Following Me by Linde, K.A. (best books to read in your 20s .txt) 📗

As Devon finished reading themessage, her hands continued to shake even though she knew she hadn’t beencaught.  She closed her eyes and then opened them slowly. In a split-seconddecision, she deleted the text from her phone.  She didn’t know what had comeover her, but she couldn’t have his words staring at her, making her feelguilty, for another second.

Since she had left, she hadreceived three or four emails a week from him.  She hadn’t answered any ofthem.  He was probably starting to wonder why she wouldn’t even answer emails,but she didn’t care.  What could she say anyway?

“Anything interesting?” Brennanasked, leaning over to her side.

She closed her phone quickly andlooked up at him.  She hadn’t realized how close he was until that moment. Devon wet her lips as she gazed into the depths of his eyes.  His pupils wereespecially dilated tonight.  She didn’t know if it was from the lack of lightin the room or if he had smoked pot before arriving.  He didn’t smell like it. Actually, he smelled great.  How had she never noticed that?

He cocked a lazy smile at her,like he could read her thoughts.  Maybe he could.  He just stared right back ather, exploring her face in ways that made her feel even guiltier for deletingReid’s text message.

The more she was around Brennan,the more she noticed him, and that was a slippery slope.  Had he always beenthis good-looking?  Had she just not noticed before because she had beenblinded by Reid and all the problems she was working through?  Or was it morethan just his appearance?  After all, he hadn’t changed his looks.  It wasjust him.  It was something about him that she just got.  It wassomething a person could only experience.  Now that she was staring at him, shecouldn’t fathom not noticing.

If she had thought coming to thisshow would at all dampen her rising desire for the man sitting in front of her,she was wrong.  Dead wrong.

“No, nothing interesting,” shesaid, finally pulling her eyes away from him.

Devon was saved from furtherconversation when the lights began flickering to draw attention.  A woman in ablack dress walked onto the stage with more confidence than Devon could musterand took the microphone in her hand with a smile.  She announced the start ofthe club’s open mic night, resulting in a boisterous round of applause.  Whileshe talked, she strutted back and forth across the small stage like she ownedit.  A few men let out catcalls.  Devon hoped that didn’t continue and that itwas only because the woman was clearly an MC of sorts.

Suddenly, the lights shut off,casting the entire bar into darkness.  Devon looked around in confusion eventhough she couldn’t make out anything at all.  She didn’t particularly like thedark, not after all her nightmares.  She hesitantly began to rise, but thenBrennan’s hand found hers in the dark, stilling her.  Devon could feel Brennanstaring at her even though she couldn’t see him, but this seemed to settle herrather than unnerve her.

Leaning into her, he whispered,“Just wait.”

A spotlight hit center stage aminute later, and the opening chords of a song strummed through the speakers. Then, the woman launched into her song, and the cheers followed.  Brennanreleased her hand, and Devon tried not to fidget.

As the woman held the last highnote, ending beautifully, the crowd grew even louder.  Then, another persontook her place on stage and began singing.  Devon wondered how many acts wereperforming tonight and where Brennan was in the lineup.  If this was going onindefinitely, she would need a drink.

“When did you say Hadley andGarrett are getting here?” he asked, checking his watch after the last singer.

“They didn’t say.”

It was getting late.  They shouldhave been here already.

“I have to go backstage soon.  Ihoped to catch them before I left, but I guess I can’t help it.  Tell them Isaid hey, and I’ll see them after the show,” Brennan said, rising from hisseat.

Devon fiddled with her phone andcontemplated texting them to find out where they were.  Hadley was acompulsively late person, but Garrett wasn’t, so they usually balanced eachother out.  A new person anxiously walked up onto the stage and began awkwardlystrumming a guitar.  Devon knew this one was going to be a nightmare.

She leaned over to Amy andHannah.  “How many of these people are generally terrible?”

They both looked at her like shewas being rude.

“They all have the guts to go upthere at least,” Amy said with a shrug, not meeting her eye.

“Yeah, it’s not easy to get up onstage like that,” Hannah agreed, crossing her arms.

Remind me to never try to makeconversation with you again, Devon thought.

“I’m going to get a drink,” Devonsaid to no one in particular.

They weren’t listening anyway.

Careful to avoid the table thathad harassed her earlier, she ambled over to the bar and saw there was a longline.  Devon sighed, debating whether it was worth it.  She decided to wait anywaysince she didn’t have anything better to do.

She spent the time scanning theroom more closely.  Earlier, she had only been looking for her friends, butnow, she could simply people watch.  A group of girls in the corner weredressed in nothing short of hooker attire.  She wondered if they were actualprostitutes or if they just dressed that way for attention.  If it was thelatter, it was working.  A couple was pressed up against the wall in thecorner.  The woman’s leg was hitched around the guy’s waist, and that waspretty much all Devon could see of her.  The couple would be leaving soon ifthey didn’t prefer the convenience of the restroom stalls.  More than a fewgroups of guys had similar appearances to the meathead who had come on to herearlier.  This place seemed to be a breeding ground for them.  She would haveto tread more carefully to evade their wandering hands on her return to thetable.

She looked away from a largegroup of guys making less than playful banter with one of the hooker types. The girl must have been pretty headstrong because she looked like she was readyto take them on…or maybe she was taking them on in other ways.  Devon didn’twant