Page 50 of Bonding the Band

I groaned. “Avoiding it would’ve been great. I should’ve tried a bit harder to get in contact, but it was all so fucking weird and I didn’t know what to do.”

Hendrix put the suitcase down on my bed and pulled me into a hug. I breathed in his woodsmoke and citrus scent, letting it loosen the knots of tension in my shoulders. It was genuinely unfair how perfect being in his arms felt, when I knew absolutely nothing about our lifestyles was remotely compatible.

“We’ll make this work,” he promised, kissing the top of my head lightly as I melted into the embrace, nuzzling his chest.

We stayed there for a moment, simply enjoying the feel of being in each other’s arms. The world had felt off balance for weeks, and it was finally right again, even if it would only last a short time.

“As much as I want to stay here, I think we’d better get moving.” I sighed. “It’s time for me to become a tour girl.”

Hendrix smiled that stupidly perfect smile down at me. “Best tour girl ever. I’ll take this outside to meet the guys.” The look he gave me as he made his way out of the room was so full of longing it made my breath catch.

Turning back to what was left of my nest, I rested my hands on my hip and started plotting. I didn’t have that many bags, so I couldn’t pack everything and needed to be somewhat frugal in my choices.

I was deliberating whether I wanted to bring the lavender throw pillows I’d bought last month when Hendrix came back into the room, eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?”

“So, the guys are here, and it seems they brought the tour bus to us.”

“I thought they were coming in cars?”

Hendrix nodded. “I thought so, too, but a giant, two-level tour bus I’ve never seen before just pulled up outside, and Arlo is driving it.”

I burst into laughter. “This, I have to see.”

I grabbed Hendrix’s hand as I swept past him and led him out of my place to the sidewalk outside where, sure enough, a gargantuan RV was parked with Arlo waving excitedly at the sight of me.

Beckett and Phineas tumbled out the door when it opened, Arlo bounding after them to pull me in for a bruising kiss.

“What’s this?”

“Our new home! At least, for now. Do you like it? It’s got an awesome nesting space.”

“What happened to our old tour bus?” Hendrix asked. “That thing was less than a year old.”

“There was no way we could clean it well enough. Too many lingering scents, so I decided it was easier to get something new. Burn it down!”

“You didn’tactuallyburn the old tour bus, did you?”

Arlo pouted. “No, we sent it ahead to Minneapolis so Gary wouldn’t notice we were missing.”

“This way, you can get all your things straight into your new nest,” Beckett said. “We don’t have much time if we’re going to make it to Minneapolis in time for the show. I don’t want to rush you, but…”

“No, it makes sense. The tour schedule is tight. Can you guys help me strip the nest? We can throw everything in the new nest, and I can organize it while we’re on the road.”

Arlo nuzzled my hair. “Sounds like a plan!”

It was amazing how quickly most of my worldly possessions could be moved when six pairs of hands were on the job.

I strictly handled the underwear myself, despite Arlo’s best efforts to “help,” and Clover stocked the mini fridge and cabinets with all of the food Hendrix had ordered earlier so we wouldn’t starve on the road.

“Now, make sure you text meeveryday,” Clover insisted as she hugged me goodbye on the sidewalk outside the dorms. “If I don’t hear from you for twenty-four hours, I will send out a search party, okay?”

“I will. I promise!”

“I’m going to be worrying about you and my little niece in there.”

“Or nephew.”

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