Read Online Above the Noise by Michelle Kemper Brownlow - Free Book Online Page A

along my back, but I didn’t pay attention to anything except searching the room for Becki’s bright blue top. I was livid. I was ready to strangle Max with my bare hands, but only after I beat the hell out of him with it first.
    I had tunnel vision. I was panicked. God, if anything happened to Becki, I would never forgive myself. And where were Manny and Bones? Why were they not all sticking together like I thought they were going to? I must’ve spun around in that same spot ten times, each time scanning the room for Becki. I saw Bones and Manny step out of the men’s room, and I took off. I bolted between kissing couples, I pushed people out of my way, all the while trying to get the guys’ attention. They appeared to be looking around just as frantically as I had just been.
    “Becki! Where is she?
    “Dude, we were only in there a second. We told her to hang out at the bar.”
    “Max is here. I saw him with his hands on her, and then they disappeared.”
    I couldn’t catch my breath. My grey t-shirt clung to me as sweat came to the surface of my skin. I ran my hands through my hair, and the three of us stood there like idiot dads who’d lost their kids at the toy store. Shit.
    “Manny, were you guys anywhere else in this place? Are there any other dance floors or anything?”
    “Yeah, the VIP rooms are upstairs. Maybe they’re up there?”
    “I’m gonna fuck him up. Where are the stairs?”
    “Cal, listen, maybe it looks worse than it is. Becki’s not gonna do anything with that douchebag.” Manny was the eternal optimist.
    “Not willingly. Go!” My heart pounded so violently, I was sure it would burst through my chest at any minute.
    I don’t remember going up the stairs. Suddenly, we were there at the top, all scanning the room for Max. The bouncer at the door nodded when he saw our VIP passes and granted us permission to be there. It was a big room with small seating areas partitioned off with sheer fabric.
    “Cal!” Spider was about fifteen feet from us, standing by a tall table with three pitchers on it. “Becki’s with Max, over there. I followed them up here. I was just about to text you.” It was so loud, I’m really not sure if I actually heard him or just read his lips. Spider and I were the closest of the four of us. We were all super close, but Spider and I really tuned into each other’s brains. He knew by the look on my face that I was ready to go ape shit if I didn’t lay my eyes on her.
    “Thanks, man.” I grabbed one of the pitchers and sucked down what felt like half a six pack. It travelled cold and stinging down to my gut. I slammed the pitcher back on the table and bent a little at the waist with my hands on my thighs. I needed to handle this the right way. I had to calm down first. I couldn’t get my head out of my heart, though. Max was with Becki, and I was pretty sure she had no interest in being with him.
    Manny and Bones stood at the table with Spider as I watched what was happening behind the sheer fabric that was lit with pink and red recessed floor lights. Becki’s back was to me, so I couldn’t see her face, but her body was completely still. Her back was straight, and she sat sideways on the couch facing Max. One arm rested on the back of the couch, and her head leaned against her left fist. Her head flew back, and her laugh travelled back to where we stood. What the hell? I grabbed the pitcher again and barely swallowed, just poured the amber liquid into my blood stream. I didn’t need to be wasted to kick someone’s ass, and it would take more than a pitcher of beer to get me buzzed. But, there’s a level of numbness that comes just before the buzz creeps up on you. Punches don’t faze you in the least when that numbness sets in. I didn’t need to be numb to fuck Max up, but I needed to be cool and not instigate anything when I approached them. Trouble was, I didn’t know what it was Becki and I were doing, so there was a small part of me that worried