Page 30 of Rhythm Of Our Souls (Heartbreak Melody #3)

Ally

“Alright, Ally, can I get one with you sitting on Skyler’s lap?” the photographer instructs, gesturing for me to move.

I raise a brow, looking from him to Skyler. “Is he for real?”

“She doesn’t need to do that,” Skyler says to the photographer.

The photographer frowns. “Why not? The shot I have in mind would make for a great potential cover.”

“How does her sitting on my lap give you that shot?” Skyler asks.

“You are a band. You have a bond. You're close. Why not show the world that?”

“Let’s just see what he has in mind, doesn't mean we have to use the photo,” I tell Skyler.

He frowns before sighing. “Alright.”

“Wonderful.” The photographer moves the four of us around, positioning us how he wants us.

I end up on Skyler’s lap with Tyson behind me on my right and Ryker on my left. “Okay, Tyson, put your hand on Ally’s shoulder.” Tyson does as he’s asked. “Perfect.”

He takes a few photos. “Smile.” A few more shots are taken. “Now, more serious.” The lights go off, and we do as we’re instructed, having done this a million times before. “Alright, now, Skyler, tickle her.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Tyson coughs out. “Why the fuck does he have to do that?”

“That's weird," Ryker grumbles.

It wouldn’t be in any other setting. The guys have tickled me before, mostly to get me to make me laugh when I was feeling down. But in photos? Yeah, no, this is a first.

“We’re not doing that,” Skyler growls.

“Okay...” the photographer says awkwardly. “Okay, another idea. Ally, smile up at Tyson, Tyson, you give a longing look to Ryker, Ryker, I want you gazing down at Skyler, and Skyler, I want you looking at Ally, bite your lip too.”

I blink at the man, in shock. “What is even going on here?” I look over to Nate, who’s frowning. Liam looks three seconds away from losing his shit, while Brady looks confused but also pissed off.

But my Lulu, she looks like she wants to laugh. I can’t help but smile when our eyes meet.

“And why the fuck do you want us to do that?” Ryker growls.

“The fuck do you mean you want me to look at Ryker longingly? There’s no longing there. That’s fucking weird, man.”

“Listen, the ideas you have are giving off the wrong message. You should want us to be fun, playful, or serious. Not acting like a pack that sings together.”

The photographer looks nervous. “It’s just an idea.”

“An idea that's not going to work,” I respond. “I’m not comfortable with any of this.”

Skyler helps me to my feet before getting to his. “You signed an NDA, yes?”

The photographer swallows hard. “Yes.” He nods hesitantly.

“Okay, perfect. So hear me when I say this.” Skyler grabs my shoulders and spins me to look at the photographer.

“This girl here is like my little sister. She’s my best friend.

That’s it. Nothing more. I won’t have her sitting on my lap and looking at our band mates like she wants to fuck them when none of us would ever go there.

We’ve been fighting rumors for years, despite telling the media over and over again that we are nothing more than friends.

So something like this, like the ideas you have, will discredit everything we’ve been saying and give everyone the wrong idea.

Ally has a pack.” The photographer’s eyes go wide, and Skyler growls.

“Something that's none of your damn business,” he points out. “So out of respect to everyone, how about we turn this photo shoot into something fun that we can actually use for our next album? Otherwise, we’re going to find a new photographer for this shoot. Understand?”

“Yes,” he stammers out. “Of course."

“Thank you.” I smile politely, over this already. But I’m a professional and I’m prepared to do what I need to do to get the job done.

Thankfully, the rest of the shoot goes a lot better. Ryker took control of it and came up with some pretty fun ideas. I’m sure the photographer wasn’t very happy about it, but he took the photos anyway. He showed us some of the shots in between, and honestly, I love them.

“Thank you,” I tell him once we’re done. He nods his head, and Nate pulls him to the side to talk business.

“I can see the resemblance,” Lulu comments, looking between Skyler and Liam.

“Yeah?” Skyler smiles at her playfulness. “How so? Because we look nothing alike. I’m the good looking one.” He winks.

Liam snorts, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, you wish.”

“Don’t be jelly, big bro.” Skyler wraps his arm around Liam with a grin. “I got the guns too.” Skyler flexes, kissing his bicep.

“Yeah?” Liam takes the bait. “You sure about that one?”

“Show them,” Skyler challenges. “Let’s compare.”

“You're a child,” Liam deadpans.

“Chicken?” Skyler starts to cluck. I laugh as Lulu giggles, wrapping my arm around her while we watch them.

