Page 57 of Sycopation
Ray glared at him. “Look, I will. I’m not saying anything that isn’t true.”
“I know.” Zavier’s voice was gentle. “I’m not making fun of you at all. You’re sometimes so self-aware, that’s all.”
Sometimes, but not always. Ray gulped down more coffee. Zavier’s toes were still pressed against his thigh. “It took Mish and Dom a long time to get me to stop searching for our name on the web.”
Dom nodded. “I mean, the good stuff’s uplifting, but the bad stuff?—”
“It’s demoralizing.” Mish stretched out her legs. “So we swore a pact to not look. Carl wassupposedto let us know about good press and all that, and he does, sometimes.”
“Sometimes,” Zavier repeated. He huffed out a breath. “That man...”
She shrugged. “Yeah. Pretty much.”
“I’ll look,” Zavier said. “I don’t mind, and I’ve seen some of it already.”
“Vanity-searching yourself?” Ray couldn’t help it, even if itwassnark.
Zavier’s smile was wide and lovely, and not what Ray expected at all. “God, no. I try very hard not to, because that shit kills.” His expression melted into seriousness. “The mentor I mentioned? Sent some articles.”
“Good or bad?” Ray had to know.
“The ones I read? Generally very positive. Praising the sound, the tightness, the energy...”
“The drumming?” Mish said.
Zavier blushed. Ray had seen that before, but this time he looked downright uncomfortable. “Yeah.”
“Hon, youdomake us sound better.”
Dom nodded, and Ray had to agree, too. “Look, none of us aremadabout that.”
Zavier looked out the window and grunted. “I know. I mean, I know I’m good, but I’m notthereason Twisted Wishes resonates with fans. It’s you guys, and they don’t know how fuckinghardyou worked to bring me in, tomakethat sound happen. It’s frustrating to see praise that’s true—but only a little part of the story.”
“They’re not going to understand the other part of that, though,” Mish said.
Zavier nodded. “Know that, too. Frustrating as hell, though.”
Ray knew knowledge didn’t always change emotions. “Why’d your mentor send them to you?”
A chuckle, and Zavier met Ray’s stare. “Because she likes to try to embarrass me. It’s a game.”
“Did she embarrass you?” Dom’s voice.
Zavier pursed his lips and nodded to Dom. “A little. I was surprised at how I looked in the photos.”
“How do you look in the photos?” Ray’s mug was empty, but he really didn’t want to move away from the couch, even if he did want more coffee.
“I looked—” Zavier shook his head and leaned over to unzip his messenger bag. He pulled his tablet out, and with a skill that Ray marveled at, somehow flipped the thing open and unlocked it without putting down or even spilling a drop of his coffee. He handed Ray the tablet. “Here.”
Ray took it, even as his stomach flinched. Last time he’d stared at a tablet, it had been Carl’s, and it had been the video of him yelling at Kevin. This, though...
He glanced down, then stared. Holy shit. It was a photo of him and Zavier from one of the acoustical sets when they were both out at the stage edge, taken from below. Zavier was lit perfectly, his black hair slick, his body glowing.
And he was looking at Ray with such open passion Ray felt the heat of both stares—the one in the photo, and of Zavier watching him now. Both went to his head and to his balls. Fuck, Zavier was hot.
He wet his suddenly dry lips. “You look like a rock god.”
“He is a rock god,” Dom said. “We all are.”
