Gray widened his eyes in alarm. “Whoa. What happened to him? He was fine half an hour ago.”
“Must have been a delayed reaction,” I explained with a shrug. “He said he’s had seven cosmos and—”
“Seven?” Gray frowned when Justin burrowed his face in his neck and started unbuttoning his shirt.
Justin stroked Gray’s beard and nipped his jaw. “God, you’re hot. Like, so hot. We’re gonna have sex when we get home.”
Gray pursed his lips as he threaded his fingers with Justin’s. “Okay. Looks like I have a situation here. We’d better go before he gets us arrested.”
I chuckled. “Sound idea. It’s been a good event. I think.”
“Yeah, Charlie’s definitely getting the hang of this. He’s always been great about managing social media. Both bands have had plenty of exposure tonight. I was talking to Petra earlier.” Gray paused to gesture to the bar before continuing. “She’s the woman Dec’s with now. She told me she’s doing a piece for Music Box and—”
“That’s Petra?” Justin suddenly perked up, turning to shamelessly stare. “She’s the reporter, T. The reporter. Or blogger…or both.”
“Huh?”
“C’mon, I need to talk to her.”
“Not tonight. You’re drunk. We’re going home. Let Tegan handle it.” Gray tugged at his elbow.
Justin pulled away and set his hand on my chest. “Go see what the enemy is up to. You have to tell our side of the story.”
I furrowed my brow. “What are you talking about?”
Justin widened his eyes, angling his head to the bar meaningfully as Gray pulled him away.
Reporter? No thanks. I was the last guy to volunteer for interviews for a reason. I hated them and I never had anything new to add, which worked out fine because Justin was a ham. He loved the media attention and the crowds. I just wanted to play music. My “founding member” status occasionally threw me into the limelight, but I pawned off those duties to Ky whenever possible. He was better at peopling.
I scanned the area for Ky and Charlie before glancing at the bar again…just as Declan turned.
Our eyes met for a moment, and it was harder than it should have been to look away. He was the sexiest fucking bastard I’d ever met. Bar none.
He didn’t have to jump onstage and wave his hands in the air to get attention. A simple smile and a few notes from his guitar sparked immediate interest. The second Dec opened his mouth, he owned you.
Not me. I knew he was trouble.
Which was why I didn’t understand how this physical reaction to him seemed to resurge lately…and stronger than ever. My pulse was racing, and my stomach felt woozy. Geez, maybe I was coming down with something.
Might as well get this over with.
I slipped by a cluster of scantily-clad models hanging out near the bar and moved in.
“…more fascinated by human interest stories anyway. I love writing about artists, but musicians get me every time,” Petra said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
“Good to know,” Declan replied with a grin.
“I have to tell you a secret. I only came tonight to see Zero and Jealousy. I’ve been following you for a while. Zero specifically, but I want to know more about Jealousy too. I’d love to sit down and chat sometime…in an official capacity, of course,” she continued, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Definitely.” Declan’s smile froze for a moment, then brightened when he spotted me. He motioned me over, shifting sideways to make room in the crush of people vying for the bartender’s attention. “Hey, you need to meet Tegan. He’s Zero’s drummer. T, this is Petra. She’s a freelance music reporter.”
“A pleasure to meet you. Really. I’m a big fan. I was so excited when Charlie told me he was representing both of your bands. I’ve been in your audience so often, I feel like I know you guys,” Petra gushed.
“Thanks. Nice to meet you too.” I shook her hand politely before shoving mine into my back pocket.
“I hope this doesn’t seem too forward of me, but I’ve been trying to get a feel for your dynamic. I know the Gypsy Coma story very well. Too well, maybe,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t think you got along, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Maybe it’s just Charlie’s PR magic, but the guys in both of your bands seem to really like each other. You remind me of long-lost friends.”
Declan shrugged. “In a way, we are.”
She dropped her breezy manner and sharpened her gaze. “How so?”
The transition from flirty fangirl to “reporter chasing a story” mode was jarring. Neither of our bands was a household name yet, but I’d learned the hard way not to divulge personal info. Even small details could get twisted, and I wasn’t good at playing those games. Besides, spinning the Zero and Jealousy story was Charlie’s job.