She twisted her head to kiss me. The hunger was gone, sated by our act and replaced with something more passionate. More loving.
That scared me, but in the best possible way.
Roxie reached back and caressed my cheek before I could overthink it. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before we get arrested.”
“You don’t want to go for another round?” I teased.
“Tempting.” Her inner walls clenched like a handshake. “You certainly seem ready.”
“You have no idea.”
We quickly returned to normalcy, Roxie changing out of the thrift shop clothes and into what she’d worn into the store. I exited first, checking to make sure the coast was clear before she followed.
“I’ll take these,” she said, dumping the skirt, shirt, and leather jacket onto the counter.
“Did everything fit well?” the store employee asked.
While pointedlynotlooking at me, she replied, “Like a glove.”
30
Roxie
We walked out of the thrift shop casually, like we were trying to pretend we hadn’t done anything wrong. Neither of us looked at the other; we paused at the crosswalk, waited for the light to change, then crossed the street.
Only when we reached the other side did Cash start laughing. Which caused me to finally lose control and devolve into a fit of giggles.
His fingers found mine, and we held hands as we walked back in the direction of our hotel.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” he said.
“Tell me.”
“I’m not sure I know, either,” he replied. “Since the first few shows. That’s when I started thinking about it, I guess.”
“Wow. And here I thought you liked me for my non-sexual contributions to the band.”
“You’re an attractive woman. It would be impossible for menotto notice. I’m only a man.”
I squeezed his hand and said, “I’m just teasing you. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve thought about it, either.”
“Oh? When was the first time?”
“The show in Austin. When you opened for Rainknife.”
Cash frowned over at me. “That long?”
“You were hot! Wearing a tight T-shirt and prowling around stage, plucking your bass with your long fingers. You had a stage presence that was immediately noticeable.”
He smiled as we walked along. “You don’t know how much that compliment means to me. Most people don’t notice the bass player. Especially in a band like ours, where we have Riot front-and-center for the audience to drool at.”
“Didn’t you say you liked being out of the spotlight?”
“I still want to be noticed,” Cash replied. “I still want people to hear the bassline and appreciate it. To appreciate me as a performer.”
“Well, I appreciated you from the moment I first saw you. And I get what you’re saying. As an artist, I want people to mostly focus on my work rather than me. But I still wantsomerecognition!”
“Meanwhile, guys like Riot need to be the center of attention or they deflate like a sad balloon.” Suddenly Cash stopped in his tracks. “Shit! Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
