He cursed and closed his eyes. “Fighting.”
“You’re being insecure and jealous”—I wrapped my arm around him—“and you’re pushing him away.”
“How’d you get so smart?” he grumbled.
I smiled. “We recognize our own.”
He smiled. “I should go find him.”
“Only if you want to keep your boyfriend,” I told him. He cursed.
We walked back across the street. Jake walked me back to the lawn and then left to find Derrick. When I reached the guys, the lawn was starting to fill up.
“I thought you were with Jake?” Asher asked.
“Jake and Derrick had a fight. He went to go find him,” I explained as my phone vibrated in my bra. I pulled my phone out and checked it.
Ethan: Kinda need you.
I smiled as I typed in my response.
Alexis: I’ll head over now. Where r u?
Ethan: West side of the lawn next to the van.
Alexis: Coming.
I looked in the direction he said he was. I could see the van from here. “I’ve got to head over to Ethan. I’ll be right back.”
“You want someone to go with you?” Zeke asked. I thought about it. It wasn’t even five hundred feet.
“Nah, I should be good,” I told him. “If something happens, I’ll scream.”
Zeke shot me a look. “Not funny, Lexie.”
I met his eyes, my grin fading. “I know.”
Asher got to his feet. “I need to make a trip to the food trucks anyway.”
He started walking me to the van. “Thanks, Asher,” I muttered.
“No problem, Ally girl,” he said.
I smiled up at him. “So, what food truck are you hitting?”
“I was thinking the Greek food truck. They have great food,” he said.
“Sweet, can you get me something yummy?”
He grinned down at me. “Sure. Have you ever tried Greek food?”
“Nope.”
“What are you wanting? Light or rich?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to say something, only to hear a noise from a nearby doorway. We turned. Ryan, Ethan’s drummer, was kissing a girl in the recessed doorway of the church. A girl with lilac hair. Oh my God. We went to walk by, but they split apart. Ryan’s face turned red, Riley’s turned pink.
I just grinned. “Carry on.” Then we walked a bit faster. We were ten feet away before we started laughing.
“Was that Riley?” Asher asked between laughs.
“Yeah, it was.” I shook my head. “That girl has some explaining to do.”
“You didn’t know?”
“I knew she liked someone, but not who! And she’s gonna get so much shit for it,” I snickered.
We reached the van. Ethan was pacing back and forth in front of Oliver and Brooklyn.
“Ethan, calm down. You’ll be great,” Brooklyn said, trying to calm him down.
“Brooklyn, not now,” he snapped.
“You want anything for after your set?” Asher asked Ethan.
Ethan’s eyes found me. “Sure. I don’t care what.”
“One order of ‘I don’t care what’ coming up,” Asher announced before heading back.
I gave Ethan a small smile, took his hand, and made him follow me to the front of the van. “Ethan. You know you guys are amazing.”
He shook his head. “It’s an entirely new set, and you haven’t heard it.” His fingers twirled his silver rings.
I reached up, held his face, and made him look at me. “Ethan. What did you think when you left the garage last night?”
His eyes unfocused as his hands moved to my arms. “Good. I thought we were ready for tonight.”
“Then you’re ready,” I reassured him. “You are a perfectionist when it comes to practice, Snoopy. You don’t let anyone leave until you have it down. You got this.”
He sighed and rested his forehead on mine, his eyes closed. “You’re right.”
I took a deep breath, enjoying his spicy cologne. “I know I am.”
He chuckled softly, lifted his head and pulled me close. He hugged me tight. I smiled as I hugged him back.
“Are your wrists okay?” he whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine.
“Yeah, the burns are small and should be gone in a couple days,” I whispered back, resting my chin on his shoulder. He squeezed me tighter.
“Have you talked to Isaac?” His voice was thick. I squeezed tighter.
“No, but I will,” I promised.
He nodded, his breath caressing my ear. “Thank you, Lexie.”
“You’re welcome,” I whispered back.
“Ryan’s back. It’s time.” Brooklyn’s voice was relieved. I opened my eyes to find her watching me, as if I was going to attack her or something. I pulled back from Ethan. He took several deep breaths before nodding to me. He walked around the van. I followed.
“Come on, guys.” Ethan moved to make a circle with the others. Ryan was trying not to look at me. I bit back a grin as I leaned against the van and waited. They put their hands in a circle before throwing them up, shouting, “Under Fire!” My heart ached a bit.
Ethan came back and took my hand. “Come on, Beautiful. We’ve got a show.” I gave him the smile he needed and walked with them to the stage. As the others walked on, Ethan squeezed my hand and sent me a smile.
“Go kick some ass, Snoopy,” I said, trying not to be upset that I wasn’t going on with him. I let go and started making my way through the seated crowd. The guys were still under the tree, including Isaac. Everyone was talking when I stepped around them and sat in the back of the group with my back against the tree trunk.
Asher passed Miles a small bag. Miles passed it to me.
“Thanks,” I said as Ethan went to the microphone.
“Alright, what a turn out,” Ethan said, his smooth, smoky voice rolling over the crowd. “Now, let’s have a good time.” He played the first few notes of ‘Unbreakable’ by Fireflight. It was a good song. Then Brooklyn started singing. She was good, damn good. She stayed in key and hit the right notes. And the girl had range. She was a perfect fit for the band.
“Lexie, eat,” Zeke ordered over his shoulder. How did he know? I pulled out the thick cardboard container and opened it. It was a sandwich wrapped in flatbread. Inside were grilled onions, peppers, tomatoes, and some meat I couldn’t identify, along with an interesting looking white sauce. It smelled delicious and I trusted Asher, so I took a bite. My eyes almost rolled into the back of my head. Ohhh. It was so fucking good.
I finished my bite before asking. “Ash, what is this? ’Cause I need it at home every day.”
Asher chuckled. “It’s a gyro. Flatbread, meat, some veggies, and Tzatziki sauce.”
“It’s fucking delicious,” I said with my hand in front of my full mouth. The guys chuckled. I finished my sandwich quickly; the sauce was surprisingly light and perfect in this weather. I leaned back against the tree and listened to the band.
The sun set and it grew dark. I thought I was doing pretty well, until Brooklyn moved to stand next to Ethan. The first notes of ‘Burn with Me’ by Amaranthe played. It was a good song, but it was a duet.
Ethan sang the first verse. Then Brooklyn jumped in. My heart took a hit. My eyes burned. I couldn’t sit here. I got up and quietly walked around the tree and back through the closing market. Vendors were packing up. I walked to one of the closing food trucks, grabbed some tissues, turned around and went still. Isaac was standing there, his amber eyes meeting mine. He didn’t say a word. He just stepped closer, pulled me into his arms, and hugged me. I took a deep, shaking breath and wrapped my arms around his waist. He didn’t move, not until the song was over.
“I wish I could give you back your singing voice,” he whispered against my forehead. Tears fell down my cheeks.
“You beat the shit out of him,” I whispered back. “Tell me again what you did.”
“Broken knee, broken arm, broken ribs, kicked him in the face several times, and stomped on his sack a few more.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Isaac.” I pulled back and wiped my face. “I’m still a little mad at you.”
“So am I,” he admitted quietly.
I looked up and met his eyes again. “Why do you do those stunts?”
Behind his eyes he struggled until he looked down at the ground. “There’s this part of me, sometimes, that needs to see how close I can get.”