Does my well-being mean that much to her?
"Kit." She looks back to me. "Promise, so I don't have to keep looking at you instead of the road."
I don't want to promise anything unless I mean it. I turn over the thought for a moment. It's a good idea, having someone to call.
That person being Piper... not as much.
But I want it to be her. "I promise."
She smiles and turns back to the road. Slowly, her attention shifts to her driving. Then to the music.
When I turn up the music, it only takes one verse for her to drift back to singing.
My thoughts stay stuck to her words. It's been two months on the road. It's been weird. Used to be, I went out every night with Ethan or Joel. We'd drink until we were ready to drop. Or we'd pick up women and part ways.
The last two months, I've spent nearly every night at a show or alone, in my hotel room. Occasionally, Miles, the Sinful Serenade lead singer, made some excuse to hang out. Mostly, we'd watch movies, read, and gossip about all the other guys in the band.
Tours are always weird and isolating, but this was different. It wasn't just my old friends and family I couldn't see. When we were on stage, everything was normal. But after, I didn't feel like a part of the band.
I'm lost in thought. I barely notice the car turning off.
Piper pulls the keys from the ignition and sets her hands in her lap.
She turns to me. "Is my singing really that awful?"
I chuckle. "No, it's soothing."
She shakes her head.
"You're a Mal in training."
She mimics Mal's breathy style as she sings a line of Better Days. "Oh—" She inhales dramatically— "Baby"— she sighs as she exhales— "I know—" She lets out a low grunt— "You know—" she takes a long inhale. "Better days." She laughs as she exhales. "I don't know how he does it so fast."
"It's easier to do if you don't think about it."
She tries again. She lets out a groan. "Oh Baby, I know—" Her voice gets breathy, needy— "you know better days." She takes a slow, deep breath and looks to me. "Better?"
Too much better. I'm used to Mal's voice enough to tune out thoughts of how he sings like he's in the middle of a vigorous fuck. His style is undeniably sexy.
But when it's Piper... god damn, I'm getting hard just thinking about it.
"That bad?" Her voice is light. She's teasing. She looks into my eyes, studying my expression. Her face lights up with realization. She knows it's not bad. She knows why I'm distracted. "Let me try again." She takes another slow breath. This time, she nails the breathy, sexy, I'm in the middle of fucking hard and about to come style. "Oh baby, I know you know better days."
"Fantastic."
She beams. "Thank you. I'll keep practicing for my debut."
"Your debut?"
"Karaoke. Usually, I do Britney, but this will be a lot more fun." Her eyes go to my building's locked door. "You have any stuff in the back?"
"It's on the bus."
"Oh. I guess you'll need to get that sometime."
"Just clothes." I unbuckle my seatbelt, open the door, and step outside. "I have more."
She gets outside too. "Oh, well, I can ask Ethan to grab them, hold onto them for a while."