Page 106 of Show biz

Glancing over my shoulder, I watch as Draven, Mav, and Atlas stare at me intently. I know I’ve been a brat by not leading them into each song, but I don’t think Mav or Atlas would have learned my songs backwards and forwards otherwise.

Sometimes the hard way is the only one people understand.

“Ready boys?” I tease them. Draven’s eyes move down my body with a wicked smile. We decided to go out to a club after the concert, so I dressed accordingly. Black combat heeled-boots with my knife tucked into it, violet corset with a leather miniskirt, and jewelry to match.

My hair is in a high ponytail with bouncy curls as well, as a nod to the big hair of country music.

I may not sing the genre, but I do love the joy and angst found within the lyrics of the music.

Atlas winks at me and starts the song on his keyboard making me shake my head. Cocky ass. Mav jumps in too, with Draven picking up the drums. Mav and Atlas have always been incredible musicians, but the three of them are the trifecta of what singers dream of.

Turning back to the crowd, I shrug as they go wild. Guess we’re all in agreement.

“The world will tell you to stay small, keep quiet, don’t rock the boat. But, don’t listen to the lies, Baby, you were meant to shine…”

For so long I thought if I was quiet, I wouldn’t create issues, I wouldn’t get canceled by the label, or the media for somethingout of my control. It’s a silly thing to worry about because everyone calls me the “Label’s Princess”, but I want to earn my career.

The new song goes over well, and I promise the crowd that we’ll be recording soon. I need to find some time to get home, but that creates its own issues, since Turner and Roark are bursting at the seams to speak to Mav and Atlas.

I’m sure there will be black eyes and bruises on that visit. Men are dumb, but these men figure out things with their fists. It worked for Tyler and Mav, so who am I to mess with it.

As we finish up the set, Mav and Atlas flank me on either side. Surprised, I wait to see what they’re up to.

“Can we give it up for the amazing Layla? Nashville, you all always give the best welcome, thank you for letting us debut a new song with you all,” Mav says with a grin into the microphone.

Showboats.

Hiding a smile, I wave as we walk off, and I realize they did it so both Mav and Atlas could escort me off of the stage.

“You sounded amazing,” Tyler says, sweeping me off my feet. “We need to find time to get you into the recording studio.”

“We need to get to Lenny’s for that,” I remind him.

“Lenny?” Atlas asks, raising his brow.

“Yeah, she has a recording studio built in her basement. Why should I book studio time when I can borrow my sister’s whenever I want?” I tease with a giggle.

“Well… You have a point.” Atlas smirks.

“Maybe we can find time to go by after New York?” Draven asks as we start to move to the area where our VIP event is set up. Tyler is slow to put me down, making me smile brightly.

“I miss the babies,” I sigh. “I video chatted with them earlier today, and they’re all getting so big. Where are we going after New York?”

“We have a week break after New York, and then we’re in Florida,” Tyler explains as he links his fingers with mine. I love how affection is so easy for him.

My mind trails to how Atlas and Mav touched me earlier, but I don’t know how to process the emotions thoughts of them bring. “There would be time to record and spend some time with your sister.”

“So you’re telling us we have a very small window in which to get you to forgive us?” Atlas asks as he walks along next to us. He looks like he’s thinking really hard about something. “Roark is gonna beat the shit out of us.”

“We deserve it.” Mav shrugs as Atlas nods. I may as well not be here for this as I roll my eyes. For some reason, their conversation doesn’t bother me even though they’re talking about me. Their relationship only bothered me when they left me out…

Remembering how well they can share me together makes me swallow hard. They can talk about forgiveness all they want, but I don’t think I’m ready to go there with them.

The door to the meet and greet opens, and I smile as people turn to see us. This is something that I love about touring: meeting our fans. Walking through, we all break off to chat with people.

I love getting to know the lives of my fans, where they come from, what they’re excited about. I always forget they want to know about me too.

“Can I ask you about where you got the inspiration for this song?” Maddie asks. She’s twenty-one, brunette, and makes me smile at how excited she is to be here. Tyler has people’s ticket numbers chosen at random from the crowd, which makes this even more special.