Free His New Jam by Shannyn Schroeder Page A

still have to deal with band members after you graduate.”
    He waved a hand. “They’ll forget all about me by next summer.”
    Again, he had a point. New Year’s was still more than two weeks away. They might be done by then. “We’ll see.”
    The bell rang and Hunter went to let the guys in. Lance and Jay were together when Hunter came back. Sydney didn’t know if they traveled together or just had great timing. They both smiled and said hi when they saw her.
    â€œ ‘Bad Reputation’ must’ve been your contribution,” Jay said as he took off his coat.
    She blushed at the mention. When Hunter had given her the playlist for this weekend, “Bad Reputation” was a new addition. “Not my idea, but Hunter heard me playing it.”
    â€œI like it. Good choice.”
    Lance nodded in agreement. For the singer of the group, he didn’t seem to talk much. Their friendliness surprised her. She was only a temp, someone with no weight in the group, no real say, and she’d be gone in a few weeks.
    Although she wished Hunter hadn’t added a song for her, she appreciated it. Hunter didn’t say anything as they warmed up and got ready to play. In fact, he barely took notice of her. If only he could remember to do that at marching band practice, her life would be so much easier.
    â€œLet’s start with ‘Bad Reputation’ since it’s new,” Hunter said when they were all ready.
    All eyes turned to her. The attention overwhelmed her for a second. Hunter winked and the nerves eased. She counted off in her head and began to play. The song was easily one of her favorites, both because the beat was so strong and because the lyrics suited her. And Hunter, she suddenly realized. Lance began to sing, but he tripped up at the first verse because of the word girl .
    â€œI can’t sing girl . I can say I’m a lot of things, but that ain’t one.”
    Sydney snickered. “So substitute guy .”
    He smiled at her, his lips lifted at a crooked angle. “Maybe you should sing.”
    â€œSorry. No one wants to hear that. I sound bad even in the shower.”
    Jay leaned over to see her around Lance’s shoulder. “Maybe we need a demonstration.”
    Hunter smacked him in the head, making Sydney laugh again. “Stop acting like you’ve never been around a chick.” He pointed at Syd. “From the top.”
    This time they made it through without a hitch. Then they played again, sounding even better. She’d forgotten how much fun it could be to play with other musicians. Marching band didn’t count.
    After “Bad Reputation,” they moved on to the rest of the set, which were all male-dominated fuck-the-world kind of songs. They were all so different from the music she heard Hunter play when he was alone or at Andy’s. She wondered if Lance and Jay knew about his other gig.
    Throughout the set, Hunter bounced between instruments. He played the sax, the keyboard, and even the guitar. He excelled at everything he touched. It made her remember his hands on her. Pushing the thought aside, she focused on the music. She didn’t want to miss a beat.
    She had a great time playing, and when they were done hours later, sweat trickled down her back and between her boobs. She’d have to remember to dress in easily removable layers for Friday night. As Jay packed up his guitar, he looked back and forth between Hunter and Sydney, like he wanted to ask something. Hunter seemed oblivious to it.
    She met his gaze and raised her eyebrows in question. He turned to Hunter and said, “Hey, man, could you grab me a bottle of water to go?”
    â€œSure.” Hunter left the room and Jay came close.
    â€œIs there a problem?” she asked.
    â€œNope. I like you. I like the way you play. But I see the way he looks at you. Is that going to be a problem?”
    How Hunter looked at her? She