Inky raised a brow. “Yup. I stopped by the studio this morning to grab some inventory forms from Tom, and when I showed up, he was on the phone with Reid. It seems she flew out to surprise him.”
“But we only have one show here before we go on the road. Is she coming with us?” The idea caused Chloe’s stomach to roll. She didn’t want to see Jess. Not because she didn’t like her, but because she was afraid Jess would see how Chloe felt about Reid written all over her face. It wasn’t something she could hide, even though she tried constantly. The reminder caused a pang of guilt to swell in her chest. If the roles had been reversed and Chloe were in Jess’s position, she would have been hurt and angry by the reaction of the fans after the awards show. She also would have kicked Reid’s ass.
Inky shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe she’ll be at rehearsals this afternoon.”
Chloe tugged on the piercing in her lip. “I guess we’ll see.”
When Chloe arrived at the studio, Drew and Greer were lounging in the control room. She looked around, confused. “What are you guys doing here so early?”
“Don’t you mean on time?” Drew asked with a laugh.
Chloe smiled. “Exactly.”
“A buddy of ours wanted us to check out a track he recorded, so we came in early to listen.”
“That’s cool,” Chloe said, hopping up on the table. “Was it any good?”
Drew nodded. “We thought it would be dope to have Reid add some vocals. We’re going to see if he’s willing when he gets here.”
Just as Drew finished speaking, Reid appeared in the doorway. Chloe turned to say hello, but the greeting died in her throat when she saw his face. Dark circles shadowed his normally bright eyes. His clothes were rumpled and his hair was a mess. She’d never seen him look quite so disheveled. It was unsettling.
“What’s up, guys?” He addressed the group, but his eyes darted to Chloe, the side of his mouth lifting into a half smile.
“Damn, dude. Have you been on a bender? You look like shit,” Greer commented. Usually, Chloe avoided these types of exchanges between Greer and Reid, but this time she actually wanted to hear the answer.
Reid sighed. “No, I just didn’t get much sleep. Jess flew in yesterday.”
Greer waggled his brows and leered at him. “I see, I see. You were busy.”
Reid threw a cautious glance in Chloe’s direction, but she looked away. She didn’t want to see his face. She didn’t want to think of the reasons he hadn’t slept. It made her feel sick. It made her feel like an awful person for feeling that way at all.
Reid let out a humorless chuckle. “Not in the way you’re thinking.”
“Hey, man,” Drew cut in. “Tony had us listen to a track he recorded earlier. It’s pretty good. We wanted to see if you’d give it a listen and possibly lend some vocals. It won’t take but a minute then we can get started.”
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Drew. “I’d love to hear the song!”
After a moment, Reid nodded. “Yeah, sure.”
“Let’s hit the sound booth. Chloe, I’ll pump the music in here. Cool?”
“Yup.”
She moved to the chair Greer vacated and pulled her knees to her chest, her feet planted on the bottom of the seat. The guys moved into the sound booth, and after a few moments, their voices flooded into the room.
“Can you hear us?” Drew asked.
Chloe gave him a thumbs-up since they couldn’t hear her. The music started playing, and for the first time since talking to Inky that morning, she began to relax. She laughed when Reid smacked Greer’s hand away from one of the controls. They acted more like brothers than either of them would ever admit.
“Those two are something else, huh?”
Chloe jumped in surprise, her head whipping to where Jess stood in the doorway Reid just vacated. “Jess,” Chloe squeaked, her hand flying to her chest. “I didn’t know you were here.”
Jess smiled and moved to the chair next to Chloe. Like Reid, she had dark circles under her eyes and she looked like she hadn’t slept. “I stopped by the bathroom. Too much coffee this morning.”
Unsure of how to respond, Chloe turned back to where Reid, Drew, and Greer were bobbing their heads along to the music, wide smiles on their faces. Chloe couldn’t even hear the music because of the loud ringing in her ears.
Jess sighed and Chloe chanced a look in her direction. She’d expected Jess to be looking at her. Instead, she was focused on the guys in the booth, an unreadable expression on her face. Chloe followed her gaze, content to sit in silence as the guys did their thing. Just as she started to relax again, Jess spoke.
“Are you guys all set for the second half of the tour?”
Chloe let out a shaky laugh. “As ready as anyone can be when they’re about to spend months at a time with Greer.”