Page 30 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
He didn’t sound enthusiastic about school, still. In fact, I noticed his tone became resigned any time it came up.
Julian slid his phone into his back pocket. “She isn’t going to sneak around anywhere at night because that isn’t safe. You want her traveling alone in the city at two in the morning? If sheneedsto leave and come over at two in the morning, I would hope she would call first anyway to wake me and tell me what happened. That way, I could come get her and bring her over.”
“I don’t have a phone,” I pointed out, deciding I shouldn’t comment about the idea of sneaking into their rooms. Logistically, I literallycouldn’tcall any of them.
Then again, I wouldn’t be sneaking around at night, either. I liked locked bedroom doors—not that my current room had a lock. In the future, though, I would always lock my bedroomdoor at night. In fact, I would love a series of locked doors … to keep unwanted people away from me while I slept.
Outside the club,the guys chatted up the bouncer while I watched. The tall, broad shouldered, inked badass laughed easily with Barrett. Jeremy glared at the door as if the very entrance offended him. My lips curled in amusement as I realized how much he didn’t want to go inside.
Julian patted the bouncer’s shoulder then slid past him. “I have to pee, so I’ll meet you guys at the table.”
I backed up a step to stand next to Jeremy. Lowering my voice, I tried to speak so only he would hear me. “You know you don’t have to go in there.”
“Oh, but I do.” He smiled at me, leaning close before tucking a curl behind my ear. “You’re going in there. Right now, I want to be wherever you are. I’m sorry I fucked up last night.”
I shrugged it off, as if none of it mattered. “We’ll let that go. You seem perfectly nice.” I nodded toward the door. “Should we go inside?”
He clutched a hand against his chest theatrically. “Ouch. Direct hit.Nice?Might as well give a guy the kiss of death. Please, let’s get inside before you wound me more.”
I would have laughed him off if I thought he was kidding, but I picked up on the honesty in his tone. I blew out a breath, frustrated with him, them,andmyself. In irritation, I finally admitted, “So, is this a thing you guys do? Do you usually meet a girl then compete to see which one of you can have her? Can I guess how this game ends, before we get to that part, do you think? Afterward, you drop her because it was never about her, it was always about the game, the competition?”
I didn’t know why I stood there breathing fast, feeling as if every heartbeat hinged on his response. His boat shoes warned me, despite me reevaluating things. I knew what he would say.
“No. Not at all.” Jeremy’s small bark of laughter held no amusement and I jerked in response. “Never, if I’m being honest. Until now, we’ve avoided this sort of thing entirely. It’s complicated. The important part is, no, it isn’t a game to us. Now, with that out of the way, can I get you a drink? Non-alcoholic only, sorry. They know us here. Despite my wonderful fake ID, it won’t work here.”
He has a fake ID?I wondered if he could help me get one, then shook my head at his initial question. “I don’t drink anyway. Too risky.”
He let out a low whistle, shaking his head before sneaking his fingertips close to stroke my cheek briefly. “Someone has done something to you. You try to hide your shadows, but they creep in despite your efforts. Someday, you’ll tell me about them, then I’ll want to kill them. For now, though, you’re safe with me. With all of us.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I simply followed them silently. Julian beat us to a table, so we headed over to join him before I really got a chance to take in my surroundings. Normally, I prided myself on being observant, but time passed in a blur of desire- glazed fog with the Lents.
Live music thumped into my pulse, the soulful wail from the stage amplified and piped through invisible speakers. Despite the loud music, I could hear Jeremy easily while we talked. The bass player thudded against the faster notes from the piano in a melody that made me close my eyes to fully immerse myself in the music for a few seconds. I didn’t recognize the song or the band, but I liked it. My heart panged when a trumpet player joined them on stage, so I leaned forward on my seat, resting an elbow on the table. The low notes from his instrument joined theothers, and I caught my breath.Wow. That is beautiful. I didn’t even have the vocabulary for how much I loved it, or for the way I could feel the music in my body.
Soft, almost amber light filled the club, pulsing just past my closed eyelids in a peachy glow. As I blinked my eyes open, I noticed the round tables dispersed across the room—varied in size to accommodate both larger and smaller groups. A waitress placed a bowl of peanuts in front of us, and I blushed as I very nearly gazed down her cleavage before glancing away. I was still full from the Thai food, but Jeremy reached for some nuts immediately and began to chew. I leaned back in my seat, turning my head to see more of the room. Settled in the basement of a building, the club’s small windows at the top of the wall wouldn’t even offer much light during the day. A red curtain with gold strings at the top of the staircase welcomed us to the club, and matching curtains hung on the windows, tied back to reveal a peek of the street outside. Weirdly, the color reminded me of their granny’s apartment, which made me smile. Then again, so far, her place was a happy place for me.
I sucked in a deep breath, pinching my eyes closed for a second and hoping I could make a memory. I wanted to hold onto this one, so I listened closely to the music and sounds around me. Whiskey, pine cleaner, and something woody—such an interesting combination of scents coloring the already busy space. A glance around at the patrons proved the crowd to be quite eclectic to match. Some of them looked like us—we dressed well, based on my assessment, but others wore garb right out of the history books. One woman danced, her hips shimmering in a flapper dress while someone else dressed like Al Capone. My lips curled in a grin, amused by the spectacle of it, and realized I was actually having fun.
Barrett joined us at the table, sliding in easily next to Julian. I sat between the twins, while Julian pounded on his phone.“Sorry, just a second. I’m being rude, but I had a thought for the play I’m writing. I want to make a quick note before I forget it.”
“Creative types,” Jeremy said then kicked my foot under the table. “We have to excuse them their rudeness sometimes.”
“I’m not creative,” I said, lying easily, because as far as they knew, I wasn’t. “But it doesn’t bother me if you guys want to be on your phones.”
Jeremy shook his head. “You should be bothered. As you’ve said, you don’t have one, which makes it rude of us.”
Barrett tapped his fingertips against the table, drawing my attention. “What do you think?”
Honestly?I swallowed. I felt like I didn’t want to become vulnerable to their mockery by revealing too much, but I decided answering would be safe enough. “If you mean the atmosphere, I love it here. This might be one of my favorite places I’ve ever been, and I think I’m mostly jealous because you guys have gotten to do this before.”
Barrett’s smile lit up the room, and something warmed inside my chest. “Awesome,” he said simply, and another flush of satisfaction hit me like a drug. My gaze kept getting stuck on him, as if he somehow enchanted me into staring back at him when he looked at me.
Jeremy leaned back, sliding his arm across my shoulders, and I caught my breath. “Do you know where you are if you wanted to find it again?”
“The Upper West Side, right?” Despite my best efforts, learning about the city so far had proved a struggle. Everyone seemed to love Manhattan, and I wanted to be one of them. Instead of hating it for its noise and chaos, I wanted to find its purpose—like the hidden gem jazz club—and uncover its secrets.
A thought dawned on me. I glanced around, confirming my suspicions. “No one else here is our age, are they?”
“Borderline, or they wouldn’t let us in,” Julian said as he set down his phone then scanned the room. “It’s probably mostly a twenty-one-year-old and over place. Barrett helped them out of a financial hole once with some of his investment money, so they allow us to come anyway.” He smiled. “I love it, too, even though the music isn’t my thing. Look, see the woman over there with the feather in her hair? Then there’s that guy wearing a toupee, but it is on so crooked, it looks like a lost dog. Oh, and then the guy staring at you ever since we arrived. He came in right after us. I don’t like him. I don’t like how he’s looking at you. He’s what? In his thirties? That’s a big no from me.”
