Page 119 of Forbidden Lyrics

His eyes widen in surprise before his mouth quirks up on one side. “You’ve never been drunk?”

“I thought we’d already discussed this––”

“Yeah, but I kinda thought you were full of shit.”

“Well,” I huff, annoyed by his lack of trust. “I’m not.”

He grins but stays quiet, silently assessing me like I’m a dang animal at the zoo.

“Is this amusing to you?” I challenge, crossing my arms.

“A little.” His calloused fingers tickle my temple as he tucks my hair behind my ear. “I bet you’d be a fun drunk.”

With a laugh, I clutch at my chest. “Should I be offended?”

“No. One day, you’ll have to let me get you drunk.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. But not tonight.” He drops his hand to his side, his earlier amusement dissipating in the blink of an eye as the weight of Fen’s world falls on his shoulders. “Tonight, I’m gonna have to babysit Fender, and I don’t think I’ll be very fun if I’m stressed about him the whole time.”

“I wouldn’t want to get drunk the night before another big show, anyway. I’ve heard hangovers aren’t so great.”

He tosses his arm over my shoulder and guides me down the hall toward the back room. “Yeah, but they’re a rite of passage, Dovey girl. You gotta have at least one.” He drops a kiss to the crown of my head and adds, “But not tonight.”

“Nope. Not tonight.”

“Did you have fun, though?” he asks, glancing down at me as we weave between the stage crew.

“On stage?”

“Yeah.”

“Then yes. That was…” A wistful sigh escapes me. “That was insane. And awesome. How about you? Was it that terrible to be on stage with me?”

His deep chuckle makes my insides clench as he pushes me against the wall outside the back room where the rest of our friends are hanging out. The air whooshes out of my lungs before I take in his heated gaze. It promises all sorts of naughty things he’s managed to introduce me to since we started dating.

And I love it.

“What are you doing?” I ask innocently.

His hands skim along my hip bone before dragging up my bare arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake as he cages me in on both sides.

“Just talking about the performance,” he notes, awakening every single nerve in my body with a simple touch.

“Is that right?”

“Mm-hmm,” he hums before leaning closer and breathing me in. “And no. It wasn’t terrible.”

“Not terrible?” I laugh. “That’s all you’re gonna give me?”

“I’m still reeling that you actually got me out there,” he admits, his warm breath tickling my neck before he sucks a piece of my flesh into his mouth.

I gulp and squeeze my eyes shut. “I-is that right?”

“Yeah. Fen’s been trying for years, and so have Milo, Riv, and Jake. They’ll be pissed they missed it.”

“You can always perform with me again at SeaBird, ya know.”

---