Page 33 of For Eva

Eric’s words were met with furrowed brows and tilted heads.

“Andwhyis that, exactly?” Keith asked, reaching for the wallet in his back pocket.

Eric drained his beer and burped before twisting his mouth into a smug smile. “Because I’m sure he’d like to meet his new assistant as soon as possible.”

FIFTEEN

Danny

March 1989

“Hey, babe.” A soft wisp of air skimmed my cheek, and I slowly peeled my heavy lids back to see Eva leaning over me.

“Hey.” My voice sounded like I’d downed a glass of gravel, and my head felt like it was in fucking blender. “What time is it?”

She sat on the edge of the bed, fully dressed with a cute little crooked smile on her lips. “Almost noon. And in case you’re wondering, I think it was flaming margaritanumero diezthat did you in.”

I groaned and ran my palm over my face. “Oh, fuck. Right.” My brain throbbed in sequence with the events of the night before. Stumbling out of El Compadre—had I knocked over the bowl of mints on the hostess stand or had I knocked over the actual hostess? Laughing as Eva folded me into her car. Watching my cigarette fly back in the window as we wound up the canyon. Trying to climb into the back seat to find it as Eva grabbed my leg and told me to sit the fuck down.

I swallowed, shuddering as the taste of sour mix settled at the back of my throat. “Remind me to order something else next time.”

Eva smirked. “Only hurts when you drink ten, babe. Anyway, I told you to switch to beer, but you said that wasn’t as much fun.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you couldn’t set it on fire.”

“Oh, yeah.” I tried to laugh but ended up coughing, which made my head hurt even worse. “It’s weird how I like pyro on drinks but think it’s stupid on stage.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re weird, period.”

“You’reweird.” I pulled her on top of me and wrapped my arms around her, smiling through the pain of my hangover as her thick blond hair fell over my face.

She giggled and wriggled away, kissing my cheek before hopping up. “Okay, we’re both weird, but I gotta go. I need to shower and run a couple errands before work. I told Ronnie I’d help him with some stuff before my shift starts.”

“Shit, Eva. As much as you do there, he should give you a raise and make you the manager.”

She shrugged, flinging her purse over her shoulder. “Yeah, maybe. But first I need to talk to him to make sure I’ll even have a job when I get back.”

I shifted my head against the pillow. “Get back from what?”

“From the tour.” Her face fell slightly. “The Black Widow Rising tour?”

Fuck.

I shot up in the bed much too quickly and winced. “Ow. Shit.” I rubbed my forehead and cleared my throat, hoping my voice wouldn’t sound as shaky as my body felt. “Yeah, the tour. Right. Sorry.”

“I can’t believe I get to do this. Thatweget to do this,” Eva said, her eyes lighting up like two sparklers on the Fourth of July. “I mean, I know it’s kinda crazy. Like, who am I to be some band manager’s assistant? But think of how much fun we’ll have and…” Her brows turned down, her eyes searching mine. “You’re okay with me coming, right? I mean, you seemed happy about it last night, but if you think it’s not a good idea or something…”

I shook my head, sharp steel blades attacking it from every angle. “Yeah, no, it’s good. It’ll be good,” I said, trying to convince her—and myself—that I believed it would be.

She nodded slowly, the corners of her mouth turning up cautiously.

“So yeah, uh, do your stuff and call me later,” I said. “I don’t know how late we’ll be rehearsing.”

“I’ll see you when I see you. Go rehearse till your fingers bleed. Or maybe not that much. Anyway, Denise and I have plans tomorrow, so I’m gonna crash at home tonight.” She tilted her head and studied my face again. “But, um…” She held onto her words, but the way she looked at me told me she felt uneasy.

“Love you, babe,” I blurted out, hoping that would squash her doubts, no matter how valid they were.

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