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Apparently the snored here because the air was thick with the stuff My virgin lungs seized and I coughed As wild as I got, I didn’t s I put ineyes squinted into the haze

The average patron wasa beard and tats that didn’t especially s related decorated their denim jackets and vests Not that I could vouch for the authenticity of said patches, but I once watched a special on the History Channel about biker gangs and these looked legit toin the doorway "Are you sure about this?"

"What?" She blinked "This is the kind of place all the great bands get their start"

I shook my head, and said in a deceptively casual voice, all the while et knifed"

I always did this Watched Assessed I , aleighing and considering I had to be this way It’s how I made sure I never ended up in a situation that I couldn’t escape Like before

She rolled her eyes "I never thought you would be such a wiet a table"

I wasn’t a wimp, but every move, every decision I made was calculated I partied at places I knew Mulvaney’s, Freeuys I knew, too Even if they were strangers, I knew them Because I knew their type They were all the sah tables after Annie, it was clear there weren’t guys like that here No These guys looked like they’d just been released from the penitentiary Burly and tattooed with eyes that followed us like hungry wolves Nobody controlled theht ahead as if I didn’t see thee, sliding off our coats and hanging them on the backs of our chairs Noah and his band were already perforood, but I didn’t think the bar was set very high here Just the sauys would have been better off perfor The patrons who did pay attention didn’t look impressed

Annie clapped loudly--the only person--as they finished one song and slid into the next Noah winked down at her

"Isn’t he great?" she called over toEven if I could forget that he was singing Depeche Mode in a biker bar, he was dressed in a striped button-down polo and looked like he’d just rolled out of the Gap

"So how did he get this gig, anyway?"

Annie didn’t answer She clasped her hands together and swayed in her seat I rolledshe would bealcohol sounded like a good plan