Chapter 2 - Ethan
I almost stop singing and mess up the whole song when she comes out on the dance floor. I catch myself in time, but it’s a struggle to keep up. She’s dancing like no one is watching, even though everybody in the room is staring at her. She’s laughing, and finally, finally, she turns towards me.
When she looks at me, it takes all my self-control to keep playing. I’m glad we’ve rehearsed this song for hours, because at this point, playing the guitar is pure muscle memory. She stares at me and my blood turns to fire. Her lips curl upwards and I can feel myself getting hard.
By the time the first set it done, I have to know who she is. But by the time I put my guitar down she’s already disappeared. My eyes scan the crowd and I frown.
Bethany Davis comes up to me, just like she does at every show, and flaps her eyelashes at me.
“Great set, Ethan,” she says. She puts her hands on my forearm and presses her chest against me. “Your voice sounds better every week.”
“Thanks, Beth,” I reply. I take a step back and look over her shoulder. Beth presses her tits against me a bit more and says something that I don’t hear. My breath catches in my throat.
There she is.
She’s at the bar, in the corner. She’s actually sitting in my seat. Didn’t Carl tell her? He knows that I always sit there, and usually he saves the seat for me.
Not this time. This time, he’s let this gorgeous brunette sit in my stool, and he’s pouring her another drink. By the time I make it through the crowd to her, she’s taking a sip. I watch her lips touch the edge of the glass and my cock pulses.
I clear my throat and tear my eyes away from her, turning to Carl.
“What’s this? You’re giving away my seat now?” I ask with a grin, glancing back at the woman before turning to Carl.
Carl chuckles. “Didn’t think you’d mind,” he replies, putting a beer down in front of me. I turn to the woman and let my eyes run up and down her body. I can hardly see straight. She’s staring at me with a raised eyebrow and a smile playing in her eyes.
“This is your seat?” She asks. “Didn’t see your name on it.”
“It’s sort of an unwritten rule,” I answer, sliding into the stool next to hers.
She snorts and takes another sip. “You want me to move?” She asks, flashing a mischievous grin at me. My cock is pulsing between my legs and I smile back.
“Nah, you can stay,” I answer. I wouldn’t want you to move for anything. “So you’re new in town?”
“Clearly,” she answers. “Don’t know all the rules yet.”
“You’ll learn.”
She smiles again and shakes her head. “What if I don’t like following rules?”
“That would be surprising.”
“What, I look nice and innocent to you?”
“Something like that,” I reply. “Maybe not innocent,” I add. Another smile flashes across her face.
“No,” she says slowly, running her finger around the edge of her glass. “Maybe not innocent.”
I can’t think straight. I know I have to play another set in a few minutes, but right now all I can think of is this woman and how badly I want to fuck her. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and I stare at the soft curve of her neck. My eyes drop down to her tits and back up to her face.
God, she’s hot.
I clear my throat and shift in my seat, trying to think of something to say. My head is full of cotton and my cock is as hard as steel.
“You’re a good dancer,” I finally manage to say.
She laughs. “Thanks. You’re a good singer.”
I turn to her, not sure if she’s joking or not. She smiles at me, and I know she isn’t. She tilts her head and takes another sip of her drink. I do the same, putting my beer down at the same time as her.
“I’m Zoe,” she says, reaching her hand over towards me.
“Ethan,” I nod.
I take her hand in mine and ignore the pulsing between my legs. Her skin is soft and warm, and her hand feels like it fits perfectly in my palm. She grabs my hand firmly and shakes in once. Her eyes gleam and a smile stretches her lips as she finally pulls her hand away.
“Are you from here?” She asks, glancing around the bar.
I shake my head. “Nah, I’m from a town a couple hours away,” I reply, not taking my eyes off her. “I just come up here to play.”
She nods. “I was driving down from the airport and had to take a detour because of the rock slide on the freeway. So I guess you could say I was lucky, otherwise I never would have stopped here.”
“You could say that,” I reply with a grin. You could say that I was the lucky one. I clear my throat, looking away from her to keep my head from spinning. “I drove up to the rock slide this morning,” I say, peeling the label off my beer. “It’ll take them days to clear the road.”
She nods, sipping her drink. “You guys get a lot of rockslides around here?”
I grunt. “Rockslides around here aren’t usually that big. The odd one takes a day or two to clear. The end of spring, beginning of the summer is the worst for them, when the snow is melting and the rain is pouring down. Makes the rock faces weak.” I glance up at her, seeing her eyes shoot up. “Don’t worry, you’re safe.”
She laughs. “Good.” We stare at each other for a moment until she clears her throat and takes another sip of her drink. She looks at me curiously.
“So why the Mad Hatters? Are you a big Lewis Carroll fan?” Her smile twitches.
“No, I just really like hats,” I reply. She laughs, and my heart jumps. She shakes her head and throws me a look that makes my cock pulse again. “Nah,” I add. “My mom used to read Alice in Wonderland to me when I was a kid. I loved that book, especially the scene with the Mad Hatter. I guess it just fit.”
“Makes sense,” she says.
“If I had my own world, everything would be nonsense,” I say almost automatically.
“Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t.” Zoe answers. My eyes widen and a laugh tumbles out of me.
“And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be.”
“And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” She laughs as she says the last words and shakes her head.
I stare at her, slack-jawed. “I’ve never met anyone who can quote the Mad Hatter. Not even my own bandmates.”
She blushes and stares at her drink. “I played the Mad Hatter in a school play when I was thirteen. It took me ages to learn those lines,” she laughs. “I’ve never forgotten them. Didn’t understand them then and still don’t understand them now.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to understand them,” I answer with a laugh. “So what are you doing here anyways? You don’t sound like you’re local.”
She tilts her head to the side and hesitates. She licks her lips and I try not to stare at her, until finally she shrugs.
“Just passing through,” she answers. I want to press her, but something in the way she says it makes me think she doesn’t want me to ask. “I’m leaving again in the morning, need to go to my new job.”
“That’s a shame,” I reply in a low growl. “It would have been nice to have more than one night together.”
Her eyes flash and her grin twitches. “Who said we were having a night together?”
I open my mouth to answer when there’s a tap on my shoulder. My drummer, Billy, is glancing from me to Zoe with an unimpressed look on his face.
“We’re on. Unless you’re too busy…?” He glances at Zoe, who blushes again. The color on her cheeks makes the desire coil in my stomach.
“You’re a dickhead, Billy,” I answer as he grins. I nod to the stage and start heading towards it when I turn around. I see Zoe slinging her bag over her shoulder and I frown.
“You’re leaving?”
“I have an early morning tomorrow,” she explains. We look at each other for a few moments and she leans against the bar. Impulsively, I take a step towards her, putting my hand on her waist and brushing my lips over her cheek. She trembles, and my cock pulses again.
“Don’t leave before I’m done,” I say softly into her ear. I pull away and watch as she wets her lips.
“Is that another rule of yours?” Zoe asks with an eyebrow raised.
“No.”
“Okay… I’ll stay,” she says in a low voice. We stare at each other for a few moments and I finally tear myself away. I look for her when I get on stage and smile when I see her at the bar, sitting in my seat.