With Every Heartbeat

Page 77

And there he was.
When I spotted Quinn ordering drinks from Mason further down the bar, my heart skipped a beat. Then I remembered how Cora had chastised me for always looking at him just this morning. I forced my attention to her.
My roommate sent me a knowing little smirk but kept talking as if we were still on good terms. “Isn’t it crazy; we’ve both been so busy this semester, we’ve barely had time to talk. And yet here we end up together at the same club.” When she spotted who was sitting beside me, her gaze cooled. “Oh, hi, Caroline.”
Before Caroline could answer, Ten called, “Wow, they’re just letting anyone in tonight, aren’t they?”
Cora scowled right back. “I wasn’t talking to you, dick breath.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Eva cut in, petting Ten soothingly on top of his head. “No one calls our Ten-Ten a dick breath but me.”
“So, ha.” Ten sneered at her. “Take that, whore.”
Cora opened her mouth to spit something back, but Quinn showed up with two glasses, diffusing the tension in the air. He carried something pink with fruit floating in it and another cup that looked exactly like what I was drinking.
“Hi, Quinn,” Caroline greeted, making me blush because I probably should’ve said hello too instead of just ogling him like a moron.
He glanced at her in surprise. “Oh! Hi.” Then his gaze moved on to Reese and Eva before swerving back to Caroline’s other side where I sat. When he found me, his scanning stopped. “Hi,” he called again. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
I shrugged. “Caroline,” was all I had to say in explanation as I tipped my head her way.
He smiled as if he understood. “I had to coax Cora into coming too, so I could watch Asher’s first performance.”
As he handed Cora the pink drink, Eva opened her arms to him. “Quinn! My hero. Come give me some sweetness, you handsome thing.”
Quinn ducked his face slightly but obliged, stepping onto the first rung of the stool in front of her so he could reach her. She enveloped his large frame and then smacked a kiss to his cheek.
Sneering, Cora leaned into me. “He only puts up with that bitch because she’s doing his boss.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. It seemed like Quinn was genuinely fond of Eva. I remembered the gunshot wound he had on his arm from saving her life. He had to like her, even if it was just a little. When he pulled away, he smiled one last time and nodded before finding his way back to Cora’s side.
“So which one is this Asher guy?” Cora asked, possessively curling her arms around his shoulders from behind.
“He’s the lead singer.” Quinn pointed as the band took stage.
Wrapping her legs around his chest next, Cora rested her chin on top of his head and checked out Asher. “He’s cute,’ she finally decided right before her fingers trailed down the front of Quinn’s chest. “But not as cute as you.”
I thought I was going to be sick so I quickly took a drink of my Sprite, only to realize Caroline’s fingers were wiggling in mine.
Oops. I guess I’d been the one squeezing too hard this time.
Beginning the evening’s events, Asher stepped to the microphone and introduced Non-Castrato. Caroline tapped her hand on my leg, showing me just how excited she was. Pick appeared in front of us to boot Ten aside so he could rest his arm on Eva’s leg. So Ten moved down the line and ended up closer to Caroline, Cora, Quinn and me.
“For our first song, we’re going to do something a little different. We’ve already gotten our first request from a very persistent fellow. So we’re going to cover this song for his woman.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Caroline said with a smile.
“Pick, please don’t tell me you made them play our song?” Eva demanded as the drumbeat counted off.
“No,” Pick muttered, “but now I’m pissed at whoever did, because that was a damn good idea.”
As the music began, I realized they were playing Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” but they’d layered a little heavier of a rock beat to it.
“Oh, this is Aspen’s favorite song,” Caroline said, just before we heard a gasp from the end of the line, as Noel snagged his girlfriend around the waist before pulling her back off the bar until she was on the ground with him.
They hugged each other and kissed, and Asher began to sing. His voice was perfect, not like Adele’s but something just as amazing and raspy that fit the heavier beat.