All I Need (5 page)

“Ju—” His eyes narrowed and dropped to my mouth, a warning not to call him by the newly forbidden nickname. My words stopped short in my throat. “—stin,” I finished, but just barely.

“Yeah, Ev?”

“Um, I don’t think Justin works for me. I’m going to give Cohen a try. But if that doesn’t work either, what should I call you?”

He shot me a wicked grin and waggled his eyebrows. “God of the Ice Pack? Dr. Cohen? King Cohen?”

“You’re a jackass.” I rolled my eyes, thankful that my breathing had finally returned to normal.

“Yes, but I’m your jackass.” He placed his hands on the counter on either side of my thighs.

So much for breathing normally.

“We should probably get back,” I said softly, knowing that if I leaned forward so much as an inch my lips would graze his. My chest must’ve been desperate for attention because it rose between us, thrilling at the contact when it brushed his.

“We probably should,” he agreed without moving.

I knew it was wrong, dangerous even. Justin Cohen had been my everything since…well since the first time he’d scooted his backpack over on the bench so I could sit next him at lunch. Sixth grade. He’d been my best friend, my band mate, my shoulder to cry on, my sweet, always-willing-to-listen best buddy ever since. Nearly ten freaking years.

But there was nothing sweet about the way he was looking at me now. His playing doctor on my ankle had been sweet. This was…something else.

Hunger hooded his eyes as we each waited for the other to make a move. The full weight of the fact that I wouldn’t stop him if he kissed me, the undeniable truth that I wanted him to, pressed down on me, but I held my own. His hands slid up my thighs, not an accidental graze but an intentional friction between our flesh. It was delicious torture, a kind I’d never known before. Painful and slow and sweet and…necessary.

This will change everything.

My cell phone rang out, and the intoxicating intensity snapped between us, sending us both roughly back to reality.

What the hell was I thinking?
I couldn’t just make out with my best friend. I shook my head in an attempt to shake myself out of the lust-filled trance I’d been in.

It could ruin us, the band, everything. Some risks were just too big. I’d taken a risk with Kennedy Hale and look how shitty that had turned out.

“It’s probably—”

“I should get—”

We began speaking at the same time. I grinned up at him, feeling like an idiot for reasons I couldn’t even explain to myself.

“It’s Dax,” he announced, picking my phone up off the kitchen table.

“Tell him we’re on our way.” I eased myself off of the counter unceremoniously. My ankle didn’t hurt as bad as it had, but I wasn’t sure if that was because of the ice or because my brain was too distracted by the strange turn of events this day had taken to register it.

I gathered my things as Justin told Dax we’d see him in a few.

“Maya texted you,” he informed me, handing my phone over. “Said she’s leaving a plate of goodies for us in the barn near the stage. Thank God, because I’m starving.”

“Me too.” Except I was suddenly hungry for more than whatever Maya had been nice enough to leave us.

I focused my attention on the screen of my phone. There were three older messages from Maya. From yesterday.

Hurry up and get your butt here! You’re missing all the fun!

After that, there was a blurred shot of what looked like Bree and some guy sledding. Then a selfie of Maya. Girlfriend had obviously discovered the fine art of makeup. And how to rock a tighter sweater. I whistled low and showed the phone to Jubb.

“Check out Monterey,” I said.

“Damn. She’s lookin’ good in the neighborhood.”

“Right?” I did my best to smile. That weird twisty feeling knotted up my stomach again. I forced myself not to glare at him.
What the hell is my deal?

We locked my front door and headed to the van. Once he’d opened my door and helped me inside, I watched him walk around to the driver’s seat while texting on his phone. He was too damn good-looking. Stupid roofing job, making him all hot and shit and confusing me.

He climbed in and slammed his door. “You ready?” he asked, turning to me as he jammed the keys in the ignition.

I didn’t know if he meant ready to perform in the one place I said I never would or ready to deal with my strange new feelings for him. Either way, the answer was no.
Hell no.

But instead I said, “Yeah. I think so.”

O
ver the years, I’d seen so many versions of Everly Abbott that I was sure I’d seen them all. But I’d never seen her nervous. Nervous Everly fidgeted.

“You all right?”

Her eyes darted over to me. “I’m fine. Why?”

“You’re fidgeting. I’ve never seen you fidget.”

She dropped her hand from her mouth and let it land in her lap. My gaze stalked her small hand like prey. Damn that dress to hell.

She’d strutted out of that bedroom, and it had taken everything in me not to drop to my knees.

I forced myself to concentrate on driving. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sami Abbott leaving her family’s bakery on Main Street. She waved and we waved back.

“Guess she’s still working there,” I said flatly
.
Never in my life had talking to Ev felt awkward. Until now.

“Yeah,” Everly answered, speaking slowly as if she were concerned for my mental well-being. “Guess she is.”

“It’s just been a while since I’ve been in there is all. Last time I stopped in she seemed less than thrilled about the family business.”

“Hm.” Everly was quiet for a few minutes before she spoke again. “I guess I don’t really think about what goes on here when we’re on the road. But I bet there’s drama afoot in Abbott Springs as usual.”

“Just because you don’t notice something doesn’t mean it’s not happening, Ev. Guess we can’t all register on your radar.” Shit. I’d snapped at her without meaning to.

