Something I Need (xoxo Nashville Book 1) (11 page)

C
ash should have known Dolly would
never let it go. It wasn’t like he had ever asked her to help out at the bar before. Normally he just got one of his casual staff to manage things for the night if he had somewhere else to be. But he’d specifically asked Dolly so she wouldn’t know what he was up to.

“What was with the cryptic message?” Dolly made her way behind the bar and got all up in his face.

“Nothing. Change of plans.” He shrugged and wandered up to the other end of the bar to pour another round for the three college girls that were sitting where Jonte was supposed to be.

“Did you hear about Jonte?”

“Yep.”

“Jeez, don’t sound so excited or anything. She’s only been trying to sing in front of someone since she arrived weeks ago!”

“Dolly, I’m busy here.”

“Yeah, you’re really packin’ ‘em in tonight.” She gestured at the almost empty bar.

“What do you want me to say?”

“I want ya to beg me to come in and work tomorrow so you can go and watch her sing, damn it!” she whisper-yelled at him.

“Not gonna happen.”

“Gah! I wish you two would just fuck and fall in love already.” Dolly scowled and then spun on her heels.

“Also, not gonna happen.”

He was resigned to the fact that nothing was going to happen with them. Yes, he still got a raging hard-on most times he looked at her, but what did that really mean? She was an attractive woman and that was a purely physical response.

It was better this way. Jonte and Dolly were super close now, and he’d just fuck everything up. Plus, she’d already said she’d be going home to Australia if she didn’t make it big. He didn’t need to go putting himself into situations where someone he cared about was going to leave him – that shit wasn’t healthy. As it was, he was already going to have a hard time fixing Dolly when Jonte left. And on the off chance that she did make it big, well then she wouldn’t want him then, would she? He was all kinds of screwed up and she didn’t need that.

F
or thirty minutes
, Dolly gushed about the sparkly Goodbuy Girls dress Jonte had bought for tonight. It was a totally retro 1960’s design, made entirely from black sequins except for the thick strip of silver sequins along the scalloped neckline. Dolly had gone go on and on about how stunning it looked on; very Diana Ross and The Supremes. Aiming for an edgier look, Jonte paired it up with her black, red, and white cowboy boots. Dolly spent a good hour curling and pinning Jonte’s hair, and applying makeup to give her smoky eyes that would make the stage smoulder.

“Fabulous.” Dolly grinned, admiring her handy work. “Now let’s get outta here.”

Armed with their purses, the girls rushed down the stairs to their waiting cab.

Less than ten short minutes later, the cab dropped them outside The Big Bang. Dolly was quick to drag Jonte up the stairs and into the crowded bar.

“Wow. It’s busy,” Jonte said. There was easily a good couple hundred people, all crowded around tiny tables that faced the two pianos. Shit, this was nothing like Cash’s bar. This was insane.

“This is awesome!” Dolly beamed and headed for the bar, pulling Jonte along with her. “Besides, you want it busy,” she called over her shoulder.

“I look ridiculous,” Jonte said, realizing that practically everyone in here was wearing jeans. Christ, what had she been thinking?

“Nonsense. Ya look hot!”

“She certainly does.”

Jonte almost crashed into Seb, who had intercepted Dolly’s mad dash for the bar. “Seb,” she breathed and took in his combat boots, too-tight dark jeans, and the white tee that showed off those sexy arms.

“Love the dress.” He steadied Jonte, his hands lingering on her shoulders and giving her all sorts of happy tingles.

“Ah, the infamous Sebastian.” Dolly smirked and didn’t hide the fact she was totally checking him out. “You’re right, he’s pretty cute.”

“Dolly!” Jonte glared at her friend, mortified she’d gone and revealed her thoughts about Seb to Seb.

Unfazed, Seb chuckled and held out his hand to shake Dolly’s. “Sebastian Myers, but please, call me Seb.”

“I’m Dolly, and I need a drink.”

“Of course. Do you want a drink before we go on?” he asked Jonte.

“Yeah, might help calm the nerves.”

“Don’t be nervous. You’ll do great.”

Seb placed his hand on the small of her back, and they followed Dolly to the bar. Jonte was trying to figure out whether it was nice or a little presumptuous, but her train of thought was interrupted when she caught sight of a casually dressed Tanner on one of the wooden stools. He jumped up, hugged and kissed Dolly on the cheek, and then offered her his seat. Interesting.

“Hey, Tanner.” Jonte waved.

“How’s my favorite Aussie doing?” He ignored her wave, instead stepping forwards to wrap her up in a hug.

“Good. What are you doing here?”

