“Thank you for watching out for our girl. Come on, I’ll introduce you to the others.” She slings an arm over Indi’s shoulders like they’ve been friends forever and drags her inside the green room.
I move to follow them, but Mac stops me with a hand on the shoulder. I turn to face him, and he looks me over like the over protective papa bear he is. He watches me closely while I stand for inspection, cocking an eyebrow at him. “Are you going to be okay being here tonight?”
I nod at him, acting like there isn’t an open wound in my chest and I’m not bleeding out all over the floor. “Yes. Tonight isn’t about me. I’ll be fine.”
He gets my hint and nods wordlessly. I’m glad. I don’t want him to prod because it won’t take much to bring down the carefully constructed walls I put into place to deal with being here tonight. He lets me go into the green room, and Indi is grinning like a cat who got the cream as P snaps pictures of her with the girls. I lean against the doorframe, letting her have her moment with them before they spot me.
She looks so fucking happy, and I’m not going to take that from her. Then Jenna grabs her acoustic and starts playing a ballad version of one of their most popular songs. Indi drops onto the sofa with P, absolutely rapt. It’s kind of adorable.
Selena heads over to me and pulls me into her arms wordlessly. To look at her, you’d never think she was the mom of the group. She’s absolutely covered head to toe in ink, her eyeliner’s thick as fuck, and her blunt black bangs frames her face in a way that almost makes her look like an intimidating badass. But she’s one of the softest, cuddliest humans I’ve ever met in my life.
She lets me go, asking me with a look if I’m good, so I nod and sway with her as Jenna sings. Indi doesn’t take her eyes from Jenna as she plays. The song comes to close as a girl I don’t recognize enters the room, clipboard in hand. “Time to go, ladies!”
“Let’s do this!” Emmy, the bassist shouts, and a whoop goes up around the room. “You going to come hang with us later?”
I look at Indi, who looks fully starstruck, so I answer Emmy myself. “You bet your ass we are.”
“Yes, bitch!” Jenna high fives me as she passes me. “Enjoy the show, Indi!”
They leave us with P, and Mac follows them, ever on guard. “You ready to go watch?”
“I don’t think my legs are working,” Indi says, the awe in her voice evident.
“Want to watch from backstage?” P asks, and I love him a little more in that moment. Watching without the crush of the crowd is absolutely my favorite way to gig, but I look to Indi because this is up to her.
She nods, and she finally jumps to her feet. “Lead the way, maestro!”
Chapter Seventeen
“Morning, sunshine!” Indi bounces onto my bed, and I groan, rolling over. The sun spills into the room through the open windows, and I pull the duvet over my head. We stayed out way later last night than I’ve stayed out in forever, and I definitely forgot how much roadies drink. I never used to partake; but when Jenna and the girls invited us out with them, and the crew came too, I decided to let loose. Indi was there with me, shot for shot, so I have no idea how she’s exuding her usual dose of sunshine like she is, but I am so not ready for it right now.
“Oh come on, grump. The sun is shining, the views are beautiful, and yesterday was possibly the best day of my life!” She literally bounces on the bed, singing her words. It’s a little bit annoying, but it still draws a smile out of me. I peek out from the sheets to find her grinning down at me. “I have coffee coming.”
“Thank fuck,” I groan as I squint through the blazing sunlight. My head pounds, and I almost want to just crawl under the covers again. “I’m glad you had so much fun.”
“Are you kidding me? After my little meltdown over meeting the girls, I thought I was toast. But everyone was so nice, and watching the show from backstage was fucking epic! Then going out after and being treated like a freaking goddess… What about that isn’t something I’d love? Best. Night. Ever!” Her joy is infectious, and my hangover ebbs a little.
I climb out of the sheets and sit up in bed, basking in her joy as she scrambles over me and jumps under the covers beside me. She rests her head on my shoulder, and I lean my head against hers, resting with narrowed eyes until a knock on the door jolts us into action. I climb from the bed in my tank and boy shorts, sorting out the tray of room service she ordered for us. I groan as I lift the plate lids and piles of bacon and eggs stare up at me. She walks into the main room of the suite and grins while I drool over the food and coffee. “You are a goddess.”
“I know.” She grins before coming to sit with me at the small dining table. We spread the plates out and pick at the food in a comfortable silence as music plays softly in the background. It doesn’t take us long to inhale the food and coffee, and once we’re done, I feel like I could sleep for an eternity again, but I don’t want to waste the time we have on our trip.
“What do you want to do today before we head home?” I ask, and she almost looks shocked.
“We’re not going straight home?” she asks, and I shake my head, finishing the dregs of my coffee.
“No, I figured we could chill here for most of the day and head home later, but if you want to go straight home, we can. It’s your birthday, and the world is your oyster.”
She claps her hands together and does a little dance in her chair, and I can’t help but grin at the sheer amount of joy bottled inside of one very small human. “Zoo! I want to go to the zoo so bad, and then maybe we can go snorkeling at La Jolla? Can we do both? Do we have time?”
“We can do whatever you want.” I grin, basking in the glow of joy she’s emitting. “So if you wanna do both, we can totally do both.”
“Yes!” She jumps to her feet and continues her wiggling happy dance. “I’m going to get ready. I am too excited.”
She bounces all the way to the bathroom, and I laugh, pouring myself another cup of coffee. Pulling up the San Diego zoo website on my phone, I buy us two all inclusive passes before looking for a snorkeling company in La Jolla. My dad always made a big deal out of birthdays, and it’s the one tradition I’m determined to continue.
By the time she’s done in the shower, I have everything booked that she asked for, and then jump in the bathroom to get ready myself. I wash off the grime from last night. As much fun as gigs are, they’re totally gross. I hate myself a little for not showering before I passed out last night.
It takes a little longer than I’d like to get myself ready for the day, the sluggishness from last night slowing me down. By the time I’m washed and dressed, Indi has our bags packed and the room straightened up.