The band had yet to make an appearance, and Styx pulsed with the computerized sounds of electronic music. The dance floor was mobbed with bodies, and Lexi and I pushed our way through the crush to the bar. The bartender was swamped, racing back and forth to fill drink orders.
“What did you say?” Lexi shouted back at me, smoothing her red bob and adjusting her cleavage before trying to flag down the bartender. Finally managing to grab his attention, she ordered two vodka-cranberries and slapped a ten down on the bar.
“Keep the change,” she winked at him when he placed the drinks in front of her.
Handing one to me, she led the way toward the front of the dance floor, as close as we could get to the stage. She turned when we reached our destination, holding her drink out to me in salute.
“Cheers, bitch! To sophomore year,” she declared, playfully bumping her cup into mine.
“And to fake IDs,” I agreed, laughing. I sipped my drink, refreshingly cold in the damp heat of the club, and looked up as the stage lights began to blink, signaling the band’s arrival.
“Finally!” Lexi yelled. “Tyler’s the drummer, by the way.”
Ah, so that was her mystery American Lit man’s name– and it explained our ridiculously close proximity to the stage.
I tugged uncomfortably on the short black lace dress I’d let Lexi to talk me into wearing. I had to admit, though, she’d done wonders with my hair and makeup. My long waves were artfully pinned up around my head, with carefully selected tendrils hanging down to frame my face. As for the bruise, Lexi had kept her word and made it disappear beneath layers of expensive foundation and bronzer. The dark shadows beneath my eyes, permanent remnants from my sleepless nights, would only be discernible under intense scrutiny.
The stage lights came up suddenly, illuminating the platform and blinding me temporarily. When my vision cleared, I saw four men silhouetted against the backlit stage. Slowly, the full house lights came up, revealing the band members.
My eyes tracked appreciatively up the lead singer’s body – starting at the black combat boots near eye-level, up past the black denim-clad thighs, and finally settling on the well-sculpted chest filling out a plain black v-neck. An elegant tattoo neatly cuffed one of his biceps and disappeared up under his shirt – a tribal whorl of indiscernible patterns that immediately captured my attention and had me fantasizing about tracing my fingers along the swirling labyrinth of ink.
“Oh, shit,” I heard Lexi mutter beside me; apparently I wasn’t alone in my appreciation of the band, and my slow perusal hadn’t even reached his face yet. With that thought, I stopped blatantly ogling his shoulder muscles and moved my gaze higher.
I stopped breathing.
Yes, it was certainly an attractive face – more than simply attractive, if I were honest with myself. He was beautiful, with dark eyes, a chiseled jawline, and a wickedly sexy smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
The same mouth that had insulted me less than 24 hours ago.
Because I was looking up at Finn. And Finn was staring straight back at me.
He mostly looked surprised, but undercurrents of amusement and smug satisfaction played out across his face as he recognized me and my palpable discomfort. The asshole had obviously just caught me in the process of slowly undressing his body with my eyes, and he couldn't be happier about it.
Crap.
I’m sure he registered my look of shock and confusion before I managed to break away from his smug gaze, turning to glare at Lexi. She looked just asblindsided as I felt.
“I swear I had no idea he was in the band, Brooklyn! I never would’ve made you come if I’d known.” I’d filled Lexi in earlier while she applied my makeup, rehashing all the patronizing remarks he’d made and ultimately concluding that he was a condescending jerk who didn’t deserve any more of my time.
“Maybe he won’t notice us,” I lied futilely, knowing he’d spotted me immediately.
Finn’s voice crackled over the microphone, startling my attention back to the stage.
“Hey everyone, welcome to Styx. We’reApiphobic Treason, and we’re here to liven up your Monday. Make some noise, people!”
The crowd roared back at him.
“I SAID MAKE SOME FUCKING NOISE!”
The cheers that erupted were even louder than before. His presence alone seemed to make most of the girls in the audience go into heat; they were elbowing closer to the stage, pushing out their cleavage, and screaming Finn’s name like he was Tom Cruise or something. And I don’t mean that because I think Tom Cruise is attractive – more so because he’s a crazy religious zealot, and these girls were acting like a hoard of cult-like Scientologist worshippers.
I rolled my eyes at their pathetically transparent ploys for attention.
“Before we begin our set tonight, I just want to issue a little public service announcement on behalf of our beloved university,” he drawled sarcastically into the mic. Then, looking down directly at me, he continued, “Apparently the fire hydrants have been really acting up today, so watch where you step as you stumble home tonight.”
The audience laughed like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. I’m not surewhythey did, since it wouldn’t have made sense to anyone in the club except Lexi and me. Half of them were probably too drunk to notice, and the other half were undoubtedly too busy picturing Finn naked to comprehend his words.
AsFinn laughed into the mic at his own joke, I glared up at him. He sent an infuriating wink back at me before turning to the crowd and launching into an incredibly energetic set.