Don't Close Your Eyes (10 page)

"Alright, alright!  Sorry, I may have taken fifteen, but have ya'll
seen
that cute bartender recently?!" he shouted to the crowd. 

Kayleigh beamed at me with wide eyes and let her mouth drop open along with mine.  The bar roared with agreement, which was incredibly flattering if I do say so myself.  "So, then, you forgive me?" he asked them as he began to slowly strum his guitar as he spoke.  They definitely forgave him. "Okay, I am gonna need a volunteer for this one, anyone know how to work a tambourine?" Only about
every
girl in the bar, apparently.  He pointed one out, and three of them tripped over each other before one of them won out triumphantly.  She straightened her dress and smoothed her hair as he held the tambourine out to her.  She made eyes at him as she took it.  He leaned over and asked her something.  She happily nodded, obviously excited.  Hmmm... I wonder... 

He turned to the rest of the group and said something that we couldn't hear.  He pulled the mic and held it up to his mouth, and he held his hand up and pointed in my direction.  Oh no!  "Kinsley, Baby, this one is for you!"  The crowd cheered wildly as the tambourine shook, and Dan began to strum those familiar bass chords to the beginning of “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.”  Holy shit!  Mel joined in, then Keane ripped it up while Jase
screamed
into the mic!  I cupped my hands over my mouth in shock.  They lit up the stage with
Jet
!  I couldn't believe it!  I didn't peg Jase for that type of music.  Jase would definitely need that water after this!  Mel looked thrilled as he pounded on his drums like a total rock star, making Kay completely crack up.  Such a confident badass, that one.  All of them really.  The woman was really good with the tambourine, and the whole audience began to dance as Jase pointed over to me while he sang, you know, in case there was any confusion as to who the hell Kinsley the bartender was.  I knew my face was red, it had to be because it was on fire!  He began strumming between lyrics as he smiled at me.  What the hell do I think about this?  I mean he was sitting here singing about a woman who looked good, changed the lyrics for the hair to red, and pretty much sang that he’d like to make his own while he pointed at me.  Was he just being his silly rockstar still?  That had to be it, and I was just the lucky contestant in the audience, right? 

Oh, that man was insufferable!  I clapped along with the rest of the audience, while I beamed in total adoration, to be honest.  This was
incredible
!  It was a very, very fun song, and I couldn't get the stupid smile off of my face.  My cheeks hurt from smiling so big.  Gosh, he was hot.  He put so much passion into it, and I knew his voice was going to be really raspy for the rest of the night from all that screaming, just the way I like it...  He flipped his hair out of his face while he held the mic on the stand, then pulled it again to dance around the stage like an idiot.  He was not afraid to be himself, and he knew it would make me laugh.  It was fantastic!  I covered my face in my hands since it was almost too much to handle because he was so damn silly, hot, hell what else?  Take your pick!  I pulled my hands away so I could make some more drinks and sing along.  Finally, Jase fell to his knees and pointed to me once more as he belted those last lyrics, and they slammed the song to a close.  I had to throw my hands over my face again!  I couldn’t look. 

"Kinsley James you better look at that man!  He just asked you a question if you ask me," Kayleigh was in my ear wickedly reasoning with me.

"It was just a song.  He doesn't see me like that, I'm sure.  You know how flirty that man is," I reasoned realistically.

"Oh, yeah, he isn’t into you at all," she agreed as she watched him get up off the stage and smile foolishly at me.  "And I am in no way attracted to that ugly ass Mel over there, either."

Mel was smokin’ hot!  "Alright, point taken, and me neither," I joked.

We made more drinks while Jase told the girl onstage she could do one more and made her entire week.  The guys nodded to him as he told them what he wanted.  She nodded that she could do it.  "Alright,
this
song is for the hot, little, redheaded bartender," Jase told the crowd. 

I had to laugh as I shook my head.  What would it be this time?  Another very upbeat song.  Buckcherry.  “Next To You.”  Once again the whole band worked the stage and enjoyed the music Jase was pulling for his little stunt.   The guys both watched me as I made drinks while they totally rocked out.  I laughed every time I looked up there.  I felt very flattered, and so many customers told me what a lucky girl I was.  Others asked me how long I had been seeing Jase and were shocked when I told them I wasn't.  Women got onto me for having not taken advantage of him, men asked me out instead.   Either way, this was way more attention than I was used to personally getting, and Jase knew all the while.  I could care less because I was enjoying every minute of this man’s bold behavior for the time being.

