If he didn’t, she was going to throw up this disgusting drink and sob herself to sleep. Probably right on the bathroom floor.
She hiccupped and took another sip. Maybe if she kept drinking, she wouldn’t feel so miserable. Even nausea was better than this. All she kept picturing was Gray and that woman. Him smiling at her and her fingers stroking him for that instant before he tugged her away.
“Give me another one,” she said to the bartender as soon as she’d finished the first. It took everything she possessed not to look at her watch. It was getting closer to midnight. He wasn’t going to show.
Maybe it was just as well.
Every time one of her friends stopped by, she made small talk and giggled, fulfilling her role as group cheerleader/clown. But she didn’t try to get her pals to stick around. For once, she didn’t do anything possible to avoid being alone. She put on a good show of being Ms. Happy Go Lucky, and a lot of the time it was even true. But ever since the contract debacle that had almost leveled the band, a lot of her happy had gone missing. Considering Gray’s no-show, her lucky seemed to be on the lam too.
She swallowed more of her cocktail. All signs were pointing to one inevitable conclusion: she wasn’t going to have someone to kiss at midnight. At least the someone she wanted to kiss. And if she couldn’t kiss Gray, she’d just keep her lips attached to the rim of her glass.
“Whatcha drinking?”
She turned her head at the voice near her ear. Nick. More friend than foe, most of the time. “It’s called a Zombie. I looked it up online. They said after three of them you’ll need a stretcher,” she shouted over the music and laughter. “This is number two.”
He leaned in and sniffed. “Sounds promising.”
“Can’t say I’m a fan.”
“So why are you drinking it?” He looked around for an empty stool, which was basically a joke. The place was packed from wall to wall. Giving up, he edged an elbow on the bar and awkwardly eased himself between her stool and her neighbor’s. The position put him between her legs—a place he’d been before. On his own, and with Gray.
Swallowing hard, she peered at her fruity drink. Best not to look at him right then. She was certain her face had to be six shades of red. An experienced woman of the world, she was not. She could fake it with the best of them though. At least when her heart wasn’t breaking.
“Maybe I want to get drunk,” she said under her breath.
“Then be more decisive about it.” He ordered two more Zombies, making her smile in spite of herself. He set her spare drink aside and tipped back his own. Grimaced. “Well, that’s interesting. A bit girly for me, but I’ve had worse.”
“Yeah?”
“Back in the projects, hell yeah. Simon and I had our drugstore special. Every cheap bottle of shit we could buy, all mixed together. Guaranteed to make you puke.” Because he was grinning, she grinned too. The alcohol was starting to swim through her bloodstream, loosening the muscles in her shoulders and back that were tensed from their set.
And from picturing Gray in the arms of a sexy blonde with breasts that made up approximately four of hers. Which was saying something, because the boob fairy had made a stop at Jazz’s house too.
Wanting visual affirmation, Jazz studied the cleavage popping over the top of her dress and sighed. She’d never complained about her cup size before tonight, but perhaps an extra handful or two would snag Gray’s interest. Couldn’t hurt. He’d barely even looked at her chest when they’d had their threesome with Nick.
“Are you checking yourself out?” Nick sounded amused.
“Maybe. Are you done checking out the sexy brunette guitarist from Brooklyn Dawn?”
“Nah. It’s not like that. Brooklyn Dawn might be doing a few shows with us if we can make our schedules mesh.” He fingered her hair. “Though I do have a weakness for brunettes.”
Yeah, she wasn’t going to acknowledge that comment.
She brought her glass back to her mouth, sloshing some over the side. She licked the alcohol off the back of her hand and glanced up to see Nick eyeing her too closely.
“Need some help with that?” His voice matched his gaze. Warm heading toward hot.
She waited for her belly to flutter. God knows it had fluttered plenty around him last spring. She’d had a crush on Nick that had quickly turned into more and just as quickly flamed out. But now there was nothing. She started to reply, then realized there wasn’t a chance he’d be able to hear her over the din. How had the bar gotten so much noisier and more crowded in the last few minutes? She couldn’t even find Simon and his bright red wig anymore. All she could see was Nick looming a little too close, his golden eyes too intent.