Torn - Part 1: The Torn Series Read Online Free PDF Page B

again instead.
    I wasn’t sure which outcome to hope for.
    He was already at the bar when I arrived - it was a little place in the west village called Ace of Hearts. This time we’d be playing the main room instead of a basement, so that was an improvement. There was a chance people would hear us from the street and decide to come in for a listen.
    I was wearing a different skirt this time - blue plaid instead of red. It was only marginally more modest, though. I’d gotten lazy about my promise to myself to let the hems out. My black corset-style top bared a bit more of my tits to the air, but that wasn’t on purpose. It was just what I happened to grab when I was getting dressed. If Mallet happened to like what he saw, well, I wouldn’t turn down a compliment but it wasn’t my plan to begin with. Honest.
    I was too shy to approach him but I waved when he caught my eye. Jen and Robin sat at the bar and rearranged our setlist for the fifth time. I didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation but I leaned over and listened and tried to appear busy. Maybe Mallet would stay down on his end of the bar until we started our set. I needed more time to work up the nerve to talk to him.
    He came over to me, though, striding through the room like he owned it. Butterflies. Wasn’t I supposed to be too cool for butterflies? I certainly wanted to be. But there they were, fluttering about in my stomach because a hot guy was headed in my direction. I felt like the biggest dork on the planet.
    Jen and Robin giggled and took off with their drinks when they saw him approach. Oh, come on, guys.
    “Hey,” he said, leaning casually against the bar.
    “Hey. You look better,” I said, gesturing at his cheek. The bruise on his face had faded to just a discoloration.
    “Yeah. Should be in fighting condition again soon.” He ran a hand through his light brown hair. “Want to come watch a match tonight? Surly’s up against some guy from Jersey.”
    I blinked with surprise. I was hoping maybe we’d grab a drink after the show - that it would sort of naturally happen, since we were in a bar already. I wasn’t expecting an invitation to go out anyplace else. “Oh. Is Jen going?” I cast my eyes around for her but she was nowhere to be seen. Probably helping Robin set up the drums since we were playing first that night. I should have been with them.
    “Nope.” He didn’t elaborate. “So?”
    I shook my head but I said, “Okay.”
    My head was swimming as I hopped up onstage and helped finish setting up. This big city move was supposed to be fun, and exciting, and not this confusing. The whole idea was to have a fresh start with Tyler - to build a new life with him. Now that he’d backed out of that dream, I was lost.
    Mallet shot an encouraging grin my way from the foot of the stage where he took up residence. He crossed his arms and scanned the crowd for trouble. I doubted there’d be much, but still, his presence was a comfort.
    Jen screamed into the microphone, “Are all you bitches ready to party?” making me jump in place. I was ready, all right. My bass was ready. Adrenaline flowed through my veins as people gathered close to the stage and we struck up our first few chords. I love this.
    Our setlist didn’t vary much from our show the previous weekend, but this was a completely different crowd - they were much more into it. The bad taste left in my mouth by that groper’s attack quickly faded. I danced back and forth across the stage, interacted with the crowd, sang along with Jen.
    They loved it. I knew we weren’t a big deal, we weren’t well known and we didn’t have fans, but we put our hearts into our show and the crowd danced and sang along, and what more could a brand new punk girl like me ask for? I screamed the lyrics and they screamed back.
    And all the while, Mallet hovered below us. He quietly slipped from one end of the stage to the other, giving a wary eye to anyone who danced too rowdy and too