“You okay?” Her eyebrows were raised. There were questions in her eyes and a small smile tugging at her lips. Her fingers still twisted around each other. As much as my ego surged from the heady notion of making her nervous, I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Well, I kind of did, but not so uncomfortable that we couldn’t talk about this like adults.

“Yeah. Just tired.” Realizing I needed to change the subject, I grinned as I saw crazy old Bernie staggering towards the festival. “Hey, did I tell you what Oliver told me about Bernie?”

Everly shook her head and raised an eyebrow.

“She stripped in front of the courthouse. Got a ticket for indecent exposure.”

“Dear God.” Everly laughed and my heartbeat sped up at the sound. I focused on making sure the van didn’t do the same through the center of town.

She was busy texting on her phone for the next few minutes, so I concentrated on finding a street that wasn’t closed for the festival. Ev’s mom had been right. Finding a parking spot was going to be hell.

After four trips around the block, I squeezed the van into a spot near Juke’s Box. My old man was probably in there getting blitzed, but I really didn’t have the mental energy to think about him at the moment.

Ev and I needed to talk, to figure things out before I went in-fucking-sane. I just needed to take it slower. Maybe have a conversation with her about how I felt instead of ramming her up against a door or taking her on the countertop at her mom’s house. Though that second option was the one my dick was voting for.

Here went nothing. I swallowed and reached down to pull the keys from the ignition. “Hey, we should probably talk. About earlier. ”I got it, I did. These feelings were old for me but new for her. And she was nervous as hell about this show. Just as I opened my mouth to put my heart out there, the unmistakable opening to her favorite song came on the radio.

Everly startled me by grabbing my hand. “Leave it on. I want to hear this song before I go humiliate myself in front of the entire town.” Her face lit up and her beautiful lips curved into a grin as she sang along with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell.

She loved this damn song. And nine times out of ten, she made me sing along with her.

“Listen, Ev. I know this is your jam and all,” I began, rolling my eyes at her. “But we should probably—”

She interrupted me by belting out at the popular lyrics at the top of her lungs, shaking her entire body and grabbing my hand so we could do the old-people slow concert wave.

“Sing it with me, Jubb!”

Maybe it was because she was all lit up and grinning like a damn jack-o-lantern even though we were in the one place she hated more than anything, or maybe it was because she was beautiful and amazing and Everly, or maybe just because I freaking loved her and always had—I sang along.

W
e were laughing as if nothing unusual had happened by the time we got back to the barn for soundcheck. But there was something different between us. An electricity I’d always felt but she seemed to be noticing for the first time.

Each time I had to walk by her, I made sure to brush her arm, graze the small of her back lightly—just small reminders of what had happened before. I wasn’t going to be shoved back into the friend zone. Not today. Not anytime soon.

“‘Bout damn time, man,” Dax greeted me.

I smirked because it was worth being late. Glancing to the side of the stage, I saw the messy mop of hair that belonged to Alex Hamilton. He was a buddy I’d met on the music scene. Kind of a drifter, but a good guy I’d always been able to count on in a jam.

I’d asked him to help us out here since this was a last-minute gig and I knew Ev would need me more than usual because she had her issues with Abbott Springs. Lo and behold, the dude had actually showed. He looked so out of place that it was almost comical. Though Sami Abbott seemed awful cozy next to him at the soundboard.

I scratched my chin and tried to figure out a way they might know each other. Huh. Small world, I guessed.

By the time I’d gotten Everly up to the stage and she was managing well enough on her ankle, it was time to start warming up. I nodded a thank-you at Alex and played a few chords. Once we were good to go and the sound was where it needed to be, Everly nodded over at someone I couldn’t see. Probably Aubree Baxter. She was Ev’s best friend and hardly ever missed a show.

And because I’d obviously pissed in the universe’s Wheaties at some point, when the mayor came up on stage to intro us, he brought his piss-ant son along with him.

I gripped the neck of my Fender and watched Everly as Kennedy Hale strutted up next to her. From behind, I could see that her shoulders had gone rigid at his closeness.

Black spots appeared in my vision until I blinked them away. She was right. She was a big girl. She could handle this. I needed to let her be, let her deal with this situation however she wanted to.

When I caught the glimpse of her profile, of her giving him that wide-open smile of hers he didn’t deserve, my heart plummeted to my stomach.

I inhaled so loudly I heard it.

Whatever he was whispering to her as his dad yanked the microphone up to his level was obviously amusing to her in some way.

Unable to stand the sight of them that close together, I tried to focus on the mayor.

“Our very own Everly Abbott is back!” He paused while the crowd cheered. “Along with Jubb Cohen.” Again the crowd went wild. But I saw red. And more red. I was never going to live down being Jubby Cohen. Not with Everly, not with anyone in the whole damn town. “And their drummer, Dax Williams. Together, they are Infernal Contradiction!”

The audience clapped and there were some whoops and hollers. Several people also shouted out the band’s actual name: “Internal Insurrection!”

Everly grinned even wider at Hale before he stepped off stage behind his dad. The way she seemed so at ease with him, like everything was somehow cool now because he’d said five words to her on stage, made me want to bash my guitar over his head.

Still gripping my guitar entirely too hard, I overplayed the first few chords of our opening number. Ev shot a bewildered look at me, but I just stared straight ahead.