When the song ended the crowd chanted for more.  More for
me
?  Great!  He looked like he was already working on it.  I stood back with my hand on my hip, holding my towel, and mouthing a silent thank you to him.  He nodded and went to the mic as he set some water down on the stage.  "Oh, you want more?  Alright, as we do at least once, it's time to kick it back.  This
one
goes out to my little sister's best friend," he said with a breathless smile while Keane played with his guitar for a moment.  Jase told the girl she could leave and thanked her for her help.  He kissed her on the cheek, and she fluttered away.  The girls she had beat to get up there all mean mugged her.  She beamed happily.  Jase guided the band.  Mel hit the drums, and Keane began to play the hell out of his guitar in a very,
very
impressive solo.  I sighed and put my hand over my face, embarrassed.  I immediately recognized Van Halen's “You Really Got Me” eruption.  The bar stayed silent and watched in awe, as did I, as we marveled at Keane's impressive skills.  That could not be that easy, surely.  He was so definitely showing off.  It was intense, completely hot, awestriking, and I was having a hard time being embarrassed anymore when I was so taken.  Soon he hit those familiar chords, and the rest of the band joined in.  Jase did a really good job for having such a raw voice at the moment, though it was pretty tame as far as lyrics seemed concerned.  He alternated between playing his guitar, hugging his mic with that pick in his fingers, and pointing over to me.   It was a good thing Kayleigh was already compensating for me, because I couldn't help but be a little distracted by all of it since apparently it was for me.  My mind swirled with memories at Chelsea's house trying to recall any sign that he may have shown back then maybe?  I still poured shots and drafts while I received compliments about what an amazing performer my boyfriend was.  I had to keep denying that I was with him.  Though, at this moment, I found I didn't want to.  The bar went silent when the music closed and the crowd roared chanting Jase's name.  The bouncers were gonna have their work cut out for them tonight, that was for sure.  Somehow all of this seemed to be pumping the bar more and more with every song.

"Come on now, I can't take all the credit on that one, please give a round of applause for my best friend and amazing guitar player, Keane Keller, ladies and gentleman!" he held his hand in gesture, and they all shouted Keane's name and cheered wildly.  I had a feeling that soon Jase and Mel wouldn't be the only ones with a following here.  Keane openly ate it up and fanned his hands toward himself for more with a huge grin on his face.  "Alright, enough about him.  Let's get back to the real star of the show.  Now, we are gonna slow it down a little bit.  This next one goes out to the girl I had a crush on in high school," he smiled wickedly and winked at the audience while he breathlessly continued.  My damn heart felt like it stopped beating, my breath was stolen as I waited on pins and needles for whatever he would say, what he was going to play.  "A girl who starred in many of my thoughts, if you know what I mean, and kept me distracted any time she was around.  Anytime I hear this song, I think of her."

My throat closed as he pulled a stool up to the mic then sat down.  "Ladies and gentleman, I'm sure you can guess who I am talking about, but just in case, this one is for the little redhead with the braces, short hair, the cutest blush, and the most beautiful smile in the midst of it all," he smiled again and winked at me while he grabbed his water and took a swig.  I felt tears prick my eyes, and I had to exhale steadily.  He bent back down and set it on the stage at his feet.  He looked at Keane and nodded.  Keane began to play an acoustic guitar slowly.  Jase leaned to the mic and held it, closing his eyes.

CHAPTER 5

"What's up, Klive?  You actually seem a little distracted," Tom told me from the hallway near the manager's office.  He walked up beside me where I leaned against the wall with the papers I was looking over.  Well, I was
supposed
to be looking over them, anyway.  In truth, I
was
incredibly distracted by that pretty little redhead I was working to desensitize myself around lately.  The bloody racing heart and sweaty palms were getting a little old.  For the millionth time, I wondered what the hell it was about her in particular that had me on edge in a way no other blasted female had ever accomplished.  Let's just add that shit to her stellar list of seemingly impossible accomplishments, shall we?  Tom chuckled as he followed my eyeline to Kinsley James.  "She's pretty, huh?"

