Free Loving the Band by Emily Baker Page A

decided that I definitely did when Riley was around. I pretended I hadn’t seen the pained look Shaq gave Riley as he came back into the rehearsal room to join the boys. When the next song began, Shaq started it off with a haunting and melancholy solo. His voice sounded full of agony.
    The boys drove me back to Dad’s house after the session. Riley had asked me to stay and, looking into his handsome face and twinkling blue eyes, it would have been really easy to say yes, but I needed to go home, take a shower and talk over everything that had happened with Tegan. I had so much going on in my head that I needed someoneto share it with.
    The journey back was pretty quiet and I think the tension between me, Shaq and Riley had been picked up somewhat by the other boys. I spent the uncomfortable time texting Tegan about Callum’s comment about her. When we finally pulled up to my father’s house, Riley leaned over to kiss me goodbye on the cheek and the others gave me hugs. Shaq just nodded as I left.
    Walking up the drive, I sighed and unlocked the door. All of a sudden, I felt incredibly exhausted. I took my shoes off and threw them in the corner of the room, heading straight for bed.
    Checking in on Tegan, I found her fast asleep so I went into my room, threw my clothes off, not caring where they landed, and gratefully crawled under my duvet.
    I was just dropping off to sleep when I heard my phone ping. I groaned and reached over to grab it from the bedside table. I squinted at the bright light now filling my room. It was a text from Riley:
Hey, I just wanted to check if you were ok. You were pretty quiet in the car. X
    I smiled at how he had thought about me again. I texted him back straight away.
Hey Riley, yeah I’m fine. I was just tired. Thank you for making sure – it means a lot.Night x
    I lied about why I was being so quiet – I think Riley actually suspected that it had a lot to do with Shaq, but he didn’t seem to want to address it any more than I did. I reminded myself that this was all meant to be about having fun with someone new. And Riley was fun. And pretty sexy too.
Sweet dreams, Jessica. xx
    I turned over to go to sleep, determined that that’s exactly what I would do, but for some reason the bed just felt empty and uncomfortable.

17
The Beach
    Music filled the room, making me wake up almost instantly. I turned over in bed and covered my ears, hoping it would go away. But it persisted. I groaned in frustration.
    ‘TEGAN! Turn your music down!’ I shouted, knowing she probably couldn’t hear me. When it carried on, I grumpily shot up in bed, before guiltily realizing it was my phone, which was ringing. I quickly reached for it, nearly falling off my bed on the way down. I steadied myself and squinted down at the screen. It was Riley.
    ‘Hello?’ I croaked. My morning voice was not good.
    I heard a chuckle down the phone and an equally husky but far more sexy voice replied. ‘Morning, Jessica.’
    I grinned. ‘Hey, Riley.’
    ‘Are you OK today?’
    ‘Yes, I’m fine, thank you. Are you?’
    ‘Yes, I’m good,’ he mumbled.
    ‘Good,’ I giggled. This was a very odd and formal conversation. Riley actually sounded a little nervous. ‘Tell me you’re calling this early in the morning for a goodreason!’ I said cheekily.
    ‘Well, actually, I was wondering … me and the boys are all off to Brighton beach today if you and Tegan would like to come.’ He paused and, before I had a chance to reply, quickly added, ‘Only if you fancy it. No pressure.’
    ‘The beach?’
    ‘Yeah!’ he said with excitement, and I could feel a smile playing on my lips. ‘It’s, like, twenty-eight degrees outside!’
    I opened the curtains and sunlight poured into my room, lighting it up instantly. I closed my eyes and let my skin soak up the warmth. I was always at my happiest when it was warm.
    I heard him fake cough down the phone, grabbing my attention. ‘Er, Jess, are you still there?’
    ‘Yeah,’ I