Somewhere in the Middle

Schmooze a Lamb

The first night of tour was always sort of uncomfortable. Evie was the only girl crammed into a van or mini-bus with any number of guys, who, though usually considerate, couldn't help being themselves. Which meant dealing with unabashed burping, farting, and even play-fighting in the back of the van. She'd also learned from experience that a large t-shirt, sports bra, and baggy sweatpants were necessary pajamas if you were going to be the only girl surrounded by just post-pubescent men. But all of it was a small price to pay for getting to do what she loved.

The Crossing Astor tour was already looking up—they were staying in a hotel her first night. And finally, being the only girl worked in her favor: she got her own room.

She walked from her comfortably large room to the semi-spacious bathroom, relishing in the small comforts while she had them, knowing that tomorrow, and many nights after would be spent on the bus. Not as uncomfortable or cramped as sleeping upright in the back of a van with four to five other people, but still.

The handle of the shower squeaked as she turned it on, and the water streamed down in a soft rain. Stepping under it, her mind immediately turned to thoughts of what the next day would hold. She had already set her alarm for six thirty—the bus would be leaving at eight the next morning for Arizona, and it was her responsibility to get the guys up and out on time.

She'd dealt with musicians that were easy to wake, and musicians that weren't. But Evie enjoyed the bands that weren't—they presented more of a challenge, and gave her the opportunity to boss them around.

Greg would definitely be difficult. She wasn't sure why she thought so, she just had a feeling. Lucas she didn't see being much of a problem, but considering Jamie had stormed out of the venue and hadn't been seen since, she assumed he would be the worst.

To end her luxurious shower, she made a mental list of the rest of her responsibilities: call the winner of the contest in Arizona to make sure she knew where to be and when, get all the boxes of merchandise into the venue and set up, be the liaison for said contest winner and escort her to the dressing room for pictures, bring her back out to the venue, make sure the guys would have everything they needed before heading to her station—the merch table, where she would be until the end of the night.

With a swipe of her hand across the fogged-up mirror, she studied her reflection: her caramel skin, riddled with dark spots from her acne-ridden teenage years, the beauty mark above her right eyebrow, the brown curls now tamped down against her head, and her large green eyes. Humming to herself, she ran the faucet and grabbed her toothbrush, and was just finishing up when she heard three loud raps on the door.

"Just a minute!" she garbled around the suds in her mouth. With a quick wad of spit and a few swishes of water, she flung open the bathroom door and jogged the few steps to the door of her room, swinging it open to find...

Lucas.

Again.

His friendly smile quickly fell, his jaw slackened, and his eyes widened as they swept down the length of her body, the corner of one side of his mouth going up to match the arch of his pierced eyebrow.

Evie, worried it might be something important, had forgotten in her rush that she was still in a towel, and felt herself blush before ducking behind the cover of the door, only poking her head out from behind it.

"Uh," Lucas chuckled, bringing a hand to rub the back of his neck, his eyes on the floor. "Sorry. Looks like this is a bad time."

She closed her eyes, completely embarrassed."Uh, well...yeah. Kind of."

The two laughed after an awkward moment, and Evie felt better to see that Lucas had also turned a light shade of pink beneath the attractive shadow of stubble on his cheeks and chin. She clutched the towel closer to her chest, aware of the coverage the door provided, but also too aware that she was still very wet and very naked behind it.