Eternal (Seaside 4.5)

“It’s Ashton Hyde,” I finished, sighing under my breath and praying the guy was five foot seven and had suddenly developed a lazy eye.

CHAPTER TWO

Alec

“HEY, WE’RE IN THE living room!” I heard the door slam and waited for Demetri and Alyssa to walk around the corner. My brother looked pale. I suspected it had something to do with our new tour partner and the whole getting-married thing. If there was ever a time for me to want to offer him a drink, it would be now.

“So…” I licked my lips and tried to hide my amusement at his stress. “…how’s the wedding music coming along?”

Demetri’s eyes narrowed as he pointed at me and then offered the middle finger, stomping off into the kitchen.

“He’s in a super-good mood,” Lyss said in a sing-song voice as she joined me on the couch and reached for the remote. I didn’t even fight her anymore. She was like a ninja when it came to stealing the controller. Besides, she liked football as much as I did. Granted, it had taken her a while to watch it again after all that shit that had gone down with her ex. but now she was worse than Demetri.

Swear, the girl had almost punched me in the jaw when I told her I was a Steelers’ fan.

The fact that she even liked sports made her okay in my book. My brother couldn’t be marrying a better girl. They’d met when he was doing a stint in rehab at Seaside, Oregon, and the rest was kind of history. I mean, well, technically, most of our history had taken place in Seaside, the one place no rock group should ever be if they wanted to stay single. Seriously. Matrimony had even ended up happening to our good friend, action-star, Jamie Jaymeson. Demetri was still pissed that Jaymeson had gone and tied the knot behind all our backs, making Demetri last and Alyssa pushy. Women.

“Oooo, the Seahawks.” Alyssa turned up the volume.

“How are you calm?” I asked, curious why Demetri was the one having a nervous breakdown before saying his vows and not her.

“Easy.” Alyssa shrugged. “Demetri used to use sex and drugs as a coping mechanism, so now, when things get really stressful, he projects said stress on things around him.” She paused for a breath. “He ran yesterday.”

“Tell me you’re lying.” My brother thought the term exercise was the name of a disease that made people sweat profusely and get stomach cramps.

“Nope.” She laughed. “He said, and I quote, ‘I’m going to go exercise.’”

“Hell has officially frozen over.”

“You’re telling me. The guy came back happier than he’s been in days. I think it helped a lot, but honestly, I think he just wants to make everything perfect for me. But guys are stupid.”

“Um, thank you?”

Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Not you, well, just kidding. You did almost ruin things with Nat, so sorry I’m grouping you in with Demetri.”

“It happens.”

“I don’t need perfect. I just need Demetri.” Alyssa’s eyes filled with tears. “So I have forty-eight more hours of his stress, and then I’m going to make him forget his own name.”

“Ah, you’re going to hit him on the head with your bouquet?” I teased.

“Sex.” Alyssa winked. “His new coping mechanism now that we’ll be married.”

“Here, here.” I lifted my bottled water into the air and laughed.

“Where’s Nat?” Demetri stormed into the room and started throwing pillows off the couch.

“Um, not under the one-pound pillow, man.” I shook my head. “She’s with her mom doing some last minute shopping because she’s ‘as big as a house and wants to look sexy in her dress.’ Her words, not mine.”

“She’s not as big as a house.” Demetri rolled his eyes and glanced between me and Lyss. “You’re both smiling.”

“The commercial was funny,” Alyssa lied easily.

“Right,” I agreed. “It was the one about… Ashton Hyde.”

Demetri let out a string of curses and threw the last pillow against the couch and then started punching it with his fist.

“Dude, it’s not the couch’s fault.” I watched in fascination as my brother continued punching.

Finally, exhaustion must have set in. Demetri stopped and turned, his eyes narrowing in on me. “Where’s Jaymeson?”

“Out.” I looked away.

“With?”

“Er… friends?”

“When are we recording the new acoustic version of that single if we’re going right back on tour in seven days?”

I scratched my head and let Demetri connect the dots all on his own. I tried not to let myself get too amused over the fact that his eyes continued to get wider until he finally karate-chopped the pillow one last time and slumped into the chair.

“Care to fill me in?” Alyssa asked, waving her hands in the air.

“I’m cutting Alec out of my will.”

I rolled my eyes, snatched the remote, and turned down the volume to the TV. “No, you aren’t. You’ve been distracted. What did you want me to do? Tell you the truth and have you freak out to his face? Besides, I didn’t want to tell you on the phone. I mean, where’s the fun in that? Now I get to see the horror-stricken face and…” I pulled out my cell and snapped a picture. “…post it to Instagram for all to see.”

Demetri glared.