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Skylar looked over at Elena, sympathy in her eyes. She was clearly as caught off guard by Erica’s questioning as Elena was. Yet again, the boys were all oblivious to what was happening right in front of them.
“What about you, Skylar? Are you dating anyone?”
At least that was a question Elena was also interested in. It was also one she should have probably clarified before she kissed Skylar. But alas, there was no going back now.
“No, I’m not. I have a dog, Atlas, and I run the record store with my dad and teach music lessons, so that’s about all I have time for.”
“But apparently, you have time to sing with Elena at the bar.”
That seemed to gain the attention of Michael, Gordon, and Andy. They all looked at Skylar and Elena, waiting for answers. Elena looked at Skylar, and it was clear neither of them knew what to say. Obviously, Erica was referencing the night at Straight to Ale. She knew the Moonflower Cove Gazette had written an article about it, but she hadn’t heard of it going further than that. Suddenly she was worried that she had missed yet another tabloid piece that disclosed her personal life.
“Yeah, the crowd loved it.” Skylar was leaning slightly only on the table, showing Erica that she wasn’t backing down from her insinuations. “It proved to me that the tour is going to be a huge event. People still like to hear Elena and me sing, and I’m sure they’ll really love it when the whole band is playing together again. So, we should probably focus on that instead of anything else. Right, Erica?”
Erica was clearly taken aback by Skylar’s forcefulness. It was all that the group needed to shift the focus back to the band. They began to brainstorm about what songs they all wanted to play and in what order. Elena was keeping track of everything on her phone’s notes app.
Under the table, she felt Skylar place her hand on her knee. She gave it a gentle squeeze, and Elena appreciated the small gesture more than she could express. Skylar knew her; she knew when she was upset, and clearly, Erica’s questioning had annoyed her. Elena turned her head slightly toward Skylar and smiled.
This tour was going to be interesting.
Chapter 8
Skylar
If dinner had been any indication, the tour was going to be super interesting. The funny part was the band’s dynamic hadn’t changed a bit in the last nine years. Michael, Gordon, and Andy were still the three stooges who were oblivious to everything, while Erica picked up on every glance between Elena and Skylar. They would have to be careful around Erica. Hell, Skylar had to be careful around Elena.
The feelings she had sworn never to have again instantly came bubbling up the moment Elena opened the front door to her fancy house. Elena’s red blouse and tight black pants had been a sight for sore eyes. Despite having only been a few weeks since Skylar last saw her, she couldn’t help but smile at the memory of Elena opening that front door.
Skylar had chosen to come in early without warning to hopefully ease any awkwardness there might have been after their few days in the Cove together. Although they had only kissed once, there was a moment at the lake when Skylar wanted to kiss Elena more than she wanted her next breath. She restrained herself, mostly because Atlas interrupted the moment, but Skylar had been thinking of Elena’s lips ever since then.
And now she was following Elena down the stairs to a spare bedroom she’d call home for the next few weeks.
Elena’s house was simultaneously exactly and nothing what she’d expected. It was expertly decorated with designer furniture and artwork. There were no personal details in the house aside from the occasional glimpse of Leo, the tabby cat, as he lurked about. Skylar assumed the pictures on the fireplace mantle were ones of Elena’s family, but she hadn’t gotten close enough to look at them yet.
The lower floor, however, was an entirely different story. Skylar didn’t think it could be classified as a basement as there were large floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the ocean. Most of the lower floor was open, with two doors on the opposite wall as the staircase they were ascending. A comfy couch and recliner sat facing a TV in the corner of the room. There was even a mini kitchen.
But the thing that caught Skylar’s attention the most was that each wall was covered in Maine Event memorabilia. Skylar wasn’t sure if she should comment on it. A part of her felt weird knowing Elena had pictures of them on tour all over her house. Did she ever look at them and miss Skylar? Did she ever think about calling her when she looked at the albums they’d written together?
Skylar wasn’t sure she wanted the answers.
“There’s a recording studio over there.” Elena pointed to a closed door under the stairs. “It’s not big, but I think it’ll work for rehearsals. Johnny is securing us a large studio to practice in once we get our songs down again.”
“That sounds great.”
“And your bedroom is over here.”
Skylar followed her across the room to the bedroom door. As Elena opened it, Skylar noticed one of the framed photos on the wall. It was of them singing their heart out on tour. They were sharing the same microphone, their lips mere millimeters away from each other. Somehow, they always seemed to end up like that while performing live. A part of Skylar wondered if that chemistry would still be there on this tour.
She wasn’t sure she could handle it either way.
“It’s not much either.” Elena shrugged as she opened the door. Following her inside, Skylar put her luggage by the bed and looked around the room. “It has all you’ll need, I think, and there’s a bathroom attached to it. I keep it stocked for guests, so you’re welcome to anything that’s in there. Clean towels are under the sink, along with extra toilet paper. If you need anything else, just let me know, and I can Instacart it for you.”
“You sound so fancy.”
“You don’t Instacart your stuff?” She looked genuinely confused as if going to the store was so far removed from her mind now she forgot people still did it.
“No, I generally just go to the store.”
Elena laughed nervously. Skylar could tell it was a nervous laugh because it was higher pitched than her normal laugh. “I guess I forget not everyone wants to keep people from seeing them out in public.”
