Page 60 of Rock Giant

“Tongue exercises?”Nash stuck his tongue out and contorted it several impressive ways.

Jodi showed him, that she too could roll her tongue.“I was overly harsh.It wasn’t unreasonable for you to seek reassurances from me considering everything that’s happened since we got here.”

He licked her on the nose.“It’s okay.I forgive you for picking a fight.And I’m sorry I wasn’t where you expected me to be the other night.”He nodded his head at the standing stones as if her memory might need jogging.“I’d probably have chomped a shed load of mushrooms too, if I’d been noodling about this place for hours.It’s bleak.”

Actually, with the dappled autumn sun over it, it was rather lovely, especially within the circle, where the breeze only tickled, and the world beyond seemed out of phase with that within.

“You should make him grovel more,” Jez remarked, eyeing them over the lip of his book.

“Cheers, mate.”

“Any time, arsehole.”

Jodi snorted at their snipping.“I’d rather get along than draw things out,” she said to Jez.

He shrugged.

Nash dropped a kiss on her brow, then moved in for more of a smooch.

“Urgh!If you two are going to get soppy…” Jez’s shadow fell over them as he stood.“It’s more than my stomach can handle.”He made puking noises.“See you back at the bus.We leave in forty, remember.”

Things had been okay since then.They’d gone back to making vague wedding plans.Hadn’t quite agreed on a date yet.The whole of Nash’s family had to be consulted, and their availability tallied with the Black Halo tour dates, plus promotional appearances, a video shoot for an upcoming single, plus Harry had the Ghost Boys booked in to start work on their second album the moment the tour ended.Their lives seemed to have been timetabled into the distant future.

“It’s usually the constant travel that wears artists down,” Brian had told her the day before, but the Ghost Boys had all been digital nomads/fruit pickers/backpacking wanderers prior to becoming a band.Travelling wasn’t the hard part.Sticking to a set schedule,thatwas the tricky bit.

She, Nash, and Balin had taken off yesterday afternoon while they were in Kiel to see the U-boat submarine museum and arrived back a teeny bit late.Result—they’d almost missed the ferry across to Norway.Had been forced to board as foot passengers, as the tour bus had left ahead of them, and thus, had been yelled at by Harry Storm over Zoom, and given an in person ticking off from both Brian, and the overall tour manager, a scary guy named Samson.

She’d been mortified.The guys—not so much.Balin and Nash had spent the rest of the evening mucking about, spying on people with a cardboard periscope they’d picked up in a tourist gift shop.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she eventually said to Lee.“We’ll probably barely see Black Halo.I bet it’s a myth that bands on tour hang out together.And he’s probably forgotten all about me.He’s a world-famous bassist, after all, and I’m just me.”She shrugged.

Lee met her gaze.“That’s just it, Jo.You’re you.You’re amazing.It’s not a surprise that the guy’s into you, only that he’s being so chill about it.”

Both their heads turned towards the door to the bunk room as Nash emerged, yawning sleepily.

“Piss off, Lee,” he demanded.“I want some private time with my woman.”

“Should I stay, or should I go,” Lee asked her out of the side of his mouth.

“Go,” she mouthed back.“And give us half an hour.”

“Okay, girl.”He rose, giving her shoulder a squeeze, then brushed past Nash.“Morning, cunt.”

“Still opting for the bum fluff, I see.”

Lee had started growing a beard, but it barely constituted stubble yet.He rolled his eyes.“Least I know how to find a woman’s.”

“Women don’t...Fuck off.”

Lee laughed and closed the door between them.Within seconds, music was blaring loudly enough there was no chance of anyone in the bunk room overhearing whatever she and Nash said or did.

Jodi rose from the floor.“Morning,” she greeted Nash with a kiss.

“Let’s make it a good ’un, eh?”He grazed his lips against the shell of her ear.“Fancy kneeling for me?”

Jodi knelt on the banquette, facing the window.It absolutely wasn’t what he meant, but…

“Babe!”