Liam shakes his head. “You're insufferable.” Liam takes off his suit jacket, one I love that he wears whenever we’re out doing business outings. His arms are on display now, showing off his tattoos.

“How did you get anything done with this man around?” Lulu whispers.

“A lot of self-restraint,” I whisper back, and she laughs, smiling over at me.

“Fine. You wanna play this game?” Liam asks, tossing his jacket over a nearby chair.

“Stop talking and show.” Skyler grins. He loves getting his brother going. Honestly, I love it, too. It’s fun to watch.

Liam grumbles something under his breath before lifting his arm. And then he flexes, showing off a hell of a lot more muscles than I thought he had. Holy fuck, this man is ripped.

Both Lulu and I whimper at the same time, unable to hide our arousal as we shamelessly ogle our Alpha.

“Fuck–” I start.

“Me,” Lulu finishes.

Liam’s nostrils flare, his eyes darkening before shifting over to us.

“Dear god.” Skyler waves his hand over his face. “You two smell like a whore house.”

“Watch it,” Brady growls, but I laugh.

“You're just jealous I don’t smell like this for you.” I flip him off.

“No. I’m really not,” Skyler groans.

“You satisfied now?” Liam asks.

“Show off,” Skyler mutters. “How the fuck did you get that ripped? You work all the time.”

“Home gym,” Liam answers. “And I bring travel weights. I need to keep in shape when my job is to literally keep someone alive.”

“Whatever. I have to keep in shape because my job is to make people cum with just my voice.”

Lulu chokes out a laugh.

“I like this one,” Gavin chimes in. “He’s funny.”

“Thanks.” Skyler winks. “I’m here all week.”

“Unfortunately,” I sigh. “I’m kind of stuck with you.”

“You love it.” He winks.

“I do.”

“What about us?” Tyson pouts. “Doesn’t anyone want to see our guns? We got a couple of good ones.”

“Of course you do,” I say in a patronizing tone.

Tyson flips me off, making me chuckle, but he smiles, looking excited. He and Ryker grin as they start to show off their muscles. Lulu and I clap along, oohing and ahhing playfully.

“Okay, that's enough,” Liam grumbles. “You're going to give them big heads.”

“Oh, no need for that.” Tyson grins wickedly. “My head's already big enough.”

“Yeah, so big it hardly fits on your shoulders,” Ryker chuckles.

“I can’t even with these guys.” Lulu turns to me with a smile that stretches from ear to ear. “They are something else.”

“Yeah,” I sigh. “They grow on ya.”

Skyler and the guys joke around, bringing Liam and Brady into some weird conversation.

Lulu and I drift over to the table where the refreshments are set up.

Nate wanted Brady and Lulu to stay behind, not wanting to cross personal and business because it might draw suspicion, but I told him I wanted them with me.

Things with Brady are new, and I still have that overwhelming need to have him near me. As for Lulu, there’s still this fear that if I’m away from her longer than a few minutes, she’s going to be gone for good. That’s something I’m going to have to talk to my therapist about.

I should tell Nate to book me an appointment with her. I think all these big life changes warrant one.

“How did you all start working together?” Lulu asks as we take a seat in one of the chairs.

“I met them during my stay in LA for the competition. They were staying at the hotel I was in. Met them in the hotel bar. Didn’t know who they were until the first day we were at the studio.

We kind of just built this natural friendship.

Everything just clicked. They were what I really needed at the time.

” I bite my lip, looking down at the cupcake in my hand.

“My head was a mess after leaving.” I look back up at her, a tinge of hurt piercing my heart at the past memory.

“They helped me stay focused, eyes on the prize. We worked together and built an amazing friendship. They ended up being one of the finalists, and when I won, I asked if they could be the band that plays with me. The rest is history.”

Lulu smiles softly, and it’s a bit of a sad one. “I’m glad you had them, had someone there for you. It must have been hard being so far away from your parents, even though you had your uncle. I’m sure it wasn’t the same.”

My eyes widen. “Oh fuck.”

“What?” Lulu asks, panic in her tone.

“My parents.” I look at her with wide eyes.

“What about them? Are they okay?” Her eyes frantically flick between mine.

“I didn’t tell them about us... about Brady... about any of this.”

“Oh.” Lulu blinks.

“Fuck,” I groan, letting my eyes shut and my head fall back. “Fucking ADHD.”

“I don’t understand,” Lulu says, sounding confused.