“Bro,” Vin said as he took the spot next to me. “Halloween is the best fucking night of the year. So many chicks, so little clothing. I think I want a French maid, a Playboy Bunny, and a nurse all tonight.”

“Good luck with that,” I said.

“What are you going to take home? I saw a really hot referee.”

When Ari couldn’t find me, she secured her mask back in place and turned to talk to her friends.

“I’m thinking a masked angel.”

“That one?” Vin asked, pointing Ari out.

“Yeah.”

“Good choice. I’d bang her.”

“No chance in hell.”

The production manager popped his head backstage. “You guys are up.”

It was our first show in weeks, but we got right back into our rhythm without a hitch. I played the crowd the best way I knew how. Drunken girls in lingerie were throwing themselves toward the stage, and I even heard a few screaming for me to take my clothes off. I obliged them by shrugging out of the jacket of the military fatigues I’d worn for the occasion. The fans screamed even louder when I tugged up my shirt to expose my abs beneath. I laughed softly into the microphone, pulled the shirt back down, and continued on with the chorus.

“This is our last song, and I know that you’ll all be so sad to see us go. This one’s called ‘Letting You.’ Come out to our last show of the semester at The Ivy League on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.”

The crowd cheered.

I found Ari swaying and dancing all by herself in the second row. Her friends were grinding against guys who they’d found in the crowd, but she only had eyes for me. Right as we moved into the instrumental break, I pointed her out to the crowd and motioned for her to come onstage.

Her mouth dropped open, and she shook her head. I could see her mouthing, No, over and over, but the crowd roared and pushed her forward. I had the masses on my side, and soon, she was up the stairs and walking straight toward me. When I reached her, I swung her around into a dip and kissed her in front of the sea of people.

To everyone in attendance, this was nothing more than the band putting some random girl on display for the drunken Halloween crowd. But for me, this was new territory. I hadn’t picked Ari at random. It felt more like…I was claiming my girl.

Date Eleven

A week later, I picked up Ari from school. I’d dropped her off that morning after she stayed at my place. Ari was talking to some chick when she saw me pull up, and then she jogged over to my truck.

“Hey, Princess.”

Ari hauled herself up and into the passenger seat. “Hey. My professor loaded us up on homework because he’s worried we won’t cover everything before Thanksgiving. I guess we got behind a week or something. Ugh! It’s going to be terrible. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see you all weekend.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Do you want to cancel our date?” I asked anyway.

She chewed absentmindedly on her bottom lip. “No, it’s already planned.”

Good. She was going to go crazy for this one, and I didn’t want to have to wait another week. The Weather Channel was predicting a drastic drop in temperatures over the next couple of weeks, so this might be the last chance we had.

I drove back to Ari’s so that she could change before heading out.

“Do you want to come up?” she asked innocently.

“Babe, I don’t think we have time for that,” I said with a wink.

“I wasn’t…” she began and then tilted her head and stared at me funny. “Who are you? And what have you done with Grant McDermott? Since when are you turning me down?”

I grabbed her chin hard in my hand and pulled her in close to me. Our eyes locked.

“You tell me you want to have sex with me, and all plans are forgotten.”

“Maybe another time,” she said casually as if her pupils hadn’t dilated from the way I’d grabbed her.

One of these days, I was going to fucking take advantage of the situation, and then she wouldn’t be the biggest cocktease I’d named her to be. But not today.

We walked inside, and as she darted into her bedroom, my phone started buzzing. Miller.

“What’s up?”

“What are you doing the second weekend in December?”

“Nothing. Why?”

Miller sounded practically chipper. “Someone saw us at the Halloween show, and they want us to play a music festival at a ski resort in the Poconos.”

“Dude, I barely know how to ski.”

“Shut the fuck up! We’re talking about getting picked up for a major event.”

My smile grew. It sounded like a great opportunity, and since it was late enough in the semester, maybe I could steal Ari away with me.