Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“I don’t think anything’s coming,” I say. “Diana’s a friendly sort. She talks to anyone.”
“I know that,” Jesse says. “But she is so not Dragon’s type.”
“You can say that again. He’s not her type either. But they’re probably just having a conversation, Jesse.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He shakes his head.
“What do you mean by that?”
Jesse frowns slightly. “What I mean is, Dragon’s not a big talker. You all probably know that.”
“True,” I say.
“He does seem to keep to himself.” Sadie looks to Dragon for a moment, her fingers still clenched around Jesse’s arm. “But tell me more about you. How you got started with this band and all.”
Chapter Six
Jesse
Sadie’s a pretty girl. I don’t know how old she is, but I know she’s older than Brianna Steel, who’s a beautiful girl.
People like to say my sister Rory is the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek.
She is gorgeous, of course, but since I’m her brother, I don’t see her that way.
If I had to choose the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek, she would be the young woman standing beside me now.
Brianna Steel.
She’s tall, built, with long sable hair and mesmerizing dark eyes. Perfect proportions, perfect classically beautiful features.
And way too young for me.
I’m not looking for anyone, anyway.
One-nighters aren’t my style—even though I plan to screw my way across Europe. But that’s different. I’ll be leaving after each gig. A hookup with someone here at the party? No thanks. I live here. I know these people.
Take Sadie, for instance. I’m pretty sure she’d be happy with one night of loving and then leaving.
But Brianna? She’s way too good for that kind of thing.
Besides, it’s too weird, with my rivalry with her brother and all.
It’s bad enough that he’s hooked up with Callie.
“If you ladies will excuse me,” I say, finally wrestling my arm out of Sadie’s grip.
Sadie isn’t deterred and grabs my arm again. “Oh, don’t go. You haven’t answered my question yet.”
“What question?” Right, she asked me about the band. “You mean about how the band got started?”
“Yes. I’d love to know the whole story.”
Guess I have to deal with her vise grip on my forearm a bit longer. “I’ve always been interested in rock and roll. I got to go to college for free on a football scholarship. But I wasn’t good enough for the pros—”
Sadie gasps. “Wait a minute. You played football?”
“Yeah. I was quarterback.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I don’t kid.”
Brianna laughs at that one, though I’m not sure why.
“Something funny, Bree?”
Brianna shakes her head, still chuckling. “No. Go ahead.”
“Yeah, I played in high school. I was all-state, and just a hair short of making all-American. Got a scholarship to the University of Wyoming and went there, played football, but majored in music.”
“How fascinating.”
Fascinating? There’s not really anything fascinating about my life. Or is there? I’m about to go on tour with a famous rock band. Maybe that is fascinating.
“So then what did you do?” Sadie asks, her eyes wide.
“Once I got out of college, I thought about going to grad school and getting a master’s degree in music. By then my sister Rory was starting college, and she wanted a classical career in opera. But I’ve always been a rocker at heart, and I didn’t think a master’s was worth the time and money. I got my undergrad for free while I played football, but I was going to have to pay for a graduate degree. So I said no, returned to Snow Creek, partnered up with my cousin Cage, and we recruited Jake and Dragon.”
“When did Rory join the band?”
“Only recently. She tried for an opera career, but New York didn’t know what was good for them, so she ended up back here and taught music. She would sing with us every now and then, but she never joined the band officially until recently.”
“The two of you together are like a dream,” Sadie says.
“I agree.” Brianna steps between Sadie and me, forcing my arm out of Sadie’s grasp. “Seriously, you two are. I’ve always loved your voice, Jesse, and though I’m not a huge opera fan, I’ve always loved Rory’s too. When she sings with the band, lets her inner rocker out? She’s amazing.”
“I have to agree,” I say. “It was actually Rory’s idea for us to share lead vocals, and for me to leave the guitar to Jake. That’s what drew Emerald Phoenix to us at a recent engagement we had. First half of the night, I played guitar, and we rocked so hard. Then Rory wanted to switch things up. So I said what the fuck? We tried it, and it was amazing. Jett said that was what convinced him that we should be his opening band.”
“Wow.” Sadie’s eyes are dark-blue circles. “What an amazing story. How did Jett Draconis happen to be at your performance?”
“His agent told him about us. She had seen the previous performance. She wasn’t signing any new acts at that time, but the opener for the Emerald Phoenix tour had dropped out, so they needed a quick replacement. Selena, the agent, sent Jett and Zane to see us. I guess the rest is history.”