friends. What was life like for Adam in his regular environment? Did his neighbors all know him? Could he walk down the street without being harassed or did he keep to himself mostly?
“You’re awfully quiet.” Shane’s gait had settled into a leisurely stroll, his hands jammed in his pockets, his Converse sneakers gliding along.
“Just processing.”
“You’re an introvert, aren’t you?”
Was I? I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear, self-conscious of his attention. “I’m not really used to being around people. Especially not famous people. It’s a lot to take in.”
“It is. I can’t speak to being around people in general, but you’ll get used to Adam and Eden. They’re not arrogant about the fame, but they’re realistic.”
“Realistic? You mean, like how they straight up asked me if my mind was blown?”
“Imagine that they have to deal with that reaction from every single new person they meet.” He shook his head. “Micah, too. It could make anyone get a swelled ego. They work hard to keep things normal at all times.”
“What about you?” I elbowed him. “Don’t you have to deal with it?”
“Me?” He chuckled. “I have to show my ID when we go to our own afterparties.”
I burst out laughing at the image of that. “You’re joking.”
“Sort of.” He gently tugged on my arm. “We need to cross here.”
He steered me toward a side street then let go. Hoping I hadn’t misread his cues, I wrapped my hand around his upper arm, part of the way, anyway. His bicep was huge and rock hard. At my touch, his shoulders hunched up a little, and he inched closer to me.
“So, what do you do in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?”
Without meaning to, he’d lobbed a grenade. I evaded it. “I love to read.”
“And listen to music, right?”
I made a valiant effort to duck that bomb. “Yes. I love music.”
“You never said who your favorite band is.”
“Who’s yours?” Another bullet dodged.
“Can I say my own band?” He raised one eyebrow at me. He looked so cute, I nearly stumbled.
With my eyes sharp for any actual land mines ahead of me, I flexed my atrophied flirting muscle. “That would be rather arrogant, don’t you think? How about your favorite band you have no friends in?”
At a busy intersection, Shane rested his weight against the light post, his face lit by the Starbucks. “You’ve eliminated a large number of current bands, so I’ll have to go back in history.”
“That sounds fair.”
As soon as the flashing hand gave us permission, we crossed over, and the landscape around us transformed into what could have been downtown in any other city. All the buildings were taller and statelier than I would have expected so far from Manhattan. Cars flew along beside us now.
Shane kept the conversation going. “So, I’m a drummer, right?”
“Right.”
“When I was a kid, my parents took me to see The Police on a reunion tour.”
“Wow. How was it?”
“Stewart Copeland had this incredible drumkit. I mean, it looked like a middle school’s entire percussion section surrounded him.” I’d let go of his arm when we’d crossed the street, and now his hands flew passionately to somehow paint the picture of his words. “He attacked those drums like a madman. It was insane.”
“Is that why you took up drums?”
“No, I’d been playing in the school band, but that sort of woke me up to the possibilities. I’d never paid that much attention to The Police before that honestly, but after that, I collected it all.”
“So, are you all about John Bonham?”
He’d picked up the pace since we’d started talking about drummers, and he practically bounced on his toes now. “John Bonham, Neil Peart, Keith Moon. If you hang out with me for long, you’ll get sick to death of The Who.”
I laid a hand over my heart. “I could never get sick of The Who.”
“I think I might love you.” He spun around and walked backward long enough to ask, “Your turn. Who’s your favorite band?”
Kaboom. I had one more trick up my sleeve. “Right this minute? Theater of the Absurd.”
My accompanying smile was meant to be equal parts coy vixen and flirtatious scamp, but his lips pinched together for half a beat. It was so subtle, I might have missed it, but I’d been tracing those gorgeous lips with my eyes. When they pursed together, he looked for the first time like I’d said something wrong.