Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(41)

The very few neighbors that he did have, didn’t seem to mind the noise, so long as the guys didn’t play too late into the evening.

Driving past the two sports stadiums, Kellan came upon Evan’s place.

Kellan shut off the car and opened his door. He grabbed his guitar out of the back seat as I got out and waited for him near the front of the vehicle.

Thankfully the earlier squall had passed, and only the normal, light drops splashed onto our still damp bodies. When Kellan stepped beside me, his hair still attractively slicked back from the rain, he smiled and nodded over to the stairs that led up to the loft.

Evan lived above an auto body shop. The mechanics all loved it when the boys practiced during their shift. Sometimes they even asked the guys to leave the door open, so the sound would come down clearer.

And if the guys were getting together early enough in the afternoon, sometimes they would. One of the shop employees had told me once that listening to the band through the walls made going to work feel like going to a rock concert. I understood the sentiment; they constantly made my job feel that way.

One of the garage doors was open as we walked by. A man was helping to guide another person, who was backing a car out of the door, so the driver didn’t accidentally back over the massive hole in the ground where the mechanics checked out the underside of the cars. Once the car was free, the man smiled and waved at Kellan.

“Where you been, man? Matt’s gonna evict you.” Kellan rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, that’s what I hear.” The man laughed while a grease-smeared woman got out of the car she’d just parked alongside the curb. She walked up to Kellan and bumped his shoulder with her fist. “Knock ‘em dead on tour, Kell.” She sighed dramatically while I glanced up at the rain falling on us. Maybe the woman could flirt with my man inside…where it was dryer. Shaking her shaggy crop of dark hair, she frowned. “We’re gonna miss you around here. It just won’t be the same with Evan’s place empty.” 115



Kellan smiled back at her and I mentally frowned at the warmth I saw on his face. I knew Kellan had female friends, Jenny was one of them, but I instantly wondered how friendly this mechanic-girl had been with my boyfriend. I squeezed his hand tighter, subconsciously leaning into his side as he said, “I doubt that, Rox. You’ll probably not even know we’re gone.” Raising an eyebrow, Kellan leaned over to her. “Besides, it will finally be quiet enough around here for you to work on that book.” She laughed, her face brightening and I hated even more that not only were they friendly, but they knew things about each other. They even shortened the other’s names. The familiarity bothered me and a rush of jealousy threatened to sweep me away. I was already struggling to not push the woman back and step in front of Kellan, growling possessively.

I wouldn’t ever actually do that…but I was thinking it.

Finally, someone inside whistled for the two mechanics chatting with us to get back to work. They did so reluctantly, and Kellan waved goodbye. Rox, Roxie or Roxanne, whatever her full name was, looked back at Kellan before disappearing. She had an interested expression that I’d seen way too often. And she hadn’t even looked at me, like I was inconsequential. I wanted to sneer at her retreating form, maybe stick my tongue out and say, “neiner-neiner,” but I wouldn’t stoop to five-year-old behavior. Yet.

Pushing aside yet another woman wanting him, I followed him up the stairs to Evan’s. Kellan barged right through when we got to the door, feeling just at home here as he did at his own place. Matt’s eyes were on us the second we stepped through the door.

“Bout freaking time!” Matt glared at Kellan, and Rachel leaned over and whispered something in his ear. His features calmed and he relaxed a little, smiling over at where she stood by his side.

I waved at Rachel, the shy, exotic beauty, then waved behind her at Jenny sitting on Evan’s lap behind his drum set. The two of them were banging out some rhythm, Jenny giggling as Evan nuzzled her neck.

Closing the door behind us, Kellan grimaced when he met Matt’s eye.

“Sorry…things have been coming up.”





116


Kellan walked us into the room. Being at Evan’s loft was almost like being at a smaller version of Pete’s. There was a tiny kitchen, a living room with one couch facing a TV, and a rumpled bed in the far corner, a dresser and nightstand beside it. The rest of the place was a stage. The guys kept their equipment here between shows. Except the stuff they kept at Pete’s, of course. Aside from Kellan’s guitar, which he chose to lug around from place to place, the guys kept a second set of instruments at Pete’s on a daily basis. It was well known in the bar that touching their stuff on stage resulted in immediate eviction from the premises.

Here at Evan’s, they had the sound equipment, Evan’s full drum set, Griffin’s bass guitar, and Matt’s guitar. With all of their instruments currently waiting for them beside plugged-in microphones, they just needed some spot lights and a couple of bouncers, and they could do a professional show from here. They were even working on enclosing the instruments with soundproof walls, so they could record themselves and release an album. They had the walls constructed, but not assembled; they were leaning uselessly against the wall behind Evan’s drums. I knew Matt really wanted to finish the project, but Bumbershoot, and now the tour, had put it on hold. I was pretty sure when they came back, it would be a top priority.