Page 3 of The Devil's Tattoo
The thing was, when you’re single, you can’t help but look twice at any decent-looking guy anyway—like you’re an animal looking for a suitable male with a strong geneticmakeup.
Nice hair, nice eyes, but crap shoes. The shoes were always a deal breaker. Beat-up white runners turned me off because it was like the guy couldn’t make an effort to be presentable. So when I saw a guy leaning against the far wall, I looked at his shoes first. He wore scuffed to hell tailored combat boots with the laces undone. Sexy as. One hundred bonus points already. So naturally, I looked up to see what the restlookedlike.
To my surprise, it was WillStrickland.
The bass player from TheStabs.
The guy I’d developed a crippling crush on in T minus anafternoon.
I didn’t recognize the people he was with, but right now, they didn’t exist to me. For once, I had time to look at him without anyone but Dee noticing. I hadn’t had a chance to take in the full package that afternoon, and I was practically salivating. He had a faded The Strokes T-shirt and tight gray jeans on, tattoos on one arm, and the wildest curly hair I’d ever seen on a guy.And I knew some unkempt guys. It was short at the back and sides, and the shock of blond curls falling into his eyes was like the guy’s trademark. I wanted to brush it away to see what color his irisis were underneath all the wildness, curl my fingers throughitand—
“Zoe?”
“Shit, Dee,” I cursed,lookingaway.
“Who you checkin’ out?” He winked at me, saw where I was looking, and whistled. “The Strokes, huh?” he said almost sarcastically. “Twice in one day. Since when are you intoindieguys?”
I squirmed, knowing I was more than a little tipsy. “Since when does itmatter?”
“Since Iknewyou.”
“You’ll know my fist in a minute.” When I glanced back, Will Strickland was gone, and the bar was almost closing. If it weren’t for Dee acknowledging his existence, I’d swear I was seeingthings.
“You’re so volatile,” Dee said, putting his empty glass onthebar.
“You know who we have to thank for that,” I snapped and instantlyregrettedit.
Dee frowned and linked his arm through mine. “C’mon, Zo. I’ll walkyouhome.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, giving his hand asqueeze.
“S’okay. You’re drunk,youlush.”
“You’re such awoman,Dee.”
“My cock thinks otherwise three nightsaweek.”
“I think I just vomited in mymouth.”
We wandered down Chapel Street toward home, and I made a mental note to see if I could get a ticket to that Stabs gig I saw advertised theotherday.
It could be a disaster waiting to happen, or it could be nothing. Going by my track record, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t amount to anything. I’d hide in a dark corner and watch him like a creepy pervert, never working up the courage to talktohim.
Yeah, I was pretty sure I was just torturingmyself.
* * *
The first thingI did when I got home was to hop on The Corner Hotel’s website and buy a ticket to theStabsgig.
The second thing I did was swallow my fear and get the tram to Richmond thenextday.
The third thing I did was hand over my ticket and goinside.
I’d be lying to myself if I said the mysterious Will Strickland didn’t intrigue me. I caught myself thinking about him yet again when I bought the ticket to the gig. It was all wishful thinking on my part. I would never know him. I mean, I would never approach him in the first place, and why would he look twice at me? How could you go up to a guy in a successful band to say hi when they would think you were another groupie looking for a quickie. I don’t think I could ever have a quickie with a stranger no matter how hottheywere.
I stood awkwardly in the semi-dark as people milled around me. No one looked at me, and no one would probably remember me, but I still felt uncomfortable. Alone in a crowd. I busied myself looking around, waiting for the support band tocomeon.
The thing I disliked most about this venue was the huge pole right in the middle of the floor. Right behind the mosh pit. Sucked hard if you were stuck behind it, worse than inadvertently positioning yourself behind the only seven-foot-tall bloke in the whole place. What a stupid place to put a pole. What Ididlike about The Corner were the curtains. It made the whole experience feel like you were at the theater. The red velveteen curtains swung open and closed after each support act like some kind of grand unveiling, making the experience more like a stage production thanagig.
