Page 54 of Addicted to You
He rolled his eyes, but I didn’t miss the hint of a smile that crossed his face. “I’m good with whatever. Which one do you want?”
“I usually prefer the top.”
He tossed his backpack onto the bottom bed. “It’s settled then. I’ll take the one down here.”
Once everything was loaded up, we started the drive to San Diego. Our concert was scheduled for tonight; then, we’d stay at a hotel and take off for Las Vegas the following day. On our original schedule, we’d had an entire day and night off in Sin City, but I noticed that this time, we’d roll into town just before sound check and leave the next morning. I couldn’t help but wonder if that had been by design since I’d done my fair share of partying there in the past.
“The snack baskets will be ready in just a few minutes,” Jasper announced as he and Malachi moved toward the kitchen area.
“Hell yeah. You better not have forgotten my Skittles,” Jesse called out as he and Olivia followed the other couple.
Not only did Jasper make incredible food, but he kept the bus stocked with all of our favorite snacks and drinks. He’d even texted me to ask what Cash wanted on hand while wewere on the road.
As the miles passed, the vibe on the bus felt a lot different from before. Elliott and Savannah were cuddled up on his bed, watching something on his phone, and I could hear the other two couples laughing together. Something about it had me feeling like maybe I didn’t quite fit in anymore. Like they’d all grown up while I was in rehab and I was only starting to figure out my shit.
Not in the mood for that sort of self-reflection—I did a lot of that in therapy—I peeked over the edge of my bed to the cubicle below and asked Cash, “Want to play some video games in the back?”
He looked up from his phone and shrugged. “Sure.”
I led him to the back lounge with a big screen TV and a huge U-shaped couch that matched the one up front.
“You good with Madden?” I handed him a controller.
He chuckled. “Yeah, but it’s been at least five years since I’ve played, so I’ll probably suck.”
I snorted. “I don’t play very often either, but I’ll go easy on you.”
We set up our teams and began playing. It didn’t take long to realize he was about as good at video games as he was at snowboarding. “You weren’t lying about sucking, were you?” I joked as his receiver missed another catch.
“Whatever,” he grumbled. “I just need a little practice, and then I’ll be able to kick your ass.”
We played a couple more games, and much to his disappointment, he didn’t beat me once. Although the grin he was sporting told me he’d had fun regardless of the final score on the screen.
He put his controller down and leaned against the couch. “So, I know we’ve talked about how excited you are to start touring again, but how did you get started playing music in the first place?”
I shifted to face him. “It feels like music has always been a part of my life, but I guess my love for it started when my parents put me in piano lessons. Britt had begged them to send her for lessons, and I had to tag along. After a month or so, she lost interest, and I took her place. Turned out, music came naturally to me. I even taught myself to play the guitar. When I joined the jazz band in junior high, I planned on continuing with the guitar; however, one of the drummers dropped out,so I decided to give it a shot. After that, I was hooked and knew I’d found my instrument. A year later, the guys and I started Surrender.”
He didn’t react to the mention of my sister, and from what I could tell, he didn’t seem too broken up by what had happened between them—or he was good at hiding it. While I wanted to make sure he was okay, I wasn’t sure it was something he’d want to discuss with me. Thankfully, he asked another question before I could overthink things.
“Do you ever play the piano or guitar now?”
I shook my head. “Not professionally. However, I’ll mess around on my acoustic guitar if I’m writing some lyrics.”
He tilted his head. “You write songs?”
“Sometimes. Nothing for an album or anything like that. However, some of my journaling recently has morphed into lyrics, and I’ve thought about sharing them with the guys to see if anything might be worth recording.”
He lifted a brow. “Really? I’d love to hear you perform them sometime.”
I let out a chuckle. “I don’t know about that. It’s been a while since I sang for anyone. Malachi would do a way better job.”
“He might,” Cash agreed. “But music isn’t just about perfect vocals, right? It’s about the emotion and the story being told. Who could do it better than the person who experienced those things firsthand?”
“Maybe,” I replied noncommittally, although I sort of liked the idea of singing for Cash one day. “Now it’s your turn. What made you decide to become a sober companion?”
He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. I wondered if maybe I’d crossed some invisible line.
“If you don’t want to answer?—”