“I wasn’t gonna sit here and cheer for ya all by myself.” Dolly plucked out a fifty and handed it to the bartender, not wasting any time in buying them all a round of drinks. She introduced Tanner to Seb, handed out pints, and then proposed a toast in Jonte’s honor. Jonte flushed and concentrated on drinking her beer.

“I can’t believe you’re friends with Tanner O’Donnell. He’s gotta be one of the richest dudes in Nashville, maybe even all of Tennessee,” Seb whispered to Jonte.

“He’s more a friend of a friend,” Jonte whispered back. Crap. She’d realized Tanner was well off, but had no idea he was
that
rich, and apparently well known.

“Hey, you better bring that beer with you. We’re up next.” Seb nodded at the stage where a woman not much older than Jonte was finishing up.

“Oh, right.” Jonte bit down on her bottom lip, her nerves ratcheting up to a whole new level.

“You’re gonna nail it.” Dolly grinned and leaned forward to hug her.

“Good luck.” Tanner offered an encouraging smile and raised his glass high in her direction.

“Thanks.” Jonte turned away from them and Seb grabbed her hand. He weaved them through the crowd and towards the stage where Dean was waiting. While Seb was all hipster rock star, Dean was killing the dangerous cowboy look. He leaned against the piano like he owned it, all decked out in a red and black sleeveless plaid shirt, Wrangler jeans, scuffed brown cowboy boots, and just to be different, a black Stetson. Most of the bar had white ones on.

Dean’s dazzling smile and accompanying wink helped ease the little pit of panic in her belly, boosting her confidence.

“You all set?” he asked.

Now she was.

She let out a deep breath and shrugged. “Yep.”

Seb pulled her up onto the stage and Dean made his way to the piano opposite her, placing his Stetson on top of the piano and revealing his disheveled dirty-blonde hair, half-tied back in a ponytail. Jonte rested her almost full glass next to the stool and carefully sat down.

“Please give a big Nashville welcome to Miss Jonte Williamson from Australia.” Seb leaned over her to use her microphone, his woodsy aftershave catching her attention. “Now we ain’t got no fiddle, but I’m sure y’all won’t mind.”

A cheer erupted. Dolly was now kneeling on her own stool, whooping and hollering along with the rest of the bar.

Seb counted them in with his drumsticks and then they were off, the drums and piano roaring to life with the iconic “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” melody. Seb kept the beat and Jonte launched into the first verse. The crowd clapped and stomped their boots in time with Seb’s beats. Dean sang along with her when they hit the next verse, his deep voice perfectly complementing and accenting her soft yet husky notes. The crowd cheered and Jonte relaxed, instinctively knowing that together they sounded fantastic. Somehow they just meshed, like magic.

She let go and became more animated with the crowd. Dean bounced off her mood and jumped in, taking over the next section, teasing her and the crowd from his piano. She played up being offended, but knew he’d left it open for her to take the upcoming solo section on the piano. She tweaked the music, adding in some intricate melodies that sounded amazing, and then they tackled the next section again together.

The crowd clapped all crazy-like when they finished. Jonte’s heart beat double time, maybe triple time, thrilled at the applause.

Dean stood and took a theatrical bow. “Miss Jonte Williamson,” he growled into his microphone and waved his hand at her.

Jonte rose up from her stool and followed Dean’s lead, curtsying much to the delight of the crowd.

“Do y’all want some more?” Seb called out, standing up from behind the drum kit.

A resounding cheer exploded. Seb mouthed, “Paint it Black” at Dean and Jonte, and then counted them in with his drumsticks. The trio started up again and played it even better than they had the day before. The crowd sang along with Jonte, and Dean joined in at the chorus, like he had yesterday.

Jonte looked up to see Dolly dancing away on top of the bar with half a dozen other young women. Wow. And thank goodness Dolly had opted for the leather hot pants and not the denim mini.

The trio finished and another roar ripped through the bar. Seb was smiling at her. He stood up and pointed at her with his drumsticks. The cheers continued and a deafening stampede of foot stomping erupted.

Wow.

This was crazy.

Jonte was so taken aback by the praise she hadn’t noticed the older woman jump on the stage until she was whispering in her ear.

“That was great, Jonte. But I’d like to see you play something on your own. Maybe something more modern?”

“Um, okay?” Jonte wasn’t sure who the almost jet-black-haired, Stetson-wearing woman was, or why she was making this request.

“Let’s hear it for Seb and Dean,” the woman said into Jonte’s microphone before making a lasso motion with her index finger, a clear signal for the guys to follow her off the stage.

“Sierra,” Seb mouthed to Jonte and winked.

Oh, right. It must be a good sign that Sierra had gone to the effort of approaching her and wanting to hear more from her.

With the attention now squarely on her, Jonte leaned forwards, her lips almost touching the microphone.

