Free How to Seduce a Band Geek by Cassie Mae Page A

on a ladybug that just landed on the death bush.
    He shuffles, his elbow making contact with mine for a split second. “It’s okay. I don’t tell a lot of my friends about it.”
    “I’m your friend?” Shit, what is wrong with me?
    He knocks into my shoulder, bringing my gaze back to his beautiful face. “Of course you’re my friend. What did you think we were?”
    Yikes! I want to suck air into my cheeks, but I keep my face somewhat composed. “I don’t know. I guess I thought you and Zoe were friends, and that’s the only reason you talk to me, or that you’re nice to me and all that stuff. I mean, I consider you as my friend, don’t get me wrong, but I thought you thought I was too young to be cool enough to hang out with or talk to outside of school or you’d always come to see Zoe, but like, that’s not a bad thing. You and her are tight. I just didn’t realize we were friends too. I like when we talk and stuff. So, yeah, we’re friends. Sure. Yeah. Totally.”
    His smile is huge, and his whole body shakes with silent laughter. I slap my hands over my cheeks so he doesn’t see them burst like fireworks. “Oh my gosh. I have a rambling problem.”
    “I like your rambling.” He pulls my pant leg down, finger running over my cut slightly. It gives me the good kind of chills. “And I think you’re right.”
    “About what?”
    “We’re friends, but we should, you know, be friends.”
    I have no idea what that means, but it makes my heart pitter patter in my throat, and a big goofy smile envelopes my face. “O-okay.”
    He drops his hand to my knee and slowly pushes it off his leg. “Can I ask you a question now?”
    “Sure.”
    “What are you doing here?”
    I really should’ve known that one was coming. My barely recovered brain works overtime to come up with something honest, yet won’t get Brea in deep crap.
    “I was meeting up with Brea.” So far, the truth.
    “Oh, that’s right.” He nods, rubbing a hand over his khakis. “The mentoring thing.” His eyebrows scrunch. “She didn’t blow you off, did she?”
    Not technically. We had a deal. “No.”
    “Then, uh, where is she?” He’s holding back a laugh, but I can also see some older brother protection stuff going on behind his blue eyes. It’s sexy. Like, beyond his normal sexiness. It’s ultra sexy. Levi is made from the beautiful pool of people, but it’s his good-guy-ness that makes him the most gorgeous man alive.
    I set my chin on my knees and play with my toe ring. Anything to keep me from ogling him so I can concentrate, damn it! “She had to run. I’m just waiting for my ride.”
    True and true.
    “Who brought you here?” he asks, relaxing next to me. I push back the tiny guilt wave that hits from not telling him everything.
    “Oh, Adam—you know Adam, right?”
    He nods, mouth turning down a bit in the corners. And that sort of pisses me off. Most everyone has a negative opinion of Adam, but I did not expect it from Levi.
    So my voice comes out a little clipped. “Well, he dropped me off.”
    Levi nods again, and he snatches the piccolo resting on my lap. Geez, what the hell?
    “That’s cool.”
    He sounds like it’s anything but cool. I don’t know what to say, so I peek around him down the road. I never thought I’d want Zoe to hurry up so I can get away from Levi. And that makes me sad and mad all at once. Sad because I thought Levi was better than all the other guys at school, and mad because I’m the one who put him up on that pedestal in the first place.
    “So, how long have you two been together?”
    Mad and sad zip out the window, replaced by confused as hell.
    “Who? Huh? What?”
    “You and Adam. You’re dating, right?”
    Heaven save me, because I’m so surprised and relieved a big pig snort shoots out my nose and mouth. He startles back from me, but he ends up bursting into laughter. Even though I know he’s laughing at my totally unladylike chortles, I don’t care because it’s so