Charmed (23 Strokes Series Book 1)

  Charmed

  23 Strokes Series – Book One

  by L.R. Woods

  Copyright © 2017 by L.R. Woods

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic content. It is intended only for those aged 18 and older.

  Edited by Proof Before You Publish

  Cover Design by Cheeky Covers

  E-book Formatting by www.gopublished.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Epilogue

  Excerpt: Enticed

  Chapter 1

  7 years ago

  Kimber

  “Oh God, I’m in love!” I stop dead in my tracks, close my eyes, and listen to the most amazing voice filling up the night sky. Behind my eyelids, I see the notes floating down the street, wrapping around me like a satin ribbon. Suddenly, I’m swept off my feet, carried down the highway of music unfolding before me.

  “For Pete’s sake, don’t you know not to stop in the middle of a sidewalk when people are walking,” Penny laughs out as she rolls off me. She turns to me, a serious expression crossing over her face. “Oh my gosh, I think you’re bleeding.”

  Ok, I wasn’t really being swept away by the ribbon highway of notes. Penny, best friend extraordinaire, slammed into me from behind, sending us both flying towards the sidewalk. We are now lying on the ground, her face up, me face down. I turn my head, pressing my cheek to the cool concrete taking in the music. “Penny, will you shut up and listen. I’ve found my soul mate and he’s attached to that voice.”

  Getting up and dusting herself off, she peers down to me with a pitying look. Rolling her eyes she says, “Yeah, yeah. I hear him. Will you stop lying on the ground with that stupid smile on your face? We are starting to draw a crowd.”

  She reaches out her hand to help me, and as I’m being pulled up I glance around. She’s right. People are beginning to take notice, but who has time to worry about such things. Fate has found me at last and I intend to follow this sweet little avenue wherever it takes me.

  I stare her straight in the eye and say with determination, “We are finding that voice, and then I’m making my happily ever after. This is it, I can feel it.”

  I get another eye roll. “Just like you felt it with Eric, or Ben, or Josh, or any other guy you meet?”

  “This time it’s real. I can tell in my soul.” I put my hand to my chest and gaze down the street.

  She replies, huffing out a laugh, “Ok, since you can feel it in your soul…but you might want to tone down the crazy eyes and toothy grin. Not everyone finds it as charming as I do.” She’s full on laughing at me now but who cares. She’ll understand one day when her Prince shows up.

  So, I ignore her and glance down to assess the damage to my throbbing knees. I try to wipe the blood away but abandon the effort when I only make them bleed more. Screw it. I grab Penny’s arm and start pulling her towards the music I know will change my life forever. “I’m not crazy, I’m in love and my Prince Charming will see that!”

  She laughs, shaking her head. “He’ll see something. That’s for sure.”

  Evan

  I flick my eyes down to my black guitar case and see about $200. A few more nights like this and I’ll have rent in no time. When I raise my eyes back up I notice something has gotten everyone’s attention a little way down the street. Shit, I hope someone else hasn’t set up. This has been the best payout corner since I left Dallas.

  I continue to play when a vision in cut-offs and a tight purple tank top pushes through the crowd. She is pulling a tall dark-haired girl behind her, who looks to be amused at the determination coming from the little redhead sprinting in my direction. I turn my head to give a nod of thanks as someone drops another bill into my case and when I look back, this force of nature with bright eyes and pale skin is standing right in front of me, breathing heavy through a smile so big it could light up the night sky.

  She is half crazed with blood trickling down from her knees, wild red hair blowing in the breeze, and clear blue eyes the color of the ocean opened wide, staring up at me. God, I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. I’m transfixed, unable to look away. Her chest moves up and down so fast that I’m wondering if she’s going to be ok. Hell, I’m wondering if I’m going to be ok. I’m finding it hard to play my guitar and I forget a few lines of a song I know like the back of my hand.

  She continues to stand there, only swaying when a breeze blows by. I’m forced to stop playing because I’m locked in some type of lust-filled stare down and damn if I’m not getting excited. “Wildfire, you and I should take this somewhere else if you are going to keep staring at me like that,” I manage to get out. “Unfortunately, I have at least another hour out here. Come back then?” I regret saying it but I need to keep playing and she’s making me lose my will fast. She continues to stare up at me, smiling, not saying a word. I continue to stare right back, giving her a half-cocked smile response.

  Shaking Wildfire’s arm, the tall girl asks her, “Are you going to say something or just stand here?” Again, no response, but at least Wildfire’s breathing seems to have evened out, which is helping to lessen my growing situation behind my guitar.

  “Ok, well, it’s been great listening to you. We’ll leave you to it,” the tall girl says, smiling to me. She throws some bills in my case and starts dragging my girl away from me. My girl. What the hell made me think that I wonder as I continue to take in those blue eyes.

