Pulling away from Anna, I smirked. “We’re in a house, jackass. That’s like one giant room.”
Anna giggled, then she rubbed my arm, said goodbye, and walked that sweet ass away from me. I watched her swaying figure until she was completely gone. Once she was out of view, I adjusted my junk and turned to Kellan. He was eyeing me with a mixture of disgust and amusement. When I stepped up to him, he took a step back; his hands drifted down to cover his privates. I was confused at first, until I remembered what I’d stated as my “business” earlier at the gate.
“Relax, sunshine. I won’t damage your family jewels. Anna wants another cousin for Gibson and Newbie.” Tapping my jaw, I reconsidered. “Maybe I should though. It might help you hit the high notes.”
Kellan took another step back. “I can hit the ones I need to hit just fine, thanks.”
I cracked my knuckles. “Okay, but the offer stands if you ever change your mind.”
“Noted,” he muttered with a laugh.
“Evan here?” I asked. His truck was here, but he could have gone for a walk or something. Although I had no idea why he’d want to. He’d probably get run down by wolves or chased by Sasquatch. God, I missed civilization.
Kellan pointed out back, where the soundproof room we used for practice was. “He’s working on something with Jenny.”
Instantly, the picture of Evan bending his fiancée over his drum set entered my head. I mimicked with my hips what Evan was most likely doing. “Yeah, I bet he’s working on something.”
Rachel made a noise and I shifted my attention her way. She shut her mouth and her cheeks flushed bright red. Rachel was shyer than Kiera, which was saying a lot. The girl so rarely talked that I often forgot she was there. And when she did speak, her voice was usually soft and polite. Just once I wanted to see her lose her ever-loving mind. There was a freak buried under the calm, I just knew it.
Rachel’s eyes searched the floor for a moment before lifting to Matt’s. “I’m going to grab Jenny and start working on her website.”
Matt nodded, then cringed. “I still think she should reconsider the name of her gallery.”
Rachel shrugged. “She has her heart set on it.”
Confusion washed over me like dirty seawater. What the hell are they talking about? “What’s she naming what? What gallery? Like an art thingamabobber?” An idea struck me and I immediately offered it up, because I was thoughtful like that. “Does she need a subject to paint?” Sticking my tongue out, I cupped myself. “’Cause I’ve been told my subject is a work of art.”
Matt’s expression turned bland while Rachel turned even redder; the tips of her ears were almost purple. After Rachel hurried away like her hair was on fire, Matt frowned at me. I was used to his thin lips turned into a perturbed scowl, so it didn’t faze me. In his typical sarcastic voice, Matt droned, “No, I think what you were told was that you’re a piece of work. While similar sounding, there is a distinct difference between the two. I can draw you a diagram, if you don’t get it.”
While I flipped him off, Kellan answered my question. “Jenny is opening an art gallery downtown. She’s calling it Bagettes. It’s opening the day before the tour stars, and we’re all playing at the opening.” Kellan looked at me expectantly, but all this was news to me. Seeing my blank expression, he scrunched his brows and said, “We’ve been talking about this for the last three rehearsals, Griff. You don’t remember that?”
I shrugged. They talked about a lot of shit that I didn’t pay any attention to. I was usually too busy planning my moment of awesomeness. A moment that I was going to bring up today. It was time. As soon as we were all together, I was going to demand the spotlight I deserved.
With closed eyes, Kellan shook his head. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then he shut it again like he’d changed his mind. Whatever. I didn’t need another lecture anyway.
Kellan led the way to the studio, and Matt and I followed him. Matt smacked my back as we walked through the living room. He was smiling, so I figured I’d amused him somehow. That was how we worked. Snarky, rude, belittling comments mixed with a touch of humor. We pissed on each other then laughed about it later. It was our thing. I clapped him on the back as well. No harm, no foul.
Kellan opened the slider to the backyard and waved us through like he was our butler. The image of Kellan waiting on me hand and foot, always at the ready with a tray of beer-a-ritas and pork rinds, snapped into my head. Ha! That would be fucking awesome. I snorted as I walked by him, but he didn’t ask what was funny. He knew better than to ask.