Cole’s brows furrowed as he took in my expression. “What just happened?”
I pulled my hand out from under his, dropping my gaze to the ground as memories of my last audition came flooding back. No. I wasn’t a frightened teenager anymore. I no longer froze when it came time to perform in front of people. But the word audition still sent my pulse racing, and my heartbeat pounded loudly in my head. I wiped my clammy hands on my jeans behind the counter, grateful that Cole couldn’t see.
“Adeline?” His voice was laced with concern.
“I’m sorry. I…”
Was I really going to let this old fear stop me from trying out for a gig that would pay me this well?
“Look, the audition is just a formality,” Cole added. “Abel missed a part of your set, so he wants to see you play some more of our stuff. It would just be a day of us rehearsing together. Easy-peasy.”
My lungs expanded in relief. A rehearsal? That I could do. “So it’s not going to be me, like, playing in front of all of you?” I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral.
“No, no. Nothing like that. Just a casual day hanging out and jamming together.” His smile was obviously meant to be reassuring, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t working.
I let out a long breath. “Okay.”
Cole’s eyes crinkled as he laughed. “Fuck. Yes.”
While I was still processing the rich sound of his laugh, he leaned over the bar, grabbed my face with both hands, and placed a kiss on my right cheek.
His lips were like velvet against my skin, soft and luxurious. I picked up on a lingering scent of cologne on his neck, something like cedar and lavender, and felt the hairs on my arms stand. When was the last time I’d been this close to a man I found attractive? Long enough for a chaste kiss to make my pulse pick up speed.
I sucked in a ragged breath as he pulled away, and judging by the mischievous look in his eye, he had caught my reaction.
“You won’t regret this,” he said, that smile still dancing across his lips. “You got a pen and paper? I’ll write the address of the studio. We start tomorrow at nine am.”
“What if it doesn’t work out?” I asked after fetching him the items. “Will you guys let me know if I got it by the end of the day?”
Cole shook his head, his curls bouncing from the movement, and he scribbled the address down in a lopsided script. “I’m confident you’ll do just fine.”
Before I could protest, he stood up from the stool and downed the rest of his beer in two big gulps. My eyes got stuck on how his Adam’s apple moved under the skin of his neck.
“Can’t wait to tell the guys that I was able to convince you.” He slapped a ten-dollar bill on the counter. “Those fuckers had the gall to doubt me.”
I snorted, feeling some of the residual tension leave my shoulders. “You seem like the kind of guy who doesn’t get to hear ‘no’ a lot.”
His expression turned flirtatious. Uh-oh. This was dangerous. “You’ll have four weeks to find out if you’re right about that.”
With a final devastating wink, he turned and left through the creaking door, leaving a lingering scent of cedar and lavender in his wake.
After Cole’s departure, I polished the bar like my life depended on it. There were only two other patrons left, giving me plenty of downtime to process what had just happened.
What the hell was I doing? They were a world-famous metal band, and I was a small-town musician, deemed not good enough even for music school. Even just being in their presence was making me all sorts of weird. Yesterday, I’d ogled Silas, and today, I’d flirted with Cole. He may have done most of the flirting, but I’d definitely been an eager participant. Was I starstruck despite my best efforts to stay chill? Oh God. This was never going to work, and I was going to leave that studio tomorrow utterly humiliated.
When the last customer paid their tab and left, I gave in to the urge and let out a loud groan.
“You okay?” Jimmy asked, peeking out from the kitchen at the sound.
“Yep. Don’t mind me. Just fretting about…life.”
He snickered, smoothing fingers over his thick white whiskers. Jimmy was over sixty, divorced, and retired, and he mostly worked here for the company. I knew he wasn’t gonna let this one go.
“You wanna talk about it.”
It was a statement, not a question. I couldn’t say no, so instead, I picked up a pint glass and began to polish it.
“I just got offered an opportunity to do something with music.”
