Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set (45 page)

The walls are practically lined with all manner of police paraphernalia – from handcuffs and badges and bullets to framed uniform shirts, old billy clubs and SWAT jackets. There are lots of really cool photographs of cops and police cruisers and K-9 dogs, and I notice a large framed collection of what looks like police patches from all over the country hanging on the wall near the bar at the right. To either side of the front doors, there are red cushioned benches lining the wall, and I notice that the lighting is muted in this area, and it isn’t difficult to understand why. There are a few couples seated on those benches taking advantage of the dim lighting to cuddle or make out.

And the joint is hopping. Josh said that it was usually packed on nights when the band was playing and he wasn’t kidding. The place is crowded! And if I had to guess, I’d say that the ladies easily outnumber the men by at least two to one.

“Wow,” Megan says as we stand, looking around the place. “Is it ladies night, tonight?”

“I have no idea,” I answer her, surveying the room.

“Well if it’s not, then they’re all here for the band. That can only mean one of two things,” she says looking me in the eye. “Either the entire band is hot or … we’re not the only ones who find your detective yummy.”

Her words make me a little uncomfortable but, as I look around at all the women in the place I begin to wonder. All of the time Josh and I have spent together has been isolated … just the two of us either at my place or today at his. We’ve never really been out around other people so, I have no idea how other women respond to him. Although I did notice a few stares when we were wandering around Fairhaven this afternoon but, I just assumed it was because we were being so obnoxious, laughing and joking loudly as we enjoyed each other’s company. It never dawned on me that it might be because Josh is so incredibly handsome.

“Hey, there’s an empty table near the back,” Scott says and we make our way over to it. As we do, I spot Josh standing at the bar on the right, up near the stage. He is laughing and talking to a couple of other men who I assume are members of his band but, of course, I have no way of knowing. I feel my heart somersault into my stomach and I desperately want to rush over to him and let him know that I’m here but, I know that I can’t. I have to be cool about this. I’m just enjoying a night out with my cousin and her fiancé at a random bar, not clandestinely meeting with my secret, potential boyfriend. But I think I need a drink.

“I’m going to go to the bar,” I announce as Megan and Scott sit down. “What can I bring you two?”

“Oh, I’ll go get the drinks, Sam,” Scott says, ever the gentleman. He’s smiling kindly at me, and I take in his boyish good looks. Curly blonde hair, blue eyes. He and Meg look great together. I bet they’ll have gorgeous babies someday.

“No! I’ll get them,” I say, a little too forcefully. Meg immediately comes to my rescue. She’s obviously spotted Josh too.

“Sam will get the drinks, hon,” she smiles at him and touches his hand. “You stay here with me.” She winks at me and says, “I’ll have a white wine spritzer.”

“Sam Adams for me,” Scott says.

“Got it,” I say and turn to head for the bar. I can see that Josh is still engrossed in his conversation and I’m a little dismayed to see a very attractive, curvaceous redhead now standing with the small group of men. But my spirits brighten when I see the man standing next to Josh wrap his arm around her and pull her close. She is clearly with him and not interested in my yummy detective.

Josh is leaning against the bar with his right arm and I spot an open space directly behind him. I squeeze into the small opening without his knowledge and get the bartender’s attention. When he comes over to me he smiles and looks me over appreciatively.

“What can I get for you, darling?” he asks, and I can hear a slight southern drawl in his flirty voice. His frank appraisal makes me blush slightly and I can’t help but smile back at him. Maybe all the girls are here for the cute bartender.

“I need two white wine spritzers and a Samuel Adams,” I say loudly. Purposefully speaking loud enough to get Josh’s attention. And I know that he’s heard me when I see his head snap up and he glances to his right. He doesn’t look at me, but he takes a step back, intentionally pushing his backside up against me. To anyone watching, it probably looked as if it were an accident.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he says turning around. Our eyes meet and lock for several seconds and I see a small smile play at the corners of his perfect lips. “Miss Colby,” he says with mock surprise at seeing me.

“Why, Detective Pierce,” I say, playing along. Although I don’t really think anyone is paying us any attention.

“What are you doing on this side of town?” he says, as though this is a rough neighborhood. He’s having fun with this “chance meeting.” I give him a coy smile.

