Rock 'n' Roll Baby

“Whatcha talking about?” chirps a bright voice.

Cherry’s up and looking edible, dressed in a pair of dark gray joggers and a light gray cropped T-shirt. A sliver of tummy peeks when she raises a hand to rub her eyes.

“Try not to drool on my waffle,” Nick complains.

“Don’t look at my girl’s stomach.”

“I’m not. I’m looking at my waffle that’s about to burn.”

I glance down and see the steam coming out from the sides. Hastily, I open the iron and flip the waffle out. “It’s perfect. Stop complaining.”

“No thanks to you. Cherry, how many strawberries do you want on your waffle?”

“Is there a limit?” She climbs onto the counter stool and reaches over to steal a few pieces of fruit from the bowl.

Nick stares at me.

“What?”

“You gave me hell when I did that.”

“I didn’t give you hell and even if I did, yes and so what? Is your name Cherry?”

“Man, remember when it was bros before hoes?” He fake cries and dumps two heaping spoonfuls of berries onto Cherry’s waffle.

“Nah, actually, I don’t.” I’ve been with Cherry for as long as I can remember.

“He’s right.” Benjy raises his head over the edge of the sofa. “We’ve always been second place behind Cherry.”

“Third,” Nick admits. “It’s Cherry, his guitar, and then us.” He sprays a mound of whipped cream onto the berries. “At least we know where we stand, Benjy.”

Benjy pumps his fist once and then disappears behind the sofa cushions. Cherry laughs. “It looks like you two had fun last night.” She gives me a mischievous look from under her eyelashes. “We did too.”

“No sex talk before breakfast,” Nick declares, making a cutting motion across his neck with the spoon.

“Yessir.” Cherry salutes him.

We all laugh because this is our family and it’s perfect.

Chapter Six

Cherry

I bite my lip, wondering if I should say something. I am pretty proud of myself for keeping this bit of information under wraps. It’s been hard. Especially when it came to Linc. I’m not even sure how I managed to pull it off. That boy knows me too well. I’m surprised he hasn’t called me out on it yet. But I keep my lips sealed because I don’t want to make anyone nervous. I know this is too important to mess up. I’m not sure how the guys would act if they knew fully what was going on. It might be best to just let them do their thing. They don’t need any added pressure.

“You all right?” Linc pulls on my ponytail. My head leans back and he steals a kiss.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re wiggling around a lot.” His hand slips down between my legs. He cups my sex. “I take you too hard?”

“I’m just excited. I love watching you play.” All true. I can feel it in the air. This is it. They are finally going to get their break. And if they don’t, I will be the only one that will be disappointed. It’s one of the main reasons I haven’t told any of them.

“Something you want to tell me?”

I shake my head no as I press my mouth back to his.

“Sound check!” Benjy calls, saving me from Linc trying to figure out what I’m hiding. He can read me too easily. Luckily I only have a few more hours to keep the secret. I should be able to hold out that long unless he finds a dark corner to try and work it out of me. If that happens, I don’t stand a chance.

“Put this on.” He hands me a bottle before heading back toward the stage. I snort a laugh when I see it’s sunscreen. He’s always looking out for me. I want to do the same for him. Linc would spend his last dollar on something he thought I needed. He doesn’t care if he goes without. As long as I was taken care of. It’s all that matters to him. That’s why doing this for him is so important to me.

I watch them do their sound check wondering if this could be one of the last times I see it for a long time. If someone were to sign them to some crazy deal, I’m not sure how long I would have before they were gone. I wouldn’t only miss Linc. I’d miss Nick and Benjy too. They are the little brothers I never had. They are my family. They have all been so good to me. I want to make sure I do the same by them.

I watch as Nick spins one of the drumsticks in his hand before bringing it down hard onto one of the cymbals to kick off the sound check. Benjy follows soon after, mixing in the bass. I can tell by the first few notes that this is something I’ve never heard before.

“Stop.” Linc cuts them off. “We’re not doing that one now,” he hisses at them both. I fight a smile pretending I don’t see what’s going on between them. I have a feeling he wrote a new song for me and wants me to see it live for the first time. I play with my phone. I guess I’m not the only one hiding stuff tonight.