Mario, the lead guitarist, struck a chord that reverberated through the cheering crowd. I peered up front, but the drummer didn’t look familiar, just some older guy with faded tattoos the studio had obviously picked.
“Let’s check it out from here first,” I answered, not quite ready.
And then, the best fucking thing I could have imagined happened. June joined Mario at the microphone, they announced that they were playing off their new album, and Twice Shattered launched into the most awful, watered-down, spineless song I had ever heard them play.
My mouth fell open. The music was obviously meant to have enough of a pop vibe to get it on the radio, but it just sounded like weak metal clashing with bad pop punk. Mario and June screamed lyrics I couldn’t understand while the drummer hit out a steady, boring beat and the audience moshed around in front.
I rose up a little on the back of the seat and peered into the audience. The crowd had shifted, I realized, and the weathered old scenesters had been largely replaced by people who looked more like rich college students.
“What’s up?” Audrey asked, raising an eyebrow to me.
I slumped back into the seat, but before I could explain, I just started laughing. A tension I hadn’t even realized I was carrying snapped, and relief washed over me. Twice Shattered wasn’t the same band anymore. Just like I feared, they’d sold out to the studio and changed their whole sound.
And the drummer was the worst fucking part. No style, no flare, no improvisation. Just a boring beat some suit in an office had decided on.
I turned to Shawn, grabbed the back of his head, and pulled him into a kiss. I tugged his soft lip between my teeth, then pressed my forehead to his.
“Whoa,” he laughed when I finally pulled back. “I guess you like hearing the old band?”
“Hell no,” I laughed, so happy I couldn’t believe it. “They suck.”
“Oh wow.” Shawn let out a shaky breath. “I thought I just hated them.”
“Yeah, me too,” Audrey laughed. “I don’t know anything about this kind of music, though.”
I tapped my ear. “You know enough.”
Suddenly, none of my old worries seemed to matter anymore. I knew I had made the right choice in leaving. I might still have needed to figure out my future, but hearing Twice Shattered play the kind of music I despised, it felt possible to finally leave the past behind.
Fuck, did it feel good. Pride surged through me that I had pulled off a nice weekend away from Kentucky with Shawn. For once in my life, everything seemed like it was actually moving in the right direction.
I threw back the rest of my beer, then nodded up to the stage. “Come on.”
“Up front?” Shawn asked. “But you just said you hated them.”
“I do,” I said. “But I still want to see how cute you look dancing at a metal show. You up for it, Audrey?”
Audrey grinned and threw back the rest of her beer. “Hell yeah.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Shawn
If Cass was tryingto make me crushed out on him all over again, he was doing a damn good job.
Jumping around in the pit together, he kept grabbing my hands and swinging my arms and bumping his hip against mine as he thrashed back and forth. His hair flew from side to side, and his muscles popped as he pumped his fist. Beside us, Audrey laughed and danced along. She jerked her elbows and swung her dress, kicking her feet to the music.
Sure, I could tell the song actually sucked. After spending a couple months listening to Cass’s favorite bands, it wasn’t hard to discern the difference. But it was still just as much fun to dance to it with those two, and a thrill shot across my skin every time Cass touched me in front of the crowd.
Dripping sweat, I bounced around next to him, then threw my arms around his shoulders as I caught my breath. On the trip to Atlanta, he’d been acting even more affectionate with me than he did in Kentucky, which was a pleasant surprise. And the way other people looked at Cass in that bar, sizing him up when they walked by, I felt safe knowing I was with him. Women and men both checked Cass out, but his eyes were always on me, drinking me in while I danced.
I never felt like I fit in most places, and I knew I was still out of my comfort zone at the Twice Shattered show. But with Cass vouching for me, it was like I’d been given some sort of pass.
It felt embarrassing to admit, kind of childish, but I felt cool. It wasn’t something I was used to, but I tried to hold on to the feeling anyway, my confidence rising as the heavy drumbeats shook me to the core.
Everyone should get to feel cool sometimes, I figured.
Cass pushed his sweaty hair out of his face as the song ended with a cymbal clash. “How you both doing?” he asked in the silence.
