“I’ve never felt so intimidated in my entire life,” Rush mutters under his breath. “I think I might piss myself.”
We pull more chairs in from other parts of the studio so there’s enough seating for all of us. It certainly gets crowded in the small room, hot too, but no one complains—it’d be suicide when these guys are who they are. Any advice they deem to give us could be invaluable.
Cannon heads back into the booth, and I can tell even the big guy is shaken by the appearance of Willow Creek. Fuck, these guys are our idols—we’ve looked up to them practically our whole lives—admired their music, their drive, everything.
The room is quiet while Cannon plays, I think the three of us are afraid to speak—plus if we do speak, Mathias is likely to kill us with a glance. The guy has this deadly edge to him. He’s the complete opposite of his identical twin who bounces in his seat like he couldn’t keep still if his life depended on it.
Having the guys there definitely makes for an interesting recording session—we screw up more than usual but listen carefully to their advice. After all, having all four guys in the room is a rarity we have to appreciate. Even Mathias grunts some advice to me about controlling my pitch so I don’t overdo it and strain my vocal cords.
I don’t even realize how late it’s become until Mia shows up with Kira, both dressed casually for our evening out. I have no idea what my friends have planned—they refused to tell me. They didn’t want me to spill the beans to Mia.
“Hey, Dad,” Mia chimes, bending to kiss Hayes on the cheek. She then greets the other three guys with hugs and hellos.
“So you found a place?” Hayes asks her. “I got the pictures you sent, it looks nice.”
“Yep.” She nods stepping aside and shoving her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. I know her well enough to see it’s a nervous gesture. “I put the deposit down. All that’s left is to get some furniture and move in.” She lets out a breath. I know a part of her is still questioning whether she’s doing the right thing by getting a place of her own. In the end she’ll see it’s for the best. She’s been stretching herself too thin for too long driving back and forth—I admire her love for her family that kept her staying an hour away.
“We’ll get it taken care of,” her dad assures her in a calming tone. “What are you doing here, Kira?” he asks Mia’s dark-haired friend.
“Mia and I are hanging out tonight,” she tells him, pointedly leaving out the part where the four of us are involved as well.
“Ah, well have fun. Don’t get in too much trouble,” he warns Mia with a laugh.
“Never do,” she laughs back, but then her eyes meet mine and I swear she winks.
I nearly groan as my mind flies back to the details of this morning. It was all I could think about until Maddox, Mathias, and Ezra showed up distracting me.
Time feels like it’s passing in slow motion as we wrap up and head out. The girls pile into Mia’s car and head off—the plan is for them to circle back to the hotel’s parking garage. That way we can all ride together, but with her dad and the others lingering around we have to make it look like we’re not hanging out.
The guys and I walk down the sidewalk toward the hotel. For some odd reason I feel nervous—it’s dumb, I’ve hung out with Mia plenty and this is hardly a date.
I don’t understand how this one girl has me entirely unwound, but it’s not an entirely unpleasant feeling.
The guys and I stroll into the garage and find the girls waiting for us, leaning against Mia’s little red car.
Rush goes up to Kira, putting his hands on her ass and pulling her into an X-rated kiss.
Mia shakes her head, laughter playing on her lips as she looks at me. I fight a smile, questioning whether I should go up to her or stay where I am. I’m not good at this part. I’ve never done this part before.
“Don’t be a dick, man,” Cannon mutters, pushing me forward. I nearly stumble over my own two feet like a moron.
Recovering, I stride up to Mia.
She tilts her head back to look up at me. “Any hint as to what we’re up to yet?”
“None,” I sigh.
“All I can say is if there are strippers involved, I’m out.” She holds up her hands, laughter in her eyes.
“I doubt there are strippers.”
She raises a brow.
?
??Okay, there’s a chance there are strippers.”
She laughs, shaking her head, and I don’t know whether to love or hate the way her laugh makes me feel.