She finally enters the bar and I watch as she heads to get a drink from one of the bartenders. This bartender must know her well, because the moment she stands at the bar, a drink is handed over without her even having to order. She smiles at the girl as she takes her drink, then spins around to look over every face in the place. Right before her eyes leap over to me, I direct my attention away from her. I don’t want her to know I’ve been watching her since she entered. I take a sip of my beer and the moment I pull it away from my lips, she’s directly in front of me.
“Hey, you made it,” she says with a smile as she slips into the booth beside me.
I return her smile and nod. “Yup, still here. You were amazing up there.” I motion toward the stage. The guys are taking down the equipment but there are two new guys with them. “Did the band get some extra members?” I ask.
She glances over her shoulder, then her eyes are back on mine. “One of them is our roadie, Jack. He helps with setup and teardown. The other . . . well, he’s a different story. He’s my ex-boyfriend and he’s a part of our PR team and management. His name is Wesley and he’s a total asshole. I’m sure he’ll be over to bother me soon enough. I booked it out of there before he showed up.”
“Don’t you know not to mix business with pleasure?” I tease, referring to her dating a colleague.
She rolls her darkly-lined eyes. “Now more than ever. Every time he sees me, it’s just another attempt to get me back. The guy doesn’t take no for an answer.”
I move closer to her and put my arm around her. “Well, we’ll see if we can’t run him off for good, huh?”
She looks over at me and her dark eyes find mine. Her lips part before slowly turning up into a small smile. Just being this close to her has my lungs doubling their pace.
“You were beautiful up there, you know,” I say quietly as we’re both lost in this trance.
Her cheeks flush with my words and her tongue comes out, gliding across her bottom lip and making it glisten with the neon lights of the bar.
There’s a pull between us and it’s getting stronger. I find myself leaning in to kiss her, to taste her, but just as we’re only centimeters apart, a man’s voice cuts through our moment.
“Luna, there you are! How’s my most beautiful girl?” A guy slams himself down across from us in the booth.
We both pull out of our closeness and look over at him. She offers up a fake smile and reaches for her drink. “I’m good, Wesley. How about you?”
He gives her a smirk and nods his head as he spins his glass between his hands. “Great! Just thought I’d swing by and see if you were still working at the music store. I’m in need of some private tutoring, if you know what I mean.” He wags his brows at her as a disgusting smile stretches across his face. It kills me that he knows her in ways I don’t . . . yet. But it’s my personal mission to know her in ways no one else does.
“Wesley, this is my boyfriend, Daniel.” She glances over at me. “Daniel, this is Wesley. He’s a member of my management team.”
I offer up a smile—wanting him to know that his presence doesn’t bother me—and I reach across the table to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, Wesley.”
He shakes my hand but looks at her. “Boyfriend, huh? Wow, that’s a first.”
She frowns at him.
“I just mean, other than me. I’m her boyfriend too. Or rather, I was,” he says, now looking at me, wanting me to know exactly where he’s been.
“Well, I hope she didn’t break your heart too badly. I have a feeling this one’s hard to get over.” I squeeze her a little tighter.
“Nah, we were . . . we just weren’t right for each other, but we did have a few good times, right, Lulu?”
Lulu? What the fuck was that? Based on her face, she isn’t fond of the nickname. Mental note: never call her Lulu!
“Something like that,” she says, not agreeing.
I get the feeling this guy isn’t going to leave without being asked, so I lean forward and talk softly, like I’m not wanting her to hear. “Hey, I’m trying to show my girl a good time here. If you wouldn’t mind . . .” I motion for him to leave with my eyes.
His eyes become wide as a knowing look spreads across his face. “Oh, gotcha. Right. No problem.” He grabs his drink. “I was just wanting to come by and see how you were doing, but I need to take off,” he says loudly enough for her to hear.
He stands and I wave. He turns to leave, but I have the feeling he’s going to give her one last look, so I quickly turn my head to face her. My hand lands softly on her jaw and I tilt her head back, my mouth finding hers. At first, she seems shocked, but she quickly warms up to the idea. Her soft lips move with mine as my tongue comes out to taste her. Immediately, I can taste the Jack and Coke she’s been drinking, but there’s also a sweetness I wouldn’t associate with the drink—a sweetness that’s all her own. I want this kiss to last forever, but I also want to see the look on that jerk’s face. I break away from the kiss and turn to see him watching. He quickly wipes away the angriness of his stare and walks off.
Luna laughs and giggles, bouncing in her seat. “Did you see his face?” she asks, shaking my shoulder.
I laugh and nod. “I did. I don’t think he’ll be bothering you for a while now.”
“Thank you.” She throws her arms round my neck and hugs me tightly. I laugh as I hug her back, enjoying her heat and the way her body feels pressed against mine. When the hug ends, that pull has returned and we’re right back where we started—lost and gazing into each other’s eyes. Her lips part and the intensity in her eyes grows thicker. This time, she wants a real kiss.
I close the distance between us once again. This time, I’m kissing her for real and not for show. I don’t give a fuck who’s watching right now. This kiss is for us. Our tongues tangle together fast and hard as my hands cup her cheeks, holding her against me. Blood rushes every inch of my body, mixing with the emotions from this kiss. It’s a powerful cocktail that has my head spinning and my whole body tingling. I could blame it on the alcohol, but deep down, I know that isn’t it. I’ve had this urge since I walked into that music store today. She lets a tiny moan slip past her lips and it makes me painfully hard. I can’t think of anything but diving into her and staying there all night long.
Our kiss has gone on for several minutes and I’m pretty sure everyone in the room is staring at us. The kiss slows and we pull apart. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes glassy. “Want to get out of here?” she asks. “My place is just around the corner.”
“Let’s go,” I agree, holding out my hand. She takes it and I stand, helping her out of the booth. We’re so focused that we don’t even look around us as we’re heading toward the door.
The moment we step outside, the crisp Chicago air blows around us, but it doesn’t cool the fire raging in either of us. She keeps her hand in mine as she pulls me along behind her, toward her apartment. As promised, she stops at a building just around the corner from the bar. She drops my hand as she digs her keys out of her pocket, sliding one into the lock on the glass door and pulling it open. As she leads me down the hall, she’s pulling off her coat and scarf.