Bullet by Jade C. Jamison Page A

girls (at least that’s how Ethan had described him long before I had the chance to meet him and make a judgment for myself).  He was taller than Ethan, though not much, with shiny black hair, longer than any of the other guys in the band.  And his eyes were dark, full of secrets…but those secrets didn’t feel sinister, not at all.  The way his lips looked like they were going to twitch up in a smile at any given second made me feel like his secrets were fun…and like he wanted to share them with me.  Brad…he could almost make me forget about Ethan.  He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, so I was able to see he had half a sleeve of a tattoo on his right arm.  He was already working on looking like a rock star.  And he probably worked out.  That much I could tell.  He grabbed my hand to shake it and said, “Like the ink?”
    Oh, God.  I could feel the red heat rising from my neck as it spread to my cheeks.   But I’d already been caught staring.  “Yeah.”  Might as well be honest, right?
    Ethan had already plugged his guitar into the desk-sized amp and was tuning it, and Zane wasn’t far behind.  So Brad, not letting go of my hand, mind you, led me over to the drums where Nick already sat.  But he was on his phone, watching a video or something.  He was a quiet guy but nice.  Dark brown hair, blue eyes, and an almost shy demeanor.  But I could tell even then that he was just as enthusiastic about the band as the rest of them, maybe even more so, because his work on the drums could speak for itself.  He didn’t need to say a word, instead having to simply beat out a rhythm that anyone’s primal self could enjoy and get lost in.
    I didn’t understand at first how they all fit together, but Brad had already strapped on a guitar as well, after finding me a lawn chair to sit on in the chilly garage.  They had a couple of space heaters working double time, and I figured that was what kept the space bearable, but it certainly wasn’t cozy.  Brad was determined to keep a conversation going with me, even if the other guys were already drowning in their own little rock worlds.  “Ethan and I both play guitar, and he does a lot of the lead vocals, but I sing some too.”  He winked.  “It’s good for me.”  He leaned over, ready to spill one of his secrets.  “Ethan’s voice is probably better than mine, but we both suck...at least when it comes to clean vocals.  The good music makes up for it, though.  We’re a great team on guitars.”  Brad starting tuning his guitar as well, but instead of not paying attention to me, he faced me.  Yeah, he was focusing on his guitar, but I could tell he wasn’t completely ignoring me either.
    I looked over at Ethan.  Yeah, right now, I didn’t exist to him.  Only his guitar held any meaning in that moment.  So I’d let Brad give me all the attention he wanted.  He said, “We started out by doing mostly covers, but we’ve written four or five of our own songs.  We’ve played small places, but I think once we have a big repertoire of music, we’ll feel better about booking bigger venues.”  I nodded as though I knew exactly what he was talking about.
    But I also knew I could get away with a lot with this guy standing in front of me.  I already sensed that, and I planned to test my theory.  “So do you guys actually play , or do you just stand around talking about it?”
    Brad raised his eyebrows, a playful look spreading over his face, and he said, “Oh…” until the oh turned into laughter.  Then he turned to his bandmates and said, “I think we have an impatient wannabe fan.  Shall we, gentlemen?”
    Ethan had a serious look on his face, and he nodded his head at Nick.  Nick slid his phone in his pocket without hesitation and then tapped his drumsticks over his head, counting out loud, and then they began.  I listened intently to the music, trying to identify if I knew the song or not, and concluded that this one must be