Chapter 47

Piper

I was only working until nine since I’d had to be at Euphoria before noon to handle inventory and ordering. Austin had dropped me off and was picking me up for a late dinner. Since Austin had shown up shortly after opening, he’d been sitting at the bar, fending off groupies. As for me, I was meeting with a local band that wanted to play at Euphoria.

The band consisted of four guys who all had a clean-cut, boy band look. I’d listened to their demo, and they were good. I was seated at a table with Jos, the lead singer, while the other members of the band headed to the bar for drinks.

Jos was cute, with neatly trimmed black hair, hazel eyes, and an olive complexion. He had his share of groupies already, from what I could tell from the band’s social media pages.

“Do you have any questions, Jos?” I asked him.

He shook his head and smiled. “Not related to the show. Are you really Austin Knight’s girlfriend?”

“No,” I replied automatically. “We’re old friends.” What I’d said was true, but not the whole truth. This was the first time a stranger had asked me about my relationship with Austin, and Austin wouldn’t be happy with my response.

Jos looked over his shoulder to where Austin was still surrounded by the slut brigade. I was not jealous. Nope, not one little bit.

“I figured that with the way he keeps glaring at us that the rumors about your dating him were true.” He didn’t give me a chance to reply before continuing. “Do you have any rules about dating members of the bands who perform here?”

Jos wanted to ask me out? I definitely hadn’t seen that coming. Jos had recently turned twenty-one, and I’d assumed he’d think I was too old for him.

“The issue’s never come up,” I admitted. “But dating bands who play here would be a bad idea.”

He nodded and flashed me a mischievous grin. “That’s probably just as well since Austin Knight looks like he’s about to come over here and kick my ass for talking to you.”

“What?” I glanced over at Austin. He was watching us, but that wouldn’t last long. “Austin is too busy entertaining the slut brigade to pay attention to what we’re doing.”

“I see,” Jos mused as he moved to the chair beside me, leaning in until his lips were close to my ear. “So, if I were to move closer, like this, to tell you something, Austin wouldn’t mind?”

I was about to assure him Austin wouldn’t care when Austin spoke from right behind Jos. “Back off.”

Jos grinned and turned to Austin.

“Don’t even think about it,” I warned them both.

“Think about what?” Jos asked innocently.

“You.” I pointed at Jos. “Are trying to start shit with Austin.” My attention shifted to Austin. “You should be more worried about the girls begging you to help mend their broken hearts.”

“Didn’t you call them the slut brigade a minute ago?” Jos asked innocently.

Austin let out a bark of laughter. “Slut brigade?”

“Do you want to play at Euphoria?” I asked Jos.

Jos put his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. I’m the youngest of seven and the only boy.”

“That’s his way of saying he’s a pain in the ass,” Kaeden, the drummer, said as he rejoined us. “I can’t believe I’m in the same room as Austin Knight. Don’t judge me based on the stupid shit that comes out of Jos’s mouth. He’s just a kid.”

“You’re not that much older than me,” Jos told him with a laugh, moving to sit on the other side of the table again.

Austin took the seat beside me. His hand moved around to the back of my chair before he thought better of it and folded his hands in front of him on the table. We’d discussed PDA’s in my place of employment when he’d arrived earlier that night. I was glad he remembered the rules.

I decided to make the introductions. “Austin, this is Jos and Kaeden. Their band, Deluded Serenity, will be performing here next month.”

“I can’t tell you how excited we were when you said a slot had opened up,” Jos told me.

“Yeah, we figured it would be months before you even considered us,” Kaeden added. “We weren’t sure you’d even listen to our demo after you had Reckless Release for your opening night.”

New clubs didn’t usually have many bands asking to play their venue, but when we’d announced Reckless Release was booked for opening night, it had attracted the interest of several local bands.

“I’m trying to give more local bands a chance,” I explained. “Your demo is good, and I liked what I saw on YouTube from your shows. You also have an impressive following.”

“How long have you been playing?” Austin asked.

“As a band? About five years,” Jos replied. “We started playing together in high school.”

“I’ll check you guys out,” Austin told them.

“Really?” Kaeden asked excitedly.

“Sure,” Austin replied. “We play some local shows, so we’re always on the lookout for other local bands to open for us at clubs.”

“That would be amazing!” was Jos’s response. “Sorry about messing with you earlier. Like Kaeden said, I’m kind of a pain in the ass.”

“No worries,” Austin replied.

“We should get going,” Kaeden began. “We all have work in the morning. Is there anything else you need from us?”

“I have everything,” I assured him. “I’ll email the details for the show, including the times for soundcheck and the club rules.”

“Sounds good,” Jos agreed before they went to get the rest of their band.