Page 58 of Secondhand Smoke
“If Barrett could play like that at every practice and show, we’d already have a record deal,” Dennis said, raising a brow at his friend.
Barrett, however, had his back to her, studying the pedal his foot was on. “Let’s work onRaise Your Hands. Toni, start us off.”
Nell waited for him to look at her as the beat started, but it never happened.
* * *
The practice came to an end an hour after she’d arrived. She finally applauded at the end, so she didn’t seem rude for not reacting at all. She had been psyching herself up to leave at any moment throughout the entire practice, only to end up staying through the whole anything anyway. Now, she had a reason to leave.
“I should get going.” She rose from her spot and inched toward the open garage door while they were all distracted with putting their instruments away.
“Whoa, hold on.” Toni stopped her. “You can’t leave yet.”
Nell froze. She had expected them to offer polite goodbyes as she rode off on her bike, not tell her to stay.
“We haven’t even celebrated yet.”
“Celebrate?”
“Every good practice deserves a celebration,” he explained while the others nodded.
She glanced subconsciously at Barrett and nearly jumped when she saw he was watching her—finally. She tried to figure out what he was thinking, but they weren’t close enough to be able to read each other’s expressions. At this point, she doubted they would be.
“You ever hit a blunt at the quarry?”
Nell turned back to Toni. “No.”
“Then we’re about to pop your cherry.” He laughed. “Come celebrate with us.”
“It’s way more fun under the stars. You can see ’em best around there,” Dennis added.
Nell’s brows furrowed. Had she read them wrong? Or was it just Barrett who was uncomfortable with her?
She also didn’t want to mention she had been hitting a blunt under the stars for four nights or so in a row. She’d lost count.
“You should come.”
Nell was surprised to see that Barrett was the one who’d spoken—the only thing he’d said since their brief greetings. And there was that little intruding sense of belonging that she only got around them, the one she wasn’t sure she could trust but so desperately wanted to.
“Okay.” She nodded, eyes on Barrett. “I’ll meet you guys there.”
“Ride with us,” Paulie said, pulling on a light jacket over his thick arms. “We should all go together.”
“It’s a nice night. I’ll walk with her,” Barrett said, his hands stuffed deep into his jean pockets.
“Guess it’s settled.” Toni clapped his hands together. “We’re all walking.”
Five minutes later, Nell found herself walking up the road with all four of them, her bike left in Toni’s garage.
Barrett, by her side, seemed back to normal for the most part. He didn’t avoid her stare anymore, and when she met his eyes, he smiled. But then he would turn away quickly to say something to his friends, and the moment would be lost and she would be left with her own thoughts again.
The quarry wasn’t close—about a half hour when walking—but Barrett had been right about it being a nice night. There weren’t any clouds in the sky, leaving dusk mixing with the starsas they finally reached the short dirt road leading to the drop-off into the deep pit.
She’d never spent much time around that area. She’d always preferred to stay in more crowded areas with tons of noise and energy. Her tastes had flipped, though. Now, she preferred quiet and secluded places without people and their many opinions of her.
“Duncan, how do you feel about getting dirty?” Dennis asked as they reached the edge of the quarry, looking deep down into the calm water below.
As if to demonstrate its depth, Paulie shoved a large rock off the side, and a soft splash sounded at the bottom.
