control. “What’ll it be tonight, folks?”

As he started making their drinks, I slid off the stool. Without the other band members, there would be no more practice. “Thanks for the drinks, Wolf. See you tomorrow.”

“You know it, bird. Remember what I said.”

“You got it,” I said, giving him a flippant salute with a couple of fingers to my eyebrow. His eyes had some message in them, but I didn’t know how to break the code. With a soft smile, I turned, walking toward the front door, trying like hell to get Wolf Jackson out of my head.

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