Read Online Strings by Kendall Grey - Free Book Online

total jelly roll.”
    He shrugs. “I like to get down with the
jelly roll. But you already know that, don’t you, pussycat?” A
gleam sparkles in his eye.
    Okay. I know how to play
this game. I settle into the booth and fold my arms over my chest.
“I wonder what Rax and Toombs would think about what I did to you
with that strap-on. Two rough-and-tumble dudes like them with a new
guy to break in? I doubt Killer Dixon’s fans would be happy to learn their
new sex god singer is a bottom for chicks with rubber dicks. That
would not look
good on your resume, buddy.” I snag a piece of ice from my water
glass and crunch it loudly.
    The intensity in his gaze sharpens to a
laser point. The burn is tangible. “What makes you think they don’t
already know?”
    Shit. Course change. “Was sex with me a
dysfunctional-rich-person thing? A Band-Aid for your negative
father complex? Here’s my take on it. You tried to top me from
bottom because you have to be in control—a byproduct of years of
privileged living, no doubt—but you also wanted a walk on the wild
side, so you agreed to take a bumming as some sort of rebellion
against your daddy.”
    “ Ah, Letty. I’m a piece of
glass to you. Guilty as charged.” He smirks and looks
away.
    “ Are you ready to order?”
A bored-looking waitress taps her pen on a pad of paper.
    “ Yeah. You got any Boston
butt?” I nail Shades with a glare. “I love to tear up some Boston butt.
Maybe with a side of shredded cheese. Mmm, mmm good.”
    “ We sell burgers
here.”
    “ Fine. Gimme one of those
with some fries. And a chocolate malt.” Since he’s paying, I may as
well go wild.
    Wait, he’s paying, right?
    Shit. I have exactly ten bucks to my name. I
start plotting my getaway.
    “ I’ll have the same.”
Shades passes the menus to the chick, and she wanders
off.
    I study Shades’s bored expression. Well,
this is going great. Since this may be my last chance to put it all
out there, I cut loose another barrage of burning questions. I’ll
probably never see him again. Nothing to lose. “Tell me something.
Did you know who I was when you picked me up last night? Was it
some kind of head game for you? The truth.”
    He meets my direct stare. “I had no
idea.”
    “ Hell of a coincidence,
don’t you think?”
    “ Yep.”
    “ You don’t sound
surprised.”
    “ I’m not.”
    “ Because—?”
    “ Because you’re not Lucky.
I am. Things always go my way, even when they don’t.”
    “ I don’t
follow.”
    He drapes an arm across the back of the
booth. “You don’t follow good luck? It’s a pretty simple
concept.”
    “ Perhaps an example is in
order? I am just
a girl, after all.”
    “ I’ve been playing bass
since I was a kid. I wanted to be in a band—mostly because I knew
it would chap my dad’s ass if I didn’t follow in his footsteps.
Teenage rebellion thing. Whatever. But as I learned more and more,
things changed. Turned out I actually enjoyed music. Creating, playing—the
whole scene. Totally pissed my parents off, but at that point, I
was like, ‘Fuck ’em.’ I’m decent at something that doesn’t involve
hostile takeovers or wearing a suit. I’ll take it.
    “ Before I knew it, I got
good on bass. I discovered I could carry a tune. I thought, ‘Shit,
maybe I can make an honest career out of this.’ So I kept at it.
Joined a few bands. Got some experience.
    “ I hooked up with a couple
of cats when I moved here, but I wasn’t feeling their vibe. I told
them I wanted out after this last gig, and they were cool with
it.
    “ We open for Killer Dixon.
After the show, I talk to Rax. Just casual shit. Nothing
music-related. But once he warms up to me, he says he and Toombs
are thinking about booting their singer. He likes my style and my
voice. Maybe we can get together and jam sometime. Cool. Whatever.
I figure he’s full of shit.
    “ A few days later, I get a
phone call. Killer Dixon is auditioning musicians. So I go and
play. They like