Page 115 of Snared

“Yes. Constantly. Too much.”

“Oh, really? Do tell.” She propped her chin on her steepled hands.

“Ew. And I thought we weren’t changing the subject,” I muttered.

“Great. So about Josh,” she started.

I groaned. “Eat this, you look hungry,” I said, shoving another beignet in her mouth.

She laughed around the powdered sugar, then wiped her hands after she polished the pastry off.

“Fight me all you want, but you know I’m right. And maybe Josh is right for you, too.”

“And maybe we’ll stay together and then inevitably break up like most couples do, and it’ll be all drama and mess, and my career will suffer. Look at her, the drummer who hooked up with her manager. Bet she fucked the band members, too,” I said, unable to tamp down every fear I had. It wasn’t like some far-fetched idea, thinking that people would feel that way.

“Okay, stop. And stop going on social media, will you? You know what matters? You. How you feel about him. Could it end badly? Of course. Could it be exactly what you need? Definitely. But at the end of the day, you’re still an integral member of the band and the guys love you. Give them a little credit,” Jules said.

I sighed. “I know. And everything you’re saying is logical. But this is my dream and I don’t want it fucked up because I drank too much tequila, married my manager, then agreed to stay in this farce of a marriage until the tour ended. Or the next album comes out. Or whenever.”

“Stop freaking yourself out and just enjoy. You’re on tour. You’re the drummer for Steelwolf, best rock band ever. That’s all you need to focus on right now. Don’t taint the experience with what-ifs about Josh. You’ll have plenty of time to deal with them when you’re back in New York. But I still think you need to talk to him.”

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you too. Now, can I have that last beignet?”

I laughed, nudging the plate toward her. I was going to miss my big sister when she went home, but we were due there in ten days.

Ten days. This tour had flown by, and aside from stinky boys on the bus and stupid media crap, it’d been amazing.

And Josh had been amazing.

Fuck.

I really was in love with him.

A few hours later, we were on the bus heading to Atlanta, and Jules was on her way to the airport. I already missed having her around.

Okay, not completely missed her since she was a little too perceptive.

Bash took his guitar out of the case on the couch and grabbed his ever-present notebook.

Jax rubbed his hands together. “What do we got, Wolfie? A new ode to Cassiopeia? Not that it’s not weird to sing your love songs to a woman who is basically my sister.”

“So we ditch you and I’ll sing the songs,” Bash fired back.

Jax put his hand to his chest. “Like you could top this glory? Please.”

Tristan laughed and grabbed his bass. “What are we working on?”

I sat down in one of the gaming chairs, my sticks out to tap on the padded arms. I couldn’t contribute much without my kit, but I could help keep the beat.

“Had another song idea pop up and I’ve got a lot of it down already.” He placed his notepad in the center of the table.

Watching Bash create new songs was amazing, especially since it wasn’t a skill I possessed. I was fascinated. But we all had our input. Jax was a whiz with additional lyrics, and Tristan could always tweak the bass line.

And they always looked to me to help lay the foundation matching the lyrics and tone.

Tristan and I were the pulse, while Jax and Bash went wild. It was the perfect combination.

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