  The tall girl keeps walking her further away and the redheaded goddess finally breaks eye contact. The loss is crushing as those eyes leave mine. I’m about to say fuck it and go after her, but my Wildfire frees her arm, runs right back up to me, and pants out, “Kimber, my name is Kimber and I will wait here for you.”

  Chapter 2

  Present Day

  Kimber

  I roll over and read the clock, opening my eyes wide as I see what time it is. Holy crap, I’m late. I jump out of bed and stumble into the bathroom stripping out of my pajamas along the way. I take the quickest shower of my life and skip fixing my hair, pulling it up into a wet bun on the top of my head instead.

  While brushing my teeth, I scamper over to the closet to find no clean jeans. Groaning, I pick a pair off the floor and grab a t-shirt from the drawer. I rinse my mouth while trying to pull on socks and shoes, deciding to forget the make up completely. Running down the hall, I grab my keys and coat from the hanger and head out the front door, slamming it shut behind me.

  I hop in the car, and when I turn the ignition a song by 23 Strokes blares at me from the radio. My breath hitches as I’m assaulted with a voice from anothe
r life. Oh, no you don’t, you stupid radio station, I think to myself. I’ve spent the last seven years trying to avoid anything remotely attached to this band and I’m not changing my tune now. I push the off button so hard my nail breaks. Awesome.

  As I’m pulling out of the driveway, the gas light flashes on. I turn in the first gas station I come to and reach over for my purse, waving my hand around the passenger seat but failing to find it. I look over and see nothing but an empty seat. I let out a not so calming breath as I feel myself starting to lose it.

  I manage to dig out a few bucks in change from the console and am able to pump enough in to get back home, get my purse, get back to the gas station and fill up. I’m angry and already fed up with this day as I pull into The Lucky Charm’s parking lot. I glance at the clock. Forty minutes late.

  Could this day get any worse I think, as I step through the front door hearing the familiar door chime. “It can always get worse, babe,” Penny calls out. I curse myself, realizing I said that out loud. I hate when I do that.

  I pull off my coat and hang it on one of the brass hooks lining the entrance. I hesitate there for a minute as I pull it down tight. I could swear I saw something out of the corner of my eye, but when I finally turn my head, it’s an empty space. I shake my head as Penny continues, “And you are late, which is making me late.”

  “I know. Don’t get me started on my morning. What are you late for?” I ask.

  “A very important coffee date,” she sings walking towards me, her eyes moving up and down my body with a disapproving stare. “I don’t know what is going on with all this,” her hand making a circle motion to encompass all of me, “but it needs to change. And I mean, like, now. I’ll be back at 9 to help out with the late crowd.” And with that, she moves around me and sashays out the door.

  Penny is a serial dater. I think she has around five dates a week and usually not with the same guys. She has no desire to settle down and has a “the more the merrier” mentality. Once, I thought we had a keeper because she went out with him several times, but it turned out she was just horny and in a rare moment of trying to be the norm, she felt like she needed three dates out of the way before she could have sex with him. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Penny.

  Penny also always looks incredible. We could literally put on the same outfit and while I would look like I came from the laundry basket she would look straight from the runway. She just gets fashion whereas I don’t give a shit.

  But, I look down at myself and she’s right. My shirt is wrinkled and my jeans could take off down the street on their own power. However, since I own this place, I can wear whatever the hell I want and it’s not like anyone cares what I look like these days anyway.

  Where Penny dates all the time, I never date. It’s not that I don’t get asked, but my dates usually end in failure because my heart is never in it. I finally stopped trying. And who cares anyway. I don’t feel the need to put myself through three lackluster nights if I’m feeling an itch. I mean, isn’t that what Tinder is for?

  I walk into The Lucky Charm and gaze around the same way I always do. Not sure who or what I’m searching for, but I scan the room all the same. Maybe to see if anything is changing today. Maybe I’ll wake up and find that everything is the way I thought it was going to be when I was young and still had dreams. But I stare at the same old tables. The same old chairs. The same emptiness. I let out a loud breath and continue over to the bar area.

  It was really my parents’ bar and then it fell to me after they passed. The Lucky Charm was their dream come true. Their happily ever after and although it’s not a big space, it can attract a good crowd when there is live music on the stage.

  And that is most every night given we are located on the college side of town and there is always someone hoping to become the next big thing. I’ve kept with the motto they instilled, “If the stage is empty, it’s all yours. Just don’t expect any more than fan adoration.” It seems to work.

  I’ve worked at The Lucky Charm in some form or fashion since I was sixteen and I did love it at one time. I enjoyed watching the magic unfold around me: Dreams floating off the stage, my mom swaying to the music, humming as she prepared drinks, my Dad looking at her as if he was falling in love for the first time. I reveled in the laughter coming from around the space as people met up with friends, family, lovers.

