Page 62 of Forever and Ever

“Less back and forth.” She winks at me, and I laugh.

Cassie might be loosening up now that she’s spent some time touring with the band, but she still has this totally sweet, good-girl vibe about her. Which Sebastian seems to eat up because I have to turn away to avoid watching him grope her ass.

As I make my way back into the den, I see everyone standing.

“You’re remembering that wrong,” Eloise says with her hands on her hips.

“Oh yeah?” Rome inches toward her.

At first, I think I walked into the middle of an argument, but then a smile climbs Rome’s cheeks and he stops right in front of her.

“Then let’s have a rematch.”

Eloise grins. “I guess if you feel like losing again, who am I to deny you.”

Adrian seems amused by Eloise standing up to Rome, but Rome just laughs.

“After you, princess,” Rome says, waving a hand.

“What’s going on?” I ask Adrian as we follow them.

He looks down at me and smiles. “You’ll see.”

We all make our way to the basement, where Sebastian has a bachelor pad setup that reminds me of Rome’s entire house. There’s a pool table, recliners. There’s even a full bar, although it looks like it hasn’t been stocked in a while. And in the far corner, there’s a dart board, which Eloise and Rome are currently walking over to.

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” Adrian sits in one of the chairs facing the dart board.

Eloise and Rome are both pretty competitive people. But I’ve never seen either of them get as fired up as they do when they’re playing darts. I’m pretty sure the band is still kicked out of a few bars across the country because of it, and people don’t ban the members of Enemy Muse easily.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I say to Adrian, taking the seat beside him.

He shakes his head. “I’m not getting in the middle of it.”

Watching Adrian around the band is an interesting dynamic. He’s only a few years older than the rest of them, but his maturity is light-years ahead. He’s the one always stuck talking them out of stupid shit or bitching at them when they’ve fucked up. If they were all a big fucked up family, he’d be the head of it, keeping the rest in check.

But what I find most surprising is that he doesn’t seem to do it for the paycheck like most band managers. There’s a lot more there. He’s one of them. He’s part of the family.

“Oh Lord.” Cassie rolls her eyes as she walks up. Sebastian leans against the wall, making a place for her in his arms.

“Heads or tails, princess,” Rome asks Eloise with a quarter in his hand.

He flips it in the air, and she calls tails before he catches it.

“You’re up.” He grins at her when he looks down at the coin.

An amused grin crosses Eloise’s face. Even in leggings and a baggy T-shirt, she’s intimidating when she gets a certain look in her eyes, and as she squares off with Rome, I swear she gets taller in an effort to stand up to him. She grabs the bottom of her baggy shirt and ties it in a tight knot, which shows off a sliver of her stomach.

From the corner of my eye, I see Adrian doesn’t miss the hint of her skin.

Eloise grabs three darts and lines herself up.

“Hope you brought your wallet,” she teases.

The first dart hits near the bullseye, but not quite. The second is a little farther off. But the third hits dead center.

I’m not sure what the scoring system is, but she shoots Rome a smug grin that says she’s happy.

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