Page 77 of Chasing Lyric
We seem to be doing this the wrong way, but I am all for it.
Some might call it boring—I call it comfortable.
It’s us.
But I have to admit, coming to a bar tonight with music pumping around us, having a few drinks, and letting loose does sound like fun.
Chase opens the door, letting me walk through. The air’s filled with fake smoke from the tacky smoke machine located at the front of the stage, where people perform awful karaoke. Chase places his hand on my lower back, leading me through the swarm. It’s buzzing tonight, the chill of fall doing nothing to keep people away. Sweat tops my brow as we push past the mass of bodies who are all drinking and flirting with each other, trying to find theirone.
My body warms, knowing I don’t have to do that shit anymore.
My eyes go wide when I see Rory sitting with a guy I’ve never seen before. He’s undeniably hot, radiating a confident energy and a face that looks a little younger than Chase’s. The thing is, my sheepish best friend is sitting far too close to him while twirling her hair around her finger and laughing a little too zealously.
Oh yeah, she’s trying everything she can to land this bad boy.
Chase leads me to the table and low stools they’re sitting at as if he knew they would be here. Rory and the guy’s eyes shoot up,noticing us. Both their faces light up as if the guy knows us as well.
“Chase! Finally. Thought I was going to have to get this party started without you,” the bad boy chimes in.
Rory giggles like a sixteen-year-old girl as I turn to Chase, gesturing for him to introduce me. “This is Dax Malone, head of marketing where I work.”
My eyes bug open. “Ah… the mysterious, Dax. They breed them hot at your workplace,” I blurt out.
Crap!
Bad boy Dax chuckles as I inwardly sink inside at my inability to keep my damn thoughts to myself.
“You’re right, bro. She does say whatever she thinks,” Dax mutters with panty-dropping effortlessness. His hair’s a little longer than usual, almost touching his shoulders. Dax’s baby face has a cheekiness that tells me he really isallbad boy. He might seem young, probably early twenties, but there’s an old-world charm to the way he carries himself. The man’s a player, and my friend is falling right into his manwhore magnetism as she fawns all over him.
“She does. It’s one of the reasons I’m sticking around.”
What a weird thing to say.Why?Is hetryingto find a reasonnotto stick around?
Those words unsettle me.
Dax seems to notice my shift in mood as he slides off the seat, standing to greet me properly. “Chase has told me so much about you. He practically doesn’t shut the hell up about you at work. I mean… the guy’s got a serious hard-on for you.” Dax tries to cover up for Chase’s failing.
He should keep going…
“Oh, he does, does he? It’s funny ’cause he hardly mentions you.” I lie to stir him. “Or the fact that you both have the same last name,” I state, which I do actually find odd.
Chase tenses, his eyes widening as Dax tilts his head with a smirk. “Yeah, that’ssoweird, right?” Dax quips, staring at Chase.
I focus my eyes on Chase, wondering why he’s not saying anything, so I continue, “He doesn’t talk about his work either. Actually, I hardly even know what Chase does.”
Dax glares at Chase like he wants him to take the lead. Chase waves his hand through the air as if to brush that whole conversation off. “So, now that we all know each other, how about we get a drink? On me, of course?”
“Sounds great to me,” Rory yells out, grabbing Dax by the arm. Dax flashes his pearly whites at her, and they walk off to the bar.
“He’s a charmer,” I murmur to Chase.
“He’s abrupt. But once he loosens up, you’ll like him. I promise.”
There are a few things I’m concerned about.
Is Rory falling into a trap she can’t get out of?
Why am I only just meeting Dax?