“I heard a rumor that there’s a really good live band playing here tonight,” I say with a straight face. “So I dragged my cousin out to have a listen.”

He smiles and I can tell he really wants to laugh at me. “I had no idea you were such a music connoisseur,” he smirks.

“Well, the truth is, I have this …
friend
who seems to think I need to broaden my musical horizons,” I say, smiling sweetly. “I think he believes my playlists are too full of female pop.”

“Hmm. A lot of Madonna and Britney and such on your playlists?” he asks with a serious scowl on his beautiful face.

“You know, I personally don’t understand what my friend is complaining about,” I say with a shrug. “I think he’s just uncomfortable with all that powerful feminine energy.”

He laughs out loud at that comment and I can’t help but smile ear to ear. “Mmm. Feminine energy,” he muses, composing himself. “Well you may be right, Miss Colby. I don’t know, he sounds like a jerk to me,” he says with a smile. “You should probably dump him.”

I sigh heavily. “Yeah, probably. But he has this smile,” I say quietly as I gaze at him. And suddenly, all the noise fades and everyone else in the bar disappears and Josh and I are alone, in our own enchanted bubble. “It does me in every time. And his eyes … oh, my God, his eyes.” He says nothing as he watches me closely, his impossibly blue eyes bulldozing into mine. “And his hands. I turn to putty every time he touches me.”

“It sounds like you’ve got it bad,” he says, his eyes never leaving mine.

I nod silently. “I know. I know I’m in trouble,” I shrug. “But what can I do? I’m like a moth to a flame.” We stare at each other in silence for several seconds, lost in one another’s eyes. Is there anyone else in this crowded bar? And then I continue. “You know the worst part of it?” I ask, breaking our eye contact as I look away, nervously.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t even know how he feels,” I say, glancing back up at him. I’m chewing nervously on my bottom lip. How did this fun little pretend chance meeting become such a serious conversation? It’s not exactly the time or the place.

“Don’t you?” he asks, frowning at me. And his voice laced with … surprise, I think.

I shake my head slowly. “No. Not really.”

“But how could you
not
know?” he asks, still frowning. “What has he told you?”

“Not much,” I reply, shrugging again.

He hesitates a beat, looking shocked, and shakes his head slightly, his eyebrows raised as if he just doesn’t understand what I’m saying. “You know, maybe you’re just not listening closely enough,” he says quietly, and there’s an edge of intensity to his voice. His eyes are boring into mine like blue fire and I can’t look away. His words are so earnest but, he’s being so cryptic. What does he mean?

Suddenly, one of the buddies he was talking to when I arrived – the one with the redheaded girlfriend – slaps him on the shoulder, forcing his way into our enchanted bubble and breaking the spell. The crowd is back. We are not alone. “You know, Guy, the best way to impress the pretty girl, is to play the guitar,” he says impatiently, and Josh smiles at him. “We gonna do this thing, or what?” He motions toward the stage, where I can see the rest of the band is setting up and Josh nods at him.

Josh turns back to me. “Good luck with your …
friend,
Miss Colby.” Then they both turn and head toward the stage, leaving me standing by the bar feeling very confused. What did he mean I’m not listening closely enough?

I turn and pick up our drinks, taking the two spritzers in one hand and the beer in the other, and head back to our table. As I’m sitting down, the friend of Josh’s who interrupted us takes the mic and introduces himself and the band and I deduce that he must be the lead singer. He’s not a bad looking guy – tall, spiky dark blonde hair, nice physique. He’s hot. In fact, looking over the entire band I can see that most of them are quite attractive. The others are nowhere near as gorgeous as my Joshua, of course, but I can see why the ladies flock here every other Saturday night.

The house lights dim and the stage lights go on and, when the first song begins I am floored to see Josh and his guitar starting the show with an ear-catching solo that kicks off the song. The tune is one that I recognize but, I can’t immediately call the name of it, although I know I’ve heard it before. The crowd cheers in recognition. Obviously it’s a house favorite. The other instruments join in and the singer unleashes his unexpectedly sweet, mellow voice and the band is soon rocking to “Sweet Child of Mine.” Josh’s guitar solo in the middle of the song is impressive and I notice more cheers from the crowd – and swoons from the ladies in the audience.

