Page 80 of Before Now

The band’smood shifts for the better once the bus crosses the Texas border. They still have three shows before the break in Austin, but it revives them. A light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

If only the light was an adorable lantern, hanging as a welcome to a peaceful garden, and not a bullet train ready to annihilate.

During their day off between the Dallas and Houston shows, Christian’s rented a bungalow not far from the arena for the guys to work. He usually hangs around with me and Colt, but the manager ducks out shortly after we arrive.

I’m mostly company for Colton at this point since I rarely have anything to shoot. They stay on the upper floor while we fight over movies on the main. I fold and let him pick to avoid the pettiness he’s ready to engage in. But after the band takes a break three hours in, Foster pauses on his way to the open stairway.

“Grab your handheld,” he says to me. I cock my head in question, and he angles his back. His mouth lifts, eyes soft. “The space is a beautiful thing.”

I frantically grab my cam and follow him up.

The two of us haven’t been remotely alone since he kissed me in the dressing room two shows ago. We have these intense moments where we watch each other. Maybe because we spent so much time not being able to.

As we reach the top of the stairs, his fingers skim across my back, slipping under the top of my jeans. Skin on skin.

“I owe you an interview,” he says, voice hushed. He leads me across a catwalk, overlooking the living room. “We should do it tonight.”

I smile over at him but stay suspicious. “Really? Have you run out of ways to avoid it?”

“Mmm. Not even close. But it gets me alone with you before I say fuck it and carry you off. So, it’s in everyone’s best interests.”

We stop outside a dark wooden door at the end. He looks over, my mouth his focus. He licks his lips, drags his teeth over the bottom one. But then his eyes flick up, and he studies me, growing serious.

“Then we can talk,” he says, pushing down on the handle, “about everything.”

He misses me flinching. Inside. Outside. Hell, even the aura around me jolts at what he’s asking of me. Because everything’s not the weather. It’s about everythingbefore. The reason I disappeared on him.

The answer comes out ragged when I reply, “Yeah.”

But I’m already wishing for a way out of it.

All the anxiety dissipates as I follow him in and see the rehearsal space and studio. Lush purple velvet chairs and tufted sofas. Deep mahogany slat floors, covered in a massive ornate rug. The wood makes up the walls as well, but built-in shelves filled with books line two of them. The lighting is moody and sensual, and the overall effect carries a brothel sort of vibe.

Dev looks up from his bass then at Felix pouring a drink at the bar off to one side. They exchange a glance.

“Adams has officially lost it?” Felix asks.

Dev nods. “It’s officially time to shop for a new member.”

“Officially fuck off.” Foster tips his chin toward the bar. “Artists who’ve used this space etch their names in the bar top. I thought you’d want a shot of us adding ours.”

“Yes.” I finish at the same time as him.

His mouth hooks up. “You can stick around a bit after if you want any footage while we jam.”

I blink at him, and Felix barks out a laugh, landing on a barstool with his drink.

Dev snorts. “You either broke her or made her come.”

Foster grins then and walks toward the bar. “I might have done both.”

I would glare or comment back, but the scene’s staging in my head. I figure out the angle then have a flash of another once I move close enough to see the grooves in the wood. Rich with history and talent.

The guys switch off wearing the spy glasses I had hooked on my shirt’s neck, so I get their faces and them carving without compromising either. Then I become a piece of furniture, afraid if I breathe wrong, I’ll lose access to them while they create.

I imagined this scene a hundred times and then said a painful goodbye when they said no filming during these sessions.

About fifteen minutes in, the door flies open. Christian doesn’t even wait for the band to quit playing.

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