The Henson Brothers: Two Complete Novels (25 page)

"I might find somebody nicer and not come."

"Fortunately, I have many other talents." He clasped his hands behind his head and grinned. "You'll come."

* * *

Neither said anything when she arrived on at his place that evening. He just grinned knowingly and she frowned at him. Once inside, they snuggled on the couch and settled in for a pleasant evening watching TV. They were laughing at a sitcom when Drake's cell phone rang.

"Hello? Yeah, she's here." He looked down at Cassie, who was resting her head on his lap. "Sure, that sounds fine. Okay, see you then." He flipped it closed.

She glanced up at him, curious. "Who was that?"

"Adriana."

Cassie narrowed her eyes. "Adriana called your cell phone? How did she get the number?"

"I gave it to her." He reached over her and grabbed chips from the bowl on the coffee table.

"Why?"

He frowned. "In case she got lonely. Why else?"

She pinched him.

He rubbed his arm. "It's in case something happened to you, she could reach me."

"You're so sweet." She took some of his chips.

"I'm afraid I can't say the same," he mumbled, grabbing some more.

"Why did she call?"

"She wants to invite us out. Her boyfriend is playing at the Colossal." Cassie sat up, alarmed. "Oh, no, and you said yes?"

"Sure, why not?"

She fell back into the cushions. "Because we are going to regret this."

* * *

Her words were prophetic.

"I had a nightmare similar to this once," Drake said. "Of course I had the benefit of waking up then."

Drake, Cassie, and Adriana sat in the dimly lit room of the Colossal listening to a rock band screech its way to the crescendo of an unintelligible song. The Colossal was a known platform for people hoping to display their talents, or lack thereof, to a receptive audience either too bored or too drunk to boo them off the stage. The wallpaper was a metallic green that caused everything to shimmer as if one had stepped into the ocean, sipped the water, and started hallucinating.

Cassie had enjoyed coming to the place with Adriana when they were both in their college bohemian phase, but now looking around at the crowd that had more piercings than a voodoo doll and clothes that were most likely tattooed on, she felt too old for the place.

She picked up her tequila sunrise, unsympathetic to Drake's discomfort. "I had warned you."

"Mike's much better than this group," Adriana assured him. She could pass for a mermaid with her hair piled high on her head and falling down her face in ringlets. Her bluish gray top changed colors when she moved and her earrings resembled starfish. In contrast, Cassie wore a simple gold dress and teardrop earrings.

"That's not saying much." Cassie frowned. "That's like saying dirt tastes better than mud."

Adriana ignored her and clapped when the band finished.

Cassie nudged Drake as Corrosion of Sanity, Mike's band, entered the stage. He turned to her, curious.

She handed him two earplugs. "You will need these. Trust me."

He grinned and they both plugged their ears before Adriana could notice.

* * *

Mike approached their table at the end of his performance. Cassie and Drake pretended to drop something so that they could remove their earplugs. Adriana greeted him with a hug.

"What did you think?" he asked. He was a large man the size of a buffalo and the color of bark with small eyes that made him look as if he were constantly squinting. He had a shaved head and wore two silver hoop earrings, a brown leather vest, and jeans.

"It was wonderful," Adriana said, touching his arm in a light affectionate gesture.

His slitty gaze shifted to Cassie. "And you?"

Cassie hesitated. From behind his broad frame she saw Adriana mouth, "Be nice."

"It was amazing." She never knew music could sound so awful.

He nodded and glanced at Drake. "What about you, man?"

Drake took a long swallow of his drink and everyone held their breath until he set the glass down. "I think you could set a guitar on fire, but should leave the vocals to someone else." Preferably someone who could sing.

A stunned silence dropped like an atomic bomb, leaving everyone shell-shocked.

"You think?" Mike asked, his eyes narrowing to crescent moons.

"Yes."

Mike threw his head back in a shout of laughter and happily punched Drake in the shoulder. Cassie winced for him. Drake didn't flinch. "You really think I can rip, man?"

He nodded. "Focus your energies and you'll discover that your fingers are going to take you places."

