Page 23 of The Rogues

“Still, I should have known she wasn’t a good person.”

My lips flatten. “There’s a good person in there somewhere, Cy.”

“Yeah, maybe. Beneath all of the stimulants and narcotics,” he grumbles.

The bus is bigger than our last one, and a lot more luxurious. The walls and floor are a beautiful red and velvety to the touch, and our bed slots are at least a few inches wider than our last ones. There’s a full pullout table before the tiny kitchen and built-in appliances, and the further back you go, the more homey it feels as it opens up into a bedroom with a full bed with black pillows and layered sheets.

“Oh my god,” I say after falling onto the bed, the mattress sinking below me. “It’s so fucking soft.”

“Yeah, there’s definitely been an upgrade,” Remi says as he comes up behind Cyrus.

Jamie and Malaki stroll up a second later. They give each other conspiratorial glances before hopping on the bed with me, laughing at the way the mattress bounces them back in the air before settling. I take a pillow and hit Malaki in the face, earning myself a playful groan.

“Looks like they wanted us to travel in style,” Jamie comments. “I mean, velvet walls? What a rock star way to roll out.”

Cyrus grins. “It’s probably easier to last all nine months when you’re living somewhere comfortable.”

“Not to mention, Vicious Velvet has a much bigger budget than we do. I’m sure they tried to at least even it out when it came to the buses.”

Silence falls over us at the mention of our supposed rivals, and Jamie turns toward me with a curious look.

“I saw that you met her.” He doesn’t specify who he’s talking about because I already know. We all know.

“Yeah,” I respond, my hand still tingling from the contact between our skin. “She’s… gosh, she’s everything.”

Nervous energy crackles in the air, but there’s something buoyant floating around us, too. Something hopeful as everyone’s faces betray their deepest worries, and their lips tilt at my words.

“Yeah, she is,” Remi agrees before turning to our prime. “How are you feeling, Cy?”

Cyrus is silent, almost broody. He hasn’t been very vocal about the situation. I think he is really taking this new development to heart, especially with all the obstacles we’ll have to jump over for things to go smoothly.

“I’m feeling mixed emotions,” he says earnestly. “I feel bad about the predicament this leaves us in. Instead of us being able to normally feel this out, there are perimeters we have to be wary of.”

“Because the entire world thinks you dated her best friend,” Malaki points out, sucking the air from the room.

Yeah, that’s definitely not going to make pursuing this any easier.

“Exactly. And Josie deserves better. I mean, everyone dreams of that scent match moment, right? And she was stuck with this complicated, convoluted situation instead of what she deserved, which is an instant ‘fuck everything else, we’re doing this’ situation.”

“We can still give her that,” Jamie rationalizes. “And we don’t know exactly how she feels about it, so maybe we should wait to see how she feels before falling into the rut of it. We should be ecstatic.”

“I certainly am,” I say, staring at my hand.

“We can feel several things at once,” Remi points out. “Obviously, we all feel a connection toward her. We can feel those beautiful initial feelings and also recognize that the situation is shitty.”

“Our team can’t know,” Cyrus says, his tone leaving no room for discussion. “If they knew, they would use it. They’d want to get on top of it, and Josie deserves a chance to say how she feels and to figure out how we proceed.”

“So, we’re going to keep it from everyone besides each other?” Malaki asks.

“Yes.” He nods his head, the conclusion solidifying further in his mind. “We have to keep this quiet for now. We need time to do this properly. To court her, without any influence or outside expectation. She deserves that. Just because she’s one of the most famous guitar players in the world doesn’t mean she should have her world turned upside down by force.”

We all nod in agreement, the anxiousness settling the tiniest bit. Then the door to our bus opens and in walks Mac, our tour manager Izzy trailing behind him. “It’s time to head off, boys. We’ll see you at the next stop.”

“Thanks, Mac,” Cyrus replies, and we all get a wave from Iz. When they’re off, the bus starts in an electric roar that sends shocks of energy all the way to my toes. We’re really doing this, leaving Los Angeles behind and spending the foreseeable future on this bus.

And there’s no one else I would ever want to experience this with.

“So…” Malaki starts as the bus takes off, mischievousness gleaming in his eyes. “What courting gesture should we try first?”