wiggled in her skirt and came up waving a pink piece of lace as if it were a flag. Next thing I knew, it was in my face.” Bobby J contorted his features until we laughed. “Hangin’ right here on the end of my nose. It was part nasty, part hot.”
“No, that’s just nasty,” Johnny commented without heat. “Tegan’s kiss stunt tonight was hot, but seriously weird. What the fuck was that, man?”
Tegan gave a sheepish shrug. “I got nervous.”
“Nervous? Nervous is not being able to find your waiter five minutes before happy hour ends. Nervous is trying on your favorite skinny jeans after the holidays. Nervous is not kissing a man with the spotlight on you at the fucking Troubadour,” Charlie scolded. “But I will admit, it was hot.”
Bobby J hooted. “Was it good for you too, Dec?”
I rolled my eyes, then shook the ice in my cup and took a long drink. Poor T. They’d been teasing him all night. He played along with the assumption that Charlie’s impromptu suggestion threw him off his game. I wondered what was really going through his head. I wanted to assure him it was hot as fuck and I had no problem doing that every night onstage, but I didn’t trust my voice. I was still riding a post-show high where everything felt super awesome or super craptastic. The kiss was in the first column, Xena was in the second, so it was best to keep my mouth shut for now.
“In Tegan’s defense, he’s always been a nervous clutch-time kisser. Remember that party in high school?” Ky asked.
“Really?” Tegan huffed.
“It was a Truth or Dare showdown. Someone dared T to kiss a cheerleader…Shelly or Kelly something. He didn’t want to do it, but once they smacked lips…let’s just say it was very enthusiastic.” Ky chuckled, throwing his arm around Tegan’s shoulders.
He swatted Ky away. “That was the only time I’ve ever kissed a girl. I wanted it to look real. And…I was wasted.”
“Liar. You never get wasted. What’s in that cup?”
“Water.”
“I’ll get you a real drink. Char, you want a refill?” Ky asked.
Charlie looked up from his phone and shivered. “Yes, but I’ll go with you. It’s cold out h-here. By the way, there’s already a buzz online. I think it’s a good th-thing. Just no more kissing…until I tell you to.”
Everyone busted up laughing as Ky steered Charlie toward the open door leading to the great room.
Conversations broke out simultaneously, the way they tended to do when the dynamic shifted. Bobby J followed Charlie and Ky inside while the rest of us clung to the heat lamp and chatted. I sipped my gin and tonic, lazily observing the scene…the twinkling city lights, the animated conversations indoors and out.
It was a good idea to be friendly with the folks you were about to travel with for a month. I’d spent the night mingling…flitting from one group to the next without landing anywhere in particular.
I talked with our temp drummer, Frank, and his wife for a while, then compared tats with a sound guy named Adam who was liberally covered in ink and piercings. I ended up laughing my ass off as Sebastian and Gray regaled us with “dad” stories while Charlie tossed in alternative context and pretended to be irked. I avoided Justin on the off chance he’d bring up the kiss. And until now, I’d avoided Tegan too.
Probably for the same reason.
I set my cup on a side table and wandered to the far side of the pool mostly hidden in shadow. A perfect spot to soak in the atmosphere, unwind, and—
“So…how’s your night going?”
I chuckled. “Better than yours, I bet.”
Tegan snorted. “This is going to be harder than I thought. I didn’t plan that, you know.”
“I know. That kind of makes it sweeter.”
“Sweeter? Fuck sweet. It was hot.” He made a funny face. “It wasn’t smart, but I’m not sorry.”
“Me either.”
We stared at the city below us for a long moment.
After a minute or two, Tegan broke the silence. “What are you doing tonight?”
I gave him a lopsided smile. “Well, it’s like three a.m. now, so…I’m going home soon.”
“Need a ride?”
“You rode your motorcycle,” I reminded him.
“True. We can borrow one of Gray’s helmets and sneak out from the garage.”
“No good-byes?” I gestured toward the house.
“Fuck, no. It’s late, and no one’s going to notice us. C’mon.”
We clung to the shadows as we made our way along the side of the house to the garage. Tegan tapped a code