Page 98 of Electric Touch

I sit back down, wishing I could leave. Instead, I join in a conversation with Jack and the singer from another band. I don’t miss how Blake and Ren move closer, and Pippa eyes us all. Once she is satisfied by what she sees, she melts back into the crowd.

Dylan has to wake me up in time to get on the bus. I drank more than I should have once the security team moved in tighter. My head feels like it’s been saran wrapped way too tight and my eyes are bleary as fuck.

“Want some Advil,” Dylan laughs, throwing some stuff into his duffel bag.

I hold up my hand in a ‘gimme’ motion. He tosses the box at my head. “What the fuck?”

“I’m not your mommy,” he laughs.

“Fuck head.”

He laughs and carries on packing. I drag my ass up, clutching the box and head to the bathroom. Hotel bathrooms have the worst lights known to man. It’s like turning on the sun. Instead of giving myself an aneurysm, I use the light from the hall. I grab a glass of water and take two tablets.

“We’re gonna grab breakfast before we leave,” Dylan calls.

“Yeah, sure.” Breakfast is the last thing on my mind right now.

Setting the glass down, I turn on the shower. Maybe that will help. Five minutes later, it’s helped maybe seven percent. I can practically hear Adrestia giving me those stats. Dylan is lying back on his bed, his hands behind his head. He grins when I stub my toe on the bed and curse up a storm.

“Dude, how’d you get so wasted?”

“Fucking Jäger bombs.”

He winces. “Been there. Dec just text asking where we are.” He eyes the towel around my waist. I drop it and throw it at his head and he yells. Fuck my head. That backfired.

“I don’t want to see your ugly ass, teeny weeny junk.”

“Then do us all a favour and either shut up or go downstairs. I’ll be ready in a minute,” I say, stepping into my underwear. I almost fall on the bed and curse again.

“You gonna hurl on the bus?” Dylan smirks.

“In your lap, if I do.”

“Bitch.”

I squint at him, but he’s still smirking at me.

“Hurry up already. I can wait,” he goes to the bathroom to chuck the wet towel in there. “We’ve got a couple of days off. What are you gonna do?”

I sit on the bed to put my socks and shoes on. “Sleep this shit off, then go see Adrestia.”

His lips tilt in a small frown. “Things are getting serious, for real?”

I shrug my shoulders and a wave of nausea sweeps through my stomach. I press a hand to it and swallow a few times. Dylan waits me out. “I’m good,” I say, rubbing my hand across my mouth.

“You sure?” he laughs.

“No,” I groan.

He gets up to make sure we have everything, picking up the key cards so we can check out. I put on my sunglasses. I look like a dick, but fuck it. It feels like every light is magnified and trying to stab me in my brain. We carry our bags to the elevator at the end of six winding corridors. This place is a maze, I’m glad he knows where we’re going. Dylan picks back up the conversation.

“Do you think jumping out of one serious relationship into another is a good idea?”

I peer at him as he hits the button for the elevator. It is exactly what I’d been thinking last night. No one will get it, I know that. “It feels right.”

“How so? You’ve been single for six months after a decade long relationship with one girl. I mean, there are tons of chicks out there. You wanna get involved in another one, like that,” he snaps his fingers.

We get in the elevator, fortunately it’s empty. “It wasn’t my intention, no.” I slap the lobby button and lean back against the wall, swallowing a few times. My stomach lurches when the elevator descends and I start to sweat. Shit, puking in the elevator isn’t an option. I take a few quick breaths. “Can we not have this conversation right now?”

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