Page 105 of Next Time I Fall (Excess All Areas 2)

The performance, with his guitar in his hand, sucked him in so deep, he was surprised to realise the song he was singing was their last encore. He’d always loved singing, but suddenly, he felt like a musician, like a performer, and he’d earned his spot at the front of the stage.

The minutes had flown by.

“Fucking loved that oblique harmony you threw in on that last song,” Alex said, when they finally left the venue.

Jase shrugged. “Yeah. Just felt right, with you holding the line. Happy to switch.”

Alex shook his head. “Nah. More dramatic when you do it.”

“Are we going out or going back to the hotel?” Ben asked.

Jase did the mental time adjustment. If it was eleven here, it would be five for Cerys. Too early to call her yet. She’d still be at work, and while he was looking forward to talking to her, he wanted to respect her job. “Why don’t we do what we used to do? Grab pizza or kebabs on the way back to the hotel and hang out in someone’s room. It’s all been a bit fragmented since we got back from Detroit with all the press and media stuff.”

Luke huffed. “Boring fucker.”

Matt glanced at his best friend. “Don’t be a dick, mate. I think it’s a decent idea.”

“I’m game,” Ben said, walking to the driver’s side of the van. “I’m so starved, my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut.”

“Fine,” Luke grumbled.

Jase took the other front seat as the rest climbed in the back.

Alex yawned. “I’m beat. Long night, last night.”

“With?” Jase asked.

“Couple. Looking for a third.”

“A third?” Luke asked.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Not rocket science, mate. A third person.”

“Too many limbs involved in that for me,” Matt said. “Call me dumb, but I can only focus on one thing at once.”

Alex laughed. “That’s because you’re a guitarist. Working percussion, you get used to handling lots of things to tempo.”

Ben burst out laughing. “Matt’s more of a deep focus kinda guy.”

“Fuck you all.” Matt’s words were light.

“Seriously. Don’t knock it until you try it. Variety is the spice of life,” Alex said.

Jase knew better than most just how much variety Alex liked. They’d shared a house with thin walls for years.

“Amen,” Luke chimed in from the back seat, the flicker of a smile passing his lips.

And as they sat in Ben’s room an hour later, drinking cans of beer they’d picked up from a corner shop and eating huge doner kebabs out of Styrofoam containers, it felt like while everything around them was changing, the five of them were still exactly the same.

Family.

* * *

“What do you think?” Jimmy asked her.

It had been his idea for the two of them to wait until the studio was empty to listen to the finished album.

Listening to the sound of Jase’s voice made her chest ache.

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