Lick: Stage Dive 1(13)
“You’re new,” a voice said from beside me, startling the crap out of me. I jumped a mile, or at least a few inches.
A man in a black suit lounged against the wall, sipping a glass of amber liquor. This slick black suit was something else. In all likelihood Sam’s had come off the rack, but not this one. I’d never understood the appeal of a suit and tie before, but this man wore them incredibly well. He looked to be about David’s age and he had short dark hair. Handsome, of course. Like David, he had the whole divine cheekbones thing going on.
“You know, if you move another foot over you’ll disappear entirely behind that palm.” He took another sip of his drink. “Then no one would see you.”
“I’ll give it some thought.” I didn’t bother denying I was in hiding. Apparently it was already obvious to all.
He smiled, flashing a dimple. Tommy Byrnes had dimples. He’d inured me to their power. The man leaned closer, so as to be heard more easily over the music, most likely. The fact that he backed it up by taking a decent-sized step toward me seemed unnecessary. Personal space was a wonderful thing. Something about this guy gave me the creeps, despite the swanky suit.
“I’m Jimmy.”
“Ev.”
He pursed his lips, staring at me. “Nope, I definitely don’t know you. Why don’t I know you?”
“You know everyone else?” I surveyed the room, highly dubious. “There are a lot of people here.”
“There are,” he agreed. “And I know them all. Everyone except you.”
“David invited me.” I didn’t want to drop David’s name but I was being pushed into a corner, figuratively and literally as Jimmy closed in on me.
“Did he now?” His eyes looked wrong, the pupils pinpricks. Something was wrong with this guy. He stared down at the small amount of cleavage I had on display like he intended to plant his face there.
“Yeah. He did.”
Jimmy didn’t exactly seem pleased by the news. He threw back his drink, finishing it off in one large mouthful. “So, David invited you to the party.”
“He invited me to stay for a few days,” I said, which was not a lie. Happily, hopefully, he had somehow missed the news about David and me. Or maybe he was just too stoned to put two and two together. Either way, I wasn’t filling him in.
“Really? That was nice of him.”
“Yes, it was.”
“What room did he put you in?” He stood in front of me and dropped his empty glass into the pot plant with a careless hand. His grin looked manic. My need to get away from him gained immediate urgency.
“The white one,” I said, looking for a way around him. “Speaking of which, I’d better get back.”
“The white room? My, my, aren’t you special.”
“Aren’t I just? Excuse me.” I pushed past him, giving up on social niceties.
He mustn’t have expected it because he stumbled back a step. “Hey. Hold up.”
“Jimmy.” David appeared, earning my instant gratitude. “There a problem here?”
“Not at all,” said Jimmy. “Just getting to know … Ev.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t need to know … Ev.”
The guy’s smile was expansive. “Come on. You know how I like pretty new things.”
“Let’s go,” David said to me.
“It’s not like you to cock-block, Davie,” said Jimmy. “Didn’t I see the lovely Kaetrin with you earlier out on the balcony? Why don’t you go find her, get her to do what she’s so damn good at? Me and Ev are busy here.”
“Actually, no, we’re not,” I said. And why was David back so soon from his playtime with Bikini Girl? He couldn’t possibly have been concerned about his little wife’s wellbeing, surely.
Neither of them appeared to have heard me.
“So you invited her to stay in my house,” said Jimmy.
“I was under the impression Adrian rented the place for all of us while we’re working on the album. Something changed I don’t know about?”
Jimmy laughed. “I like the place. Decided to buy it.”
“Great. Let me know when the deal’s going through and I’ll be sure to get out. In the meantime, my guests are none of your business.”
Jimmy looked at me, face alight with malicious glee. “It’s her, isn’t it? The one you married, you stupid son of a bitch.”
“Come on.” David grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the stairwell. His jaw was clenched tight enough to make a muscle pop out on the side.
“I could have had her against a wall at a fucking party and you married her?”