Page 57 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

Nohen pulled out his own phone, shifted on the seat, and tried to blend into the background as he played a game and responded to a few text messages.

But then Henry’s deep voice broke the silence. “Since we have time to kill before we get to the venue, we should probably go over a few ground rules.”

Oh, man.

Nohen looked up just as Lyric arched a perfectly shaped brow, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Rules?”

“I’ve been on a lot of tours, and having rules and boundaries in place is the most efficient way to make sure there’s no drama between bandmates.”

“Do tell,” Lyric said softly. Dangerously.

Nohen swallowed and hoped she never turned that voice on him. Shifting in his seat, he drifted his gaze from Lyric to Henry, like a tennis match.

“We’re listening,” Emerson called from the bunk room. They’d put the bed back up into a couch, and they’d been lounging in there with the television for a few hours.

“Desi?” Henry questioned expectantly.

She waved a hand in the air. “Listening.”

Henry took a deep breath. “Let’s dive right in. Since this space is shared collectively, I think it’s fair to say that there will be no groupies or fans brought on the bus.”

“Agreed,” Lyric said.

“Got it,” Nohen replied.

“Sure,” Desi murmured halfheartedly.

Two more affirmations came from the back room.

“Don’t go anywhere without a buddy, or at least without letting someone know where. That goes for all of you. I’ve lost a bandmate before, and the panic of trying to find them is not worth it. Communicate, please.” His request came out as a plea.

“Makes sense to me,” Lyric said.

Nohen, Desi, Adra, and Emerson echoed her, and Henry continued.

“No sex on the bus.” Henry laid out the next rule without apology.

No one breathed for a long moment. Nohen was frozen in his seat, afraid any movement would give away his desire to veto the rule.

But it was Lyric who glanced to the other room.

“Henry! I thought you were cool,” Emerson shouted.

“Sorry, guys,” Henry rumbled, not sounding very sorry at all. “But it’s a lot easier to work alongside someone when you don’t know how they sound in the heat of the moment.”

“Borinmph—” Emerson began, but his complaint was muffled, his voice overlapped by Odd’s deep tone of displeasure, though Nohen couldn’t make out the words.

“I can agree to that,” Lyric murmured softly, and glanced away, cheeks flushing.

Nohen nodded mutely. He had a feeling Adra and Emerson could get… intense, and trying to play alongside them while knowing what they sounded like together was just asking for a disaster. No one needed a photograph of him playing on stage with an erection.

And if Lyric ever did become intimate with one of them? Yeah, he could live without that too.

Especially if it wasn’t with him.

“So… when’s the next hotel stop?” Emerson called out.