Page 85 of Rhythm Of Our Souls
“Dear god.” Skyler waves his hand over his face. “You two smell like a whore house.”
“Watch it,” Brady growls, but I laugh.
“You're just jealous I don’t smell like this for you.” I flip him off.
“No. I’m really not,” Skyler groans.
“You satisfied now?” Liam asks.
“Show off,” Skyler mutters. “How the fuck did you get that ripped? You work all the time.”
“Home gym,” Liam answers. “And I bring travel weights. I need to keep in shape when my job is to literally keep someone alive.”
“Whatever. I have to keep in shape because my job is to make people cum with just my voice.”
Lulu chokes out a laugh.
“I like this one,” Gavin chimes in. “He’s funny.”
“Thanks.” Skyler winks. “I’m here all week.”
“Unfortunately,” I sigh. “I’m kind of stuck with you.”
“You love it.” He winks.
“I do.”
“What about us?” Tyson pouts. “Doesn’t anyone want to see our guns? We got a couple of good ones.”
“Of course you do,” I say in a patronizing tone.
Tyson flips me off, making me chuckle, but he smiles, looking excited. He and Ryker grin as they start to show off their muscles. Lulu and I clap along, oohing and ahhing playfully.
“Okay, that's enough,” Liam grumbles. “You're going to give them big heads.”
“Oh, no need for that.” Tyson grins wickedly. “My head's already big enough.”
“Yeah, so big it hardly fits on your shoulders,” Ryker chuckles.
“I can’t even with these guys.” Lulu turns to me with a smile that stretches from ear to ear. “They are something else.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “They grow on ya.”
Skyler and the guys joke around, bringing Liam and Brady into some weird conversation.
Lulu and I drift over to the table where the refreshments are set up.
Nate wanted Brady and Lulu to stay behind, not wanting to cross personal and business because it might draw suspicion, but I told him I wanted them with me.
Things with Brady are new, and I still have that overwhelming need to have him near me. As for Lulu, there’s still this fear that if I’m away from her longer than a few minutes, she’s going to be gone for good. That’s something I’m going to have to talk to my therapist about.
I should tell Nate to book me an appointment with her. I think all these big life changes warrant one.
“How did you all start working together?” Lulu asks as we take a seat in one of the chairs.
“I met them during my stay in LA for the competition. They were staying at the hotel I was in. Met them in the hotel bar. Didn’t know who they were until the first day we were at the studio. We kind of just built this natural friendship. Everything just clicked. They were what I really needed at the time.” I bite my lip, looking down at the cupcake in my hand. “My head was a mess after leaving.” I look back up at her, a tinge of hurt piercing my heart at the past memory. “They helped me stay focused, eyes on the prize. We worked together and built an amazing friendship. They ended up being one of the finalists, and when I won, I asked if they could be the band that plays with me. The rest is history.”
Lulu smiles softly, and it’s a bit of a sad one. “I’m glad you had them, had someone there for you. It must have been hard being so far away from your parents, even though you had your uncle. I’m sure it wasn’t the same.”
