Page 14 of Open Liner
“Yeah, shit,” I said. “We probably should’ve exchanged names. That would’ve cleared things up at once.”
“Do you want to hang with me at the concert?” August asked and then scrubbed his face with his palms. “I mean, you can do whatever you want with the ticket. I just… don’t usually do concerts by myself.”
My chest squeezed tight. Was spending more time around August a good idea? No, not in the slightest. But I couldn’t turn him down. Not with the slight pleading look in his eyes and the fact I did want to join him for the concert. I flashed him a grin. “What are you waiting for?”
He blinked at me for a moment. “Is that a yes?”
I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Hell yes. Let’s go.” I regretted the touch at once. Electricity sparked through my veins, awakening my synapses. August didn’t move my hand off though, and I hesitated before pulling it back. The bright smile he gave me in return made my pulse kick.
“I didn’t even realize Serena had a Dropkick Murphys ticket,” I said as we walked in through the entrance. “I’d been wanting to go to this show.”
“Love the band,” he said. “Though she wasn’t as keen on going. More of a pity acceptance, I think.”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Serena’s more a swoony acoustics sort of girl.”
“This is a far reach from that,” August chuckled as we stepped inside.
The convention hall was massive, with a sweeping ceiling, small restaurants, and shops on either side. Footsteps and chatter echoed around us from the crowd funneling toward the concert venue area, the sounds bouncing around the space. This close to August, I caught a whiff of him, all sage and cedar. His body emanated heat, like standing under a patch of sunlight, and I couldn’t seem to pull away.
August strode up to the check-in, and I followed close behind. A guy scanned the tickets on his phone, gave us our bands, and we stepped through the gated area.
“Want to go grab a drink?” he asked. “My treat, since I’m forcing you to hang out with me.”
“First, off,” I responded, “no forcing required. I’m here of my own volition. And secondly, if you keep buying me drinks, you’ll have a hard time getting rid of me.”
“Oh, good,” he said. “Then that’s the plan.” He flashed me another guileless grin, and damn, I couldn’t tell if he flirted or just wanted a friend. Though friends could fuck too.
Bad. Bad idea.
Serena’s ex.
Our hands brushed, and a thrill rippled up my spine again. The temptation to reach over and hold his hand was a new one—especially since that hadn’t been my MO. Not in a long while.
We headed to the nearest bar and took a seat at the stools. The show wasn’t going to start for another half hour, and it’d be awhile before the headliners too. I had to admit, I’d checked out Triple R’s work beforehand, a political punk band, and I’d wanted to watch them live.
“Two lagers,” August ordered at the bar, leaning over in a way that made his ass pop. Ngh. He had the sort of ass that would steal attention in any room, two round, utterly biteable globes, even with thedenim barrier. Fuuuck. Maybe I should’ve gone for a Grindr hookup instead of a concert.
Except I couldn’t deny I was already having fun, and it had everything to do with an adventure and the hottie beside me.
August paid, then passed one of the pints my way.
“I’ve got us next time,” I said, before I could help myself.
“You know that’s a binding contract to hang out with me again,” he said, a teasing glint in his eyes.
I licked my lips. I wanted that, even if this was a bad idea. “Deal.” I took a sip of the lager and let the cool liquid course through me, though it did little to dampen the flames that danced through my insides. Meeting a hot guy at a punk show had been a long-held fantasy of mine. Of picking someone up in the crowd, finding somewhere private afterward, and losing myself in him. As much as I’d gone to shows in the past, that had never worked out. It wasn’t as easy as picking up someone in a gay club, where all it took was a look and a nod.
Except now those fantasies spun out of control.
Because I was at a show with a guy my whole body reacted to, who I genuinely liked being around, but at the same time, jumping in on the guy Serena broke things off with... yeah, that would be such a shit move.
Even if I wanted to.
I might’ve left my bad boy rep back in high school, but I wasn’t a shithead. Just… sometimes I made some reckless decisions.
And sometimes I made those reckless decisions on purpose, just to feel alive.
I chugged the rest of my beer to keep myself from staring at August’s ass. I got the vibe he wasn’t straight, especially from some comments he dropped, but that didn’t mean he was interested.