When the song ends and the crowd is cheering – and the females in the audience are screaming – I am sitting thoroughly surprised and watching Josh with a small smile on my face. He looks out over the crowd nonchalantly and I don’t think he knows where I’m sitting. But suddenly his eyes dart to mine and he stares at me for several seconds. For a moment I’m not sure that he’s actually looking at me, but then he discreetly winks at me and gives me a small smile. I smile back at him, biting my lower lip nervously.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Megan says to me. “Have you ever heard him play before?”

“Oh, my God, Megan,” I gush, “I’ve never heard him play with his band before but, this afternoon … I heard him playing Beethoven on an acoustic guitar.”

“Beethoven?” she asks surprised.

“The ‘Moonlight Sonata.’ It was beautiful,” I tell her.

“Wow,” she repeats.

As the cheering dies down, his bandmate announces the next song. This one is much darker in feeling than the first song and it’s one that I have never heard before but, I think I like it. The repeated refrain at the chorus talks about a man with secrets, and it reminds me of Josh. He seems to have a lot of secrets: about his childhood and about his dad. And most importantly at the moment, about how he feels about me. Will I ever get him to truly open up to me?

Again, he gives an impressive solo in the middle of the song and, as I watch him, I can’t help but notice how good he looks. My eyes travel over his gorgeous six foot, two inch frame in those tight blue jeans and the even tighter sleeveless t-shirt with his broad, athletic chest and his deliciously muscular arms. He looks every inch the rock star he’s pretending to be. If all of these girls in attendance are here to ogle him, I can’t very well blame them. He looks good enough to eat.

The band performs about eight songs, I think. Maybe ten. Somewhere along the way I lose count but, what I do take note of is the fact that they are indeed very good. Every song is tight and sounds really great. And the band members appear to have a lot of fun together. They obviously enjoy what they’re doing, and there seems to be a lot of mutual respect up on the stage.

About halfway through their set they play a song from Josh’s favorite band, Aerosmith. “Walk This Way.” It’s one that I know well and I can tell easily that it must be one of Josh’s favorites because he seems to shine on it. His solo at the end of the song appears to transport him somewhere else and I watch as he loses himself in it, playing his heart out. It’s a great joy to witness and I know that I’m sitting at the table with the goofiest grin on my face as I watch him become enraptured with the music. Incredible!

The rest of the audience seems to think so too because the applause at the end of the song is thunderous. I am so impressed at his level of expertise; I had no idea. And I think back to that night when he first told me that he played the guitar “a little.” Wow. Talk about humble!

At the end of their set, the lead singer thanks everyone for coming out. And then he says something that makes my jaw drop.

“For our last song of the night,” he begins, “we want to make a dedication. Sunshine!” He says the word as if he’s calling out to someone and it stops me in my tracks. He pauses and slowly looks out over the crowd, his eyes scanning from one side of the audience to the other. “You know who you are,” he says, still surveying the crowd with a playful smile. My heart is pounding in my chest as he continues. “Well, Sunshine … whoever you are out there … you asked one of the band members up here this morning, why he watches you sleep. Well this is why, sweetheart. And this one is for you.”

I am blushing beet red as they launch into the song and I glance up at Josh and he is staring at me intently. And as I listen to the words I am speechless and I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. They are the sweetest lyrics I think I’ve ever heard and, if I didn’t know any better, I might think it was a declaration of love. Or, at the very least, some sort of clue as to how Josh might feel about me.

Is that what this is
, I wonder? His way of telling me how he feels. He very cryptically stated tonight that I wasn’t listening closely enough. Is that why he made the dedication? So that I would be sure to pay attention this time? Is music the key to understanding Josh’s feelings? Oh, I have so many questions and not nearly enough answers! All I know right now is that he has dedicated this very beautiful song to me and, although it makes me wonder even more about his feelings for me, it also makes me feel very special. Am I special to him?

I can’t take my eyes off of him throughout the entire song, and I notice that he watches me too whenever he looks up from his instrument. What is he thinking? And what is he trying to tell me? And I can’t help but wonder what he may have told his bandmates about me. How did he explain the dedication if we’re supposed to be downplaying tonight’s chance meeting?