Sound of Heartache ("Sound of" Book 2) (6 page)

Brent leaned back in his chair as the waitress cleared out their dishes and brought them over fresh sodas. As soon as the plates were gone, he moved his chair so he was sitting side by side with Aimee. She immediately put her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. Their position put them facing the stage and they watched as some of the restaurant employees helped set up a mic and amplifier.

A tall dude who was seriously ripped was plugging in his guitar and another guy with the beginnings of a tattoo sleeve was adjusting the microphone. They looked like a mismatched pair, but the way they moved fluidly around the stage meant they worked well together and had done this more than once. Brent was intrigued despite his earlier misgivings. His interest increase as the tattooed guy took the microphone and lifted his face toward the crowded room. Brent had studied bands and recording artists for a long time and this guy had one of the most essential things for success – a great face. Without a good-looking front man, a lot of bands really struggled.

“
What the fuck is up, San Diego!” The singer yelled. The crowd yelled back, and the mood in the room shifted immediately to one of buzzed energy. Definitely a good sign. The guitarist strummed a few notes on his guitar, and without any further introduction, they launched into a song. Brent felt a smile begin to stretch across his face. These guys were his age, maybe a couple of years older. And they were really good. He realized he was sitting on the edge of his seat, grinning like an idiot.

“
That guitarist, he’s good!” Aimee yelled at him. He could hardly hear her over the sound of the music and the noise of the crowd. He nodded, not bothering to yell back. “You’re better!” She yelled again, smiling.

Brent had to laugh. Aimee was incredibly supportive of his music. He wasn’t modest, he knew he had incredible talent but it was still nice to hear from someone whose opinion he actually cared about.

“
I’ve gotta get Eric over here!” He yelled at her. Aimee’s eyes lit with understanding and she nodded while pulling out her cell phone. She held up Eric’s contact info so Brent could see what she was doing and began typing quickly. There was no way Eric would be able to hear her if she tried calling so texting was the only way.

“
Thanks!” He yelled. She stuffed her phone back in her pocket and smiled sweetly at him, nodding. She squeezed his hand.

He and Aimee listened to three more cover songs before he saw Eric’s tall, lanky form pushing through the crowd. Brent stood so Eric could see him over the throng of people and waved him down. When he finally got over to the table he looked wild eyed but he was smiling.

“
I got groped like five times on the way to your table and goosed fuckin’ once!” He yelled. Aimee laughed and Brent couldn’t help but join in. Eric pulled a face before finding a chair and dropping into it. His head bobbed in time with the music and his eyes fixated on the stage. Brent knew he’d been right to call Eric. These guys were good but even more importantly, he could see himself and Eric fitting right in with them.

When the duo took a break a song later, Eric stood and looked at Brent in expectation. Brent leaned toward Aimee.

“
Will you be alright if Eric and I go talk to these guys?” He asked. He no longer had to shout, but it was still crazy loud. Aimee waved her hand in a shooing gesture and smiled at him. He stood up and he and Eric slowly pushed their way through the tightly packed bodies. They waited impatiently for some fan girls to clear out of the way, which took a while. These guys had already developed a decent following among women, which wasn’t surprising considering how they both looked. Brent was finally able to see past the girls to the lead singer and squeezed his way through to the front. The singer’s gaze flashed to his and Brent jolted at the unusually bright blue of his eyes. He looked really intense.

“
Hey dude. I’m Brent. Awesome performance.” He said, and thrust out his hand. The singer eyed him before offering his own hand, his grip firm.

“
Sorry, bro. I don’t swing that way. Flattered though.” The voice was raspy and low. Brent gave a startled laugh, not in the least offended by the assumption. He was pretty sure this was the first time anyone had ever assumed he was gay.

“
Not here for that man,” he assured the singer, grinning.

“
You sure about that? I saw you staring while I was up on stage.” The singer didn’t sound cocky, he sounded more curious than anything else.

“
My friend Eric and I are musicians. We’ve been looking for a couple of talented guys with the right vibe and we think you and your guitarist might be those guys.” He got a pierced eyebrow cocked at him.

“
No shit?” The laid-back attitude was gone and in its place was excitement. “Let me get your cell number so I can call you this weekend. We aren’t opposed to expanding and taking ourselves a little further on the scene.” Brent felt excitement course through him as he rattled off his number while the guy punched it into his phone. He might be getting a blow-off, but it didn’t feel that way to him. This guy seemed excited about the possibility.

“
Eric’s on drums. I’m versatile. I can pretty much play anything so I’ll fill in wherever fits best.” Brent’s voice was confident and he hoped like hell this guy followed through.

“
Versatile. Interesting word. You do know you’re speaking gay man talk, right?” He winked at Brent and Brent found himself smiling again. This guy was damn funny. “I’m Jack and the muscle head behind me is Jacob.” Jacob held out a large hand, and Brent shook it. Jacob didn’t do the typical muscle-head asshole move by rolling Brent’s hand and he knew there was more to this guy than people realized.

“
I’ll let you get back up on stage. It was good meeting you.” He started to turn away as Jack began typing on his phone again. He didn’t want to monopolize the guy’s time. He felt a buzzing on his ass indicating he’d received a text.

“
I sent you a text so you can remind me to meet up if the weekend gets away from me,” Jack told him. “I’m serious about meeting up, dude.” Brent gave him a genuine smile and he and Eric pushed their way back to the table where Aimee sat patiently waiting for them.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Aimee could tell from the pleased smile on Brent’s face that the conversation with the band went well. Aimee found her heart skipping a beat. She was crazy in love with Brent but she held back from saying the words. There were a few things she needed to tell Brent before she made any declarations of love and if he still wanted to be with her after they talked, she would tell him how she felt. She hadn’t lied to him exactly, but she knew omitting important facts was nearly the same as telling an outright lie.

