Page 44 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

“Oh, no,” Lyric exclaimed, her heart hurting for the couple. “Desi, I’m sorry. That really sucks—”

“No! It’s fine. She’s beyond excited for me, and I cannot accept an apology for the best thing that’s happened to me—you know, besides Amber.”

Lyric still couldn’t help the way she felt bad for them. She made a mental note to find out the date and make sure the bus was vacated so they could do… something. A facetime date, a phone call, whatever.

As someone who’d never let a significant other stay around for that long, a year seemed like a big deal. It should be properly celebrated. Or at least as properly as one could from across the country.

“Hate to burst the bubble, but we’ve got about twenty minutes to get to the appointment,” Emerson warned with a glance at his watch.

Lyric doubled down on her taco and politely shoveled it in her mouth. They’d chosen a restaurant a few blocks over from the store, so it wouldn’t take them that long to walk over, but she didn’t want to be late.

They wrapped up, and Lyric sipped her water as she stood, gazing at the chips and salsa longingly. She snagged a chip and dipped it into the bowl, a dollop of salsa on the top as she shoved it between her lips.

She turned to find the others waiting on her and she brushed her hands together before shrugging. “What? I was hungry too,” she complained.

Lyric tried not to look too deep into the fond smiles on their faces.

No alphas. No pack. No distractions, no conflict.

After paying, they made their way outside and headed toward the shop for the monitors. It came into view by the second block, and Nohen whistled at the brick building. “Damn. These are gonna be expensive.”

“Good thing they’re covered by the label,” Lyric sang sweetly, and stepped forward to get the door—

But she was intercepted as Adra stepped around her, beating her to it and pointedly opening it for her. “Nah-ah. I’ll get the door,” he said softly.

Lyric’s cheeks heated, and she’d never been flattered by a man—especially an alpha—being so adamant about being a gentleman.

“Ladies first,” he declared, and she walked in first, followed by Desi.

“That’s new. I always do that for Amber,” Desi whispered.

With a chuckle, Lyric approached the receptionist and signed them in. By the time the pen clinked against the cup when she was done, a man walked into the lobby.

“Ms. Ceran, welcome. I’m Matthew Tern, the audiologist who’s going to fit you for monitors. Everyone ready to get fitted?”

They followed him back down a short hallway and into a room that reminded her of a doctor’s examination room, though more spacious. Stools and chairs were pushed against the left wall, and the right wall was taken up by a set of cabinets. The countertops were covered in a mix of strange tech devices and 3D diagrams of the ear canal. Plus other doctory things she avoided paying attention to. Doctors weren’t her favorite.

“So… how unpleasant will this be?” Lyric asked. “I’ve heard it’s not the most comfortable sensation.”

“You guys can sit down, this will take a bit. As for your question, it’s not going to be uncomfortable at all. We’ve got new technology.”

Lyric sat on her hands before she gave into the urge to reach over and grab Nohen’s or Odd’s hand, who were sitting on either side of her. The doctor’s words did not offer the comfort she was sure he intended.

“What does that mean?”

“It means no giant syringe of foam to mold your ear canals,” he replied cheerily.

Her shoulders relaxed, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Nohen glance at her.

“So how do you do it then?” she inquired.

Dr. Tern grabbed something off the counter before facing them. Dangling from his hand was what reminded her of a set of over the ear headphones, but without the speaker and earpads, only the frame.

“We’ve upgraded. After we clean your ears, you’ll put these on, and then we’ll use a scanner to get a 3D mold of your ear canal, and the monitors will be made right here in the office. They’ll be ready by the first night of tour, which I’m told will be in just a few days?”

Lyric relaxed back into her chair and tried to release her breath of relief silently. Phew.

The appointment went by slowly. After they cleaned their own ears, the doctor had to do a proper job. The headband settled over her head lightly and the doctor shifted the headset to fit the circles of the earphones over her ears.