“What are you working on? Chloe asked, easing onto the seat next to Reid.
He looked up and smiled. “Just some new stuff. I’ve missed this so much. Although, right now, I’m ready to toss this thing out the window,” he groaned, lifting the notebook in front of him.
“I knew you’d find your words, Padawan.” Chloe tugged on her lip piercing and lifted her brows, her expression hopeful. “Maybe I could help? It could be fun.”
Reid looked from his notebook to Chloe. “Just, uh, it’s just on this page, okay?”
Chloe pulled the notebook from his hands with a devious smile. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to keep me from seeing something you’ve written.”
Reid laughed. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. Don’t make me enlist Inky’s help in getting back at you if you read something you’re not supposed to.”
Chloe looked at Inky, who was smirking over the top of her magazine. “Don’t forget what we did to Greer last week.”
Chloe rolled her eyes, unable to stop the shudder that ran down her back. “You guys were wrong for that.” Chloe glanced at her own sock-covered feet and grimaced. “I wonder if the hair has started to grow back.”
Inky shrugged. “Do you see any socks lying around? Smell them? Because that’s all that really matters.”
“That’s because he’s pouting on the other bus!” Chloe laughed when she saw the disbelieving look on Reid’s face. “Okay, fine. He’s banging one of the girls with the other band. But I’m sure there’s some pouting happening as well.”
“I did warn him,” Reid pointed out.
Chloe nodded. It had been three weeks since their show in San Francisco, and for whatever reason, Greer had turned into a slob. Every time Chloe turned around, there was a shirt, pants, or a foul-smelling pair of socks lying around the bus. Knowing Greer’s laundry ritual, Chloe steered clear.
When Inky found a pair of Greer’s socks on the counter next to her sandwich, she lost it. The next thing Chloe knew, Inky and Reid had snuck to Greer’s bunk while he was sleeping and emptied a bottle of superglue onto his sock-covered feet. To say he was pissed when he ended up yanking the hair off his ankles and feet to remove the material would be an understatement. On the bright side, like Inky said, he hadn’t done it again.
Chloe worried their little stunt would cause the tension to resurface between Reid and Greer, but that wasn’t the case. Reid explained that until the tour in Europe, Greer had always been a slob. Chloe wondered why he’d acted so differently. She couldn’t be sure if it was her presence, or the beef between him and Reid. This time, however, everything was different. Better. Especially for Chloe. Bringing her thoughts back to the present, she looked at the notebook in front of her. As she read the words, a tightness formed in her chest. She didn’t have to ask who the song was about; it was crystal clear.
Seventeen, chasing a dream, looking for that perfect scene
Bulletproof and on the run, all she wants is a little fun
Slow down, girl, don’t move so fast just to become a part of the past.
Cocaine high she chose to fly, now she’s the tears in her mother’s eyes.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Reid slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. He stared out the window for a moment before dropping his eyes to the page. “Yeah,” he said with a nod. “I feel like I need to. So she’s never forgotten. A warning, you know?”
Chloe leaned her head against his chest and sighed. She loved the freedom of being with him the way she’d thought about for months. “I think that’s a really great idea,” she murmured. “Are you going to name the song after her?”
Reid nodded and grabbed the pen off the table. Across the top of the page, he wrote the name Francine. Chloe didn’t know what help, if any, she could give him for such a personal song, but the fact that he wanted her to be a part of it meant the world to her. “How are you doing with everything? I know how different it can be touring here versus overseas.”
“It’s not always easy,” Reid answered with a shrug. “Some days are harder than others. Some cities are harder than others. The ones I’ve visited a lot are the hardest. People know me. They know what I used to do. I can’t even be pissed when they offer me shit. It’s not like I walk around with a sign that says ‘Don’t offer me drugs.’”
Chloe turned her cheek into his chest and wrapped her arm around his waist. “You know I’m here if you need my help.”
Reid smiled and pressed his lips to the top of her head. “You help just by being here.”
With an exhale, Chloe twisted her head and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Good. You wanna work on this song?”
“I do. I have some others too.”
Chloe grinned. “Oh yeah? So do I.”