Page 23 of Follow the Rhythm (Fairview City Omegaverse #2)

T raveling on a tour bus with Jess was like being stuck in a lion’s cage. She was just as fierce as any captive predator, and more capable of holding a grudge, it seemed. It was doing my head in.

After our encounter on the bus, I’d performed with her scent on me. I spent the entire show in a state of half-arousal that nearly drove me mad.

She had refused to look at me since that day. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at her, though. Or being painfully aware that she was sleeping in the bunk four feet away. I’d lie awake at night, trying to hear her breathing.

Ellis was in her good graces, though. I wasn’t sure when that had happened, but it was strange and frustrating. He spent more time in the main area of the bus over the next ten days, joking with her and Grace, and seeming happier than I’d seen him in a long while.

Bea was gone, apparently trying to close some brand deal or other for Ellis, but I knew she’d be back eventually. She always was.

“You’re grumpier than usual,” Grace said, breaking me out of my reverie. I had been staring at Jess, who was reading on her phone with headphones in. “Not going well, huh?”

I raised my eyebrow at her.

Grace laughed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but you guys are ridiculous. Just hook up already! She obviously wants to.”

I sighed. “Yes, I know. That’s the problem. I don’t want to just ‘hook up.’”

Grace’s eyes grew round. “Oh no. You caught feelings?! She’s like, the most commitment-phobic Omega I’ve ever met.”

“I’m aware,” I ground out.

We both looked over at Jess, who was absorbed in her phone, her head bobbing slightly to whatever music she was listening to.

“She would kill me for telling you, but she’s made it pretty clear she has no intention of bonding with anyone. You might want to get over this crush.” Grace patted me consolingly on the shoulder.

I furrowed my brow. Omegas didn’t always have packs, but an Omega that never bonded at all? It just didn’t happen as far as I knew.

“She’ll change her mind,” I said with a confidence I didn’t quite feel. She had to change her mind. Right?

“Yeah, since she’s so notorious for that,” Grace said with a shrug and a sympathetic smile.

Our first full day off was approaching. No traveling, no rehearsals, and a night off the fucking bus. I was looking forward to it like it was my salvation from a slow descent into Omega-induced madness.

As soon as we checked into the hotel, I went for a long run, even though Chicago in the summer was a humid mess. It was bliss to stretch my legs and clear my mind of the faint hints of Jess’s scent that no descenter could fully cover.

By the time I returned to the hotel, I was drenched in sweat.

I stopped at the gym to get a cup of water. Grace was there, almost as sweaty as I was.

“Yuck, you’re disgusting,” she said cheerfully. “Good run?”

“Yeah, brilliant. Good workout?”

Grace sighed. “Yeah, but I’m getting chubby with all this tour food. You got any plans for tonight?”

“Nah, I’m just going to relax.”

“You should come out with us! Austin is here, and we’re gonna go have some fun. We grew up close by, so we know the best spots.” She was bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

“Who’s ‘we’?” I asked.

“Me, Jess, and Austin. Ellis was supposed to come too, but Bea showed up,” Grace grimaced.

“Jess is going? Out?”

“Yep, we are gonna get wasted and make horrible decisions,” she said brightly.

“I’m coming,” I said grimly. Jess wasn’t going out with just Grace and her Beta sibling for protection.

“Oh, what a surprise! I wonder what changed your mind?” Grace asked with faux innocence, which told me she knew exactly what she was doing. “Meet us in the lobby at nine!”

I was waiting in the lobby at half eight, determined not to let them somehow sneak out without me, even if Grace seemed eager for me to come

Right at nine, they emerged from the lift Grace was wearing what looked like a cut-off tuxedo jacket, and her sibling Austin was in a white t-shirt, the sleeves rolled up like a character from a fifties film, and jeans.

Jess brought up the rear, and my heart almost jumped out of my throat.

She was in a skin-tight black dress that ended at her mid-thigh and left nothing to the imagination, and heels that made her a few inches taller.

I stood as they came towards me, and Jess stopped in her tracks.

“Goddamn it, Grace. You didn’t say we were going to have a chaperone.”

“Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot to tell you,” Grace replied flippantly. “Come on, our ride is here!”

Jess gave us both a scathing look, then stalked ahead.

“Hey, man, good to see you,” Austin said.

“You too,” I said, shaking their hand.

“She’ll get over it,” they said as we followed Jess and Grace out the doors. “Or she won’t, and she’ll shave the rest of Grace’s hair in her sleep.”

I let out a surprised laugh. “Or mine.”

“You should watch your back,” they agreed.

Grace directed the driver to a place called “Pulsation,” and I swallowed my anger. They’d been planning to go to a club without an Alpha?

