Page 195 of Five Summers

I give him a quick glance.

“Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t fuck her, even though she was keen on it. It was these two assholes that were thinking with their dicks.”

“Ace,” I address. “Theo.”

They both look up at me.

“I’m sorry, man. You saw how she was,” Ace says. “Plus, I needed to get laid.”

“So, what? Now that your dick’s been taken care of, you're back to letting them walk all over us.”

“No. I’ve talked to her several times about stuff, but she... well, she just won’t listen.”

“How many times have you fucked her, Ace?” I ask.

He gives me a look but doesn't say anything.

"Answer the fucking question, Ace."

"Three."

"Theo," I say, turning to look at him.

"Just the one time."

"Yeah, but she keeps showing up and trying to get him to go with her. I straight up told her to fuck off and stop bothering us,” Nate says from over on the bed.

“She’s acting more like a groupie than a band manager,” I state, before I turn my attention to Ace. “Give Lionel a call and tell him we don’t need her.”

Ace gets up and pulls out his phone. All of us watch him as he dials Lionel’s number. As it starts to ring, he walks over to a quieter spot to deal with the call.

“Has this been happening since she arrived,” I say, looking at Nate, seeing he’s the only one who will give me answers.

“Yep, pretty much. When she showed up and introduced herself, we were in Ace's room, chatting about stuff. She was flirting with Ace all night, just like she did with you then, and when things got intense, Theo and I bailed.”

I can hear Ace talking in the background.

“This crap needs to stop right now. If you're looking for some action, there are plenty of groupies out there. Ronnie, or whatever the fuck her name is, is off-limits, okay? We can't deal with another band manager making a scene in the media.”

Ace walks over to us. We all give him our attention.

“What did he say?” I ask.

“She stays. As long as we're here on this tour, she ain't going anywhere.”

Annoyed, I plop down next to Theo on the couch.

“But that’s not all,” he says. “Lionel offered a chance to get our songs back.”

For a moment, I set aside my irritation and lean forward. “Wait, what do you mean by getting our songs back?” I inquire, pressing for more information.

Ace gives us all a look before answering. “He's got a new contract ready for us, meeting all our demands. The only catch is we have to sign it before the tour ends. Once he emails it, I’ll have Anita give it a thorough review.”

I take a moment to reflect on what Ace has just disclosed. I want my songs back, they are mine, not theirs. I’m the one who bled my soul out when I wrote those songs.

"We need to shut down this thing with Ronnie right now," I say to Ace. “You saw the fucking chaos that Reg caused. We can't have another band manager causing scandals, and you know it.”

“Yeah, I know,” Ace says.

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