I leaned around Travis and whispered to Skyler, “It’s as funky as the devil’s armpit in here.” She didn’t respond.
I waited for introductions, but the other band members just stared at me. I shifted uncomfortably. “Who are you guys?”
“That’s Fang, our drummer,” Travis said, pointing to the red-haired guy. There was a towel around his neck, and he used it to wipe the sweat off his chest.
“Ozzie’s the bass player, and Armando’s our keyboardist. And I’m the lead singer and guitarist.”
Ozzie was dressed in eighties grunge, like he thought he was the next Eddie Vedder, and Armando wore a sharp black suit with a white shirt and black tie. Apparently, the wardrobe budget all went to Armando’s suits.
“Did you enjoy the concert?” Fang, the drummer, asked me. His words were slow and deliberate, like he didn’t talk very often.
“It was…interesting,” I said.
“You’ll come to our next show,” Travis said. “You can be my number-one groupie.”
I made a face, and he must have misinterpreted it as confusion.
“A groupie is like a friend of the band who likes to do things for us.”
“I know what a groupie is,” I said. “And you’re sugarcoating it.”
I didn’t appreciate how he was trying to mansplain.
“Thanks for the invitation, but I don’t think so,” I said. I tried to pull Skyler to her feet, but it was like trying to teach a wet noodle to walk.
Travis leaned toward me until our faces were only inches apart. “You are beautiful. I will make you very happy.”
My gaze narrowed on his high cheekbones. “Are you wearing glitter?”
Skyler reached out slowly and touched his face, but he swatted her hand away.
“It’s stage makeup,” he replied defensively.
“Skyler, I think it’s time to go,” I said.
He gave me the creeps. There was a dark splotch of something on the corner of his mouth, and a word tickled my brain. Vampire.
I’d heard my granny talk about them before, but she always mentioned them as evil and soul sucking. I mean, Travis was dirty-hot, but in that I’m-too-cool-to-call-you-later sort of way, not the I-eat-hearts-for-breakfast kind of way.
He locked eyes with me. I didn’t look away, even when a headache began to build. A voice that I instinctively knew no one else could hear told me to give in, to yield, to do what I was told. But I refused, jerking my gaze away. Still, even though I fought it, my gaze went back to him.
The smells of graveyard dirt and dried blood hit my nose, and my stomach roiled. Something tugged at my mind, but I resisted it. I wasn’t looking at a human. I was looking at a vampire. But as soon as the thought occurred to me, it was gone.
“What were we talking about again?” I asked. My head was spinning. I’d forgotten something. What was it?
Travis gave me a satisfied smile. “Just getting to know each other.”
“I’m hungry,” the drummer whined like a tired toddler.
“You already ate,” Travis snapped.
Fang looked at me and licked his lips. “I want dessert.”
Travis glared at him. “No one gets dessert before I do.”
“I want my necklace,” Skyler slurred suddenly. “Need it.”
“You don’t need that thing, baby,” Travis said, but Skyler continued to mumble.
“You’re wearing it already, Sky,” I said, lifting it up to show her where my charm necklace was draped around her neck. “Here you go.” She was too out of it to be able to tell the difference. I’d help her find hers in the morning.
Downstairs, someone put on a playlist.
“Baby, they’re playing your song,” Skyler cooed.
“That doesn’t sound like the same band,” I said.
“We’re better live,” Armando said.
I thought auto-tuning made everyone sound better, but apparently not. It was hard to believe it was the same band. I’d never heard anything more ear-numbingly awful than The Drainers album playing on the sound system. I was relieved until I realized the music was so loud that nobody would hear our screams.
“I’ll be right back, Sky.” I made for the door alone this time. I’d go get help, find Vaughn.
But Travis was in front of it, blocking the way. He was fast, so fast, even though he was drunk. Or high. Or something. Something that made his face flushed, his eyes red and beady like a rat’s.
“What’s your hurry?” Travis said. “You’re having fun. You want to stay.”
“No, I do not.”
Again with the surprised face. I had a hard time believing that a guy like Travis hadn’t heard the word “no” before, but he acted like it was a unique experience.
Then there was this squeezing sensation, like someone had put my brain in a vise and was twisting it tighter and tighter.
A tiny part of my mind tried to tell me this wasn’t just a headache. But suddenly, the room was spinning, and a queasy feeling reminded me of the one time I’d been seasick, spinning and sloshing. I hadn’t had anything to drink, had I? It felt like he was there, in my head, telling me to go with him. Something inside me knew to resist. I wasn’t the kind of girl who let some asshole boss her around, so I gathered all my strength and silently yelled, “Get out of my head.”
When I looked up, Travis seemed shaken.
He leaned in and sniffed me, then tried to nuzzle my neck. “You smell good,” he said. “I’ve never smelled anyone like you before.”
“No means no, asshole,” I said. I shoved him away, but not before he leaned in close and sniffed my neck, grazing it with his teeth.
“You’re resisting me?” Travis asked. “But girls can’t resist me.”
I rolled my eyes at his monumental ego. “This one can.”
He made a move toward me again, and I brought my leg up and kneed him in the groin. He crumpled to the ground.
The room tilted, my vision blurred, and a burning sensation went down my neck to my chest, but I managed to stay upright.
I was so out of there.
I grabbed Skyler, who thankfully seemed to be coming out of it, whatever it was.
The other two guys snarled, but I put up a hand. “You two stay back. We are leaving, and you’re not going to stop us.” I’d scream the house down if I had to, but I was hoping I could bluff my way out of it.