  Back then, I floated around dreaming of Prince Charming and a life full of sugar-coated fairy tale happiness. I believed in true love and because I had such amazing parents, I didn’t know how hard life could really be. But the dreams of that silly little girl were ripped to shreds seven years ago when my heart was broken by that bastard Prince, and those shreds were buried with my parents three years after that. There hasn’t been that kind of magic here since.

  I always knew I’d take over the bar, but it was supposed to be when my parents retired and after I had the chance to see the world, hand in hand, with my Prince. But destiny has a mind of her own and her mind decided to kick me in the ass. Twice.

  Now, I’m stuck in this place that reminds me that fairy tales are best left to children and happily ever after to fools. Don’t get me wrong, my lonely heart will always be here, but the ghosts that remain like to reach out and grab you sometimes.

  I round the corner of the wood bar and begin to prep for the night. It appears that Penny has already taken care of most of it, but I still need to stock beer bottles. I met Penny when I was a freshman at college and she applied as a waitress here. We clicked and have been inseparable ever since. She helped keep this place going when I didn’t think I could keep myself going. She is the reason I can still stand and I try to make sure she knows it every day. So, when the bar became mine, I made her manager and gave her a huge salary.

  While I’m stocking the beer fridge, I hear the door chime. “I’ll be with you in a minute. Make yourself at home,” I call out, not bothering to turn around.

  “No problem. Do you still let anyone up on stage? Any time?” is the reply and I freeze as the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I begin to feel bile rise up in my throat as my brain starts to process that voice. As if in slow motion, a bottle falls from my hand and crashes to the floor. Oh dear God. Do not do this to me today.

  I know there are a million other things I should be doing right now, but only one comes to mind. Hide.

  Chapter 3

  Evan

  I step out of the hotel in sunglasses and a baseball cap hoping no one will recognize me. Not that I’d mind talking with the fans, they have made me what I am, but I don’t want Steve or the guys finding me right now. I need a little freedom to right a wrong that I can’t let sit any longer. I probably shouldn’t have left LA without a word to anyone, but it’s not like I haven’t done it before. Sometimes I need to roam to regain my mind. Steve will yell and scream, but he gets paid and that’s all he cares about in the end.

  It’s been years since I’ve been back on these streets in Mills Point. Not much has changed and I take a strange comfort in that fact. Gives me hope that I can pick back up where I left off. I walk past the corner where I used to play for money and smile.

  Man, those days seem like a lifetime ago, although I guess I’m still playing for money. I laugh to myself thinking about how I had it all figured out back then. Playing for tips, thinking I was living the high life. Hell, I guess I was for a screwed up kid with no family and no education.

  I hopped a bus when I was sixteen with nothing but a few bucks and a guitar on my back. Grandpa had passed and I wasn’t going to get caught up in something I didn’t understand.

  I had heard all these fucked up stories about kids “in the system” and like hell I was going to end up like that. So, I played town to town, hiding from cops, usually making enough for food and shelter. Whenever I got bored, I’d just pack up, hit the bus, and start again somewhere new. Did that for nearly three years, until I met the guys and we became 23 Strokes.

  23 Strokes was originally t
he idea of our bassist, Drew Beckett, and lead guitarist, Alex Corbin. They grew up together and had been trying to get something going since they were young. The two of them met James Conner, our drummer, at college and together they started playing around Mills Point as a cover band. One night after a show, they caught me on the street and asked if I’d want to join up. Drew was currently singing but they wanted a true front man. Someone who could get the crowd going.

  I had never been in a band and as stupid as it sounds, I didn’t really get it at the time. I had my own songs, but was happy to finally have people around me that seemed to actually want me around. I didn’t want to rock that boat.

  So, we went around singing covers for a few weeks before I asked if I could throw one or two of my own songs in the mix. They stared at me like I was a dumbass and I was sure I was going to get kicked out. Turns out, they liked my music and things took off from there.

  After wining a local battle of the bands, we took on our manager, Steve, who got us our first tour starting off at the Lone Star Festival in Mills Point. We’d be playing 8 months in various towns across the southern and western US and we were pumped and ready to rock.

  I knew we were headed for greatness after that festival show. It was the largest crowd we’d ever been in front of and they were eating us up. The more they screamed the harder we played. As the bus pulled away for the first leg of the tour, I yelled a “fuck you” to this town and everyone in it. I had said that to every town I’d ever left, but this one was different. I left the best part of me behind and didn’t realize it until it was too late to do anything about it. Until now.

  Lost in memories, my feet moving me on their own, I come out of it and see The Lucky Charm. Hopefully Bill and Nancy still run the place and can let me know where to find her. I tried online, but apparently, I’m only good at singing and playing guitar, because it didn’t get very far. Drew said maybe her name changed. I looked him straight in the eye, gave him my right hook, walked out, and left on the first bus out of LA.