Page 35 of Sycopation
Living as close as he had with these three for the weeks of practice and now crammed into a bus—it made him itch for those things again. He craved skin-to-skin contact.
In the end, he even got some. After their meeting, Ray put his journal away and pulled an ereader out of his bag. He shifted again and again on the couch while Zavier had his legs stretched out, his toes occasionally brushing Ray’s thighs. Eventually, Ray sighed. “Do you mind if I stretch out?” He waved at the section of couch Zavier’s legs occupied.
He shifted his over a bit. “No, of course not.”
When Ray was done maneuvering, their legs were practically entwined on the couch.
Delightful. Perfect. Zavier didn’t stroke his foot along Ray’s calf, though the desire to do so was so very high. He glanced at the ereader. “Anything interesting?”
A little color on Ray’s cheeks. “It’s a biography of John Adams. I’ve been meaning to read it for years and years.”
“You’re into American history?” Not a subject Zavier would have pinned on him.
The color darkened, and Ray tensed. “I do actually have a brain, despite my vapid looks.”
Hardly vapid. Sexy as hell, more like it. But he didn’t comment on Ray’s looks, not with Dom and Mish watching from theothercouch. “I’ve never doubted your intelligence. History is so—dry.”
Ray stared at him. “Then you’ve obviously been reading the wrong history books.” A grin there and a shrug, then he focused back on his book.
Zavier grunted and shifted, and maybe his toes did graze Ray’s leg purely by accident, and maybe he did relish in his slight hiss of breath.
Perhaps Ray was right—Zavierhadbeen reading the wrong books. For now, he clicked out of his game, closed his tablet, and enjoyed the tiny bit of contact he had with Ray. Soothing and comforting. He could get used to this.
It wasn’t until the tour bus lurched to a stop that Zavier realized he’d fallen asleep. The change in motion startled and had him blinking against the light streaming through the window. “What the fuck?”
“Easy there.” Ray patted his shin. “We’re just coming into a rest stop. Probably changing drivers. Getting gas. That kind of thing.”
Of course. Zavier blew out a breath and then another as he sought to center himself. Didn’t help that Ray hadn’t moved his hand off his shin. He met Ray’s watchful gaze. “How long was I out?”
“An hour, maybe? Not that long.” Ray gave him another squeeze. “I’d have woken you up sooner or later.”
“Really?”
Dom chuckled. “He knows how awful screwing up your sleep schedule can be on tour.”
That seemed a bit much for a bandleader. On the other hand, it was good to see Ray relaxed. And honestly, he didn’t mind the physical contact at all. “Hard lesson learned?”
A shrug from Ray. “Mish gets it, but Dom used to sleep every time the bus started moving.”
“It’s true.” Dom stretched out his legs into the aisle. “I’d conk out for hours on end, then be so groggy by showtime. I’d hop myself up on caffeine and be so damn wired after the show, I’d drive everyone nuts.” He paused. “Especially Mish.”
“That’s because I can’t nap to save my life,” Mish said. “Not like you gentlemen.” She winked at Zavier, and a strange sense of warmth radiated from where Ray still held his leg.
Gentlemen? Maybe. He wore a tux well enough. The image that flitted through his head was not one he needed: him adjusting his cufflinks while Ray knelt before him, naked, eyes upturned in want.
He shook it off. “I can nap, but I wasn’t intending to.”
The bus pulled into a truck stop. Zavier had no idea where they were. He could check his phone’s GPS, but that meant moving and breaking contact with Ray.
“Kevin was the worst.” Ray’s voice was soft. “He was always sleeping.” He looked out the window. “I guess I should have noticed how hard he was struggling a lot sooner.”
“Sweetheart,” Mish murmured. “You aren’t responsible for his drinking.”
Ray shrugged again, but it belied his pain. “Maybe not. But I could have helped more.”
Zavier was the better drummer. Wasn’t hubris, either, to think it. Ray knew it, too. It dawned on Zavier that Ray’s remorse had nothing to do with replacing Kevin, but was entirely due tothe fact that they had made it to that point. That he hadn’t fixed Kevin or changed his personality. “Sometimes all you can do is let go.”
Ray swallowed. “I didn’t want to. He was myfriend.”