Mike slapped him on the back. "Come on, man. I want you to meet the guys and tell them what you said. I've been trying to tell them to get a new singer." He headed toward the back room. Drake shrugged at the two speechless women and followed.

"What was that?" Adriana finally asked, feeling it was safe to breathe.

Cassie held her head. "God, for a second there I thought Mike was going to rearrange Drake's face."

"He sure took a risk by being honest like that."

"It seems Drake likes to take risks."

Still stunned, they hardly listened to the next band on the stage.

An hour later, Drake and Mike returned, looking like old buddies. Drake had his black jacket swung over his shoulder and his blue shirt hanging out of his trousers while Mike walked with a hand on Drake's arm, his vest open.

"Where have you two been?" Adriana asked.

"They've been drinking," Cassie said. She watched in disgust as Mike pulled out his chair as if it were a monumental task.

"I'm afraid only one of us has," Drake said, steadying Mike before he slid out of the chair.

"What have you done to him?" Adriana demanded as her date began to make a pillow out of napkins.

"Adriana," Drake said with the patience of a knowledgeable older brother, "he's a great guy and a lot of fun, but you and I both know you deserve better."

Cassie grinned and nudged him. "Go on," she urged. "Give Mike the lecture you gave Kevin, except mention the drinking."

"What lecture?" Adriana asked.

"Never mind. Cassie's about to get one of her own. Thanks for the experience." He dragged out Cassie's chair and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go."

Once they were outside, Cassie shook her head in frustration. "I knew this night would be awful."

Drake cupped his ear. "What?"

She raised her voice a fraction. "I said, I knew this night would be awful."

"What was that?"

She glared at him, catching his joke. "I suppose I could resort to sign language. How could you say those things to Mike?"

He shrugged, unaware of the mortal danger Cassie believed he had avoided. "The man has more passion than talent and in this world that's what counts. There are a number of brilliant starving artists and stupid millionaires."

She sniffed. "You've definitely got the stupid part right, but did you have to make him drunk?"

"It's not as if I poured the drinks down his throat."

"Adriana is going to think I made you embarrass her date." She sighed with regret. "I never liked him."

He squeezed her arm. "No, she's smart. She knows the truth."

Someone rested a hand on their shoulders. "Can a third party join this cozy twosome?" Adriana asked behind them.

Drake held out his arm and Adriana looped hers through his. Cassie teased them about looking like a couple, but their mutual glare quickly ended the attempt.

At least Drake liked her, Cassie thought. Timothy and Adriana had never gotten along. Of course, the fact that Timothy was a selfish bastard was a factor. He liked to keep Cassie to himself.

They walked down the sidewalk crowded with people who enjoyed and thrived in the night. The city lights bounced off the buildings in a burst of raucous colors. At Adriana's insistence, they stopped in a music store to look around. Adriana headed for alternative music, Cassie to light rock, and Drake to classical. They met in the world music section discussing the various attributes of different artists, then raced to capture a free headset. Cassie won, doing a little victory dance.

After Drake paid for their items, they headed to a restaurant to get something to eat. They were teasing each other about their bad taste in music when Kristin and Eric approached the table.

"Drake!" Kristin said loud enough for a few patrons to turn their heads. She wiggled toward the table in a purple tube dress. "It's so nice to see you laughing and now I know why." She glanced at Cassie, then Adriana. "Eric told me you were seeing someone and she's captivating. Malcolm was wrong. She isn't fat. God, he made her sound like you'd harpooned a whale. If only all woman could carry curves that well." She held her hand out to Adriana. "It's nice to meet you, Cassie."

For the real Cassie, the world stopped, allowing her to hit reality with a sickening thud. She had gone through the night feeling beautiful, forgetting what she looked like, how others perceived her. Now, like an unexpected slap, she knew the truth and it hurt so much that she quickly blinked back tears.

"You've made a mistake, Kristin," Eric gently scolded, sliding into a seat next to Cassie. "My name's Eric." He held out his hand, offering her a smile and serious brown eyes that were kind and understanding behind round, golden frames. His gaze was perceptive to her present feelings and so full of sympathy that she had to swallow in order not to burst into tears.

