Page 141 of The Lost Melody

Sighing I take a bite of my eggs and moan. Swallowing, I look over at Willow, who looks bemused. “Are we freaking you out yet with our weirdness?” I ask, smiling.

“Nope, it reminds me I may be normal. I’m still figuring my way out still in my relationships. There’s a lot of fucking testosterone, that’s for damn sure,” she mutters.

Derek chuckles as he grabs some coffee. “Are you trying to tell us you have your very own harem too?” he asks.

Is that something you can ask?

“Yeah, I guess I do. Bear has trouble sharing, so we’re figuring it out,” she says with a shrug.

My eyebrow raises, and I wonder if I can help at all with that. Turner and Roark initially had a problem with Orion, but only because they didn’t think he’d stick around.

“You and Bear, huh?” I ask, attempting to tease her.

She blushes and nods. “Yeah, though it’s a little bumpy so far. He’s kind of bossy, and it just makes me want to push him… off a cliff.”

Turner snorts, covering his mouth as he chokes on his orange juice.

“You good there, baby?” I laugh.

He turns red, nodding, taking a towel to clean himself up. “Fuck, yeah I am. I wasn’t expecting that from you, Willow. It’s nice to see I can still be surprised. I think we may need to adopt you,” he says ruefully. “Fuck, I’m a damn mess. I need a shower.”

“So do I,” Derek says, since he’s also sweaty and hot.

“Baby, we may be getting messy and sticky before we get clean if you join me,” Turner grins, already pulling him out of the kitchen.

Giggling, I turn towards Willow whose eyes are wide. “I think you’re the luckiest girl on the planet,” she whispers.

“I am pretty lucky, all things considered,” I tell her, my cheeks beginning to hurt from smiling so hard. Finishing my eggs, I glance at my phone which is buzzing.

Answering, I put it on speaker. “Good morning, Uncle,” I say, finishing my coffee. Roark deposits a glass of water next to me, brow raised as he mouths, ‘Drink.’

“Yes, Daddy,” I say automatically, then cover my mouth in horror as I look down at the phone.

“Good morning, Lennon. I am ignoring whatever you just said. I really don’t need to know about my niece’s kinks,” Uncle Jordan mutters.

“I’m sooo sorry,” I laugh, shaking my head.

Willow’s shoulders shake as she laughs without sound.

Uncle Jordan grunts, saying, “We’re six hours from your house. I rented a car with your sister and the guys, and have a truck following behind us for things we can’t live without, like instruments. Though, Atlas insisted we bring his keyboard in the car, in case inspiration struck. I didn’t see any reason we’d need the bus.”

Now that he mentions it, I can hear Atlas in the background. “That’s fine. I’m going to Bear’s club for a bit to get a feel for the venue, maybe write a little,” I explain, because telling him I’m ‘hanging out in a cage’ just doesn’t seem right.

He’s always worried about my sexual kinks as it is.

Rolling my lips in to hold in my smile even though he can’t see me, I listen to his next words. “Don’t push yourself, Lenny. We have time for you to work through this, okay? Is Derek going with you?” he asks.

“Yes, he’s planning on it. Derek said he was going to be working on our social media pages,” I confirm.

“Can you ask him to check his emails too, please? I am going to send him a list of press to call with personal invitations for the concert before he posts the announcement about it. Bear is going to open the ticket link up, and we’ll see how long it takes to crash. Before that, we need to take photos of you all together, so we have them to make it all work,” Uncle Jordan says.

Blowing out a breath, I stretch my neck to ease my nerves. “I’ll see you when you get here,” I tell him softly.

Hanging up, I text my therapist.

I’m planning a show, and I’m worried about performing. I’m going to go sit in the space, try out how I feel about singing, maybe write a little. Can I get a session later?

Dr. Bradley: Exposure therapy, huh? I wonder who's the therapist now, Lennon? I think that’s a good idea, and I’m sure I’ll find out later why a concert is necessary. Let’s have a session tonight.

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