Deep (Stage Dive, #4)(4)

The drummer rolled his eyes and, with the flick of a finger, silenced the storm raging through the sound system.

My ears rang on in the quiet.

“Christ,” muttered Jimmy. “Time and a place for shit like that. Try never when I’m around, yeah?”

Mal looked down the length of his nose at the dapper man. “Don’t be so judgy, Jim. I think Hemorrhaging Otter would make a wonderful warm-up act.”

“Are you f*cking serious? That’s their name?” asked David.

“Delightfully inventive, no?”

“One way to put it,” said David, nose wrinkled in distaste. “And Ben already picked a warm-up act.”

“I didn’t even get a vote,” grumped Mal.

“Dude.” Ben shoved an irritated hand through his hair. “You’ll all want to hang with your women. I’ll need some people around after the show I can chill and have a beer with, so I went ahead and chose. Suck it up.”

Bitter grumbling from Mal.

Ev just shook her head. “Wow. Hemorrhaging Otter. That’s certainly unique.”

“What do you think, babe?” Jimmy turned to Lena.

“That’s disgusting. I think I’m going to throw up.” The woman swallowed hard, her face going gray. “I mean, I think I really am.”

Huh. And also, ugh, I knew that feeling.

“Shit.” Jimmy started rubbing her back with frantic motions.

Without a word, I pressed my spare plastic puke bag into her hand. Solidarity among sisters, etcetera.

“Thanks,” she said, happily too preoccupied to ask why I’d had it in my pocket in the first place.

“She had some stomach bug before Christmas.” With his spare hand, Jimmy filled Lena’s glass with water and passed it to her. “Keeps messing with her.”

I froze.

“I thought it had gone,” said Lena.

“You’re going to have to go to the doctor. Enough excuses, we’re not that busy.” Jimmy planted a soft kiss on the side of her face. “Tomorrow, yeah?”

“Okay.”

“Sounds wise,” said Anne, patting my rigid shoulder.

Holy hell.

“You’ve been sick too, Lizzy?” asked Lena.

“You should both try some green tea with ginger in it,” a voice reported from the other side of the table.

Female.

Damn, it was her. His date.

“Ginger creates warmth and helps to settle an upset stomach. What other symptoms did you have?” she asked, causing me to immediately sink down in my seat.

Ben cleared his throat. “Sasha’s a naturopath.”

“I thought you said she was a dancer,” said Anne, her face screwing up ever so slightly.

“A burlesque performer,” the woman corrected. “I do both.”

Yeah, I had nothing.

A chair scraped against the floor, and then Sasha was standing, peering down at me. Any hopes of avoiding and/or ignoring her presence fled the scene. Bettie Page hair done a vibrant blue, very cool. Christ, did she have to look like she actually had a clue? A bimbo I could handle, but not this. The woman was beautiful and smart, and I was just a dumb kid who’d gone and gotten herself knocked up. Cue the violins.

I smiled grimly. “Hi.”

“Any other symptoms?” she repeated, gaze moving between me and Lena.

“She’s been tired a lot too,” said Jimmy. “Passes out in front of the TV all the time.”

“True.” Lena frowned.

“Lizzy, you said you’d missed some school, didn’t you?” asked Anne.

“Some,” I admitted, not liking the direction this grilling was taking. Time for a smooth segue. “Anyway, how are the plans for the tour going? You guys must all be so excited. I’d be excited. Have you started packing yet, Anne?”

My sister just blinked at me.

“No?” Maybe a sudden outburst of verbal diarrhea wasn’t the answer.

“Hold up. Have you been sick, Liz?” Ben asked, his deep voice softening ever so slightly. Though maybe that was just my imagination.

“Um…”

“Maybe you got the same bug Lena’s got,” he said. “How much school have you missed?”

My throat closed tight. I couldn’t do it. Not here and now in front of everyone. I should have fled for the Yukon rather than come here tonight. No way was I ready for this.

“Liz?”

“No, I’m fine,” I wheezed. “All good.”

“Um, hello,” said Anne. “You said you’d been nauseous for the last few weeks. If I hadn’t been away I’d have dragged you to the doctor’s way back.”

And thank god she’d been on her second honeymoon with Mal in Hawaii. To have found out about the bean with Anne in attendance would have been up there with watching the four horseman of the apocalypse riding into town. Terror, tears, chaos—all of these things and more. Definitely not my idea of a good time.

The date, Sasha, fixed her inquiring gaze to the ever so subtly still gagging Lena.

“Did anyone else get this?” she asked.

“I don’t think so.” Anne looked up and down the table, taking in the various shaking of heads. “Just Lena and Lizzy.”