Page 81 of Lyric & the Heartbeats

She would just be missing it. That afternoon, they’d be pulling into a hotel to stay for the next two nights, and then hitting the road fresh.

“I bet she’s excited to see you,” Nohen said.

Desi rolled her eyes, cheeks flushing. “She better be. I’m excited. We’ll be lucky if we even leave the hotel for dinner before the show.”

“It’s basically your anniversary, you’ve gotta do something nice,” Lyric teased.

“Oh, I’ll do something nice alright,” Desi retorted, and waggled her eyebrows.

“What are you gonna wear?” Lyric queried. “This will be… what? Almost two weeks you’ve gone without seeing her?”

Desi glanced down at her jeans and tee, her flannel abandoned in her lap after the trip into the warm morning sunshine. “I don’t know yet. Not this.”

“If you’re not going to leave the hotel room, why does it matter what she wears?” Emerson questioned.

A chorus answered him.

“She might want to impress her girlfriend,” Adra reasoned at the same time Nohen answered, “It’s like the first impression all over again.”

And Lyric chimed in with them all, saying, “It’s a special occasion, why wouldn’t she dress up?”

Emerson waved his hands through the air. “Fair points. Look, all I’m saying is if you really haven’t ever been apart for this long, Amber’s probably not going to care what you’re wearing. She’s just going to be happy to see you.”

Lyric blinked at him. That was so… sweet.

“I want to make sure she hasn’t forgotten how hot I can be,” Desi answered.

Lyric chuckled at her response, but then the afternoon passed in a blur as they helped Desi pick an outfit. By the time they were parking at the hotel, Desi was bouncing in her ankle boots, tight maroon pants, and a dark button-up with white embroidery around the collar. Her chin-length curls bounced around her face as she paced up and down the aisle of the bus.

They watched her walk back and forth, holding back their chuckles on her behalf. Desi was nervous enough as it was.

When the bus finally rolled into the parking lot, Desi’s phone rang, and she answered it before the first ring could finish.

“Are you here?” she asked, leaning over the couch to peer through the blinds. “Wait, I see your car. We’re pulling in.”

Desi hung up and slid the phone in her back pocket.

“Holy shit,” she breathed and shook out her hands.

“Don’t be nervous. She’s just as excited to see you,” Lyric reassured her.

“I know. I know. I can’t help it.”

When the bus finally parked, Desi was the first one off the bus, and she took off across the parking lot. Lyric grabbed her bag full of clothes and the blankets from her bed and followed, more than a little excited to see Desi reunite with her girlfriend.

Her feet hit the asphalt right as a girlish squeal rang through the parking lot.

A grin was curling her lips before she even caught sight of the two. A brunette woman had thrown her arms and legs around Desi, tucking her head into her neck. They spun for a minute before Desi came to a stop, and while Lyric was too far away to hear anything they said, she was sure it was sweet enough to give her cavities.

Alongside the excitement for her friend, a sliver of jealousy snuck in the longer they hugged one another.

She wasn’t jealous of Desi or Amber, she was jealous of… what they had. Lyric couldn’t remember a moment when she’d ever run into someone’s arms like that. When someone had run their hands all over her just to make sure she was real, like Desi was doing to Amber.

Lyric turned her gaze elsewhere as they kissed, refusing to intrude on their moment more than they had.

“That’s so fucking sweet,” Nohen said. “Aww…”

“I know,” Lyric agreed, and sent him a smile. “They’re adorable. I can’t wait to meet her.”