Page 7 of Aria

Knock it off, heart!

I wasn’t sure why my heart was acting so out of character, but maybe it was because Devon Sawyer was a legend in the making, and I was merely a down-on-my-luck cocktail waitress with a tormented past.

Or maybe it was the look he had given me when I’d traipsed up the stage steps with water bottles in my hands and forced indifference in my eyes. Or maybe it was the look he’d given me when I was re-filling cups of ice water and had accidentally zoned out, pouring a pint of it into a furious customer’s lap. Ormaybeit was the look he’d given me when I was handing out plates of jalapeño poppers to the group of envious fraternity girls who had, in turn, stiffed me.

I took a moment to scold myself for documenting all of Devon’s provocative looks like a meticulously maintained Excel spreadsheet.

My sigh was weary as I strolled out of the parking garage with my two best friends.

It was a short walk over to the upscale lounge. The entry line had to be a few blocks long. We pinned on our badges and marched our way up the sidewalk to the front of the building, where we were greeted by a bouncer who offered us a blank stare.

"Badges," he deadpanned.

We flashed our badges with pride and were swiftly let into the bar, the sounds of booing trailing behind us as we breezed through the entrance.

"Suckers!" Julia shouted back. She inched down the neckline of her very revealing silver blouse. "Now, where are those yummy boys?"

My heart continued to race as I scanned the crowd. The loud music reverberated right through me, my arms linked with Lisa’s and Julia’s, and it wasn't long before we were smashed between dancing bodies and blinded by colorful DJ lights.

Yay. So much fun.

Julia's eyes lit up as she pointed to a staircase leading up to a private room. "Bingo," she grinned.

Before I was hauled away to the elusive staircase, the guitarist of Freeze Frame ambled down the steps, exuding an equal amount of sex appeal and surly nonchalance.

"Holy gorgeous," Julia swooned.

A look of disdain swept across my face, and I puckered my lips. "Don't get all excited.That guy is a dick."

"Uh-huh… sure…" Julia trailed off, pushing through the masses to approach him.

"Julia!" I called out, but was promptly ignored. "Shit."

Julia didn’t hold back in flirting with the cocky guitar player, and I watched as she flipped her hair over one shoulder with a bright grin, leaning into him as far as she could. He seemed to be charmed by her advances, but that was no surprise. Julia was a next-level babe.

They both looked over in my direction, causing me to stiffen in place. The guitarist nodded, his eyes dancing between me and Julia. I maintained my look of disinterest and sipped my cocktail through a tiny straw, unable to hear the conversation over the deafening music.

Julia hadn't been lying when she'd called him gorgeous. Hewasgood-looking, but in a different way from Devon—Devon’s hair was light and shaggy, where the guitarist had dark, sable hair, mussed with gel. He was tall and well-muscled with a distinct edge about him, evident by the stubble across his jawline and a tattoo on his right forearm.

And the asshole persona.

A few more moments passed before Julia began waving me over.Great.I swallowed my drink with a clunky gulp and grabbed Lisa’s hand, pushing our way through dozens of women who had started noticing the musician’s presence.

Julia beamed as we joined them at the base of the private staircase. "Hey, guys!This is Noah Hayes," she introduced, her eyes glowing with enthusiasm."As we all know, he's the guitarist for Freeze Frame.”

Blinking, I slapped on my most noteworthy “unimpressed” face and eyed Noah with guarded apprehension. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of a greeting—much like he had unkindly done to me earlier that evening.

Then I felt Julia's elbow ram into my ribcage. "Ouch!" I hissed.

Noah crossed his arms over his faded green t-shirt, clearing his throat."Right.You were the one who brought us the water," he said, holding up a finger in remembrance. The muscles in his forearms twitched, his eyes glimmering by way of DJ strobe lights.

"You're welcome, by the way,” I quipped.

Noah quirked an eyebrow at my boldness.“Well, you’re not shy.”

“You were disrespectful. I just thought you should know.”

"You walked up there all googly-eyed. What was I supposed to do?"

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