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“I don’t know. Maybe it’s time you asked him.”

Chapter Nineteen

“Five, six, seven, eight!” Lana, Midnight Storm’s dance captain, stood at the front of the mirrored rehearsal room the band had rented in downtown Wichita, clapping out the beat as Hurricane blared through the speakers mounted in the corners of the room. She shouted out a series of directions and nonsense syllables as the band danced their way through the chorus for the fifth time that afternoon.

“No, Zach, that’s the original move. We’re doing the alternate, remember?” Lana called, rocking her weight from side to side on the balls of her feet in demonstration. “Keep those feet planted.”

“Sorry. I forgot,” Zach said as he dropped back into the wide-legged stance.

“One more time from the top.” Lana twirled a finger in the air.

Beckett planted his hands on his knees and bent forward, drawing in great gulps of air. “Fuck’s sake, Lana. What’s the point of doing the alternate choreo if you’re going to make us rehearse it so many times it blows out my knee anyway?”

The petite redhead rolled her eyes. “Fine, you big baby. Take five. Grab some water. Then one more time from the top.”

Jackson held out a hand to Beckett, and he begrudgingly accepted the help back to an upright position. He hobbled off to the side of the rehearsal room where his water bottle waited for him. Beside him, Nico mopped sweat from his forehead with the hem of his t-shirt.

“This shit used to be easier,” Beckett grumbled, tipping his head back to pour the Smart Water into his mouth.

“We used to be younger,” Nico said, clapping him on the back.

“How’s your knee holding up?” Zach asked around a mouthful of protein bar.

“Fuck off,” Beckett said.

Zach winced. “That good, huh?”

Logan joined their group and held out a small tube of Icy Hot. “Here. It’s the good stuff. Works wonders on my lower back.”

Beckett shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“He just doesn’t want to have to unwrap and rewrap his knee,” Jackson said.

“It’s here if you need it.” Logan set the tube down on the table with all their water bottles. “I’m glad you finally agreed to switch to the alternate choreography. Even my knees are sore after Hurricane.”

“If you’d all join me for yoga, you’d have much more flexible joints,” Nico said.

“My joints are plenty flexible,” Zach said with a wink, ignoring his bandmates’ groans.

“Anyone have any plans for this afternoon?” Logan asked. “I was thinking about going to the zoo if anyone wanted to join me.”

“It’s our one day off and you want to spend it hanging out with smelly animals?” Zach asked.

“He’ll feel right at home,” Jackson teased with a wide grin.

“It’s one of the largest zoos in the country,” Logan protested. “You can help feed the penguins.”

“Did you know that penguins’ bones aren’t hollow like other birds?” Zach asked.

“Is that true?” Nico glanced between the other members of the band, as if any of them knew anything about penguins’ bones.

“It’s so they can dive deeper underwater. Makes them less buoyant,” Zach said as he tore off another bite of his protein bar.

“How do you know that?” asked Jackson.

“It’s that podcast he’s always listening to,” Beckett said.

“So you want to come to the zoo?” Logan asked.