Page 21 of Dirty Roulette
One day I’ll get a record player, but right now the necessities are underground tasty metal artists. New beats are an imperative need for my survival. I’m sure whatever I discover will be better than listening to the boring lectures I’ll soonendure.
I walk my fingers over the plastic grooves on the CD cases, scanning each album cover. Now and then, I’ll uncover a lost gem. Countless underground bands from the mid-nineties need some loving ears and mine beg for a new verse.
“Drake’s pretty good,” a guy behind me mentions. His voice is sultry. He retrieves a Drake album from where they’re hidden and pulls one out. I glance up and it’s Noah with his long hair fastened in a bun.
“It’s on sale for seven ninety-nine, plus tax, your soul, and it’ll potentially skip.” He passes the album with two fingers. I look at the rapper’s songs, then glare back at him. His hands sit in the pockets of his black skinny jeans covered in chains and bondage straps.
“Let me guess, your favorite song is Hotline Bling?” I ask with a chuckle escaping as I read the list of horror music.
“Wu-Tang Forever.”
I drop my arms to my sides and scoff.
“You’re messing with me.” I shake my head, eyeballing his angst-goth look. “You’re wearing a Black Sabbath sweatshirt,” I point and hand the CD back with no remorse.
“You’re missing out.”
“I doubt that...” I say. It’s quiet for several long seconds and it slips out. “Are you okay? Last night was a bit crazy.”
“Yeah, I had a good time until... well...” He raises his brow and pauses. I don’t press the question as I rock on my heels. Ryder plays the role of an older brother well. Everyone knows his name, and once a guy realizes he’s Charlie’s brother, they act like a cat who got jump-scared and run off.
“You could have at least suggested Fall Out Boy.”
“How about Bow Wow? Sounds like it would fit a cheerleader.”
What a prick. I might wear spandex, but I’m not a stupid girl. “Are you saying cheerleaders don’t have taste?”
He bounces up and down with the stupidest smile, pretending to have pom-poms in his hands.
“I don’t look like that. GCU gave me a four-year scholarship if I show off at football games.”
“How nice of them.” He’s snooty. Sounds like someone needs to bruise his ego a bit more.
Charlie peeks over merchandise from the other side of the display racks. “Don’t you have a Malibu beach party to go to with your band?”
His stormy, angular eyes admire Charlie. “Oh, it’s you.” His expressionless flat lips lift a moment but drop as fast as they appeared.
“Don’t act all surprised,” she says.
“I didn’t think you’d swing by. Is your brother going to come in here too?” He cocks up his eyebrows with the remark.
“Look...” Charlie’s shoulders sag with a huff. “You can’t be mad at me for him being an overprotective asshole.”
Noah swallows. “I really don’t want to talk in front of your friend.”
“I’ll just... check out another section,” I point behind me and stroll off to a rack on a different side of the store with ears wide open.
He whispers, “I only came to that party for you.” In my peripherals, Charlie stares out into space and not directly at him, but when Noah sees me eavesdropping I avert my head. “You can’t lead me on just to get back at your ex.”
“That’s not what I did,” she argues.
“That’s bullshit. I played your stupid game and when it came down to it, you don’t want more with me. I should have known better. I’m not the type of guy who’s good enough for you.”
Charlie sighs. “That’s nottrue... I do.”
“You’ve been hounding my phone all day and you show up here knowing I have to run the store.”
I finger through the CDs and skim the different artists. I’m not even invested in the country genre I randomly selected.
