Page 42 of Secondhand Smoke
“Just keep coming to our shows.”
Nell choked down the flighty feeling of her heart fluttering in her throat and smiled. “I wouldn’t be a real fan if I didn’t.”
He grinned down at her, his hand raising to rub the back of his neck.
“What’d you think, Duncan?” Both of them jumped at Toni’s voice, not realizing he was there until he appeared right next to Barrett and slapped his shoulder. “Did we totally kill it, or did wetotallykill it?” Toni leaned against his taller friend and glared down at him.
“Youtotallykilled it.”
“See, I knew it was a great idea to invite her. I think that’s the best we’ve ever played,andwe had our first-ever crowd of screaming fans.” Toni sighed dreamily. “You’re our good luck charm, Duncan.”
Nell’s smile faltered slightly. She knew that was supposed to be a compliment, and while it made her chest clench with a long-forgotten feeling of belonging, it brought on a sense of dread. Her hands pulled together and fidgeted in front of her.
It was a lot of pressure to be a good luck charm, considering how bad her luck seemed to be. She’d hate to be the cause of anything going wrong.
“Stay and have a drink with us.”
Once again, she’d been snuck up on. Dennis and Paulie, who had just spoken, had appeared while she was too caught up in worrying. Now that she was pulled back to the moment, she saw all four of them smiling at her. Barrett, with a slight wrinkle between his eyes, seemed to be the only one to notice she’d been lost in her head for a moment.
She met his gaze, and when she saw the softness in his, she relaxed. “I thought you guys were about to leave.”
“Us? Leave without getting plastered?” Dennis said. “Unheard of.”
“But Scott told those girls . . .”
The other three blinked and simultaneously blanched like she’d just grown three heads. They all exchanged glances.
Barrett shook his head. “I just wanted them to leave. We always stay for a drink after a show. The bartender here is chill. Never checks ID if we tip well.”
“Oh.” Her heart fluttered in her throat again. He’d asked them to leave, those screaming fans, and asked her to stay. The guyswantedher there. “I could use a drink.”
They guided her to another table and took seats. Dennis gathered their drink orders and headed to the bar to get them. The rock sound of Seventh Circle was replaced by more well-known Top 40 hits that played on the radio, coming from a jukebox by the entrance.
“Have you been here before?” Barrett asked and, leaning back in his chair, pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He held it out, Nell, Toni, and Paulie each partaking. Toni produced a lighter and flicked it on so they could all light.
Nell brought it to her lips and inhaled the thick smoke, savoring the familiar tang. She’d managed to salvage enough of the ones ruined the day in the rain, but since she learned that Barrett’s weed was much more useful, she’d somewhat abandoned her cigarettes. This was a nice meeting with an old friend.
“No, never.”
“Doesn’t surprise me,” Toni said. “Not exactly the type of hangout that most of your crowd would’ve gone to, is it?” He exhaled a stream of smoke.
Nell took another hit. The mention of those days was like a punch to the stomach. It was only months ago, and yet it felt like a lifetime. She’d become a completely different person.
“Can you sing?” Paulie asked. “You look like the type who can sing.”
Dennis arrived at that point, juggling several glasses all filled with a golden-amber color. He handed Nell hers first before distributing the rest to the others.
“What does that even mean? Can people look like singers?” Dennis asked, his brow curled in confusion as he caught the tail end of Paulie’s question.
“I don’t know. Some people just have thatlook.” Paulie shrugged.
Nell shook her head. “Unfortunately, I can’t sing. And you wouldn’t want me to either. I’m atrocious.”
“I have a hard time believing that,” Barrett said after taking a sip of his beer. “You seem like you’re good at everything.”
“Well, you shouldn’t believe that because I’m not. You should know that, based on how I play guitar.”
Barrett threw his head back and laughed.
