Page 117 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

She huffed. “Or it’s cause I’m the cutest and most pleasant host ever!”

Knowing better than to argue, Javier hummed in response, calculating the drive back. They weren’t that far, just three hours. He’d driven longer for catering orders, though it was rare.

Murmuring in the background came through the line, and his sister mumbled a response before catching his attention. “Okay, hermanito, I’ll continue dreaming of the day you meet an omega of your own, since Lyric didn’t work out.”

Javier ground his teeth together. “Stop that, it’s disrespectful.”

“No it’s not. What’s so bad about me wanting your crush to work out? She’s a customer. It could still happen. Maybe after tour she’ll come eat again.”

His phone screen lit up again with another call, and his heart stopped. “Emma, I have another call, I gotta go.”

“Alright, drive safe! Adios!”

“Te amo, Em.”

He quickly switched the call and cleared his throat. “Javier Rivera here.”

“Javier! It’s Henry, Lyric’s tour manager.”

As if Javier didn’t have his number proudly saved in his phone. “Hello! I hope things are well?”

Had he made a mistake with the food? Did someone complain?

“Very well actually. I was wondering… could you run me a quote for catering the rest of tour? It comes out to about three weeks, we can discuss it more in detail when you have time, but I wanted to reach out before you got too far away from our next destination.”

His heart tripped over its rhythm before doubling to catch up.

“The whole tour? Every night?” he asked breathlessly.

“Yes, assuming you could make it work. You can make your own schedule, just let us know what works for you.”

“I can’t give an exact quote at the moment, let me get back to you in just a bit.” Javier directed his truck to the nearest exit, aiming for a lot to park in while he did the math.

“Alright, look forward to hearing from you.”

“Can I ask why you’re looking to hire for the rest of the tour?”

Henry chuckled, a warm sound that made Javier think of fond memories of home. “It’s simple. Lyric liked you. Talk soon.”

The call clicked off before Javier could respond. It took a moment before the words fully registered, but when they did, his lips curled up into a wide grin.

Maybe Emma’s daydream would come true a little sooner than she expected.

Lyric jolted awake with a snap, blinking into the soft glow of light through the curtains in her nest. The sun wasn’t even up yet, so why was she?

She listened carefully, but no sounds reached her, at least not anything past the rumble of the road. She hadn’t slept well, anxiety chasing her through her dreams, her feet unable to move fast enough to avoid it.

But this time she couldn’t say her restlessness was from the suppressants. At least not directly.

Henry.

He was always the first one up.

And she needed to talk to him.

Lyric sat up, scrambled out of bed, and pulled on a pair of leggings. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she carefully opened the door to her nest and snuck through the bunk area. The others were sleeping peacefully, a soft snore drifting from Adra’s bunk that made her lips twitch.

Her smile fell as she opened the bunk door into the main room. Henry glanced up as she entered, and he tilted his mug at her.