Page 80 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

“No, that’s okay. I’ll wait until we stop for good this afternoon.” With a pile of clothes in his arms, he turned and made his way back to the shower. The towel only highlighted the bulge between his legs, and Lyric swallowed, averting her gaze before she was caught.

But that glance was enough.

Every word Emerson said the night before rushed through her mind like the heat in her blood.

Adra’s had a crush on you since the beginning.

“I’ll be done in just a minute,” he said, oblivious to her flushing cheeks. “Just gotta get dressed.”

What a shame.

“Okay!” she chirped a little too quickly. He glanced at her for a second longer than she was comfortable with before he closed the door.

“Down girl,” she said to herself when she entered her nest to grab her wallet.

She cursed alphas and abs and dicks and her own horniness all the way from her nest through the bus and the gas station area until she was staring at the selection of candy.

She glared at the empty gummy bear rack.

“Love this for me,” she said aloud with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

Shaking her head, she grabbed an iced coffee drink from the refrigerated section, swiped her card, and joined the others on the bus.

Soon after she got comfy on the couch, Nohen trailed out from the back room with his hands tucked behind his back. The sheepish smile on his face is what got her attention, you know, besides him standing close enough for his knees to bump hers.

He was so cute she couldn’t help but smile.

“Can I help you?” she asked with a quirked brow.

“No, but I got you something,” he announced, and Lyric heard the crinkle of the plastic bag behind his back.

She leaned up, grinning and staring up into his pretty gold eyes. “What’d you get me?”

Nohen pulled his hands from behind his back, showcasing a bag of gummy bears. Lyric gasped and snatched the bag from his fingers before holding them to her chest.

“You must have gotten the last bag! I was so sad they didn’t have any,” she admitted before glancing up. “Thank you.”

Nohen’s tanned cheeks turned pink, and he scratched a hand through his hair. “No problem. They made me think of you.”

Her heart did a silly little flip in her chest, and she did her best to ignore it… and failed. Without thinking, she reached up, grabbed Nohen’s hand, and pulled him down onto the couch with her. She thanked him again and pecked him on the cheek.

“Jeez, you’d think the guy had just proposed or something,” Emerson grumbled across from her arms crossed like a pouting child. She stuck her tongue out at him like a mature adult. Then, like the good little bandmate she was, she split the bag of gummies with Nohen.

Once they’d eaten their way through the little bears, they watched Desi as she compulsively checked her phone for the hundredth time. Adra was seated on the couch to her left, sadly fully clothed, and buried in his phone.

“What’s up?” Lyric asked her.

“Tonight’s the night!” Desi cheered and clapped her hands.

“Is Amber driving up?” Lyric asked and took a seat beside Adra. She curled her legs up crisscross and rested her elbows on her knees, propping her head up and staring at Desi across the bus.

She was impatiently tapping her fingers on her knee.

“Yes. She’s been sending me updates, and I think she might actually beat us to the hotel.” Desi lifted her phone, pressed the side button to view the empty notifications screen, and put it down before lifting it only a few seconds later to repeat the same process.

Lyric’s lips curled up in a smile. “When’s the anniversary again?”

Desi sighed. “Four days from now.”