whatever ration of crap the guys might have given us, they saved for when I was out of earshot. Or maybe they were as relieved as I was.
For the first time in what seemed like weeks, it felt right. Bumps and bruises aside. I’d slept without a single nightmare.
Who knew that breaking Sharon’s nose could be therapeutic?
When I made the mistake of mentioning it aloud, laughter followed me along with Jake promising that if I wanted to keep belting people, he wanted to make sure I had the right technique. Coop rolled his eyes and insisted I knew exactly what I was doing. I didn’t need any lessons, even if Ian looked thoughtful and Archie suggested a bodyguard. That launched Ian and Jake both into insisting they would be more than happy to guard my body.
It was kind of adorable.
The cherry was when Rachel texted me that a new Torched single had been released. I paused long enough to download it. In the car, Archie synced my phone up to let it play, and I was singing along with it before we hit the first chorus. It was a cover, but Torched did that. They covered a couple of popular songs to tease a new album, then the album would drop and I almost always loved every single song on it.
The girl group had a great rhythm, and I loved their melodies. Even more, I loved their lead singer because she had my kind of voice. Sometimes raspy. Sometimes not. I could dream of having her range.
“We should check their tour schedule,” Archie said as the song looped to play again and he nudged the volume down a little.
“The last time they were near here, the tickets were astronomical.” I’d been desperate to go. They’d actually been on tour over the summer. I sighed.
“So?” he said. “You love them, and it would be a blast.”
I chuckled. “It would be amazing, but they’ve already been here. They’re probably in Europe. The new album is gonna drop right around Christmas.” At least, that was the rumor. Torched never advertised when they planned their releases. They just dropped them.
Like this morning’s cover.
“So, we’ll check it out. Who else do you want to see?” Archie eyed me as we pulled into the parking lot.
“Uh uh,” I told him with a shake of my head.
“Aww…c’mon, you can tell me. I know Broadway is on that list somewhere. Top three shows you want to see.”
“Nope.” I mimed zipping my lips. “You’re already spending a fortune on me.”
He grunted as he pulled into his parking spot. “I have no problems with a challenge.”
I snorted. That was one way of putting it.
“Hey,” he said as he released my seatbelt. I bit my lip as he leaned in close. “You good?”
“Yeah,” I told him. The concern wrapped in affection in his eyes made me want to tell him anything he wanted to know.
“Good,” he whispered. “Before we’re officially out of the car and on school property though…” He nuzzled a kiss to the corner of my lips, cupping my face with one hand and then deepening it slowly as he teased my tongue with his. It was enough to leave me panting and overheated. Nose still brushing mine, he whispered, “You like dance shows, too, right?” The soft whisper made me laugh.
“You think you can just kiss the answers out of me?”
“Maybe,” he said with a grin. “Sure is fun to try.”
A knock on the passenger window made me jump, and he scowled over my shoulder.
“To be continued,” he said as he leaned back, and I glanced over to find Rachel grinning like the cat who caught the mouse and the canary. She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I groaned.
“Morning, Rach,” I greeted her as I stepped out.
“Morning, hot lips,” she grinned. “PDAs back on the menu?”
“No,” Archie scolded. “Leave her alone.”
“Pfft,” she grinned and flicked her fingers at him before looping her arm through my left. “So,” she continued as we headed toward the school. Coop was already loping toward us from where he’d parked. “Mitch was officially arrested and charged over the weekend after he woke up in the hospital. He also has a broken arm to go with his broken jaw.”
I didn’t gape, but holy shit.
“Also…” She paused for dramatic effect, as though waiting for Coop to catch up to us before continuing. “He’s been expelled. There was an emergency meeting yesterday. Half of the football team is on probation and suspended, but Mitch was