Page 22 of Reverb
He met her gaze, and her eyes were green in the soft sunlight. “I had a ton of water before and during the run, so this is perfect.” He took a sip, and it made the day even brighter. “How the heck do you get good coffee out of a tour bus?”
She laughed. “From Adrian. Zavier used to make the coffee, and it was decent, but one of the things Adrian managed to outdo Zav on was the coffee. I’m not sure if it’s the beans he uses or if he’s part coffee-whisperer, but...” She gestured to the mugs.
“He fits in with all of you.”
“Wasn’t a surprise. Any guy Dominic fell for was going be someone we all loved.”
“Like a family.” He didn’t expect the pang of pain that stabbed at his heart. He missed those kinds of connections. Had them in the military for a while. Had them with a few former girlfriends, but over the years of becoming himself, many of those relationships had changed or slipped away. Jobs like this one had him on the road a lot, even with a home in New York. He liked the solitary life, but he still missed what he couldn’t have anymore. Not in the long run.
Wasn’t his nature.
His silence must have said more than words, because Mish reached across the table and laid her hand on top of his. “Honey, before this crew, I was alone. I know how it goes.”
“Thanks.” He took another sip of coffee and turned the palm of his free hand to catch hers and give it a squeeze. “Don’t mind me being a grumpy old man.”
“You’re hardly grumpy. Or old.” She left her hand in his.
The way his heart thumped in his chest had nothing to do with the coffee or the run. “I’m an old soldier trying to make the world a little better best way I can.”
“But aren’t we all, in our own ways?” She rubbed her thumb over the palm of his hand. Sparks of awareness shivered down to his dick, but also up to the back of his head. Not all was lust. Been easier if it were.
“Maybe.” He moved his fingers against hers. “I do envy your little family. It’s clear how much you care about each other.”
“It’s hard won.” Mish ran a finger of her other hand around the edge of her mug. “We lost Kevin along the way. He’s in a better space and doing things he loves, but still.” Her shoulders dropped. “We nearly lost Ray permanently. Puts things in perspective.”
Yeah, that would.
“We do tend to pick up strays.” She smiled before drinking more coffee.
“Am I a stray?” Was he considered part of this group after a little more than two weeks? God, these people were unreal.
“You’re a man who cares, David.”
Despite the coffee, his throat felt tight. “You have to care to protect, if you’re doing it properly.” But not too much. Not get involved emotionally. He’d already blown way past that point, sitting here holding Mish’s hand. Given the jumble of emotions, this might as well be high school, and him sitting with Tricia at lunch, secretly holding hands under the table.
Except their hands were out in the open, and no one would beat him up later. Reluctantly, he slipped his fingers from Mish’s.
“I do care about the band, about you.” Especially about Mish. “I don’t want to hide things from you. You’ve already had that happen with your bandmates trying to protect you.” He waved at the bus. “But I gotta knowwhenyou want me to tell you things. Right before the show doesn’t seem the best time.”
She wrapped both hands around her mug and made a face. “Tomorrow. Whatever it is, tell me tomorrow. I can’t have that shit in my head tonight.” She sounded apologetic. “That might seem selfish...”
“Fuck no, Mish, it isn’t selfish! You need to be on your game, especially for the first show.”
“Thank you.” Her smile waseverything.
He couldn’t keep from grinning back. “With all those stellar practices, you’re going to do great, rock queen.”
She rose and navigated to his side of the table, mug in hand, and bent down to kiss him on the cheek. “Keep that up, honey, and I’m gonna expect you to worship at my feet.”
Oh fuck, that more than the chaste peck made him squirm. This woman? Hell yeah, he’d worship her. David craned his neck to meet her grin with one of his own. “You saying you don’t deserve worship?”
She laughed. “I’ll see you around, David.”
Man, everything about that woman left him in a daze, from her kiss to the way she moved as she headed back to the tour bus.
Yeah, that whole professional line was crossed long ago. Still, he had a job to do.
He took his coffee and headed back to his crew bus to catch a quick shower and get ready for the rest of the day. The roadies and the engineers didn’t quite know what to make of him, though he had joined in on their poker game last night.
