Wrong for You (Before You #3)(64)
“Hey,” Alec said as she parted the chiffon drapes.
“Hi,” she replied, running one of her slim hands along the length of her neck. It was long, smooth and glowing, just as he remembered, but somehow better. He barely suppressed the urge to push her fingers away so he could trace his fingers along the silken skin starting beneath her earlobe, pausing to feel her pulse fluttering beneath the surface and then to the top of her collarbone.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he took a couple steps toward her. “I thought we could talk after I finish playing. It’s only two songs. You can watch the performance back here and then we could talk here or in the lobby. It’s up to you…” His voice trailed off, waiting for her answer, hoping she was here to give him another chance rather than solely to represent the Foundation.
Violet smiled and his heart expanded in his chest. He missed her angelic smile and her two perfectly matched dimples more than his next breath. “I’d like to, but I brought Annette and I feel bad leaving her alone.”
“Taylor will hang out with her.”
“Don’t volunteer my girlfriend,” Cam yelled.
“She’s my sister,” Alec shot back. “That takes precedence.”
“We’ll see,” Cam said, turning his back to him.
“Don’t listen to Cam,” Alec cautioned. “I don’t.”
“Fuck you,” Cam shot back. “I can hear you.”
“Anyway,” Alec said, clearing his throat, “Give me fifteen minutes of your time. We don’t have to go anywhere. The lobby will work. I want to clear the air.”
“Okay,” she agreed, squeezing his hand briefly. “I’ll be here.”
“Alec,” Jax yelled. “Are you ready?”
Alec’s eyes darted in Jax’s direction before returning to Violet. “I’ll see you in ten minutes.
Her pale blue eyes locked on his and she nodded.
He gave her one last, lingering look and walked on the stage. He loved performing, but right now he’d love to cancel the whole thing. He’d throw Violet and her sinful, curve-hugging dress over his shoulder and bring her back to his place. For the first time in his life, playing the drums felt like an interruption rather than the point of his existence. When he played the drums, he could trick himself into believing he was happy, but when he was around Violet, he didn’t have to pretend. He was happy.
***
Chasing Ruin stepped on the stage to applause and shouts, but nothing like the videos she glimpsed on YouTube. Apparently, that’s the response when the room was filled with self-important people rather than band-crazed groupies and band super fans.
Standing on the side of the stage was amazing. She couldn’t see the people in the ballroom so she felt a little like a voyeur sneaking into Chasing Ruin’s practice session.
“Thanks for coming,” Jax, the lead singer yelled into the microphone. “Since you so graciously opened your wallets for a cause near to our hearts, we’ll be playing two never before heard songs for you.”
Alec did a quick countdown with his drumsticks and then music exploded from the instruments. The crowd screamed the minute Jax’s voice crooned into the microphone. It was like honey over gravel and as everything came together, Violet understood why Chasing Ruin was so big.
“That’s my song,” Taylor said from behind her. “Cam didn’t tell me they were going to play it tonight.”
“You wrote it?” Violet asked.
“No,” Taylor smiled dreamily. “Cam wrote it for me.”
Violet listened to the words of redemption and love lost and found and she had to admit, it was achingly beautiful. “I love it and it’s getting a great reaction.” She yelled to be heard over the music and the shouts from the audience.
“I can’t believe it.” Taylor clapped her hands together like a kid. “Cam’s going to be ecstatic when they’re done playing. That song was his first real attempt at writing music for the band. In the past, Jax wrote all the lyrics.”
“I’m not a reliable judge of music, but it sounds incredible.”
Taylor’s eyes followed Cam around the stage, not veering away from him for a minute.
“How long have you been together?” Violet asked.
“Four months.”
“And Alec doesn’t mind that you’re dating him?” She probably shouldn’t have said anything, but her internet search of Chasing Ruin inevitably dug up some really outrageous stuff on Cam.”
Taylor laughed. “You watched the video, huh?”
Violet’s cheeks heated. She didn’t watch it, but she did read a lurid description of his not so innocent hook-up with two girls. “No, I just read a little about it.”
“Cam has changed. Alec knows that and so do I. We all have crap in our past—lies, secrets, moments we want to erase and moments we wish we could do over—but it doesn’t have to define us,” Taylor said the words so convincingly, she wanted to believe her.
Violet nodded. She didn’t want to erase any moments she shared with Alec, but she wished she had reacted differently to finding out Alec was the drummer for Chasing Ruin. She should have listened, or at the very least called him the next day once she cooled down and let him explain. She told him she loved him and she promised that nothing would change her mind about him. Her promise didn’t even last twenty-four hours. Instead, she ran from him just like his parents did when things got uncomfortable, and she spent the last month choking on her insecurities rather than picking up the phone and calling him.