Page 116 of Drowning in Darkness

There are two bartenders. A stunning woman with cascading blonde curls down to the base of her spine, huge baby-blue eyes, and a killer smile, which she gifts James as soon as she spots him. He’s effortlessly sexy tonight, having thrown on a leather jacket over his T-shirt and a little cologne that filled the truck and made my mouth water.

The other is an older guy with gray hair at his temples and muscles for days. He clearly looks after himself. I don’t get any creepy vibes as he comes closer.

“What can I get you?” he asks. There’s a gravelly quality in his voice that makes my stomach flip, but nothing like it does for James.

“I’d love the hot wings, please,” I say.

“How many chilli peppers you after, darlin’?”

“What’s the scoring system?”

He points to a laminated pink sign on the wall, showing one to five chillis.

“How hot are we talking?”

“Most settle at a three, so long as you enjoy the heat.”

I bite my lip. I love spicy food. It’s something that made me feel when I’d stopped processing everything.

“I can do a taster platter,” he offers.

“What does that involve?”

“You get three heats.”

“Ooh, okay. Start at three and work us up to five.”

“You sure?” he checks.

I shrug. “You only live once.”

“So they say. What about your fella?”

“Same,” James grumbles. He doesn’t correct him on the assumption that we’re a couple. It doesn’t stop the blonde from eye-fucking him.

“What do you folks want to drink?”

“Two cokes,” James answers. I was eyeballing the cocktail menu, but I don’t want to push my luck and ruin a perfectly good evening. There’s no way of knowing how long I’m going to have to keep out of the wide world, and that means preserving the freedoms I do have.

James pays the guy with cash before guiding me to a standing table with two drinks in his hands. The band appears a few minutes later, made up of three dudes somewhere in their twenties.

Live music is one of the things I’ve missed the most. I was always a concertgoer. The genre didn’t matter; it was always about the energy in the room. People from all walks of life coming together as a community to enjoy one of humankind’s best inventions. It’s something that is constantly evolving, but the history is there for all to look back on.

I composed on and off for years. Mastering the piano was just the beginning. I can play the guitar to a reasonable standard, the flute if pushed. Violin is my second favorite instrument, though. It’s underrated in my opinion.

My hips sway along to the background music from the jukebox as I wait for the band to get ready. The whole time, James watches me like I’m about to disappear at any moment.

I sweep my eyes over him and give him a smile. “See? No drama,” I point out. “You’re worrying about nothing.”

He huffs just as the blonde appears with a tray containing two large baskets of wings. “Can I get you anything else?” she drawls, placing them on the table. Her eyes are all for James, but he’s so focused on me, her attention doesn’t even register.

I’ve drained my soda already. “Yep, can I get a beer?” I ask.

She bobs her head, still not looking at me. Rude. “Interesting nail polish,” she says, her fingers drifting over the back of his hand.

I press my lips together. “I lost a bet,” James explains. The heated memory makes my stomach flip.

“I see. You’re looking for a little fun.” Fun and James don’t feature in the same sentence. “What can I get you?” she asks, grazing her hand up his bicep. He scowls at it before levelling her with a glare.