Page 32 of Verses

What a feeling.

I wasn’t surprised when Crazy Stu started clapping feverishly. “Bravo! Encore! Encore!”

Kyle said in the mike beside him, “Ain’t gonna be no encore, Stu.”

Even Marv had been clapping, but when he started speaking, he was back to sounding crabby. “And no more drinks either, you deadbeat. Bar’s closed!”

“But it’s not—”

“I don’t give a shit what time it is. I have to be back here at nine, so hit the road. Saddles and Spurs is open till two. They’d love to see you there.”

That was the bar next door, and they’d had a playful rivalry with Marv for years—because they played a lot of country music and, therefore, had bigger crowds in conservative Charlotte, but The Apothecary catered to younger people who liked different tunes.

Of course, Stu would hate it.

Stu said, “They play shitty music.”

“If you notice the music, you need to drink more. Come back at eleven. I’ll be open then.”

Stu grumbled something characteristically unintelligible, but, when he reached the door, he shouted, “That’s one of the best shows you guys have ever put on. I can’t wait for more.”

“Thanks!”

After the door closed, Pedro said, “Holy shit, guys. I didn’t have the heart to tell him this was just a practice.”

But we all knew…we had something magical happening now. I for one didn’t want to let that feeling go.

While the guys started putting away their instruments, Marv shut off most of the lights. “Lock up before you leave, Miles.”

Pedro said, “Miles?What the fuck does that mean?”

“That’s my name,” Wolf said. “Myrealname.”

Oh.I loved finding out a secret about this guy. I’d never known anyone namedMilesbefore. Not personally anyway.

Pedro kept at it. “So why are you calledWolf?”

“That’s an old nickname from my biker days. It just stuck.”

“Itisbadass.”

Slamming his guitar case shut, Kyle said, “I’m goin’ to a party in Silver City. Who wants to come with?”

“I’ll pass,” I said—and, after the way things had been between the two of us, I wasn’t even going to ask for a ride home. I’d brought a jacket this time, so I’d be fine.

But I understood why Kyle wanted to celebrate—we’d had a huge breakthrough moment tonight.

“We’ve got work, dude. Otherwise, we’d be all in, huh, Ade?”

I had my doubts. Adrian hadn’t been much of a partier, even when we had Charlotte’s biggest party animal as our frontman and leader. While he’d gone to plenty of parties, more than once, he’d wound up serving as our designated driver.

Still, he nodded.

And all three guys were out the door before I could say anything, Pedro’s mouth going ninety miles a minute.

Wolf asked, “You have your car here, Hayley?”

“No. I came with Kyle.” And, besides, my car hadn’t worked in a while.

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