“
We’re going to hook up this weekend,” Brent told her as he and Eric slid back into their seats. They all watched as the singer and guitarist took the stage again.

“
Awesome!” Aimee responded. She couldn’t be happier or more excited for him. She knew he dreamed of doing something huge in music and he was talented enough to go far. From the sounds of the vocalist, maybe this could be the way it happened for him. She knew Eric dreamed of performing too, but he was much less passionate about music than Brent was. To Eric, music was just something fun to do. For Brent, he needed music like he needed air. It was essential to living for him.

“
The singer is Jack. Guitarist is Jacob. He thought I was gay.” Aimee couldn’t stop the snort that erupted. She clapped her hands over her mouth. How embarrassing. Brent laughed at her and brushed a kiss across her cheek.

“
Good God, is there a hog in the room?” Eric teased. She lightly punched his arm.

“
No, but there is an ass,” she shot back. He grinned at her and kissed her other cheek. She rubbed his back affectionately. Eric leaned into her touch like a puppy and she realized suddenly how much she had come to value her friendship with Eric. He mattered to her almost as much as Brent did, just in an entirely different way.

Aimee sat back in her seat as the music started back up. She was worried how they would both react once they heard what she had to say. Would they be mad at her? Certainly Brent would have the right to be angry. She knew he cared about her deeply and their new relationship definitely put the pressure on her to own up to what she hadn’t yet had the nerve to tell him. She didn’t know if his feelings ran deep enough to withstand the discussion about their real age difference. She winced. It didn’t matter to her, but she wasn’t the one who would carry any risk from their relationship.

It wasn’t unheard of for a sixteen year old to graduate from high school. Aimee had turned seventeen in the middle of July after she’d graduated and shortly before she started her freshman year of college. She wouldn’t turn eighteen until her first year of college was over and done with. She didn’t know how much this would matter to Brent and that worried her. He’d never specifically asked her age, he just assumed she was eighteen like most college freshmen and she never bothered correcting him. She knew it was wrong and Brent could get in trouble for being with her, but nobody at school knew her age and the only people that did know were living hours and hours away. Aimee’s stomach churned at the thought of Brent’s possible reaction.

Aimee was pulled from her musing when a body crashed into her. She cried out as she was pushed into the wall next to her and a heavy form landed on top of her. Before she could register what was happening, the guy on her lap simultaneously nuzzled his face into her breasts while cupping them in his hands. She couldn’t stop the shriek that flew past her lips. She’d been groped before but never so blatantly and disrespectfully.

Before she was able to push the guy off, he was yanked up by a very angry looking Brent.

“
What the fuck, asshole?” Brent yelled, partially out of anger and partially to be heard over the noise.

“
She liked it,” the guy slurred, obviously drunk. Brent’s eyes narrowed dangerously and Aimee’s breath caught. Brent was usually a very mellow guy. She’d never seen him truly angry over anything.

“
You have one chance to shut the hell up and walk away,” Brent growled. The drunk laughed and reached for Aimee again. Aimee shrank into her seat as Eric knocked his arm away.

“
Not cool dude!” Eric yelled. Aimee struggled to get away from the drunk guy so Eric and Brent wouldn’t get into it with him.

As she looked around, she realized their little drama had started attracting attention. A few guys pushed their way over to where Brent was holding the drunk and they didn’t look happy.

“
Why don’t you let him the fuck go?” One of the newcomers yelled into Brent’s face.

“
Yeah,” another called out. “She was probably asking for it!” Before Aimee had a chance to react to that awful comment, Brent let his fist fly and the guy who insulted her crashed to the ground.

“
Fight, fight, fight” the people around them chanted. The drunk guy rammed his body into Brent’s and they both went tumbling to the ground. The drunk’s other friend and Eric squared off and Aimee noticed three additional guys gathering around and her stomach pitched. Apparently drunk guy had come with friends. A lot of friends. Eric and Brent were seriously outnumbered. She looked around frantically for someone to step in and help but it didn’t seem like there was any forthcoming. Everyone looked more interested in watching the fight go down instead of stepping in to help.

“
Hey, why don’t you guys just back off and take your friend home?” She called out to the new guys. One of them glanced over toward her and a sneer twisted his features.

“
Why don’t you shut the fuck up, bitch?” He called back. Aimee straightened her spine, pissed. She wasn’t a fighter by nature but she also didn’t sit down and take offensive insults when they were hurled her way. She took a step forward and felt a hand pull on her shoulder, halting her before she could make a move. Looking up, she gazed at the handsome profile of the tattooed singer. His face was granite hard.

“
How about you fuckin’ apologize to her before I lay you flat?” His raspy voice boomed next to her ear. Drunk guy’s friend did a double-take before taking an aggressive step forward.

“
Man, fuck you!” he yelled back. Aimee felt Jack’s sigh. It wasn’t even ten seconds later before all three of drunk guy’s friends were laid flat by Jack, Jacob, Brent, and Eric. The four of them looked absurdly pleased as they stood over the wreckage. Two bouncers pushed through the crowd and Aimee was irritated they had taken so long to show up to provide assistance. Despite the fact that the drunk guys had initiated the fight, they were all asked, not so politely, to leave.

As they all filed out of the restaurant, Aimee surveyed the carnage. A few chairs were knocked over but thankfully not broken. Two of the five assholes were sporting black eyes and split lips. They all looked a lot worse for wear and Aimee couldn’t stop a wry grin from twisting her lips. It served them right for being such terrible people.

“
You guys sure did cause a lot of destruction,” she said to the four unrepentant men, and they all laughed at her.