Free Songbird by Victoria Escobar

to do about your
guest.”
    “Just let her sleep. I can sleep in
here.”
    Like fucking hell he would. There was only
one king size bed in this room. While theoretically it was big
enough for two there was no way I was sharing sheets with Nicholas
Walker.
    I went over possibilities in my head as I
started the shower and began to wash without waiting for it to
completely warm. Cold showers and I were acquainted and I didn’t
let it bother me.
    Dammit, I had so looked forward to sleeping
in a real bed. I could sleep on the couch or go out to the bus and
sleep in my bunk. Neither choice was appealing.
    “Hey, Songbird?” Nicholas knocked briefly and
pushed the door open.
    “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Walker, I’m in the
shower.” Why hadn’t I locked the door? In case of accidents, my
mind informed. You can’t be rescued from drowning in the tub if the
door is locked. Sometimes I hated my own precautions.
    “Yeah. I know.” He moved my folded, dirty
clothes from the toilet and sat down.
    I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to
scream. The shower curtain was clear but frosted. He could see the
outline of me but nothing else. Still, it did not make for
comfortable showering.
    My gun was under the pile of clean clothes on
the vanity. As long as he didn’t touch anything, he shouldn’t
notice the concealed weapon.
    “What side of the bed did you want?”
    I turned in time to see him pick something up
off my stack of clothes. My heart froze but he only picked up the
single garment. “These are nice. Do you have a bra to match too?
Girls usually do with underwear as pretty as these.”
    Underwear was a weakness of mine. I wasn’t
beautiful but it helped me feel pretty and strong. However, I
wasn’t about to admit that or the fact that all my underwear were
matching sets complete with garters for under my skirts. That was
entirely too much information for him.
    “I’ll check your bag while you’re dressing.
You probably don’t sleep in it. That would be uncomfortable,
especially the underwire kind.”
    “You can have the bed.” Hopefully dismissing
the conversation would get him out of the bathroom so I could
finish washing.
    “Where are you going to sleep?”
    “On the couch.” Determined to dismiss him I
tilted my head back and began the process of washing the long
tresses.
    “Wow, I didn’t realize your hair was that
long. How come you never leave it out like that? I bet it falls
gorgeously against your ass when it’s not pulled up or curled.”
    “Can I please shower in peace?” I snapped.
“You should be in bed anyway. Early morning tomorrow.”
    “Yeah, I remember. But you’re not in bed yet
so the point is moot. You’ll be with me tomorrow at the radio
station.” He paused and it was obvious he was watching me lather my
hair in sections. “Why don’t you cut it if it takes so much time to
wash? Probably takes forever to dry too.”
    “Because I like curls, and braids, and
ponytails,” I grumbled. “Walker, please. Can you wait in the
bedroom?”
    “You’ve seen me naked.”
    He would have to point that out.
    “If you had arrived on time for departure I
wouldn’t have had to come haul your ass out of bed.” As an
afterthought, I stressed each sound, “Literally.”
    “True. What do you use on your skin? I
remember it being really soft. And you smell good all the time too.
How do you manage that?”
    “Why the sudden interest in my personal
hygiene?” I asked.
    “I know all the guys. Max and I go back to
preschool. Arc we met in high school and Guy is a pal from college
football days. He plays better bass than football.”
    “So, this is you getting to know me?” For
some reason I found it oddly endearing he’d known his band so long
and had brought them along into the limelight. I also felt a small
amount of giddiness at the fact he didn’t want me to stay a
stranger on this tour.
    “In a manner. Usually I ask about food
first.”
    I laughed. “I can see how that would