“Absolutely, I love converting boys to the dark side.” She grins, pleased with herself. If only she knew how true that statement is.
“I think three is the limit, baby. Any more than that, and Memphis might start hurting people.” Oz sums up his brother with simplicity.
Waylynn clicks her tongue like she’s about to say she was only joking in the first place, but we’re all watching her, and no one is teasing. Her brows furrow before she shakes her head slightly. She’s probably trying to convince herself she’s thinking too much into his words, but she’s not.
“Any requests?” I question to change the subject. I don’t want her to feel too much pressure.
“I love everything,” she responds quickly, letting me know I made the right move with the topic shift. “What’s your favorite?” Even though I get to pick everything I play, people rarely ask my favorite, since they usually want me to play theirs.
“I’ll play it for you at home. I don’t do it at shows.” She nods her head, just as excited to hear me play privately, which swells my head a little.
“I would love that, thank you.”
“How about ‘Lose Yourself’?” Oz requests.
“I can do that,” I reply. I look over when I hear someone call out to Oz. There’s a group of guys nearing the table, calling for his attention.
“Higgins!” Oz extends his hand in greeting. “I figured you found some other trouble to get into.”
“Nah, we were a little late though. Man, that was dope,” he says, turning his focus on me.
“Thanks.”
“That’s Bates, my brother, Memphis, and this is our girl, Waylynn.” Oz wraps his arm around Waylynn and kisses the side of her head without an ounce of shame after calling herour girl. He’s fucking bold. His buddy doesn’t say anything. He probably doesn’t put any true stock into the words.
“Hey. I’m Kyle.” He points to himself. “This is Norris and Glenn.” He gestures to the others with him. “Ingle and Vin are around here somewhere. Mind if we pull up some chairs?”
“I’m going to hit the bathroom before I get back on.” I start to scoot out of the seat, and Memphis rises to allow me out, but then moves right back so he’s sidled up next to Waylynn.
On my way to the toilet, I pass the same waitress that introduced me, and I stop her. “Could I get a water and a beer on stage please?”
“Sure. I’ll keep ’em coming and close you out at the end of the night.”
“Great, thanks.” I make it to the bathroom and back to the stage with a few minutes to spare, so I pull out a couple of fresh bows. I eat through strings like crazy with some of the quicker stuff.
Memphis
When Bates announceshis last song, I feel bad that it makes me happy, but I’m ready to get the hell out of here. Oz has been busy entertaining his friends and trying to include Waylynn, while her hand has been on my thigh all night, tracing up and down my leg and making me desperate for her.
I’ve been tempted to show her what she’s doing to me more than once, but I don’t want her to think I expect her to do something about it, and knowing her, that is exactly what she would think. Now if she weren’t sore, it would be a different matter. She did seem to like it when I told her I could kiss away all the pain earlier after she bounced in her seat.
I know she’s getting tired because she laid her head on Oswald’s shoulder during the last song. I hope Bates isn’t planning on sticking around for a long time when his set is over. I would feel obligated to stay here with him, even though he has his own car, but at least Oswald would be able to take Waylynn home.
“I love this one.” Her soft voice pulls me from my musings. I wasn’t even really paying much attention to the song. It’s still hard to concentrate on it when she’s looking up at me like she’s begging for me to kiss her, or maybe I just want to kiss her. I lean in slightly, so fucking tempted, but her eyes get a little wide, scared.
I don’t know if it’s because she’s playing Oswald’s girl or if it’s because she’s worried someone might know she’s my student. I fucking hope it’s the latter, because I don’t give a shit about the former.
I pull back though, mindful of her feelings. She squeezes my thigh under the table, and her lips curl into a frown. She looks sad now, like I was the one who rejected her. “It’s okay, sweetness, I’m not mad,” I say low enough to keep the others from hearing, but there’s a guy across from us paying way too much attention, so I stare him down, letting him know I see him watching.
He breaks eye contact before I do, looking down at his foot like something stole his attention. Fucking right. He should mind his own business.
“Thanks again. You can find my socials under Bates and his cello. Have a great night and get home safe.” Bates stands up, hauling his instrument and bows to exit through the back of the stage.
“Want to come with me to help him load up?” I ask Waylynn.
“Can we make a stop by the bathroom first?”
I nod my head. “Oz.” He looks away from his teammate who’s talking a mile a minute and using his hands to explain everything. “I’m taking her to the bathroom and checking in with Bates.”
