Page 14 of Reverb
“Yeah. Should have done this sooner. I get a little wrapped up in myself.”
Zavier chuckled, and only because Mish was so close could she see the spots of red on Ray’s cheeks.
“He’s good for you,” she murmured to Ray, not for the first time.
The blush grew, and he looked down. “You’re all good for me.” When he met her gaze again, there was such energy there. “I’m better than I’ve ever been in my life.”
The new songs said that. The music. Everything. She tousled his hair.
He grinned. “Okay. Why don’t you start, and we’ll do verses first and see how that feels?”
They did just that, with her belting out the first verse of “Finding Light” in her own way, and Ray picking up on the second. They sang the chorus together, her harmonizing with him, and fuck, did it feel good and right and wonderful. She danced through the bridge and they both ended up singing the final verse before bringing the song to a close.
The silence that followed was interrupted by a soft exclamation of “Oh my god” from Adrian. He had the expression of someone who’d been whacked upside the head.
Ray had a shit-eating grin. “Good?”
Adrian nodded. It was David who answered in a voice that rumbled and purred. “That was fucking amazing.” His phone lay dark and forgotten in his hands, and there was rapture on his face. He met Mish’s gaze and the admiration there—desire, too—sparked lust in her. She was already heated from singing and playing, so she didn’t flush any harder.
She slid her gaze from his to the instrument in her hands. God, she loved this band, this song. Everything.
Including the way David looked at her.
“I think maybe we should do it that way in concert,” Ray said, snapping her back to the band.
She shook her hair from her face. “Want to try it with alternating lines, too.”
“Yeah, okay.” He bounced in place, his excitement infectious as always. “And maybe some of the other songs?”
“Kiddo, I’ll sing whatever you want me to.”
Ray grinned, and Zavier beat out the rhythm, and they launched into “Finding Light” again.
In the end, they went with their first rendition, and played around with her singing on three other songs before they called it quits for the day. Ray was still a bundle of energy, even after everything was packed up for the night. “Damn, that felt good.”
Zavier looped an arm around Ray’s shoulder and drew him into his body. “Less caffeine for you tomorrow,” he said.
Ray stilled when he leaned back against Zavier. “Wasn’t the caffeine, you know that.”
“Mmm. The music, the songs.” Zavier met Mish’s eyes. “Seeing something different in the sounds.”
Ray’s synesthesia. He’d explained more and more about how hesawtheir music over the past year. She didn’t have that, but she understood the rightness of a song. There were so many variants of right...and yes, they left her buzzed, too.
“We’ll just have to work off that energy later,” Zavier murmured.
Dom put his hands over his ears. “La la la, I’m not listening.”
Adrian laughed at that. “Babe, come here. We’ll go get dinner, then have some dessert.” That smile of Adrian’s was wicked, and Mish couldn’t help a laugh of her own.
The boys were so predictable.
Dom’s subtle melt and blush were par for the course, and he crossed the room to take Adrian’s hand. “See you guys later.” They slipped out the door together.
Mish dusted her hands and noted that David was still sitting on the far side of the room. He hadn’t walked her home since the day he’d shown her the stalker’s emails and comments. Sometimes she wanted to ask him to, but most of the time, she was damn glad he hadn’t insisted. She might be more paranoid, but this was her fucking home, and damned if she was going to let some slimy bastard ruin that for her.
Still, at the end of every practice, she asked the same question of him. “Anything new?”
Since that day, the answer had been “nope” but given the sad look in David’s eyes, that streak must have been over. “There was another email.”
