Into the Deep 01 Read Online Free PDF Page B

politely back. “I’m Claudia.”
    “Claudia, this is Lowe.” Lowe winked at her and then lifted his beer in greeting to me. “Rowena.” She gave us a friendly wave. “And our buddy, Denver. It was his party last night. Poor guy got stuck in different accommodation from us.”
    Denver had messy dark hair that fell to his chin. He wore a lot of silver jewelry, a tight Black Sabbath shirt, and a pair of black skinny jeans and motorcycle boots. Matt seemed to be the odd one out, but still, there was something about the group…
    “Are you guys in a band?”
    Matt grinned. “Yeah. We play a lot in Evanston.”
    “We have a few gigs lined up here,” Lowe added, his gaze fixed on me.
    I was impressed. “How did you manage to swing that so quickly?”
    Lowe shrugged. “We sent out demos to a couple of pubs and bars before we got here. Arranged some dates. We have to rent a drum kit, which is a bummer, but it would be an even bigger bummer to be here for a year and not play one fucking gig.”
    “What are you guys called?” Claudia asked, seeming interested, which surprised me since she wasn’t big into music unless it was classical or country.
    “The Stolen.” Beck appeared behind us with two beers. I thought that was impressively fast considering the line at the bar. No doubt he charmed his way through the crowd. “We’re indie rock.”
    “I told them people will love them here,” Rowena piped up with a big smile.
    “Oh my God, you’re Scottish,” I replied, somewhat stupidly.
    “Aye.”
    Feeling like an idiot, I tried to explain my “duh” moment. “I just thought you were American with you being with the guys and …” I drifted off, actually not sure why I’d assumed she was American.
    She shook her head. “I live across the hall fae Denver. Ma flatmates are aliens. Denver saved me fae them.”
    “She’s our token Scot,” Denver joked, throwing his arm around her shoulder. “We’re keeping her around for the accent. It does help, though, that the girl knows good music.”
    Rowena looked perfectly happy tucked into his side and I wondered absentmindedly if she was more than his token Scot.
    We all fell easily into conversation, Matt hogging Claudia’s attention, his gaze almost stunned as they talked. He was captivated and I instantly felt bad for him because I knew Claudia didn’t feel the same. When Claudia liked a guy, she was pretty obvious about it. Beck could attest to that—Beck, who, I noticed, was watching Claudia with an intensity that surprised me for someone who apparently wasn’t into her. He finally caught me studying him and he grinned, his expression teasing as he stepped near me.
    “So,” he leaned his head down close to mine, “I know your friend is a good girl, but I still haven’t made up my mind about you.”
    I didn’t know if he was coming onto me or just making conversation, but I thought I better lay it out for him anyway. “I don’t do bad boys.”
    His eyes narrowed. “ Anymore .”
    My gaze sharpened at his insinuation and Beck shrugged. “Jake’s like a brother. He tells me everything.”
    I looked away, my heartbeat picking up at the mention of him. Trying for nonchalant, I took a swig of beer. If I was to go by Beck’s next comment, I’d obviously failed.
    “Look, the guy feels like shit about the way he treated you. You should give him a chance to say it.”
    Making a face that I’m sure screamed “bitter,” I turned back to Beck. “He knows where I live. He’s known for three and a half years and he’s had that whole time to apologize.”
    Beck sighed, every ounce of bad boy melting out of him as he told me solemnly, “It took Jake a long time to get over what happened. When he finally started to breathe again, he realized how much he’d fucked it up with you … but it was already done. It was too late.” He made a helpless gesture. “I could go on for hours, but it’s not my place. Just give the guy a chance to explain,