“How ‘bout we slow things down a bit?” she said, hoping she wasn’t committing career suicide.

She took the claps and whistles as approval and launched into a slow, melancholic arrangement of Avicii’s “Wake Me Up.” The lyrics were simply beautiful, and playing it like this gave her the opportunity to showcase her voice and piano skills. A hush descended over the bar. Jonte was so lost in her music and the quiet it would have been easy to forget where she was.

When she finished, she was treated to a standing ovation. Wow. Just wow. They loved her. This was the feeling she’d been chasing for so long. The reason she was here. She quickly took a bow before scooping up her beer.

Jonte stepped off the stage, high off the applause, and walked straight into Sierra. “I’d like to see you around here a whole lot more. The boys could use you in the mix. How ‘bout you stop by after lunch tomorrow and we’ll talk further?”

“Sure.” Jonte grinned so wide her face hurt, happiness wrapping around her like a soft, fuzzy blanket. “And thank you.”

“No problem,” Sierra replied and turned to walk away.

“You were fantastic.” Seb patted Jonte on the back. “And what a wicked arrangement of that song just now.”

“Thanks.”

“Did I just hear Sierra ask you to come in tomorrow?” Dean asked.

Jonte nodded and Dean fist-pumped the air. “That’s the bomb. I love Marcus and all…Actually no that’s a lie, I fucking hate Marcus. I really think the two of us could have some fun up there.”

“Uh huh.” Jonte nodded, excited about the prospect of getting to play with the boys again soon, and maybe even getting paid for playing. Her dream was right there, almost within her grasp – she just prayed she’d get to live it for real.

“To the bar!” Dean shouted and sauntered off.

Dozens of women vied for his attention. They brushed up against him, grabbed at his ass, and a few even stopped him and planted kisses on his lips.

“Well, aren’t you quite the ladies’ man?” Dolly laughed at Dean when he stopped near her and Tanner.

“Hey there, darlin’.” Dean smiled and tipped his hat at her.

“Dean, this is Dolly. Dolly, Dean,” Jonte said.

L
ater that night
, Dean jumped into the cab with Jonte and Dolly. Dolly had suggested they head to Cash’s bar where the drinks were cheaper (aka free) and it wasn’t so crowded. Seb had turned down the invite because he had an early class at college in the morning, and Tanner had already ditched them, claiming to have an important meeting first thing. Although, Jonte wondered whether the shameless flirting between Dolly and Dean had something to do with Tanner’s sudden departure an hour ago. Before he’d left, Tanner had made sure to tell Jonte how impressed he was with her performance. A slightly tipsy Dolly had bragged about how she’d always known Jonte had talent, and that it was all thanks to her that Jonte was even here tonight.

* * *

D
olly and Jonte
almost fell through the doors on the arm of some crazy cowboy wannabe. Christ. What were they doing in here if they were already shitfaced? Upon closer observation, Cash decided Jonte definitely appeared to be more sober than the other two. She rolled her eyes at Dolly and the cowboy, and Cash smirked.

“Cash, this is Dean,” Dolly said with a slight slur. “Isn’t he sexxxxxy?” Dolly leaned over and sloppily kissed Dean on the mouth, her hands slipping into the back pockets of his jeans.

Fan-fucking-tastic. He didn’t need to see this shit.

“How did tonight go?” Cash asked Jonte, who had taken up residence on her stool.

“Yeah, good. Thanks for asking.”

Dolly pried her lips away from Dean’s. “She was the shit.”

“She was insane and has a meeting with my boss Sierra tomorrow.” Dean offered out his hand. “Sorry, our intro got interrupted just now. I’m Dean.”

“Yeah, you were kinda busy mauling my sister. I’m Cash.” Cash did the right thing and shook Dean’s hand.

“Why don’t you come maul me upstairs?” Cash read Dolly’s bold smile and tried not to think about what it meant.

“Upstairs?” Dean raised an eyebrow, further punctuating his question.

“I live up there,” Dolly replied, reaching across to pinch his ass.

“So do I.” Jonte groaned and dropped her head into her hands.

“Oh, come on, Jonte. It’s not like I’ve had anyone up there since you moved in.”

“That is true.” Jonte conceded with the smallest of nods, clearly not liking where the night was headed.

“Which means I’m extra horny and things could get a bit wild.” Dolly squealed in delight, her face all lit up, she clapped her hands together like an ecstatic child about to be fed ice cream for dinner.

“Fuck, you did not just say that.” Cash shook his head. That was way too much information. “I don’t wanna hear you talk about that shit.”

“Oh, grow up.” Dolly huffed and grabbed Dean’s hand. “Night, people.” She waved with her free hand.

“Later,” Dean said with a shit-eating grin that made Cash want to knock it right off him.