I scoffed, and he chuckled once again.  What an understatement.  She was so hot.  Such a strikingly different character at work than when I had seen her in the elevator.  She was not so sweet in appearance here.  Sure, her demeanor was sweet, but she was nothing less than sexy here.  I was pretty pleased with the uniform selections Tom had made in this moment.  Couldn't really go wrong with low cut, skin tight, and super short where that woman was concerned.  "You sure this is all of it?" I asked him as I glanced back down at the documents.

"Yes, Sir.  It's all there," he told me.

"Everything still quiet?" I asked him seemingly absently as I thumbed through, double checking I had everything I needed.  In truth, I was pretty much asking whether or not my second-hand man still needed his balls removed, or if they were safe.

"That it is.  Hasn't shown his face since Tiffany changed shifts," he told me.  I nodded as I watched Kinsley work her hot little ass off with a ton of pretty smiles, polite conversations, fantastic serving times, overall a very valuable employee to say the least.  I shared that thought with Tom as I ran my hand thoughtfully over my mouth.  Sure, I may not show my face here very often, but I still owned the bloody place, and business was business.  He confirmed she was one of the very best he had, and he often used her for training the others.  I was definitely pleased by that.  Seemed the place was a pretty well-oiled machine, and the spring break crowd had yet to make an appearance.  It was pretty packed tonight as Taylor was busy performing his heart out onstage.  I was very pleased with his entire package and how it worked in my favor.  Hopefully it would serve to afford me more free time soon enough.

"What do you think of Taylor?" I asked Tom as I watched Jase, studied him, and noticed the other developing conflict where my business was concerned and this damn woman who seemed to be everywhere, all over everything, even as she was so unaware.  Right now she was completely unaware of the many pairs of eyes that followed her as she gracefully moved throughout the place.  Including Taylor's.  He began to sing “Bad Company” alongside his cop friend playing the guitar, rather well I might add.  I noticed Kinsley's whole person change as she cast a flirty smile up to the stage, and
both
guys returned it with their own.  So the plot thickens, then.  She turned back to hustle up to the bar to load her tray once again.   She was so damn close, but still so far away, so out of reach.  Always just out of my reach, it would seem.

"Taylor's a great guy.  Known him for years, sang on and off here between deployments just for the hell of it at times.  Easygoing, definitely popular with the ladies, has his own website and fan base, so he draws one hell of a crowd to this place.  I'm sure it doesn't take a genius to see that he carries a torch for the same little redhead you were just scoping out," he called my shit once again with a stupid grin that I couldn't help but return.  "Although, around here, that's common knowledge.  As far as the other aspect, seen him beat some serious ass when necessary.  He looks nice, but you piss that one off, he can do some serious damage.  Even roughed some asshole up for fuckin’ with Kinsley a little more than he was comfortable with."  I raised my eyebrows at that as I watched him.  Good boy...  "She doesn't know about it, and we prefer to keep it that way.  Jase adores her, seems he wants to preserve her bubble.  The girl's too sweet.  Naïve.  A definite flirt, though she doesn't even realize it half the time.  She does one hell of a job with the patrons
because
of her nature.  Unfortunately, she seems to be unaware of how fine she is, so it's not always a favorable combination.  Gus keeps a firm eye on her and Kay pretty well.  They are the hottest ones other than Tiff, hence the shit Ray gave her.  I have to warn you, she looks very similar to Kinsley, so if you don't feel like killing unnecessarily, I'd keep that in mind if you bring him in on one of her shifts," he offered.  How very informative, thank you, Tom.  I was going to kill Ray's ass when this was all done anyway, so perhaps I should go ahead and lay firm ground work for my reasoning.  I already knew, without a doubt, that the first moment he even looked at her in a manner unbecoming, I was going to want to put a bullet into his head.  I found that restraining myself when it came to anything to do with this woman was an exhaustive effort.  Tom interrupted my thoughts, "I’m afraid Kins is so cute and unassuming, she makes for an easy target."