“I do.” She patted my chest, then reached for the door. “I have way more, thanks to you and Trevor. And Mama.”
And with that, she left me, my cock drained, my heart slamming in my chest, and my mind reeling.
Which was about how I felt most of the time around her.
Only this time?
I wasn't nearly as confused as usual.
Chapter 12
Trevor
“What the hell are you blabbering on about, Trevor? How will we practice?”
Liam’s words were fine. The expression on his face over the video call made me want to punch him.
“It’ll be fine,” I gritted out.
The question was perfectly reasonable, even if his tone wasn't. Day two here in Ohio made it clear we weren't going home anytime soon, so Joe and I had decided it was time to tell Liam and Sam the truth.
We also had a half hour to go before heading to Cathy and Calvin's house to help them settle in, so I figured this was safe. Manipulating uncomfortable situations so there's an external deadline that intervenes is my forte.
“We can use Zoom,” Joe said in a voice that made it seem like Liam should be grateful for the option.
“ZOOM? Are you KIDDING me? No self-respecting musician uses Zoom for a performance!”
“Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. You never know when we might need it.”
“What the hell does that mean? You're just covering for the fact that you two are pussy whipped to the max. Get Darla to let you come back there and – ”
“Let? It's not about let!” Joe thundered. “We want to be here!”
“Why? You HATE Ohio, Joe! Why do you suddenly like it?”
“Because of the baby, okay?”
“The baby?”
“He's... sweet. Smells like newness. And when you hold him, it's like you're the only person in the world. Like you're God.”
“Holding Darla's little brother makes you feel like God?”
“You wouldn't understand. When have you ever felt like that?”
“Like God? When I come.”
“Then go whack off, Liam, and shut up while you're at it. When you put it that way, it sounds stupid.”
“Because. It. Is.”
“Screw you.”
“Look, I love babies as much as the next person. Hell, Charlotte and I are trying everything possible to have one. So I get it. Not really, but I'll pretend your obsession with Darla's baby brother is something I can relate to. Meanwhile, though, we have a business that has to run. A business with gigs and contracts. You can't bail on our life's work because you've developed baby fever.”
“I don't have baby fever! That's a chick thing.”
“It's totally not a chick thing.”
“Do you have baby fever?”
“I have Charlotte fever. And we're not talking about my babies, because you're crossing into territory that you don't want to explore, Joe.” Liam's voice went murderous. He and Charlotte had experienced two miscarriages over the years they'd been together, the first one a painful tragedy that led to their being apart for four years because of a huge misunderstanding.
For Joe to bring up babies around Liam was already a touchy subject.
To keep pushing was the mark of an asshole.
Then again, this was Joe...
“Sorry, man. Didn't mean to poke a wound,” Joe said, his uncharacteristic retreat making us all go silent with disbelief.
“Did you just... back down?” Liam called into the phone.
“Shut up. I'm being nice.”
“Is this a prank? Trevor, are you pretending to be Joe? Did you have to give up cow tipping today on account of rain or something and now this is how you kill time out there in Iowa?”
“Ohio,” Joe corrected.
“Whatever.”
“Just ship us our instruments. We can set up in the third bedroom in our rental house. Practice some pacing, get the chords down – ”
“That's bullshit and you know it. We need an audio engineer to make asynchronous play sound decent.”
“It's practice, Liam,” Joe stressed. “We'll be home with a week or more before the big performance.”
“You sure? I know homes in Ohio cost about as much as Joe's car, so maybe you guys are planning to stay.”
“No.
“No way.”
Joe and I looked at each other as the tumble of words came pouring out.
“Good.” Sam's voice kicked in, his face appearing on the Zoom call. Amy was in the background in yoga pants and a t-shirt, washing dishes. “Because we need this gig. Tell Darla we said congratulations, too,” he added in a friendlier tone.
Amy turned around and shouted, “CONGRATULATIONS, DARLA!”
“She's not here,” I explained, but Sam shrugged.
“Maybe she should be.” Liam was grumpy, scratching an itch on his collarbone. “We can overnight your instruments, but this'll sound like total crap online.”
“Maybe we'll start something new,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. “Online concerts.”
“Who would ever want to watch shit like that?” he snapped.
Touche. He had a point. No one with any choice in the matter would ever want their live music delivered in such a crappy way.
“Look,” Sam said, in his peace-keeper's voice, “we all have life events that get in the way of work. Performing is our work. Joe broke his arms a few years ago and we got over that. Frown left the band to play with Maggie and we got over that. Liam tried to make New Year's Eve a no-gig night and look where it got him. Shit happens in our lives. Maybe we should take this as a learning opportunity.”
“Sam Hinton, auditioning for the role of Mr. Rogers,” Liam joked, but he was clearly softening. Sam could do that.
Diffuse situations.
“No one wants to leave their woman alone when they're in a crisis, right? If it were you and Charlotte, would you bail on her in the same situation?”
“Her mom is in her early seventies and has a blood clotting disorder, so it would be a miracle if she gave birth.”
“Ha ha. You know what I'm saying.”
“Yeah,” Liam grudgingly relented. “I get it. But how long are you going to be there?”
“Not sure, but we won't miss the gig.”
“Fine.” Liam leaned in, like he was about to whisper a secret, and said, “You guys getting the baby questions yet?”
“Baby questions?”
“We're pushing thirty. All of us. Baby Fever doesn't just happen to our women. Our parents start to turn the grandchildren thumbscrews right about now. How in the hell will the three of you handle having kids?”
“KIDS?” Joe looked like he was I the throes of a stroke. “We're not planning on having KIDS!”
“We're not?” I asked him, surprised by the sudden no.
Liam leaned back in his chair, put his arms above his head, threaded his fingers at the nape of his neck, and settled in. Might as well have grabbed a big bucket of popcorn, too.
“We – well – how would we marry her? She can't marry two people. And then who would the father be? And what would people think?”