29

"Kade and I aren't getting back together," I assured Brady, enjoying the feeling of our fingers joined together.

"That's just because he hasn't asked yet, right?" A cloud settled over Brady's face.

"No, we aren't getting back together because we already had our chance. Going forward, any relationship we have will be strictly platonic." I couldn't tell who I was trying to convince, Brady or myself.

"But you will probably have some kind of relationship?" Brady's mood was starting to annoy me. Did he want me to say that I would never speak to Kade again or make some ridiculous vow of faithfulness?

"Yes, we will. This town only has one mechanic. We know all the same people. We attend the same church. We share a goddaughter. There is going to be a relationship but it's not going to be romantic."

"I sound like a jealous asshole don't I?' Brady groaned and I nodded, pulling my hand away to pick up my margarita.

"Little bit."

"I'm sorry. I just, gah, this is all me. My last girlfriend left me for her ex and I guess I'm still having a hard time with it," he admitted.

"You're trying to protect yourself. I get it." He relaxed and picked up his beer. "But I'm not her and treating me like you expect my panties to fly off at the mention of Kade's name is insulting." Brady winced.

"You're right. That's on me. I will do my best to make your panties fly off myself."

"That's more like it." I smiled at him over the top of my glass and felt the butterflies fan out as I watched him put his beer to his lips. Our meals came and we managed to get through dinner with a little more relaxed conversation.

After we left the restaurant, Brady drove to a public parking lot in the middle of downtown. The bar we were going to wasn't far, so we decided to walk around and check out some of the shops. Our fingers kept brushing against each other until finally Brady took my hand in his, our fingers interlocked. Heat shot up my arm and my nipples tightened. His hand was rough and I worried that I was making it gross with sweat. We had stopped to look at a display in the window of my favorite bookstore when Brady got a call.

"Yeah, we'll head that way," he told the person on the other end of the phone and then hung up. "Ready to meet the band?"

"Sure," I said with a smile. He squeezed my hand and we headed to the bar.

Pistol Pete's was full when we arrived. It wasn't a big venue to begin with and most of the tables had been pushed up against the walls to make room for people in front of the stage. A couple of guys were setting up mics and a drum set when we made our way in. Brady dropped my hand so he could cup his mouth with both of his.

"Joseph!" he barked and a guy with crayola red hair who was putting down a bass guitar looked over.

"Hey man!" Red greeted him back, coming up and giving him a bear hug. "Glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't miss it. Do you have a second to meet Sara?" Both guys turned to me and I gave a little finger wave. Great first impression.

"Hey Sara, I'm Joey." He gave my hand a squeeze when we shook.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm really excited to hear you play." Joey grinned.

"I take it Brady's told nothing but lies about our music then," he said, making Brady roll his eyes.

"No, I just really love totally average music." Joey let out a bark of laughter.

"This one has a sense of humor. Better wife her up," he told Brady. Brady turned that adorable shade of red I was starting to love.

"Your bar is pretty low if sense of humor is all it takes."

"Honey, you tick all of the boxes. Being able to laugh is just the icing on the cake," Joey said with a wink. One of Joey's bandmates called his name and Joey turned, giving him a nod. "Listen, I put your name on our tab, so you treat Chuckles here to whatever she wants, and we'll catch up later." He gave Brady one more hug and sprinted over to the stage.

"You heard the man, Chuckles," Brady teased, elbowing me gently. "What can I get you?"

"Vodka cran please. I'll stay right here." The bar was packed and I was not looking forward to being crushed. Brady gave me a quick kiss on my temple before wading into the crowd. The house DJ stepped into the booth and started to play some music, causing me to start swaying back and forth. Joey caught my eye from the stage and gave me a grin. Boy, that one was a flirt. I smirked before I realized my phone was buzzing.

'How's it going?" Hannah asked.

'Good, then awkward, now good again. We're at the bar now.'

'Awkward?'

'He brought up Kade.'

'Fucking idiot.' I snorted, able to hear my sister's tone in her text.

'At least he's hot.'

'I put extra condoms in his glove box. You're welcome.'

"Here you go." Brady touched my drink to my bare arm, causing me to startle. I quickly put my phone away and took the drink.

"Thanks." I took a sip, allowing a new buzz to form since our walk had killed my margarita one. Brady dropped his mouth next to my ear.

"I'd love to see what you're wearing under that skirt again." His voice was low, thick with desire.

"I bet you would," I replied, taking another sip. He slipped an arm around my waist, holding me in front of him. I swayed a little to the next song that came on, my ass grazing his groin.

"Tease," he groaned and I rested my back against his chest.

"I'm just getting started." The next lyric called for dropping it low and every girl in the bar did just that. I kept my knees together, my drink in hand, and when I came back up, I made sure I rubbed up against Brady.

"Fuck."

"Not here. Too many people." Before I could take another sip, Brady's mouth came down on mine. Our tongues played together, his hand resting on my stomach. A few strains from a guitar playing over what the DJ had going caught our attention.

"Hello Hollis!" the front man of the band called out. The crowd cheered. "Oh come on, you can do better than that. I said HELLO HOLLIS!" This time the crowd erupted and Brady and I joined in. "We are happy to be here and have a great show planned. First things first, we'd like to give a shout out to our man Brady for his solid choice of new girlfriend. If you don't tap that ass tonight man, one of us will happily take your place." Embarrassment washed over me while Brady flipped him the bird with a grin. "Who's ready to party?!" The crowd roared and the band started their first song.

Bank Notes' sound was actually pretty good, the songs were well written, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun. At one point, they were singing about taking a girl home and going down on her and Joey pointed right at Brady, which caused most of the crowd to turn.

"I'm going to kill him," Brady groaned, resting his forehead on my shoulder. Joey seemed to be enjoying his friend's pain, so I turned to face Brady, taking his face in my hands and kissing him deeply. When his arms went around my waist, I wrapped my arms around his neck. I rocked my hips back and forth, feeling his erection grow between us. One of his hands dropped to my ass, squeezing it, making me moan into his mouth. I was glad I had left my jacket in the truck because I was on fire. I broke the kiss, returning my back to him and grinding my ass into his groin. His hands were holding my hips tightly, making me wonder if this is what it would be like if he took me from behind. "I want you so badly right now," he had to almost shout in my ear. I slipped my hand between us to palm his cock through his jeans in answer. It was amazing that the liquid he was creating between my thighs wasn't running down my leg. After an hour of this, the band took a break. Brady and I locked eyes.

"I'm ready if you are," I told him, barely able to contain myself. Brady nodded and when Joey came over, we said our goodbyes.

"I'm surprised you lasted this long," he said to Brady with a smack on the back.

"Me too," Brady admitted. He waved to the rest of the guys and I gave Joey a hug.

"Take care of my boy. If he doesn't repay the favor, let me know. I'll finish the job."

"I can always take care of myself." Joey's jaw dropped and I smiled. Brady grabbed my hand and led me out of the bar. All I could think about was getting in the truck and getting my hands on certain parts of him.