Page 13 of One Last Memory

This used to be my love, my joy, myeverything. Now it was my job and my livelihood. My creativity took a backseat to profits and I fucking hated it. I nodded toward him, Mason kissing me again, his hips rocking against mine before he let me go.

The flush on my cheeks was impossible to hide as I stepped out onto the stage, throwing my hands up and yelling to the crowd below. Cheers and chaos rang across the floor as I fell into my persona, tapping into the music set I had prepared. They weren’t really watchingmejust melting into the music, into the bass, into the darkness of it all.

And just like that, I was already bored.

Because this wasn’t evenmymusic. It was the stuff I had fallen into as it determined the success of my business. I needed to find a way back to my art, to the creativity I thrived in but somewhere along the way I had traded it.

My attention fell on a petite girl pressed up against the steps to the stage, her bronze skin glowing as the club lights passed over her. Doe eyes stared out into the crowd, holding her drink with a vice grip as if it was the only thing protecting her from the chaos. She didn’t seem like a sex on the beach kind of girl, the way she kept sipping it and then scowling at it.

A strangled laugh fell from my lips as I continued to watch her. Her black dress clung to her curves, the modesty astounding among tourists who usually bared everything for just a little bit of sex. In front of me was a hidden beauty.

I quickly pressed a few more buttons, yelling out to the crowd before hurrying down the few steps to her side. “Not your scene?” That definitely sounded like a line but I wasn’t as good with people as I probably should have been as a DJ.

Her eyes whipped to me, a fight in those gorgeous brown eyes but it didn’t match the shock that froze her in place. “No. Not really. I just… my sister brought me.”

“And where’s she?”

“Over there somewhere?” She pointed to the opposite end of the club near the bar. My curiosity had officially peaked.

“And you’re over here.”

“Yes.” She nodded, took another sip of her drink, and then wrinkled her nose in disgust. Adorable was the only word I had for her.

She wasn’t trying to get away from me, and she wasn’t ogling me either, which meant she had no idea who I was. The pool of people who didn’t care or didn’t know was very small, but I relished in that small group because it was the only time I was able to be me.

My grin widened, and she seemed to relax as her lips turned up in a gentle smile. That one gesture lit up my entire night, and I wasn’t even sure why. I did know, however, that I was going to fucking regret this. “Want to go somewhere?”

Her face paled, and I tried to understand why. Oh,Oh.

“No. Not like that. I meant, up there.” Her eyes followed where I was pointing, up to the stage, and then she just seemed confused. Confusion on her was adorable too and I had to tell myself to calm down before I did something stupid. I pointed to my shirt and then the poster, realization washing over her as she made the connection.

Her fingers gripped her glass harder, but it was almost as if she was unsure of the situation rather than terrified of me.

I quickly tried to set her at ease before I ran out of time and my set was ruined by my disappearance. “You won’t have to do anything, but it’s away from all this. And up there – they can’t see you.” That seemed to interest her and I stuck out my hand, grinning like a fucking child as I led her up the steps. I sat her in the lounge just beside the DJ table, knowing that it wasn’t as loud as down there with the speakers.

Her interest blossomed as her eyes ran over the keys and lights at my fingertips and a sense of excitement rushed through me as I called out to the crowd to hype them up.Fifteen minutes, Angelo. That’s it.

She visibly relaxed beside me, but that tortured expression still lingered. I gestured to the back table, an array of liquor covering the table. Her face lit up, silently asking, and I nodded, watching her pour herself a glass of whiskey while trying to focus on my set. But my heart wasn’t in the music. It was with her.

I desperately hoped she’d still be there when I finished, but I realized that time waited for no man, and as far as short appearances went, I was about to cut my time in half.

BAILEE

Thelastshotofwhiskey burned its way down my throat, leaving a trail of fire that matched the pulse of the club’s neon lights. Tucked away behind the DJ’s set made it easier to stomach the club’s chaos but it was also just a little too much. The bass thumped through the floor, vibrations running up my legs. Should I just leave? Slip out the side door, text my sister, and pretend I’d never thought I could handle a place like this?

The DJ’s attention moved from the crowd down below back over to me, concern running through his expression. For someone who was in charge of the chaos, he seemed way more intent on me. My face warmed beneath his attention as it moved away from the table of lights and buttons that I didn’t understand. He held up his hand, shouting something to the vacationers down below and then turned to someone in the other corner. He made a little circling motion before coming to sit over beside me.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice cutting through the noise.

I mumbled, “Yeah,” but it came out a little too fast, my voice wobbling and my leg bouncing to the beat. He must’ve seen it—the way my shoulders hunched, the way my eyes darted toward the exit—because he scooted back a little, giving me space. It was subtle, but it felt like he got it, like he knew I was one loud noise away from bolting.

“Bella,” he purred, my heart tripping over the nickname. “I didn’t think this would make you that uncomfortable. You said you came with your sister, right?” He leaned forward just enough to catch my gaze, his brows knitting together. “Can I take you somewhere?”

I nodded, my cheeks warming as I tried to focus on his words and not his face. “Maybe just… away from people?” I should have said something about leaving rather than going somewhere else with this man but he seemed like a safer option than wading back through the crowd down there.

He grinned, like I’d just made his night. “Yeah, there’s a lounge in the back. Quiet, no crowd. You’ll be good there.”

I hesitated, my fingers still fidgeting with the shot glass. “I don’t even know your name.”

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