Page 11

Chapter

Nine

HADLEY

Devon: You gonna be there tonight?

Hadley: Yep, I’ll be in the front row, heckling the hot lead guitar player!

“Ohmigosh, isn’t this amazing?” Ashley, who I’m pretty sure is dating the drummer, bounces on her toes to the beat next to me.

“Definitely. They are so good, right?”

Devon’s band is talented, I think. He tells me they are, and I don’t know much about music. I’m a pop princess and I listen to whatever is popular. This probably makes me basic, but I don’t care.

The band is called The Spinning Pinwheels. According to Devon, it’s a metaphor for… something. I kinda zoned out when he was explaining it to me last week.

“This is my favorite song!” She yells over the music, and I don’t know how she can tell this one apart from anything else we’ve heard tonight. The alt rock they play all sounds the same to me.

“Yeah!” I yell back and resist the urge to check my phone. I glance at Devon on stage and smile, but he’s too busy jamming on his guitar to notice. Which is fine. I wouldn’t expect a hockey player to pay attention to me during a game.

This is our third or fourth date? It’s not serious, but it has been nice to get to know someone beyond one night. And Kendall is loving the double-date options. She and JaShawn have gotten out of this one, though.

Come on, Hadley, don’t be negative. You’re having fun.

I sigh at myself. I really should have a better attitude.

It’s a great opportunity for Devon’s band—he mentioned that a million times this week.

So here I stand, close by the stage so he feels supported.

I wish I had some of those noise-canceling headphones my dad’s landscaping crew wears when they mow the lawn.

Not because I don’t like it, but the bass buzzes in my chest and makes my ears ring.

“Your boots are cute!” Ashley says during a quiet moment in the song, and I glance down at my feet. I can’t help comparing my pink Lucchese cowboy boots to her worn black Converse.

When Devon told me his band was playing at a bar called The Saloon, I pictured something with a Western theme. So I wore a cute white dress, denim jacket, and my favorite boots. Oh, and my white cowboy hat. My ensemble would be on point for a Luke Bryan concert.

But The Saloon is more like a speakeasy with a retro Twenties vibe. Which I’d like if I'd worn a slinky cocktail dress. But next to Ashley and everyone else, I stick out like—well, like a Swiftie at a Nirvana concert.

“Thanks. I like your…” I gesture at her fishnet sleeves layered under a black tee. “Outfit.”

Ashley turns back to the music, pumping her fist in the air at a particularly loud drum solo. She’s really into it.

I keep nodding my head and smiling at Devon until his set is over.

He and his band mates file off the raised platform in the corner of the dark bar, and he finally glances my way.

Shaking his brown hair out of his eyes, he crooks his finger at me, and I walk over to join him and his friends. The sudden quiet echoes in my ears.

“Guys!” He tucks me into his side and adjusts my hat to drop a kiss on my cheek. “This is Hadley.” He points clockwise around the circle. “You know Ashley. That’s Dan on the drums”—a lanky guy with a buzz cut waves a drumstick at me— “Caiden on bass, and Bex on keys.”

“Hey,” says Caiden, playing with his backwards baseball cap. I nod hello back.

And Bex just glares. Her hair is neon green and pink, and she’s got a sexy rocker chick vibe.

She has a cute nose ring that winks when the diamond hits the light.

I couldn’t pull off the clunky black boots, ripped tights, and leather mini skirt she’s sporting, but she wears it well.

Based on the way she sneers at me, I’m guessing she and Devon have a past. Or she wants a future and he’s oblivious.

But either way, she must see me as competition because she stalks across the circle to stand in front of me and eye me up and down.

She raises a brow, still staring at me, but directs her question to Devon. “ This is the new flavor of the month?”

Clearly, I’ve been found wanting. But I don’t care what she thinks of me, so I smirk. I’m pretty sure I’ve stolen her discarded toy and now she wants it back.

Devon stiffens next to me and tightens his arm around my shoulder. “Bex, be nice!”

She visibly inhales and blows out a breath, taking a step back and staring at her shoes. “She doesn’t seem like your type.”

“What’s Devon’s type?” I tease, poking him and hoping to defuse the tension. It works because he gazes at me and smiles.

I’m a tall girl at five-ten, and the cowgirl boots add a little more height.

But Devon is taller, maybe six-four or six-five, and I like that he still has some inches on me.

I wrap my arm around his waist and give him a squeeze.

He’s lean, not solid and muscled like an athlete.

It’s different than I’m used to, but I can learn to like it, I guess.

“Cute,” Caiden the bass player blurts. “So yeah, you fit his type.”

“Caiden, are you hitting on my date?” Devon asks, laughing, and his friend blushes.

“No, of course not,” he says, stammering.

“What’s your favorite type of music?” Dan asks, twirling a drumstick. Ashley gazes up at him like he’s an ice cream sundae topped with whipped cream and a cherry.

I wince. “Um, this kind?

Bex snorts. “Let me guess. You think Taylor Swift is a goddess and Harry Styles is an ‘icon.’” She puts sarcastic quote fingers around the word.

I’ve been patient with her attitude until now, but no one insults my girl Taylor and gets away with it.

I’m done. Shrugging off Devon’s protective arm, I move towards her until I’m in her face.

Despite her boots, I tower over her. I’m close enough to see the smudges in her black eyeliner. Her eyes widen.

“Taylor Swift is a lyrical genius. Yeah, she’s also tall, blonde, and gorgeous, but that shouldn’t negate her talent.” I stare at Bex until she takes two steps back. “I’m not ashamed that I like her music. It’s awesome, and I can understand what she’s saying when she’s singing.”

I spin on my heel and force a smile in Devon’s direction. His mouth gapes open, and he swallows as I march back over to him.

“Sorry, babe, I’m tired. I’m not going to be able to stay for the rest of your set.”

“But you’ll miss all the deep cuts in the second half.” His voice comes out a whine, and it grates on my nerves. “Plus, you rode with me. How will you get home?”

“I’ll call Kendall, no big deal. Good luck.” I give him a kiss on his cheek, his five o’clock shadow like sandpaper under my lips. “Let me know how it goes.”

Stalking off, I don’t look back. I’ve had my fill of musicians for the night. I hide in the restroom and shoot off a text to Kendall.

Hadley: Can you pick me from this concert?

Kendall: Sure, I’ll be right there.

God bless roommates who watch out for each other. I only have to wait a few minutes until she texts me she’s out front. I avoid the stage area as I leave and hop into her blue Mustang.

“You okay, girl?” she asks as I slide into the passenger seat.

She came and got me, no questions asked. I reach over and squeeze her hand as she pulls away from the curb. “Yep. It wasn’t, like, a danger thing. I was just a little over it.”

Kendall sends me a glance out of the corner of her brown eyes. “You sure?”

“Yeah. But can we listen to Taylor Swift?” I pull it up on my phone and at her nod, connect to her car’s Bluetooth. “I need some decent music after that.”

She winces. “That bad?”

“Not my style.”

“The music, or Devon?”

That’s the real question, isn’t it? I swallow as the ramifications hit me. “Unfortunately, I think it’s both.”

“I’m sorry, babe.” She pats my knee. “But better to know now than when you’re in too deep.”

She’s right. I’m not disappointed because I’m attached to Devon; mostly because I’m bummed he didn’t solve my problems like I hoped. There goes our double-dating options and easy hangouts.

“Yeah.” I nod. “And the good news is, there are plenty more guys out there, right?”

“Absolutely.”

Warm brown eyes and curls I want to muss up flash in my mind. Why is the only one I can think of the one I can’t have?