Free Loving the Band by Emily Baker

was a tight squeeze with the six of us crammed into the small lift and I found myself crushed against Shaq’s broad chest. I swore I felt him edge as far away from me as he could.
    Riley looked down at me reassuringly and looped his fingers through mine. I decided I liked how that felt and I kept mine there, giving his hand a small squeeze.
    The glass doors opened to reveal a packed lobby. Riley wrapped his arm round my waist, pulling me towards a tall man standing to the right of the busy crowd of people. The man pulled Tyler aside and began talking to him, a serious expression on his face.
    ‘Who’s that?’ I murmured to Riley.
    He bent his head down towards my ear, sending unexpected shivers down my spine at his closeness. ‘That’s Paul – he’s our manager.’
    ‘Has something bad happened?’
    Callum, who overheard me, laughed. ‘No, I think we must just have fans outside.’
    I felt Riley let his hand fall from my waist and he pulled them into his varsity jacket. I was surprised, but didn’t say anything.
    ‘Here we go, boys – and girl,’ said Paul, not looking too surprised to see me there with Riley. ‘Everyone ready?’
    As we walked through the door, Riley and Logan broke off to talk to the fans and pose for photos. They were obviously good at their job, but I felt a bit deserted andunsure of what to do next. Just then I felt a reassuring hand placed on my upper back, guiding me to the black SUV car parked on the other side of the path. I turned to see which of the boys it was and saw Shaq walking next to Callum, his head hanging low. It couldn’t have been him, could it? It must have been Callum. He was very caring, after all.
    I rushed straight for the black car and flung open the heavy door, chucking myself down on the seat. I sighed and rubbed my temples with my two pointer fingers. Not long after, Logan and Riley jumped in.
    ‘You OK, Jess?’ Riley asked, squeezing in next to me and looking into my eyes with concern. ‘Sorry I had to leave you for a moment.’
    ‘That’s OK,’ I smiled. ‘Here safe and sound.’
    Shaq stared out of the window.

16
Rehearsal
    I sat in a corner of the room behind the soundproof glass listening to the boys singing their hearts out. Callum had led me there and made sure I was completely comfortable and been introduced to the sound technicians – all really nice guys. He paused before joining the rest of the boys. ‘If you speak to Tegan this morning, tell her I say hi. It would be good to see her again.’
    ‘I’ll definitely do that,’ I smiled, watching him blush ever so slightly. I grinned to myself as he scampered out of the room. Interesting … I made a note to call Tegan as soon as I had signal.
    When the boys started singing, I sat back in awe at the way they worked together. The harmony of all their voices sent shivers down my spine, but it wasn’t just that – the chemistry they emanated was amazing to see as they intuitively adjusted to each other’s pitch, tried new off-the-cuff melodies and encouraged each other.
    In between songs, I saw Shaq struggle with his tiredness,rubbing his eyes and looking like he was just trying to concentrate on the words and nothing else. Riley stared intently through the window to where I sat, every now and then giving me the most charming and intimate of smiles.
    At one point, when the others took a water and snack break, Riley came through to the side of the glass where I sat and placed his head softly in my lap.
    ‘You OK, Riley?’ I asked him, looking down fondly.
    He simply nodded, snuggling closer into my lap. I found myself playing with his curls, twisting them round my fingers. He let out a quiet sigh and turned to look at me, holding my gaze. His ocean-blue eyes were very striking and I had trouble breaking their gaze. Logan came to my rescue as he poked his head round the door to call Riley over for the next song. I remembered Tegan’s words about looking after myself and having fun and I