Page 5 of Cadence

“Crap. Sorry, man. Didn't realise. I'll back off and she probably wasn't looking at me like that...” I hold my hands up in apology; telling one of Blue Phoenix I'm intending to hit on his girl is not a great start to the tour. Bryn’s an easy-going guy, but his tense demeanour suggests there's another side close to the surface. A side I haven’t seen and don't want to meet.

“Yeah, I suggest you keep your hands off,” he says, voice low and loaded with warning.

“I didn't realise,” I repeat. “I'm sorry, honest.” Perspiration builds across my back as I wait for his response.

Bryn glances along the hallway. “Where did she go?”

“In there.” I indicate the door.

“Right.” Bryn strides away but passes the room the girl went into.

I continue to the elevator in a daze; the journey from my room to the bar took a very different turn to the one I expected when I walked into the hallway five minutes ago.

If the girl is with Bryn, she's bad news because I didn’t imagine her reaction to me. I may not have the same experience with women as the Blue Phoenix guys; but I know enough and that was an unmistakable and barely hidden connection. Bryn's wrong. She’s beautiful but in a larger than life, confident way that's sexy as hell in a girl. I’d lay bets she knows what she wants and how to get it. Until the conversation with Bryn, I'd swear that was me.

2

TEGAN

I flop onto the huge sofa in the room Bryn organised, sinking into the mound of cushions. Five minutes later, I hop back up and wander to the panoramic window. Dusk covers the Lisbon skyline in a fading orange glow, and I stare across the city, disconnected from the outside world in the air-conditioned room.

Bored.

My brief encounter with Jax lingers, or the image of his blue eyes and sensual mouth do. And if I start thinking about what lies beneath his shirt…

Rock stars.

My whole teen life, I’ve known them via my brother. Blue Phoenix? Never interested me. Too close to home. I know some girls go for the whole ‘brother’s best friend’ thing, but grungy, longhaired guys? Not for me. When Dylan cut his hair last year, I saw the attraction, but he’s not my kind of guy. Too old, for starters.

My certainty that girls fall over their feet for guys like Dylan and Jax purely because they’re famous leaves me. Jax Lewis isn’t hot because he’s the latest darling of the music industry. Jax Lewis is searing hot, period.

And I’m guaranteed to burn myself.

I grab the remote control and click on the expensive TV, the screen double the size of the one at home. Squinting at the bright cartoons jumping across the TV, I change my mind. I drop the remote back on the low, glass table and investigate the bathroom. Marble. White. Shiny.

Jacuzzi. Nice.

In my bare feet, I climb into the oval bath and sit on the edge, and study the array of tiny plastic bottles on the shelves. Hesitantly sniffing one, I pull a face at the overpowering rose scent and carefully place the bottle back in place.

Nine p.m. This isn't my usual time for ending an evening, normally it’s the start. I didn't come on tour to sit in a hotel room watching TV. The tour moves on in a couple of days - one performance tomorrow and Portugal is done - so I have places to explore, bars to try.

I've researched the scheduled stops, and chosen places to visit in each city. I have in mind where I'm going tonight; if I'm with Blue Phoenix, I can try the kind of club I don’t have a cat in hell’s chance of entering in my ordinary life.

Climbing out of the Jacuzzi, I drag my t-shirt over my head and turn on the shower.

Post-shower, I dress in the one ‘evening’ outfit I shoved into my rucksack when I left England. One of the staple items in my limited travel wardrobe is a black dress. One that doesn't crease easily and can be rolled up small and tucked away. Small, tight and clingy but one I team up dress with a short jacket and understated make-up.

Ready to go, I shove my phone and wallet into a pocket and head out to find Bryn. Following a couple of minutes banging on his suite door with no answer, I send a text, asking where he is. When there’s no response, I head downstairs.

I'll go out on my own instead.

I wander through the ground floor, past the quiet cafe to scout out the bar in case Bryn’s there. A group of guys hang around, ordering drinks. Others sit at the wooden tables tucked in the shadows of the blue-carpeted area, beneath the dark grey walls covered in fine art prints. The long hair, scruffy clothes, and loud English voices immediately identify these guys - and the odd girl - as part of the tour entourage.

A quick sweep of the room and I spot plenty of empty glasses and bottles but no Bryn. No Blue Phoenix either. Two guys with short, spiked black hair occupy a table opposite me. They could be the Ruby Riot twins; I’m not a hundred percent sure.

“You never told me your name before.” Jax appears next to me, with a cleaner look than before - stylishly distressed denim and a woven dark blue shirt over his jeans. The rolled up sleeves reveal muscled forearms, and thick leather bracelets wrapped around his wrists.Again, with the lurching heart pulled toward his blue-eyed scrutiny.

“Tegan.”

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