ME: BRING YOUR FRIEND, TOO.
A minute later there wasn’t a response. I stared at my phone for five more minutes, then decided I was acting like a damn chick. Tossing my phone on the sofa, I stood up and headed back to the bathroom to take a shower. Blythe wasn’t mine to protect.
Chapter Seven
BLYTHE
KRIT: BRING YOUR FRIEND, TOO.
I had read that last text from Krit at least ten times over the past two hours. I didn’t respond to him. I wasn’t sure how. He had ignored me completely for two weeks, and now this.
I glanced over at Linc. Dinner had been nice. He had talked a lot about his family and soccer. He was a big fan of soccer. The problem was nothing he said made my heart flutter the way it did when I looked down at Krit’s text message.
Linc hadn’t asked much about me during dinner. He had told me a lot about himself, and I had listened. Krit always asked me about myself. I had to find ways to gloss over the truth about my past, but at least he asked me.
“Where to now? Any suggestions? Mini golf maybe?” Linc asked, breaking into my thoughts. I felt guilty even comparing him to Krit. That wasn’t fair. Linc was a nice guy, and he liked me. Krit was . . . I didn’t know what Krit was.
Glancing back down at my text, I let the words fall out of my mouth before I could stop them. “There’s a band playing at Live Bay tonight. You met the bass player when you came to pick me up. I haven’t gone to listen to them yet.”
What was I doing? Linc had mentioned playing mini golf, and I’m asking him to take me to a club. Did pastor’s sons even go to clubs? Shaking my head, I looked up at him. “Never mind. That’s not an appropriate place to go. I’m sorry I mentioned it.”
Linc grinned as he turned the car around. “I’ve been to Live Bay before, Blythe. Jackdown is a great band. I’ve heard them play several times. They headline the place and bring in the biggest crowds. If you want to hear them play, then I’ll gladly take you there.”
“Oh. Okay. If you’re sure it’s okay with your dad. I don’t want to upset him.”
Linc’s face got serious for a second. I would have missed it had I not been looking at him. A forced smile quickly formed on his lips. “Not worried about my dad. I think I made that clear to him once this week already,” he said.
I wanted to ask him what he was talking about, but I didn’t. We were pulling into the parking lot of Live Bay, and all my excitement about seeing Krit perform took center stage in my head.
“Parking is fierce tonight. I’ll let you out at the door, and you can wait for me inside while I go park around back. I don’t want to make you walk that far in the gravel with those heels.”
Linc stopped in front of the entrance. I didn’t want to walk in there alone, but I didn’t want to sound like a baby, either. He was trying to be nice. “Thank you,” I said before opening the door and stepping out.
The muffled sound of the music inside filled the night air as I walked toward the door. A guy with a tight black T-shirt on and the largest arms I had ever seen in my life stood there. Both of his arms were wrapped with chainlike tattoos. I lifted my eyes to meet his and realized he was watching me. An amused smirk was on his face.
He opened the door and nodded for me to go inside. “I’ll let your man pay your cover. You go on in, sweetheart.”
My cover? Did you have to pay to go inside? Maybe I should pay. This was my idea. I reached for my purse. “No, I’ll pay for both of us,” I told the large man.
“Baby, if you pay, I’m gonna personally kick his ass for letting you. So you need to walk your sweet tail inside.”
Oh my. Okay.
I managed a nod and hurried quickly inside. A low chuckle from behind caused me to blush. I wasn’t sure how I felt about some stranger calling me sweetheart and baby. I wanted to wait for Linc, but I didn’t want to wait close to the door and to that guy.
Inside the club, Krit’s voice filled the place, and I spun around to see him standing on the stage, grinning down at the girls screaming his name. “Damn, y’all look sweet tonight. Got me all kinds of worked up,” he said. He was shirtless, and that in itself was something to scream about. I understood their excitement. He reminded me of a god, standing up there. His beautiful body showcased by a pair of jeans that hung perfectly on his hips gave the crowd a view of his lower stomach and the promise of what was underneath.
I moved closer, wanting to see more. He was laughing at something Green had said, and the dimples that fascinated me flashed out at the crowd. The blue of his eyes was electric tonight. More intense than they normally were. There was an unreal quality to them.
He slid his hand down his lower stomach and just inside the top of his jeans and winked at some girl up close to the stage. The screaming started up again, and he threw his head back and laughed. The muscles in his neck stood out, and my gaze soaked him in. Every inch.
When he looked back out at the crowd, his eyes shined with amusement—until they locked on me. Then he went completely still. I had moved closer to the stage than I thought had. Slowly, a real smile touched his lips, and it was as if no one else was in the room. I stood there, unable to move away. He had me spellbound.
His tongue touched his bottom lip, and then he puckered his lips in a kiss before reaching for the guitar behind him and slipping it over his shoulder. “Let’s do this,” he said, breaking our connection and looking back at Green.
Green was watching me too. I lifted my hand and gave him a little wave. He grinned and gave me a nod.
“There you are. I couldn’t find you in this place. It’s crawling with people,” Linc’s voice was in my ear, and I jumped, startled. I had forgotten about Linc. One look at Krit, and all other thoughts had left me. I was a horrible date. I started to apologize for walking so far away from the door when I heard it: Krit singing for the first time. His voice was already one of my favorite sounds. But hearing him sing . . . It was something more. The thick warmth of his voice curling around the words sent a thrill through my body.