Page 82 of Ghost Note

An arm was slung around my waist, and I stumbled as Danny caught me and laughed, pulling my body to his. “Back the fuck off, Theo. She’s taken.”

That was news to me, but I tucked my hair behind my ear anyway and tried not to blush any harder.

“Zee,” Danny said, gesturing to the band. “Meet the guys. Theo, you’ve already met. This prick here is Halo.”

“Hey.” Halo chucked his chin at me and smirked before he pulled a toothpick from behind his ear and started chewing on it.

“Then we have Fletch and Archer,” Danny pointed to the two guys behind Theo.

Fletch winked, and Archer raised his hand in a weak wave. I smiled back at them, feeling the intense gaze of each and every band member. Theo looked ready to devour me. Halo looked more interested in his black-painted fingernails. Archer was definitely the quieter one of them all, which I found ironic considering he made the most noise on the drums. I remembered watching him perform on the videos and the way his arms and legs bounced high in the air as he got lost in the beat. Standing before me, he wore long board shorts and a black tank that hung low under his armpits, revealing tattoos that ran up and down his ribs. His hair was mousy and long, and it looked like it hadn’t been washed in a while, too.

Then there was Fletch, with those weird red stripes in his hair.

“You staying for the show, Daisy?” Theo asked

“I… think so.”

“Cool. Well, Archer’s girl is coming along soon, so you’ll have some company.”

Archer had been the one I least expected to have a girlfriend. Not that I thought any of them would, actually. Surprise must have lit up my face, because Theo’s smile grew.

“Don’t worry. Saff is decent. She’s a normal chick. Not like those fake cling-ons that the rest of us seem to attract.”

“Speak for yourself, dick,” Halo said around his toothpick. “I have high standards, and only the finest quality pussy is welcomed around me.”

Danny slapped Halo right across the chest, the sting of it clear in the way Halo hissed and rubbed his chest.

“Yeah, that sex worker you bagged for three weeks was a real quality homemaker, Luce.”

There was that Luce again. “I thought your name was Halo,” I said, turning to him.

Halo rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his jet-black hair, making the beads and cross around his neck shift and peek out from the confines of his dark denim jacket.

Danny leaned in. “We call him Luce after Lucifer.”

“Good to know.” I laughed. Danny did, too.

“Come on. Let’s show you the rest of the backstage area. You ready?” Danny asked, his voice smaller now, just for me.

Was I ready? I had no damn idea, but I nodded anyway and strapped on a smile that wasn’t a hundred percent natural.

“They’re just nerves, Zee,” he whispered, planting a kiss to the side of my head.“Don’t let them control you.”

“I won’t,” I assured him, not wanting to point out that these nerves were in fact for him more than anything else around me.

As Danny and the band guided me to the backstage area of The Pavilion, I couldn’t help but feel a stirring of something that reminded me of a little old friend called hope.

If Archer had a girlfriend, it meant it wasn’t impossible for the others to consider it, too.

Not that I was getting carried away with myself or anything.

No.

Not even a little bit.

Twenty-Seven

After a grand tour from Danny, I discovered that life with the band was hectic. I’d always imagined everything before a show being the epitome of calm to get them in the zone—whatever the zone was—but it was more like the workings of a high school prom.

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