Lead Player - Alex Grayson Page 0,10

just turned down the road, heading toward us.

“That’s Enzo,” he says with a grin.

Pulling my phone from my back pocket, I start scrolling my social media, completely ignoring the crunch from the tires on the approaching car. There’s an adorable picture of an orange cat a friend of mine just adopted. She named him Pika after Pikachu. I press down on the like button until a heart pops up, then drop a gif of Patrick Star leaning on his elbows with stars in his eyes. I scroll to the next post on my timeline. Oh look, there’s drama going down between my cousins. Apparently, Cristen has been trying to steal Leddy’s boyfriend behind her back. I snort as I swipe right on by without thought.

I’m sliding through the new memes on one of my favorite pages when I hear a quietly muttered curse. “Oh shit. This is going to be interesting.”

I shoot my eyes to Nikki, then follow her line of sight. The car has stopped beside James’ and the owner is walking our way. Even with dark shades covering his eyes I’d recognize him anywhere. My jaw drops in shock.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. No one can have this much shitty luck. How is it even possible that I didn’t recognize him at the bar? I remember the familiar feeling I got when I first saw him, but I played it off as him having one of those faces that seem familiar to someone else’s.

I narrow my eyes. The last magazine article I saw him in was a couple of months ago. He’s always been known for his long, dark hair. He’s since cut it off and has grown a beard. Looks like he’s not only leaving the band, but also taking on a new appearance.

“I thought he looked familiar,” Nikki murmurs quietly, staring dreamily at Enzo.

Taylor, I inwardly snort. I knew that name was a phony. He doesn’t look like a Taylor.

He flips his shades up to rest on top of his head and his surprised gaze briefly flickers to me. James has a big grin on his face as he walks toward him, hand outstretched. Enzo’s dark eyes move to him, and a smile slowly forms.

“Damn, it’s good to see you again,” James says, clapping hands with him and pulling him into a man hug. “I almost didn’t recognize you with all that hair on your face. And fuck, you cut your hair, too.”

I sure as hell didn’t recognize him either.

Enzo slaps his back and pulls away. “Figured a new look would fit with the new life. That and it might keep me inconspicuous.”

“Not likely,” I mutter under my breath, ignoring Nikki’s questioning sideways look.

“Where’s Hudson?”

James grins. “He pussied out.” He pulls Juliet to his side, his expression turning prideful. “Meet my fiancée, Juliet. Juliet, this is the asshole I’ve been talking about for the last year.”

Juliet smiles and holds out her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I kinda feel like I know you already.” She gazes up at James lovingly. “He’s told me so much about you.”

Enzo chuckles. “And I’m sure most of it doesn’t paint me in a good light.”

She wrinkles her nose and laughs. “Eh, maybe just a bit.”

I cross my arms over my chest and roll my eyes, barely refraining from snorting. Enzo, sensing my annoyance, moves his eyes to me.

“Oh!” Juliet exclaims. “These are my two best friends. Nikki and A—”

“We’ve already met,” he says, cutting her off. His eyes barely graze over Nikki before they blatantly run up and down my body, like he’s remembering in vivid detail our night together. An unwelcome flush coats my cheeks. He notices, and being the asshole he is, he smirks.

“You have?” Juliet asks, bewildered. It doesn’t take her long to connect the dots and her eyes go wide. “Wait. This is Taylor, Alaina?”

“Middle name,” he grunts.

So, he didn’t outright lie. Not that I’ve got any ground to stand on even if he did. I wasn’t exactly truthful either.

“It’s nice to see you again, Alaina.” He says my name with a twist of his lips.

“Wish I could say the same, but….” I trail off, letting him finish the sentence on his own.

He opens his mouth to respond, but he’s interrupted.

“Hey, you must be the Anderson party,” a guy says, walking across the parking lot. “I’m Leo. Welcome to Wings Out.”

He does a double take when Enzo is introduced.

“Are you…?”

How is it that Leo recognized him right away, but I slept with