I broke away.
"I need to get back to work," I said. "I'm not here to play around."
I walked into my office and shut the door behind me. My brain screamed to stay away from Alex. He was temptation wrapped up in a creamy package. Smooth as silk and totally tasty. Temptation was something I didn’t need. What I needed was a job.
Then Carlie came in for her break. She leaned on the desk, lighting a cigarette.
"How was Alex?" she asked.
"Amazing. Beyond amazing."
She punched my arm. "Whoa, you like him. You have a big thing for him."
"I have no big thing. Nothing. I just thought he performed well."
"Yeah, he'd perform well in the sack too, I reckon. He's packing a nice bit of man meat in those tight pants."
I glared at her.
"Come on,” she said. “He has that leather-wrapped so tight you can't help but notice. If you like him, Violet, go for it. Don't be a damn scaredy-cat."
I’d noticed but I wasn't going to admit it to Carlie.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Are you saving yourself for Razer instead? You've strung him along for long enough, don't you think?"
"I'm not stringing him along. I'm not interested in either of them." I folded my arms.
"Yeah, right.”
Maybe she was right. Maybe I should go for it. It’d been a long, long time and Alex wasn’t your typical rocker, no matter how he smelled. Under that hot exterior, he had a lot of common sense. He sure wouldn’t be the type to go blabbing around the place.
But something in Alex’s music worried me. Sure, he was good. Brilliant, even. But it was a bit too masterful. Calculating. At times it had felt like he was playing a joke on the world and laughing to himself but then he'd turn on those soulful eyes and you'd feel like you were falling.
Those eyes would drive a girl mad. They made my body zing like no one had made me zing in a long time. A buzz that pulsated more in my body than in my heart. Still, pushing him away was the right thing to do.
I'd get nowhere thinking too much. I had to run back upstairs and get to work.
I sat at the bar and Babs got me a drink.
When the band packed up, I went backstage and congratulated them on a top performance. I hoped it was top since I honestly couldn’t recall much about it. What had I been doing? Thinking about Alex, that’s what. I had to keep my mind on my job.
I walked out of the backstage area, casting my gaze around the room. I wasn't looking for Alex. He was the furthest thing from my mind. I just wanted to do a mental headcount of numbers for Chuck, that was all.
The room was still packed but there was definitely no Alex in sigh
t. I tightened my lips. I wasn't disappointed. Nope. Nothing like that at all. I didn't want to deal with his attention. Maybe he'd gone home with someone else. I could almost guarantee it. That's how rockers worked – they played the numbers game and someone like Alex wouldn't even need to hit up many numbers before he found someone to share his bed.
I shrugged. It was good that he'd showed his true colors before I got too involved with him.
The band room would be open all night with the resident DJ playing but my work was done so I went downstairs to drink with Carlie. Downstairs was much quieter. It'd gotten to the point in the night when most of the customers had paired off and were looking for dark corners to grope in. There were a few desperate souls cruising the room and the hardcore drinkers at the bar.
Carlie argued with a customer over his drink order. The guy would want to shut up and put up because Carlie had that look in her eye that meant she was about to call security and have him bounced.
Alex. He hadn’t gone home. He said in the corner with Jackson. He actually had Jackson laughing. Nobody made Jackson laugh.
I turned my body away from them. Instead, I watched a drunk guy trying his hardest to pick up a girl in the corner. He tried way too hard. She wasn't interested but she strung him along.
As I watched, someone slipped into the seat beside me. I wouldn't turn. I wouldn't check if it was Alex. I wouldn't even glance over to the corner to see if he'd moved.