Before You(2)

“Did you get an edifying look?” he asked before she could answer his question.

Speechless, her mouth hung open in shock, but when she saw the playful look on his face she regained her composure, meeting his eyes with a mocking smirk. “I’m meeting my boyfriend here.”

“Really? He must not be very bright to leave a woman like you alone in a bar like this.” His hand brushed her arm above her elbow so lightly she almost questioned whether it was a figment of her overly tired imagination, and yet she knew from the warm sensation still teasing her arm that it was real. She felt that touch in every cell of her being.

Aubrey shot him a confused look, but before she could respond, a tall blonde woman in a tight red dress that was working overtime to conceal her lady parts put her arm on the man’s shoulder. “Well, hello there, Jax. Have you missed me?” She leaned in to his body and whispered into his ear while conveniently putting her cleavage in his direct line of sight. With what Aubrey guessed was meant to be an alluring smile, but one that came out more predatory than anything, she whispered, “Maybe you want to visit the storage closet with me again tonight. We could have a repeat of last weekend.”

Aubrey tried to ignore the disheartened flip of her stomach caused by the woman’s proposal. It didn’t matter what this man did or didn’t do. She didn’t know him and she would never know him. He was a stranger in a bar, nothing more.

Jax’s face became unreadable. “I’ll catch up with you later, Katie. I’m busy right now,” Jax replied dismissively, shifting away from the woman, so she plainly understood he wanted her to leave him alone.

Katie shot Aubrey an angry look and looked back toward Jax. “But you never answered my text about going to my parents’ house for dinner tomorrow.”

“Katie, you know I don’t do the parent thing,” Jax responded forcefully as he glanced over his shoulder. “We’ll catch up later.”

“Fine. We’ll talk later.” Katie flipped her hair and turned to leave.

Jax glanced at Aubrey, tilting his head to the side, surveying her response to the woman’s comment. “I’m not dating that woman. She’s just a… family friend, nothing serious,” he said in a lazy voice.

“Good to know. I can rest easy knowing that you don’t hop into closets with random strangers. For a moment there, I was worried for your safety,” Aubrey replied, searching the room for Camden again.

“Ah, you heard that,” he replied, a slow, startling white smile spreading across his face. “Well… in case you’re curious, I’m definitely not interested in her tonight. I have other things in mind.”

She couldn’t control the heat that flooded her face. “I have no interest in what you do or don’t do,” Aubrey said, scanning the room.

Jax shot her a wry glance and his voice deepened enticingly. “Really? Because from the way you looked at me earlier, I got the distinct impression that you were interested.”

“Impressions can be wrong. Like I said earlier, I’m meeting my boyfriend here. His band is playing tonight.”

The man rose from the barstool and regarded her curiously. “There’s only one band playing here tonight.”

For the first time, Aubrey noticed that he was really tall and she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. “Right, Chasing Ruin. That’s his band. He plays the guitar.”

Setting his beer down on the bar, his eyes traveled over her body and face with frank masculine appreciation. “Ah, you must be Aubrey, Cam’s girl from home.”

“Yes,” Aubrey replied, smiling. “Do you know Cam?”

Jax shoved his hands in his pockets, his gray eyes enigmatic. “You could say that. See you around, Aubrey.”

Aubrey watched his back as he wove through the crowded bar until she couldn’t see him anymore. She didn’t really understand what had happened between them, but she didn’t have much time to ponder it before the lights flipped on above the small stage at the far end of the bar.

Almost immediately, Cam bounced onto the stage with his guitar followed by two other men and Aubrey smiled when she saw his familiar head of bright blond hair. Camden was dressed in faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt.

The two men trailing Cam couldn’t have been more dissimilar if they tried. The first man was all brooding darkness, whereas the other one was playful lightness. Dressed in a fitted black t-shirt with black jeans and heavy black boots, the dark-haired man slid behind the set of drums and flipped his drumsticks into the air, mesmerizing the audience with the black tattoos curling up his toned arms.