Her eyes flicked to me for a moment. It felt like a promise.
After dropping bags off in our rooms, we regrouped in the hotel lobby to go out to eat. The Americana restaurant we choose had something for everything—which could be a challenge when we all had different tastes and pickiness levels.
“It’s not my fault I’m picky!” Milo insisted after two beers. “My brother made us dinner every night, and it was usually microwaved chicken nuggets and mac and cheese from a box. And not Kraft—it was the shitty Walmart brand mac and cheese! I was set up for failure!”
“The fun thing about being an adult is that you can choose to become a better version of yourself,” Cash pointed out.
“Don’t shame him for ordering the chicken tenders meal!” Roxie scolded. “Life is short. Get what you want, Milo.”
He blew her a kiss, then glared at the Cash.
I could tell Roxie was starting toreallyfeel like she was part of the group. Some people might have felt like an outsider, but she was meshing like she belonged. Hopefully that helped her understand why I didn’t want to tell the others we were sleeping together: it might damage that easy dynamic we all had.
She was sitting across the table from me, and our gazes kept colliding. A little eye-contact, followed by a suppressed smile. Iwas getting impatient; part of me wanted to dispel the secrecy and take her upstairsright fucking now. The sexual tension between us, thick like humidity, continued to grow.
“I still can’t believe it,” Roxie was saying to Cash.
The bass player nodded. “They ignore all my texts and phone calls. I thought their opinion would soften after a few months, but… it’s been almost two years, now.”
“I’m lucky as fuck,” Violet said. “I’ve got the most normal parents here. They were almosttoosupportive when I came out.”
“Roxie’s parents sound great,” Milo said. “They supported her art shit.”
Roxie chuckled. “Myart shit, yep. I’m a lucky girl. Growing up, all my friends’ parents were divorced. And mine were extraordinarily normal.” She shook her head again. “I just can’t imagine not being proud of your child. We’re playing in Detroit in a few shows! They should come!”
Cash shrugged. “It stopped bothering me a while ago. Now I’ve got a new family.”
Violet leaned over from her chair and gave him a hug. “Love you, buddy, even when you block me on stage.”
“I block you on stage?” Cash frowned.
“At the last show, where the stage was more narrow than the others. You kept drifting to the left!”
“I’ll be more mindful of that next time.”
“You’d fucking better. Or I’ll throw my stool at you.”
Cash turned to Roxie and said, “Maybe my old family isn’t so bad.”
Violet smacked him on the arm.
“Yooooo, are you Cherry Midnight?” Two fans approached our table. One of them had his cell phone out.
“Hell yeah, buddy,” I said. “You coming to the show tomorrow?”
“Fuckin’ right we are! Bought them the day they went on sale. We saw you last year in Baltimore when you opened for Rainknife. Can we get a photo?”
I smiled and took a photo with the fans, then they got a group photo of all of us at the table. Roxie tried to scoot out of the way, but Violet and Milo pulled her back into the shot.
“Yo, can I ask you something?” one of them said to Milo. “I’m trying to learn to play the drums. Got a full set last year. But I’m struggling…”
While Milo talked shop with the fan, I nudged Cash and told him I was going to bed. He fist-bumped me, and I gave Roxie a pointed look.
“I’d better get some sleep too.” She yawned.
“Me too,” Violet said, stretching her arms. “I’ve got a date with an episode of Antiques Roadshow. And don’t you say a fucking thing.” The last part was for me.
“Antiques Roadshow is very metal,” I said.
