“I ought to text Vi,” Riot finally said as he slid out of me. “Hope she hasn’t been waiting long.”
“Glad she gave us some privacy,” Cash said.
“Wouldn’t have mattered,” Milo said. “This was happening whether she left or not.”
We took turns cleaning up in the bathroom adjacent to the recording studio. I thought about all the artists that must have come through here over the years. So much fame and talent. I almost felt like I didn’t belong among them.
Almost.
Vi was back in the sound booth when I came out. “Have fun?” she asked, one eyebrow raised high.
“You were right,” I said. “About… a certain sexual combination.”
“Atta girl!” she said, high-fiving me. “And to think you almost went home and missed out of trying that.”
“No kidding,” I said. “Thanks for pushing me in the right direction during this tour. It’s been nice having someone help me along. Making me feel less… weird about what I was doing.”
“Anytime, sister,” she replied. “Thanks for adding some much-needed estrogen on the tour. And thanks for taking care ofthem. They’ll never admit it, but they needed someone like you.”
I smiled at that as the three men in question came into the sound booth.
“Thanks for the privacy,” Riot said. “We made the most of it, I promise.”
“Never doubted you for a second.” Violet suddenly frowned. “Uh, did you know the recording software has been on this whole time?”
Four heads—mine included—swiveled toward the equipment. The red recording light was still on.
Cash hit the button to stop the recording. Then he slowly put on a pair of headphones connected to the system and used the mouse to rewind a bit. His eyes widened immediately.
“Yeah, uh… I think it caught everything.”
Violet roared with laughter while the rest of us blushed.
“Probably best if we deleted that,” Riot said.
“Agreed,” Violet said. “Nobody needs to hear Milo’s high-pitched noises.”
“Hey!” Milo whined.
“Hold on,” Cash said. “Let me do something first…”
He worked at the console, then removed the headphones. “There. Everything is deleted except a single clip.”
When he hit play again, the sound came from the room speakers rather than the headphones. It was a long moan, throaty and intense.
Mymoan.
“Damn, girl, you soundgood,” Violet said.
“You know that sound we were missing on the fourth track?” Cash asked.
Riot stood up a little straighter. “Holy shit. You’re right.”
“I’m thinking a remix of the sound,” Cash smiled. “Add it to the chorus. It’ll sound great repeated a few times.”
“With Rox’s permission,” Milo said. It sounded more like a question than a statement.
They all turned to look at me.
