Page 39 of Love is a Drum Beat
But maybe that was a mistake.
Reaching for the cabinet to the right of the sink, Dax pulled down a cup and filled it with water. After he drained half of it, he turned to Ben. “I really wish that was scotch.”
Ben gave him a teasing smile. “You and your expensive booze.”
“Only on occasion.” Dax was the drinker of the group, but he also knew when to hold back. His version of heavy drinking was sitting alone on his back deck at night with a single scotch. It suited him, being alone. Sure, he had family around, and he had his Rockstars Anonymous group, but he reveled in his silence, his peace.
A peace he’d never again have if the world knew who he was.
A silence that broke the moment he’d offered to let Jo stay.
Ben leaned against the counter, crossing his legs at the ankle. “It’s Jo, isn’t it? She’s the problem.”
Dax snapped his eyes to his friend. “No. What? Why?”
“Drew and Noah placed a bet on how long this whole thing would last before you couldn’t take having Jo in your space anymore.”
Dax’s face flushed, and he turned away. “She’s fine. We’re fine. I’m—”
“Fine?” A smile curved Ben’s lips.
Dax set his glass on the counter. “What was the bet?”
Ben shrugged. “I didn’t want to get involved. Noah bet it would be over by now, that you two would have found other arrangements. He seems to think you and Jo don’t like each other much.”
Dax choked on a laugh. When he caught his breath, he met Ben’s gaze. “And Drew?”
“Well, Drew always sees things the rest of us don’t. He’s the only one in the group who’d ever thought there was a possibility of Mel falling for Noah.”
“He thinks I’ll…” Dax shook his head and clamped his lips shut to avoid revealing any of the secrets he’d kept buried. Jo was… He scrubbed a hand across his face. “Do you think she’s okay?”
“At the hospital?” Ben lifted one shoulder. “She’s with your mom, right? You have any food?”
“Check the pantry.”
Ben opened the walk-in pantry. “It looks like it all needs to be cooked.” He paused. “Scratch that.” He pulled a bag of salt and vinegar chips free. “You, my man, are too good to me.” He ruffled Dax’s hair like one would with a child.
Dax pushed him away and retrieved two seltzers from the fridge, tossing one to Ben. “Enjoy it. It came at quite the cost.”
He thought back on his fight with Blake. Before then, Dax had managed to get through life without ever throwing a punch. But it had felt good, too good.
“Wait.” Ben’s grin widened. “You got into the fight with Blake because you went out to buy me snacks?”
“And Jo.” He hadn’t meant to let that slip.
“Gotta say, man, when I saw you on the news, I almost died.”
“You almost died because I got into a fight?” Dax started back toward the studio. “That makes zero sense.”
Ben matched his stride. “No, I almost died because I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.”
Dax hid his smile by ducking into the studio. “We have some work to do.”
“You don’t want to check?”
“Check what?”
Ben held up his phone. “I know Jo is in her appointment right now, but if anyone caught a picture of her and Nolan, it’ll be online already. She and Drew were right. The media will continue speculating about the father of her baby until we give them one. Now, the attention will be off you.”
