1
Kyra laughed as she danced in a circle, wiggling her ass and pumping her fist.“Can you believe that happened?I’m so fucking happy for them.”
Beside her, Ollie grinned, showing off his bright white, if slightly crooked teeth.She loved his smile.It was so much like the rest of him—full of personality, inspiring joy.
Her friend and boss, Kason Cox, had just professed his undying love for Ollie’s two friends, Wren and Jordan, in front of tens of thousands of fans who’d attended their concert.He’d been nervous as fuck to publicly debut the love song he’d written for his lovers.The energy that had radiated from the mostly supportive crowd had blown him, and Kyra, away.It had been the most important performance of her drumming career and she wasn’t ashamed to admit they’d nailed it.
“It was awesome.They deserve this.”Ollie sighed, then joked, “I guess this makes us like friends-in-laws or something now.”
“Yeah, it does.”Kyra grinned and fist bumped him.Seeing more of Ollie would be fine by her.She’d gotten used to his quirky sense of humor and his quiet loyalty and, sure, the way he flirted with her every chance he got.Plus his pet hedgehog, Mr.Prickles, was seriously adorable.
From the instant she’d met Ollie at a party thrown by their mutual friends, he’d made her feel welcome and…wanted.
Which was something Kyra hadn’t experienced in long enough that she’d nearly forgotten how it could make her heart race and her whole day brighten.
True, crowds roared every night she spent on tour.But they were pretty much in love with Kason, who was the front man and the artist behind most of their music.Hell, half the people who bought a ticket to see her play probably didn’t even know her name.The way Ollie made her feel was more personal than a stranger’s adoration could ever be.
She cleared her throat.In the wake of the profound sincerity Kason had displayed on stage, she realized she owed Ollie at least a glimpse of her gratitude.“You know, meeting you guys at Hot Rides has changed our lives for the better.Not only Kason’s, but mine too.”
“How so?”Ollie leaned his shoulders up against the exterior wall of the stadium and propped one foot flat on the cinder blocks.Was he really that casual or simply pretending as hard as she was?
“Being around you guys and the shop has reminded me of the rest of my dreams outside of being a fulltime musician.You know, the ones about friends and family and forevers.The really important stuff in life.So, thank you for that.”She stood beside him so she didn’t have to look directly into his eyes as she bared her soul.Kyra was only so brave, after all.
When Ollie reached across the gap between them and held her hand, she squeaked.
The connection and the warmth flowing through it gave her the courage to continue.Talking to him was easy, especially compared to Van, the last guy she’d had feelings for.He made sharing nearly impossible with his stony demeanor and cool indifference.Ollie was so different, and so approachable—she owed it to him to stop hiding her emotions, as she’d gotten used to doing around Van, Kason, and the rest of the guys in the band.
“I’m serious.It means a lot to me.Youmean a lot to me.We haven’t known each other that long, but I already consider you a great friend.So I hope it’s okay if I say, I see how you keep yourself apart from the rest of the Hot Rides sometimes and their extended family.You shouldn’t.You deserve those things too.”
“I didn’t know you were a romantic at heart.”Ollie said, giving her an oddly intense look out of the corner of his eye.
She filled her lungs with cool night air, thankful for the chill that helped her stop sweating her ass off.It was both one of the hazards and perks of her job.She burned enough calories during each performance that if she wanted, and she usually did, she could splurge on an enormous ice cream sundae at each after-party without ever putting on a pound.
But sometimes, like now, it was hella inconvenient.Because Ollie kept edging closer and closer.
Kyra prayed she didn’t stink.
“Want to know a secret?”he murmured as he leaned in, his shoulder-length wavy hair spilling over his shoulders as he braced a palm on the cinderblock building behind her and encroached on her personal space.
Not that she minded.
Kyra nodded.“Uh huh.”
“I am too.”And there it was.That flash of promise between them.No matter how many times they’d ignored it before, tonight—with love in the air and adrenaline running high after the show—there wasn’t going to be any shutting their chemistry down.
She lifted her face toward his.
Ollie didn’t disappoint.Unlikesomepeople—ahem, Van, whom she was definitely not thinking about right then—Ollie didn’t tease.He brushed his lips against hers while staring straight into her eyes.When she didn’t object, he deepened their contact, sipping from her mouth with delicate, playful nibbles she absolutely would have expected from him.
Happiness and freedom rose like sparkling champagne bubbles within her.It had been so long since she’d felt like this.It brightened her like a ray of sunlight erasing a shadow from the corner of a garden.The sensation was pleasant, if not riveting.Yet.
Kyra speared her fingers into Ollie’s hair, loving the way the thick waves filled her hands.She deepened the kiss, boosting that single shaft of sunshine into the equivalent of a blazing summer noon within her.
After a few more seconds spent soaking in the bliss he was imparting, she grabbed his shoulders and turned so she sandwiched him between her and the wall.If he wanted to get away, he could easily shove her aside.Again, unlike Van, Ollie didn’t.
Nor did he wrench his lips from hers to declare the exchange amistake.
So she leaned into him, intensifying their exchange again.