When we arrived, there was a line of people out the door. Relief coursed through me. Maybe we’d go somewhere else with fewer potential threats to Jess’s safety.

“Jess, come here!” Grace yelled, gesturing to the bouncer. As we walked up to him, Grace pushed Jess to the front of our group.

“Back of the line, guys,” he said, bored, then did a double-take at Jess. I bit back a growl. He beckoned our group forward.

“Could you let us in?” Jess asked brightly, in a voice I’d never heard her use before. She bounced a little on her toes, and the bouncer’s eyes were glued to her breasts. “It’s my friend’s birthday!”

“Yeah, sure, have fun, gorgeous,” he said. “Maybe I’ll come find you after my shift?”

“Maybe,” she said, smiling, and led us inside. As soon as we got inside the door, she gave a full-body shudder. “Ugh, you guys owe me for that.”

Grace laughed. “Men. So dumb.” She looked at me. “Sorry.”

Jess ordered a round of shots for the three of them at the bar. I noticed she got served immediately.

“Do you want anything?” she yelled at me over the loud drum and bass music.

“A soda with lime,” I said to the bartender and handed over my card for the tab.

“Ooh, drinks are on Kieran!” Grace screeched. “Give us two rounds, then!”

They downed their shots, and I smiled despite myself, watching them laugh. Jess was always beautiful, but when she smiled, she was nearly incandescent.

“Time to dance!” Grace grabbed Austin and me by our wrists and pulled us out on the dancefloor, following Jess.

I’d had no intention of dancing, but then I saw Jess. She danced with Grace and Austin like they were the only three people in the room, her hands floating above her head, her hips moving in time with the beat. She was one with the pulsing music, and I couldn’t look away.

My heart thundered as I watched her, basking in the glow of her pure joy. I knew then that I was fully lost. She had me, whether she wanted me or not.

And for the first time, I was terrified that she wouldn’t change her mind about us after all.

I stayed close, not quite dancing, but moving enough to sway with the crowd. Grace went to get another round of shots. The press of bodies around us was hot, and pushed me closer to Jess. As I’d hoped, my presence kept the Alphas who watched Jess with predatory interest away.

As the night wore on, the three of them got progressively unsteadier. Jess’s dancing got more enthusiastic and erratic. Grace and Austin kept cracking up watching her.

“Yes, get it!” they screamed over the music.

Jess whooped, then pulled the mass of her hair off her neck and fanned her face.

“Let’s get you some water,” I shouted.

Jess glared at me. “Booooo.”

Grace laughed. “Go drink some water, drunky. I’ll follow you right after I convince Austin to dance with the girl who keeps staring at them.”

“Fine,” she yelled back and tried to push her way out of the crowd.

I pulled her in front of me, my hands on her shoulders, and guided her out to the bar. Once I’d bought four water bottles and found an empty corner with a ledge for people to lean against, I lifted Jess by her waist so she could sit on it.

“Quit manhandling me,” she grumbled, but accepted the water bottle I passed her without protest. She downed half in one gulp.

“I’m glad you’re having fun,” I said.

Jess sighed. “I am. And I know you’re keeping all the creeps away. So thanks for that, I guess.”

“Anytime,” I replied, pleasantly surprised she wasn’t yelling at me.

Jess rested her head back on the wall. “Fuck. Why am I so drunk ?”

I huffed a laugh. “Because you’re pocket-sized.”

“Ugh.” She closed one eye, then the other, trying to focus. “I think that last shot was a mistake.”

“Here.” I pressed one of the cold water bottles to the nape of her neck and moved so she could rest her head on my chest.

“Mmm, thanks, that feels good,” she said. After a moment, she turned to press her ear to my chest, right above my heart. “Your heart is pounding.”

“It tends to do that around you, love.”

She grabbed my hand and placed it over her heart. It beat fiercely under my palm, the rhythm almost perfectly synced with my own.

I was in so much trouble.

“Jesssss,” Grace slurred from behind me. “Austin is hooking up with that girl!”

“What?” Jess crowed, poking her head over my shoulder. “Yes!”

“I’m so proud,” Grace said and seemed to be on the verge of tears. She was just as drunk as Jess.

“I think it’s probably time to go,” I said.

“We can’t leave now! Austin needs to get their freak on!” Grace protested.

Jess’s head dropped hard back onto my chest. I gave Grace a meaningful look. “I need to get her home.”

“Yeah, okay, good call. Goodnight, tiny friend,” Grace crooned in Jess’s ear. “Kieran is gonna make sure you get to bed.”

“Can you walk?” I asked her.

“Of course,” she snapped. I helped her down from the ledge, and she stumbled, but stayed upright.