Page 17 of Accidental Fire
I thought about our appearances on stage at our last couple of concerts and realized Lauren had made an excellent point. We needed to change our overall image so our audience would take us seriously.
I quickly finished washing up and slapped on some deodorant before I opened the door and walked into my bedroom, where Kit was sitting on the couch.
“Should I cut my hair?” I had no fucking clue what else to say to the handsome man. It was the first thing out of my mouth because it was foremost on my mind.
Kit’s gaze met mine. “You want to cut your hair? Why?”
I sat on the end of the couch and slanted in his direction. “Lauren suggested we each create our own personas so the audience has their dream crush to latch onto. She said I should cut my hair because JD and Goldie have long hair and it looks better on them than it does on me.”
My cheeks heated as I repeated what had pissed me off during that meeting. I’d never given much thought to having a particularlook. I got up in the morning, showered, shaved if necessary, and dressed for whatever I was doing that day. What the hell was alook? I never worried about what anyone thought of my appearance.
I turned toward Kit, who stared at me. “Do you want a different look? Doyouwant to cut your hair? Personally, I think if you got some clothes that didn’t look like they’d been in a pile on the floor instead of a closet, it would go a long way.”
“Maybe. I mean, I guess it’s hard to tell us apart because we all have long shaggy hair and half-ass scruff on our faces. We’ve never given a damn about what people think of our appearance, but maybe it’s time we did?”
Kit offered a crooked smile. “Might not hurt. Maybe we should look at other popular bands to see how they handle their image?”
I grabbed my phone and tapped the search engine icon, typingpopular rock bands 2025. The usual suspects—Foo Fighters, The Killers, Måneskin, Metallica, Radiohead—came up, along with some older groups that were touring, despite their more senior status and the fact that some of the original members had died.
Their images were diverse, but one thing I noticed was that their unique personalities were reflected in their hairstyles and clothing choices. It was stupid on my part to have doubted Lauren. It was her business, after all.
“Guess Lauren was right.” I put my phone on the table, not glancing up to check the expression on Kit’s face.
A warm hand settled on the middle of my back. “River, you’re young. You’re learning. The best advice I can give you is don’t surrender to someone else’s demands if they don’t feel right for you. Pick your battles. Some things aren’t a hill worth dying on.It’s good to listen to other suggestions and choose the ones that feel right to you.
“If it’s…say your hair, for instance. If your hair is very important to you, then explain how you feel about it to Lauren. Maybe she’ll have ideas that don’t require you to cut it. But if the only reason you have long hair is because you have been too busy or too lazy to get it cut, then maybe you’ll give her advice some consideration.”
I was a bit shocked. “You don’t pull any punches. Do you always speak your mind?”
“Life is too short to be lived with filters and lies. They take up a lot of headspace to keep straight, don’t you think? It’s much easier to live with the truth, regardless of how uncomfortable it might be at times. What’s that old saying…?The truth will set you free.”
Kit rubbed his hand over my shoulders before inching into my hair, sending a shiver down my spine at his touch. I prayed it wouldn’t be the first and only time I experienced his heat on my body. My heart pounded at the sensation.
For an instant, I imagined his fist wrapped in my hair, controlling my mouth as I slobbered all over his cock. My dick began filling immediately at the images in my head. I quickly stood and moved over to the bar in the suite to try to walk it off.
“Maybe we should go eat before I call Lauren to ask her to meet me at the spa. I’ll see if the other guys wanna meet with her too. I’ll be right back.” I started down the hall where the other band members were resting in their rooms.
“Hey, River, how about just the two of us go to lunch?” Kit asked before I left the lounge room.
I grinned and nodded. No, it wasn’t a date, but spending time alone with Kit was better than I’d hoped I’d get.
After we ate at one of the restaurants at the resort, we walked around a little to kill time until two. We walked down to the beach to see a few vendors selling beautiful pottery and colorful clothing. There was a jewelry table where I saw a beautiful necklace with a turquoise rock attached to a leather cord. It was really cool. I made a mental note to come back for it before we left the resort.
We stopped in the hallway where a sign pointed toward the spa. “Text me when you get done meeting with Lauren. I’m thinking of taking a drive out to Punta Banda Peninsula to see the geyser. After that, I thought I’d go to the Riviera Cultural Center, where you’ll be playing tomorrow night, to check it out. You think you might want to go? It would be a chance to get a look at the venue, so you know what you’re in for tomorrow night rather than just showing up and going on stage in an unfamiliar place. Maybe you wanna get the guys to come with us?”
I thought about it, and while I didn’t want to share any private time I got with Kit, it would be good for us to get a look around so we know what to expect. “That’s a good idea. I wonder why Marsh never took us to the venues before we played them?”
“Maybe you should ask him. So, is that a yes to you and the guys coming with me?”
I stared at the gorgeous man with the sexy smile, and there was no way I could say no. “Yeah—I mean, yes. I’ll get them to come with us. They need to get on board with some changes. I’ll let you know when we’re done at the spa.”
Kit nodded and squeezed my bicep before he walked back down the hallway. He was as beautiful going as he was coming—and what I wouldn’t give to watch him come on me.
I exhaled and opened the door, seeing Lauren with a very handsome gentleman. Wow! Silver fox didn’t begin to cover him. “Sorry, I’m late.” It was five after two.
“That’s fine, River. This is Señor Arturo. Señor Arturo, this is River Ashe. He plays guitar and sings in the band.”
Silver Daddy stepped forward. “Buenas tardes. Bienvenido. ¿Hablas español?”
