Page 90 of The Sounds of Her
“Yeah, and if we call it quits so fast, then it’s going to get even worse for me.”
Brooke blinks a few times. “We need to carry on longer?”
“I mean, I didn’t consider how us breaking up so quickly would look to the press.”
“So, you mean we keep it going when you get back to New York?”
“For a bit,” I rush out, not sure what the fuck I’m talking about.
“I’m still stuck on how us having sex fits in here.”
“Because,” I take a few steps closer to her. Her shoulders lift and move back, not to thrust her tits up, but I get the added benefit of that. “We’re good at it.”
Another brow tilt.
“And I want to do it again.”
“Archer.”
“Deny it,” I say, stopping right in front of her. “Tell me you don’t want to, and I’ll back off. Remember, I will be all over you tonight. You going to push me away?”
Her nostrils flare. It’s wrong to push the issue, but now I’ve put it out there.
“You want this as much as I do,” I say, stroking the back of my fingers down her neck.
She sways forward. She’s not there yet and I won’t force her. I step back to check the time.
“We better go.”
I grin, kinda like seeing Brooke speechless.
Later, on stage, I push the conversation with Brooke out of my mind. We only have a few more shows before the tour is over, and I’m going to miss it. The crowd is screaming, and the noise is deafening. I fucking love being up here and everything else fades away as I lose myself in the music.
We put on a hell of a show, the pyrotechnics, sound, and lights all add to the atmosphere. Nick is drawn into some chat when Adam keeps the crowd entertained between songs, making jokes, and telling stories, a thing we’ve become known for.
Adam makes every fan feel like we’re old friends. He’s brought people up on stage before, but we don’t have insurance for that here. We get the audience singing the chorus when the instruments drop out, and Ad holds out his microphone.
It’s fucking electric and we’re all high on the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, it all goes sideways when we come off stage before the first encore. Two women and a man with a camera, are surrounding Jenna. She is holding up her hands to ward them off. If I know Jenna, she is one step away from punching her way out of it.
She doesn’t have to do that.
An ‘oh shit’ from Jordan alerts us Adam is barrelling through the people between him and his wife, and he is about to lose his shit.
We have to go back on stage, the sound of the crowd screaming is just as loud back here. The lights and music are playing to keep them hyped up for our return.
“What the fuck is going on now?” Nick’s face is tense as he starts after Adam.
“They reporters?” Jordan asks. His serious tone has come out. You know there is trouble when Jordan gets serious. “How the fuck did they get in here? Where’s Stone?”
I’m torn between going after them and appeasing the stage manager screaming at us about getting ready to go back out there. My best friend will always come first.
And if they are reporters, we can’t afford to let him do something stupid, which he is likely to do if they’re harming or harassing Jenna.
Brooke steps in front of her best friend, her hands on her hips and a look on her face that says she is not screwing around.
Nick catches up to Adam and grips his arm, whispering in his ear. Jenna is peering around her friend, seeking out Adam, knowing she needs to head him off. It’s like a well-oiled machine, everyone knows what part to play.