Alpha Erased (Alpha Girl 9)

Dastien sat next to me and started piling his plate full, full, full. And then he grabbed a side plate and started piling food on there, too. The man wasn’t joking. He ate a ton.

I put a much more modest amount on my plate—though it was still more than I’d eaten in front of anyone in more than a year—and for the first time tonight, I let myself look beyond Dastien’s face.

He was wearing a shirt that had printing on it, and now that I was starting to get used to how pretty he was, I could focus on the letters and actually read them. Above & Beyond was in thick, white block font. “You like Above & Beyond?”

His hand froze as he reached for another hunk of meat, and I could almost hear him arguing with himself on how to answer. He forked the meat onto his plate and turned to me. “They’re my favorite.”

“Really?” I didn’t know why that surprised me, but it did. No one I knew would even know who they were, much less own a shirt with their name on it.

“Yes.”

As I watched him, I listened to the music playing. I’d been so distracted by making new friends that I’d noticed there was music on but hadn’t really heard it. “Is this Group Therapy?”

“Yes.” He sat straighter and his gaze finally met mine. His rich brown eyes showed surprise.

I listened for a second and heard the mix move into the next song. “Oh! Episode 361, right? I’m addicted to this episode.”

“Me, too.” Two dimples winked at me as he smiled, and I swore my heart fluttered.

Why did a guy that looked like him have to have dimples? It was massive overkill.

“I take it you like them?” Cosette asked.

“I’ve never seen them in person, but I hope that I will one day.” I took a bite of brisket and moaned. “This is so good.”

D

astien forked more onto my plate, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t eat all that.”

“I double-dog dare you.”

This guy. He was too much. I took another bite.

“You know they’re playing tomorrow.”

My smile fell. “Above & Beyond? They are?” How did I not know this?

Dastien nodded. “Yep. At a club in Hollywood. Want to go with me?”

Yes. Oh my God, yes, I wanted to go.

I couldn’t believe it. That they were playing here and I had no idea, and that I suddenly had a friend who loved them and invited me to go. It was almost unbelievable. A coincidence of epic proportions.

My doctor said that I needed to take coincidences as just things lining up correctly, but this was crazy how everything seemed to be so easy with Dastien. Things like that just didn’t happen to me.

New friends. New adventures. That’s what I’d wanted, and apparently, that’s what I was going to get. “Really? You don’t mind me going with—”

“I wouldn’t offer it if I didn’t want you to go.” He motioned to Chris and Cosette. “That’s why they’re in town.”

Chris coughed, and there was a thunk from under the table.

Chris tapped his chest. “Sorry. My drink went down the wrong way, but yep. That’s why we’re here.”

That was the most unconvincing lie I’d ever heard. I didn’t know Chris, but I knew that much. “You’re messing with me. Right?”

“No.” Dastien smiled, and I forgot all about Chris’s awkwardness. “And I have another ticket, but our other friend couldn’t make it. So, I have an extra.”

I looked between the three of them, trying to figure out what was the truth. Dastien didn’t sound like he was lying at all, but it seemed to take Chris by surprise. I didn’t quite trust it, but then Dastien caught my eye.