Page 23 of Cadence
Chapter Nine
Maddox
“Tapout,”Eligrunts,clinging to Beau in a headlock, Beau’s arm around his waist, trying to break out of his hold.
The smell of leftover takeout and sweat linger in the studio, the afternoon lull already kicking in as the guys roll about in their mid-practice wrestling match. They pause mid-fight when they see me, a crooked smile playing on Eli’s lips like he’s in on a joke no one else has heard.
Or whatever they say when I’m not around.
I school my face, forcing my expression flat. It’s not lost on me that today’s felt…off. And it’s completely my fault. Especially after my blowup the other day.
Especially with her.
Paige has kept mostly to herself, appearing to gravitate more toward Eli out of everyone in the band. It shouldn’t matter, butsomething about the way her smile lands easier with him, or how she laughs more, claws under my skin.
It’s not like I want her orbiting around me, but watching them together, seeing her drop her guard enough for him? It stirs something inside me that I can’t quite name.
And I hate that I’ve noticed it. I hate even more that I care.
My eyes land on Paige, who’s sprawled on the floor half under the drum kit, one arm wedged awkwardly behind the bass pedal. I take note of the old t-shirt with a rip under the arm, my eyes dragging slowly down to her faded black leggings that cling to her legs, continuing to her sneakers that have seen better days, and I frown.
None of this should be noteworthy. But I can’t stop looking.
Paige Erikson, real and impossible and fucking off-limits.
She’s a bandmate, a complication, a line you don’t cross, no matter how good she looks tangled in a pair of busted-up leggings.
Dark copper hair spills in messy waves over one shoulder as she shifts, cheeks flushed pink from the effort. She lets out a soft, breathy grunt, face scrunching in concentration. Then she bites her lip, reaches deeper, and pulls something small and glinting out from under the drum with a triumphant smile.
“Gotcha, you little sucker.”
Her gaze snaps to mine, eyes widening just a fraction, and the smile falters. The kind of slip you’d miss if you weren’t looking for it.
But I am.
She blinks, brushing hair from her face and pushing to her feet, smoothing her shirt with one hand, whatever she found still clutched tight in the other.
“Problem?” I ask with a raised eyebrow as I head farther into the room.
Paige shakes her head, her lips twitching as I’m about to pass her when she holds up a coin. “Find a penny, pick it up.”
I freeze. Shaking my head, trying to clear the sense of déjà vu, I turn just as she leans over the kit, one foot lifting off the floor, ass high in the air as she grabs her bag and gently slides the coin inside. I should look away, start setting up, tune my guitar, literally do anything else but stare, yet my eyes rake over her again.
Her shirt rides up just enough to flash the black lace of her bra, the dip of her spine, the cluster of freckles at the base…and this time, I do look away.
But it’s too late. My brain’s already latched on, etching the image into some fucked-up corner of my head I never asked to be filled.
Another thing to replay later, to obsess over until I can’t breathe.
A cough cuts through my thoughts, and my head snaps toward it. Eli watches me from across the room, bass now in hand, lips curved in a knowing smirk. His eyebrows lift just enough for me to know he noticed every second I spent staring at Paige.
“Everything alright there, Mad?” he asks, voice light. Too light.
Heat scorches my neck, and I scowl, swallowing roughly and snatching a cable from the floor with more force than I mean to before dropping onto the couch. “Fine.”
“Uh-huh,” Beau says, obviously skeptical, fiddling with an amp and strolling toward me.
A sharp vibration rattles against the table beside me, abruptly pulling me from my embarrassment. I ignore it at first, let it fade into the background, but it doesn’t stop. I’m about to silence it, but the moment I touch it, I realize the device isn’t mine. I stop cold, my blood crystalizing in my veins, turning to ice when I read the screen.
