Free Chasing the Music: For the Love of Music Book 0.5 by Mia Josephs Page B

tightly.
    “Let’s sit for a sec.” He sat on a wooden box and she fell onto his lap.
    He tightened his arm securely around her waist, just to make sure she didn’t slip to the floor.
    “Bananas.” He pointed to his pack and Dave snapped at someone else in black who ran toward his small pile of stuff.
    “Have you eaten?” he asked only half aware of the small group of Lita caretakers who had gathered.
    “Yeah, I had a…. “ Lita shook her head and her small body relaxed against him. “I know I had a croissant earlier, but that can’t be all, I…”
    Every nerve of his was on edge as she relaxed further—almost like dead weight in his arms.
    He ripped open the end of the banana and pulled off a small bite like he would for a child. “Here. Just a bite or two, okay?”
    Lita took the banana and placed it in her mouth.
    “Water?” Griffin asked.
    Lita sat up after a moment and blinked a few times. “I don’t want to pass out.”
    Griffin held up the banana, his heart finally beginning to slow. “Then keep eating.”
    She nodded and took another tiny bite, and then a swallow of water.
    Her eyes closed as she continued chewing. Her hand pressed against her chest rubbing up and down slightly. “Can you imagine what they’re going to say about me tomorrow?”
    The worried side of him tightened his arm around her.
    “Then get back out there.” Dave held out a hand.
    Griffin wanted to clutch her to him and make her rest and eat, but it wasn’t his job, and he also knew this was a flaw of his—to protect, to take care of, to probably smother.
    He held the banana in front of her and she pulled the rest out of the peel with a wicked smile. “I just got an idea.”
    She walked back onstage with her banana and the crowd erupted.
    “I was so busy meeting so many of you awesome people, I forgot dinner.” She laughed into the mic, and if Griffin hadn’t known her, he never would have guessed she’d been close to passing out only minutes before. Pure determination and willpower kept her up there, and he wondered what else those traits would hide.
     
    There was nothing to do but make fun of herself, so Lita slid her tongue up the side of the banana and waggled her brows. The male half of the audience shouted and then she chomped the large piece in half, dropping the other part down to the stage, earning a chorus of groans and laughter.
    She turned to the band. “ Lies.” She knew the banana would play into that song well, and maybe the crowd would think it was all part of the show. She hoped, anyway.
    They were off the playlist, but she wasn’t going to make it through the rest of the set anyway. Her drummer counted it off, and she ignored the banana like lead in her stomach and the slime on her throat because she had to get this done, and she hoped her few bites would be enough to get her through a few more songs.
    She belted out the last note, and knew she only had one more song in her. A few bites of banana were not going to save the show.
    The crowd screamed as she walked off stage and Griffin’s face contorted in worry. She faintly registered Dave but the blackness of the stage swirled with the sounds and stage lights and she found herself once again, almost toppling over. Dave’s arms came around her for a moment while she got her feet underneath herself again.
    “You okay?” Griffin asked, stepping next to her. The smell of him… She had to figure out what it was and coat her pillows with it.
    “If you don’t do an encore, they’ll know something’s up.” Dave’s voice echoed in her ears.
    She knew it. She had to find the strength to get out again.
    She stared at Griffin as she stepped backwards, trying to decipher anything of what she was feeling. Mostly confusion.
    Lita threw her hands in the air as she stepped back onto the stage and the crowd’s energy lightened her shoulders, strengthened her legs. No one could understand how this many people could infuse your body with enough energy to