She decided to laugh instead and make light of the humiliating situation. She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. My name is Shamu, but most people just call me Cassie."

Kristin looked devastated, all color leaving her pretty face. "I'm so sorry."

"Not as sorry as Malcolm will be," Drake promised.

Eric caught his eye, warning him not to lose his temper or embarrass Cassie by making a big deal out of it.

Kristin continued to stumble through an apology. "I didn't mean. I... I... mean you're pretty too."

Drake picked up his drink, saying nothing. And since both he and Adriana looked as if they wanted to skin Kristin, Cassie smiled at the woman. "Don't worry about it. I've been called worse, but I'll leave the names to your imagination. I'm a big woman. When people can spot you from a hundred miles away, you stop being shy about it."

"Yes, well, that's a good attitude to have. I—uh..."

Eric took some money out of his wallet and handed it to Kristin. "Why don't you treat yourself to something?"

Kristin eagerly took the money, knowing this was her best chance to escape. "Thanks. Nice to meet you." She wiggled back to the counter.

Cassie glanced at the quiet group. Drake was staring into his mug. Probably wishing he had a cigarette instead. Adriana was watching Kristin like a vengeful spouse studying "the other woman" and Eric was staring at Drake with a solemn look. She knew she had to be the one to clear the air. "So anyone in the mood for seafood? I can eat my weight in shrimp."

"Cut it out," Drake said, in no mood to entertain her humor.

Silence fell; tension hovered.

"So," Eric began, trying to think of how to remedy the situation. "How has your evening been?"

"We came from the Colossal," Adriana said, as willing as he was to change the subject.

Eric grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

"It was wonderful actually," she defended.

"Right," he said, doubtful. He took a small piece of cloth from his pocket and began to clean his glasses. "So which band did your boyfriend play in?"

Cassie bit her lip in order not to giggle at the stunned expression on Adriana's face. "Corrosion of Sanity," she replied coolly.

Eric returned his glasses to his face. "Aptly named, no doubt."

"Now wait a minute." She tapped a blue nail against the table. "They're great. Some people can't understand hard rock."

"Yes, the mutilation of good sound is hard to understand. At least you have a better taste in friends than in music."

"Now wait—"

"We can argue about that later. Right now I have a pretty woman to impress." He suddenly grabbed Cassie's hand with surprising familiarity and stood. "I want to show you something. Don't worry, Drake, I'll bring her right back." He led her to the checkout counter and looked up at the chalkboard. "Pretend to look at the menu."

She did.

"I'm Drake's brother," he explained.

"I know. He told me about you and your sister."

That revelation gave Eric pause for a moment; then a secret smile touched his mouth. "You're supposed to act surprised and say 'But you look nothing alike.'"

She looked at him, confused. "But you do look alike. You're both very good looking." To her surprise a tint of red touched his honey skin. She turned away to hide a smile.

"Yes, well. Anyway." He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"You didn't embarrass me." He flashed such a wicked grin, Cassie instantly knew he could be just as dangerous as his brother. "I just figured out something."

"What?"

"Why Drake's always such a lucky man." He changed the subject. "Since we didn't have much, it forced us to take value in the things that mattered, find beauty in things others might ignore." He scratched his cheek and pointed vaguely at the menu. "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"You're saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

He shook his head. "No." He placed his hands behind him and rocked on his heels. "I'm saying we've seen ugly things and you're not one of them."

"I know I'm not ugly."

He turned to her. "But you don't know that you're beautiful."

She patted him on the shoulder. This one was more serious than Drake. "You don't need to worry about me. What your friend said didn't bother me. Besides, Drake and I are just friends."

His brows furrowed. "But I thought—"

"That we were something more?" she interrupted, not wanting him to name what they were. "No, that's not possible. We're from two different planets. I'm from Earth and only you know where he's from."

Like Drake, he didn't smile at her humor. Instead, he softly swore. "So you're not interested in him?"