Page 24 of Too Little Too Soon
“This lovely fan right here thinks a rock ’n roll drummer couldn’t sit in for a country band.” Travis used the hand hanging near Ava’s boob to indicate the woman standing in front of them. “And as you are also a country fan, I figure you’re the best person in the room to settle this argument.”
Ava wasn’t a music guru. She enjoyed country music, but that was the extent of it. Although, now that she thought about it, a lot of country, especially older, more traditional stuff, did not showcase the drums nearly as much as rock music did. But she certainly wasn’t knowledgeable enough to argue that point.
Instead, she said, “With your talent, you could sit in for any band, regardless of the genre.”
He turned his head slightly to give her a look that morphed from surprise to something else she wasn’t sure she could define, although she suspected maybe it was lust. Or maybe that was hopefulness on her part.
The male fan started gushing, extolling Travis’s virtues like he was indeed a god, while the girl rolled her eyes with a smile tugging at her lips.
The fans were escorted away, and a young guy who wanted a selfie with Travis took their place. Travis complied without taking his arm from around Ava’s shoulders, which was a little awkward to say the least, since she really didn’t think she ought to be in the picture.
The room erupted into chaos when Panic Station made their entrance. Instead of letting the security team usher them to their own sitting area, with Holly in the lead, the band headed over to where Demigoddess Revival was holding court.
Holly’s hair was naturally a deep, chestnut brown, like Maria and Ava’s. At the moment, her roots were a dark, dark blue and the rest was an ombre of blue to silver. She’d piled it in a knot on top of her head to show off the darker roots, and she’d paired the look with a blue tank top, her band’s logo on the front, layered under a sheer white shirt. To finish the look, she wore a white jean miniskirt and a pair of white combat boots.
Ava was jealous of how well her sister could pull off a look like that. She didn’t think she could ever pull off any look other than corporate executive.
Holly wrapped her arms around Ava and pulled Maria into the hug, too. Ava pasted a smile on her face as a sea of arms raised with phones in hand, a series of clicks filling the air as pictures were snapped.
Given what she understood of Holly’s status in the world of rock ’n roll, Ava was reasonably certain that picture would be plastered all over social media within the hour. It was a strange feeling. She’d always worked behind the scenes, always stayed in the shadows. Not to mention, what would their mother think?
“This is the best way to wrap up the year,” Holly gushed before snagging the arm of one of the guys who had come in with her and pulling him into their little circle. “Ava, this is my husband, Sam.”
Ava laughed. “We met, remember? At Grandmother’s funeral.”
“Oh God, that’s right,” Holly said with a groan.
Ava offered her hand to shake. “Nice to see you again, Sam. Much better circumstances this time.”
With his hand on the small of her back, he kissed Holly’s temple. “Definitely better.”
Ava hadn’t been aware of it at the time—she had done an excellent job of distancing herself from her entire family—but Holly and Sam’s relationship had nearly collapsed at Grandmother’s funeral, courtesy in large part of the way the three sisters had been raised.
Luckily, Holly had realized her love for Sam was stronger than her mother’s influence, and now they were happier than ever.
Ava glanced over at her other sister, who had her arm tucked around Oz’s waist, smiling as if all were right in the world.
Was that all it took? The love of a good man?
Even as she forced her gaze away from Travis, she knew that wasn’tallit took. Both of her sisters were so much more confident, so much more free than they’d been when they’d been under their mother’s thumb.
She’d moved away seventeen years ago and yet Ava hadn’t yet figured out what both of her sisters had.
She desperately wanted to, though.
Soon, the countdown began. A fresh champagne flute was thrust into Ava’s hand. Midnight hit, and everyone raised their drinks in toast, then suddenly everybody was kissing everybody—or maybe that was just Travis, who really was going around to each of his bandmates, dropping smacking kisses on their cheeks.
He kissed one of the security guards, who rolled his eyes and shoved him away. Then he kissed Maria. And then his arm was back around Ava’s neck, pulling her into his side. She canted her head, assuming she was about to be privy to one of those chaste pecks too.
But his hand came up, cupped her cheek and turned her head, and his lips pressed against hers. She blinked dazedly. She’d practically been drunk on those kisses earlier, and she thought she wasn’t going to have another chance and—
He pulled away, furrowed his brow, and released her, lifting his glass and shouting at the bartender all the way across the room, asking for another.
It was well after two in the morning by the time the fans were all shooed from the room and the bands were being escorted toward their buses.
The three sisters were walking arm in arm, giggling. “Remember when we used to do this as kids?” Maria said.
“I don’t,” Holly responded.
