Echoes of the Heart - Casey, L.A. (digital ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Our thighs were plastered together and I was very aware of it.

“So,” I cleared my throat. “What’s it like being famous?”

The three superstars snickered at me.

“It has its pros and its cons,” Hayes answered. “We do what we love on a global stage, we’re successful, we earn great money and we get to perform to Sinners everywhere and see the world at the same time.”

“I feel a big but coming on.”

“But,” Hayes grinned. “We no longer have privacy with the level of fame we’ve reached. Everything we do in public is documented. We can’t fuck up because if we do, it makes headlines. We have to watch our Ps and our Qs. People, if we’re not careful about who we keep in our circle, use us for money, fame or exposure for their own career.”

I frowned. “I don’t like the cons.”

“Neither do we,” Angel winked. “But the pros outweigh the cons so we cope.”

I glanced at Risk. “Do you cope?”

“Now I do,” he answered. “These guys are my brothers, if I didn’t have a good bond with them, I don’t know if I would have been able to climb out of the hole I dug myself into.”

I didn’t want to bring up any bad memories for him so I nodded. I was as still as a statue when Risk lifted his left arm and draped it over the back of the booth. I could feel the material of his jumper brush against me. I found myself imagining him lowering his arm so it rested around my neck and shoulder. I would snuggle into him and stay there forever. I cleared my throat and mentally shook those thoughts away. We kissed, and I knew Risk wanted to continue to kiss me when he wanted, but I was certain that was more to do with the sexual tension between us more than him just wanting to hold me.

We both knew nothing could happen between us, nothing long-term anyway. Nothing had changed in our situation: my life was in Southwold and Risk’s wasn’t. It was rubbish, but that was just the way it was. I hated it, but I accepted it a long time ago. I was sure he had too.

“Frankie baby!”

I jumped as a voice hollered across the diner, when I turned and saw the owner of said voice, I groaned.

“Jesus, not now.”

Before Risk, Hayes or Angel could ask what was wrong, I got up and walked over to the entrance. Sky Ekeles, a sixteen-year-old local, and frequent customer of Mary Well’s, sent a beaming smile my way as I approached him. Sky, dumbly, liked me and he made it his business to stop by as often as he could to hang out with me while I was on shift. I hadn’t seen him in a few days so I knew he’d want a cuddle.

“I’m not working right now, little boy.” I came to a stop in front of the kid. “I’m with friends so you can’t be here unless you’re ordering and eating.”

“I know, I just stopped in to see if you were here and since you are,” he smirked, “I’ll have my usual.”

The audacity of him made me laugh.

“Sky—”

“One hug, you know that’s all I want.”

I sighed, long and deep. Sky smiled in response. He was so bloody cute and he knew it.

“One hug then you’ll stop bothering me and go home?”

“Promise, this is a flying visit.”

I grunted as I leaned forward and gave the little terror a hug. I called him little but he wasn’t, he was five ten or eleven which meant I had to get on my tiptoes to give him a good squeeze. His hands instantly when to my lower back but he knew better than to let them slip any lower. I wasn’t opposed to knocking some sense, and manners, into him and he knew it.

“Now.” I grinned when we separated. “Get on home.”

Sky winked as he jokingly brushed his knuckles over my jaw then turned and walked out of the diner. I shook my head as I watched the kid go. When I turned, my eyes automatically moved to Risk’s and I wasn’t surprised to find him watching me. His gaze was so intense, I found I couldn’t keep eye contact. I was glad that Joe called my booth’s order. Deena was back on the floor and she helped me bring over the plates of food. When everyone had their food, I slid back beside Risk and instantly picked up my burger and took a big bite out of it. No one said a word until I swallowed my food.

“Who’s the kid?”

“Sky?” I answered Angel. “He’s just a lad who pops in every so often, he thinks he fancies me.”

“You don’t think he likes you?” Hayes quizzed as he popped a chip into his mouth. “He seemed to be liking you just fine with his hands that low on your back.”

I laughed it off.

“He’s just a little boy,” I said. “No harm, no foul.”

We chatted about mundane things for the rest of our meal, which took us more than an hour to eat because we’d stop and laugh at something someone said. We spoke about the guys’ upcoming Wembley shows, the new album and world tour they just announced and we spoke about their interview that they had done earlier in the day in London.

Everyone was too full for any dessert, but when May strolled into the diner with Anna ahead of him, I tried not to make it obvious that I knew exactly what they had been doing. Deena said something as Anna passed her by which caused Anna’s face to glow bright red. May came up to our booth and both Angel and Hayes slotted to the right when Risk made no attempt to move so May could sit next to me.

“I’m starving.”

I wasn’t sure why, but those words being the first ones he spoke after having a quickie – if an hour and ten minutes was considered quick