Free Hotbox by Delia Delaney Page A

me .
    “Wipe the drool from your mouth,” she snickered.
    I shook my head and smiled. “I’m a little surprised, I guess.”
    “What do you mean? I thought you knew she played. ”
    “Well, yeah I knew she played, but I didn’t picture… Well, I guess I didn’t know she performed .”
    “Oh, you have no idea,” she laughed.
    A loud force of sound came from the stage and the band began another number. If seeing her do the other two songs was surprising, I was ev en more blown away to hear Jayden play an electric guitar. S he was amazing, hands down . I carefully watched how she played ; it seemed effortless. You could tell she was having a good time with the band, but her presence onstage was so mellow and relaxed. And yeah…she was hot .
    When that song was over I asked Cali, “Can she sing the National Anthem?”
    “Oh, yeah, s he can nail that puppy . S he’s performed it dozen s of times . Why?”
    I shrugged. “ We do it before our games.”
    “Oh. You might have to spring it on her,” she laughed. “She gets too nervous if she has time to think about it. And as long as she doesn’t have to stand out on the mound or something,” she added.
    After two other songs—including another incredible one that Jayden sang—the performance was at its conclusion. She went off stage with the band and I finally leaned back in my chair.
    “She’s got some skills,” Jesse said from across the table. “She should come sing our ant hems instead of that one lady—t he one that belts it out like an opera singer.” He mimicked how she sang and I laughed in agreement.
    But m y happy mood quickly faded when Aaron appeared. With a laugh he shook his head. “I’m impressed, Ty. You’ve got yourself one hell of a girl. You know, someone told me she was in a band, but I just thought they had the wrong chick . If she ever becomes famous, you’ll be famous just for banging her.”
    I heard Cali gasp. “You’re a pig! Get out of here!”
    My heart dropped; I’d been afraid that he was going to do something like this. I stood up to face him and quietly said, “You’d better leave, Aaron. I don’t think you want to do this here.”
    He seemed amused when he scoffed and replied, “Do what, Ty?”
    “These are her friends, you moron. You’re gonna get your ass kicked.”
    He looked around the tables and realized there were several eye s on him. Matt had even stood up and was eyeing him pretty eagerly. The moment became even more intense when Jayden suddenly appeared, carefully watching everyone with confusion.
    “What’s going on?” she asked me as she approached .
    “Go,” I told Aaron, who was standing there staring at her. From the look on his face I just knew he was about to say something to her, and based on how reckless he could be with his mouth, I also knew how much damage he could cause in a matter of seconds.
    Chris got up and stood next to Jayden, subtly moving her a step away. He said something to her and tried to lead her away further , but she shook her head. Aaron returned his look to me and scoffed again , but he turned around and left.
    I looked at Jayden , but it was Chris that took a step toward me .
    “You let trash like that around her?” he asked in a low voice.
    “Hey, you knock it off,” Jayden warned him, pulling him back by his arm. “You are no better than that guy if you’re gonna make this worse.”
    “I’m not gonna put up with it, Jay ,” he said to her.
    She sighed and shook her head, moving around the table to grab her purse next to Cali. “I’m leaving ,” she told her. “Call me when you’re heading home .” She waved at everyone and said goodbye . Chris was still glaring at me when Jayden took my hand and asked if I would take her home.
    “Sure,” I replied, glancing at Jesse. He nodded his head to let me know he’d get a ride.
    “ I don’t even know what happened, but I’m sorry,” she began to say as we walked through the club and out the exit to the