Page 35 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Lyric grinned, her hand dropping to hover over her back pocket. She was tempted to pull out her phone and show them the mock-up she’d designed, but thought better of it.

“I do,” she replied instead, placing her hand back on the table. The surprise on their faces when they got a look at the stage setup would—hopefully—be too good to spoil.

“Well? Describe it,” Nohen said eagerly.

“Nope,” Lyric answered, popping the ‘p’ and leaning back in her seat. “I’d rather you guys wait and see it in person. It’s going to be… ethereal.”

“I fucking love that word,” Desi sighed. “Now I have all these ideas in my head. Are you really going to make me wait?” she asked with a pout.

“I am. But you’re all going to love it.”

Even Emerson, who apparently hated to be in the spotlight, would love the stage design.

Just the memory of the mock-up made her heart pound, but she swallowed down the buzz, along with another sip of her drink.

“What about you guys?” she inquired, and glanced at the other three.

Adra’s personality had peeked out a bit more earlier, and Lyric wondered just how many beverages it would take to reveal even more.

“I’m just happy to make music,” he said, his voice deep and rumbly as he sipped from amber liquid in a glass.

Emerson rolled his eyes. “Of course he’d say that. But I bet he’s just as excited as I am to get out on the road. Even if we are cramped in a bus together, it’ll be great to see a different city for a while.”

“Cities,” Nohen corrected. “And we won’t get to see much of them besides the venue and maybe the nearest restaurant.”

Nohen glanced to her, his golden eyes shining in the fairy lights. “Do you know what cities we’ll be in on off days?”

Lyric shrugged. “No, not yet. Andi is still finalizing everything before she gives me a schedule.”

Not that I’ll be very good at keeping up with it.

Lyric barely kept up with her schedule as it was now. Her mind was always elsewhere, and she doubted that would suddenly change in the chaos of tour. One would think, as a perfectionist, she’d be excellent at keeping her schedule straight, but in reality, she was too focused on perfecting ten things at once to think about the bigger picture.

But then again, maybe tour would be good for her. Nothing to focus on but the next city, the next performance.

“Andi’s the tour manager, right?” Emerson asked.

Lyric nodded before he finished the question. “Yes. I know it’s odd, but I wouldn’t budge on it. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“You guys seem close,” Desi commented with a grin.

“We are.” Lyric nodded, but then read into her sly smile. “Not like that!” She laughed and waved her hand out. “Andi is happily married to her career, and I’m content as I am. Not everyone can be as cute as you and Amber,” she teased, and motioned to the fairy lights. “I mean, fairy lights on the first date? You can’t beat that.”

Desi sighed contentedly. “I know, right?” She tapped her cheek, her smile slowly fading. “I think that’ll be the hardest part about tour. Being away for so long. After living together for the better part of a year, this will be the longest we’ve gone without seeing each other.”

Lyric frowned as Desi sipped her drink. “If you want, I can guest list her for the nearest shows? Or if she wants to drive and meet you, I can guest list her for anywhere. Well, actually, as part of the band, you can guest list whoever the hell you want.”

Desi grinned. “Really? I wanted to ask, but…” She shrugged. “Didn’t want you to think I was trying to take advantage of the perks already.”

“Perks?” Lyric asked, and cocked her head to the side.

Desi flushed and took another drink, mumbling a reply she didn’t catch.

Emerson chuckled and explained from across the table. “I think she means it’s like getting hired for a job and immediately asking about the benefits.”

“Oh,” Lyric said, dragging out the word as the lightbulb went off. “Don’t worry about it. I hope she can come.”

Desi waggled her brows. “Me too.”