Blame it on the Tequila by Fiona Cole (the reading strategies book txt) 📕

“You mean the basement party?” Ash deadpanned.

“Hey, dude. A gig is a gig. We’ll get more.”

“Okay, okay,” Parker said, grabbing his guitar. “I was working on this earlier.”

He strummed the tune, and Ash picked up his bass to find a rhythm with him as Oren tapped out a beat. I leaned back into the corner of the couch, observing them work—enraptured by how they fed off each other. They joked and ribbed, but all in good fun. It was like I didn’t exist in their realm, and I was completely okay with that. I just wanted to be close enough to watch the magic.

They got through the second verse and struggled over the ascending climax. I closed my eyes, listening to the beat, bobbing my head, quietly humming along.

“Uggh,” Parker growled. “It’s not right.”

“What if…” I spoke up before I could think better of it. I wanted to choke the words back as soon as they escaped, and I could only hope they hadn’t heard my quiet voice. No such luck, because a second later, all eyes were on me. I swallowed my nerves and forced myself to step out of the shadows. “What if you played something like this, Parker?” I hummed a quick tune with a slower beat. “And then you did a little lower like this, Ash?” This time, I hummed a quick pace similar to Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers. “And, Oren, your beat could match the bass. Maybe heavy cymbals?”

I stopped talking, but no one followed up. They all stared, blinking, and I worried that I had a booger hanging out of my nose. Or maybe a giant penis randomly sprouted on my forehead. That’s the only thing that made sense for why they kept staring in silence.

“Damn, Nova,” Oren said first. “That’s some shit. I didn’t even think of it. Let’s give it a try, ladies.”

Parker looked away last, his eyes hinting at a smile I knew laid just below the surface. They played what I suggested, messed up, and tried it again. By the third time, they nailed it, giving each other high fives with cheers of delight.

Oren wrapped his arm around my shoulder and jerked me into his chest. “Magic, guys. She’s fucking magic.”

Tucking my chin to my chest, I basked in their cheers, my face almost splitting in two from smiling so hard.

“What else do you have tucked up your magic sleeves?” Ash asked.

“Well,” Parker started, and I jerked a wide-eyed glare to him. With a shrug that was anything but apologetic, he announced, “She can sing. Like really, really fucking sing.”

“What?” Ash screeched.

“Hell, yes!” Oren said, clapping.

“Fuck you, Parker,” I grumbled under my breath.

“What? Don’t hate me. It’s awesome.”

“Sing for us,” Oren demanded.

“Um, I don’t think so.”

“Oh, come on,” Parker cajoled, shoving his shoulder against mine. “Don’t think I don’t know you have at least some lyrics for this song. I saw your lips moving when I was playing earlier.”

My jaw dropped. Holy shit. How had he seen that? I hadn’t even known he’d been watching. I’d been sure he was too engrossed in his music to notice I was even there. Had he noticed me watching him? Heat bloomed in my cheeks, and I considered the chances of making it to my bedroom before they stopped me.

Probably not good.

“I don’t sing in front of people.”

“But we’re not people,” Ash cajoled, giving me the most devious puppy dog eyes, his full bottom lip sticking out. I bet he got a lot of girls with that look, especially with that dark hair that matched his dark eyes. I knew for sure in school they tripped over themselves for a taste of him. He looked like sin, and I wasn’t even sure I could fathom what sin tasted like at sixteen, but he made all the girls want to find out.

“Yeah, we’re like family,” Oren added.

“Well, Parker actually is family,” Ash said, laughing. He laughed even harder when Parker screwed up his face in disgust.

“Come on, Nova. It’s just us,” Oren begged. “Pleeeease. Pretty, pretty please.”

The guys started chanting my name, and I buried my head in my hands, groaning and laughing. I tried to picture singing and what it would feel like to do it in front of them, and just the thought had my hands trembling.

But the cheers …

“Ugh. Fine,” I finally caved. I knew it’d been inevitable as soon as I’d opened my mouth about the song. I snatched the paper from the table and jotted down the lyrics that had floated through my head earlier.

With a shit-eating grin on his face, Parker opened the song, and the guys joined.

And like I was supposed to be there all along, I hopped in with the lyrics, joining the band.

Six

Parker

P a s t

SIX MONTHS LATER

“Come on, Nova,” I pleaded.

“Why?” she asked from where she lounged on her bed, messy bun in place. “It’s not like you’re playing or anything? It’s just a party.”

“Because it’s a Saturday night, and I want you to come hang out.”

She looked up over the edge of her book and cocked a brow. “What? To be your wingman?” She rolled her eyes and went back to the pages I knew damn well she wasn’t reading. “I really don’t feel like being left behind while you screw off with Kelly.”

Kelly. Yeah, I guessed she’d be there too and probably join in, but she wasn’t one of us. She was more of a…distraction.

A distraction from this growing attraction to Nova. And not the normal one that most teenage guys had. I had that too since I first saw her. No, this attraction crept into my very being, planting itself in my bones until it became part of me—until I feared I wouldn’t be able to live without it. Which was why I had to try and stop it before I couldn’t.

Nova was my stepsister, and I struggled to sit across from her at dinner like some kind of happy little