Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 111165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 556(@200wpm)___ 445(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“Your name would be Lazarus,” I remark.
His brows raise, eyebrow ring glinting. “What?”
“You have to pardon her. She says the wrong things,” Naomi says, putting her hands on both my shoulders and trying to steer me inside.
“Hey, he called himself an arsehole,” I point out as she pushes me inside the venue. “He could have told us he was with the band. Or is the band. Instead of playing that little game.”
“I’m with the band,” he corrects me, walking slightly ahead of us, his eyes right on me. “I play guitar, I sing, and they aren’t even my songs. And you’re right. I guess Lazarus is kind of a douchey pompous rock star name. I like to think it’s because my father listened to a lot of Nick Cave and not that my mother has an obsession with myths.”
The room is crowded and very dark, even the closer we get to the stage. “I’d buy you girls a drink,” he says, “but it will have to wait until after. I’ll let Jane know you’re here.”
And at that he walks smoothly through the crowd and gets up on the stage, grabbing his guitar from the stand.
“Break a leg!” I call out after him, but my voice is lost in the crowd and that’s a good thing because I sound like an idiot.
The Joint is a small place. The stage is barely a few feet above the ground. The lights are low and everything smells like beer, and it’s already too loud in here and they haven’t even started playing. But still, I feel like this night is becoming the beginning of something. What, I don’t know.
“I can’t believe that’s Jane’s brother!” Naomi yells at me above the noise.
“Stepbrother!” I correct her, watching as he walks across the stage and says something to Jane. I can barely see her behind the drums, just the top of her pink head, until she stands up and waves at us with both hands, enthusiasm turned up.
We wave back.
“Still!” she says. “I’m surprised we haven’t met him already!”
I’m not. Jane, her brother, and the two other dudes, only formed this band five months ago. Before then, Laz was apparently studying abroad, though I’m not sure where. England, I’m guessing. Jane hasn’t really talked about him much, either, so I assumed they aren’t really close. I do remember her saying that she was honored that he invited her to play drums, especially since a lot of bands won’t give a female drummer the time of day, even those as talented as Jane. Anyway, she has a younger brother, Noah, that she’s a lot closer to, so Laz has always had this mysterious air to him. Which, after meeting him in person, I can totally understand.
“Hiya,” Laz says into the microphone after he gives his guitar a hard strum that fills the room and makes my teeth vibrate. “We’re Magic 8 Ball and we’re here for your pleasure.”
All the girls in the room erupt into rising waves of giggles and cheers, and it’s only then that I’m noticing how many of them are crowding the stage, staring up at him with heart eyes, vying for his attention.
But for one moment, when he looks across the room and meets my eyes, I have it.
Then the band launches into a rolling, bass-heavy version of—“Policy of Truth”—and our moment is over. If it ever was a moment. You see, I tend to have these moments with guys where I think, yay maybe he’s actually into me, he’s been giving me some good eye fucking. But then it turns out that he actually has something in his eye.
For a cover band, they’re really good. Color me surprised. Jane is great, of course, and everyone holds down their instruments really well, but Laz steals the show. Not only does he have the swagger, this panther-like domination of the stage, but his voice is amazing and completely on point. Even with the shitty sound system and acoustics in the venue, he brings the songs to another level, like they were always his to begin with.
“They don’t suck!” Naomi yells at me as they go into their last song.
“No, they don’t! I’m so glad we don’t have to lie to Jane now!”
We had come up with our straight faces back at the house, prepared to tell Jane how awesome she was and all that, wrongly assuming they weren’t going to be any good. I mean, you know how it is when it comes to your friends and art. You want to encourage them at all costs, even if they’re terrible, and while we knew that Jane was talented, you never know how a band will perform as a whole.
When the show is over after a blistering forty-five-minute set, my ears are ringing and Naomi is telling me we should go say hi to Jane and then leave. I should listen to her. I have to be up early for work tomorrow and I’ve only been working at the garden center for a week, so I’m still trying to make a good first impression.