Wanting Reed (Break Me) BOOK 2 by Antoinette Candela

gave me a major adrenaline rush. I’m on the payroll making more money than I ever did at the center.
    The place is not a dive either, which is a plus. It’s actually kind of nice. You can’t automatically assume places with rock musicians are shitholes. I’ll be dealing with another type of crowd here, but change is good, even though I kind of miss those little kids from the center.
    I didn’t get scheduled to work this Friday, so Luke and I decide to head out and enjoy the crazy scene as patrons. To top it off, Crimzen will be the headliner for tonight. I have not seen them since I was at the Mohegan Sun months ago, before all the shit went down with Momma and Jerry back in Texas.
    The place is insane with the line curling around the building and the music pulsating out the open doors into the cool night. I have to admit; this place attracts a more hardcore and rugged girl. The kind of girl that I’ve never been into. Change in job, change in woman? Who knows, maybe that’s what I need.
    “Yo, man. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Luke laughs while whistling under his breath. “These chicks are smokin’ hot tonight. I need me some of that,” he says as he eyes a raven-haired bombshell in a short, black leather skirt and corset who’s talking to a couple of other girls right outside the doors. “I’m gonna go mingle.” He gestures with his chin as he wastes no time making a move on “Raven”.
    “All right, I’m going to check out the band.” The bouncer at the door recognizes me and lets me pass with a nod of his head. I enter the club and head over to the stage, hoping to connect with Nick and the band before he hits the stage. I need to maintain those friendships that I didn’t fucking destroy when I vanished.
     

     
    I lose track of time. Brass Knuckles, the opening band, was decent, but not my type of shit. They were kind of thrash and hardcore. As soon as Crimzen is introduced and make their way across the stage, all the females start squealing and rushing toward the front. They immediately grope and reach for Nick. Damn. He’s fucking eating it up. I kind of know how that attention feels since I received a similar reaction on campus when I played football.
    They start a song called “Fire”. The crowd goes nuts, pumping their arms in the air as Nick’s voice cuts through the capacity-filled room, and the drums beat out an angry rhythm behind him.
    “Hey.”
    I squint to my right, recognizing the sweet, singsong voice over the music and the spunky female in a tank top and short skirt that I met the other day.
    “ I was wondering when I’d see you in here since I saw your man earlier.” I smile. “Why aren’t you on stage with the band?”
    “Do you hear that song?” She smirks cupping her hand to her ear.
    “Yeah, what about it?” I ask, peering down at her.
    “Yours truly wrote it, so technically, I am up there.” She laughs, cocking an eyebrow.
    “Sweet. You’re all that and a bag of fucking chips.” I grin.
    “That’s what Link keeps telling me.” She gives me a half-smiling, sidelong glance.
    “So...what are you up to tonight?”
    “Just showing some new friends another side of town.”
    “So, you’re the bad influence tonight?” I ask as she throws her hands on her hips and purses her lips.
    “Trust me. Good girls have a bad streak; they just need a small push and a little taste of something different. It’s like a high. Once you’ve tasted it, you’re hooked.”
    “Be gentle with them.” I chuckle.
    “Everything in moderation.”
    “Cool,” I reply, laughing a little under my breath as I glance around the room. Moderation does not exist here.
    “Speaking of friends, I need to go find them,” she answers, craning her neck over the crowd and toward the stage.
    “Don’t get into trouble.”
    “Who me ?” she asks, fluttering her eyelashes and pointing at herself. “Never!” she sings as she turns and disappears through the crowd. I’m alone