Page 13 of Introvert
"You good?" he asked, his voice quiet and right next to my ear.
"Yeah," I said, "thanks."
"No problem."
As I regained my balance, and we stepped away from each other, I said, "You weren't kidding about the reflexes."
Felix just gave a half-shrug.
"Okay, guys," the woman behind me said.Now that I got a better look, I realized I knew who she was. Taylor Tanaka, HERS's manager—who was currently waiting for me to move. "We have a lot to go over before we leave. So could youall please take your seats?"
I nodded then spotted what looked like an outlet and walked straight for it. I ended upseated behind the guys—this wasabsolutely intentional. Santino turned toward me wearing an apologetic expression.
"Sorry about the stripper thing," Santino said then threw me a dazzling smile that I'm sure got him out of tons of trouble. Those pearly whites paired with his sky blue eyes, and was that…oh goodness, the guy had dimples. It was too much. He was too much. "I didn't mean anything by it.My favorite auntwas a stripper.I actually have a ton of respect for professional dancers, both exotic and not. The guyshired one before and—"
"It's okay," I said with a nod.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I get that all the time."
He laughed. "I think I'm going to like you. I'm Santino."
"I-I know," I said as he took my hand and kissed the back. I'd only ever seen that done in movies."Aurora."
"Nice to meet you, Aurora."
My cheeks went up in flames, but luckily, he turned back to face the front as the woman began speaking. Something drew my attention, a feeling, an awareness, I couldn't quite pinpoint, and as I looked up, my gaze crashed into Felix's.
His face was blank.
But something simmered in his eyes as he stared between me and Santino.
Not knowing what it meant but needing a break from those intense eyes, I pulled out my charger and plugged in my phone.
"Good morning everyone," the woman said, placing a hand on her chest, "as most of you know, I'm Taylor, the manager for HERS. First,I wanted to welcome our newest addition, Aurora.She'll be playing violin for us for the duration of the tour. Everyone please make her feel welcome."
She clapped enthusiastically, and the guys did too—though they were obviously doing it to humor her. I smiled and ducked my head, noticing my phonewas lit up. It had finally comeback to life.
"I really feel like this tour is going to be amazing. We have a lineup of beautiful venues. It's atwo-month commitment. Every stop, we'll be reconnecting with the fans, bringing joy to the people, and spreading the love of HERS music far and wide."
Taylor's smile brightened another notch.
"Although he's usually a solo artist, Felix has agreed to come on board and fill in as our bassist as Santino's wrist continues to heal."
"Good luck trying to fill my shoes, Cordova," Santino said.
"It'll be tough," Felix said. "But I think I can handle it, Alvarez."
"Hmph."
"Anyway"—Taylor cut in—"we're very glad to have you, Felix—as well as your loyal fanbase. Although, I spoke to our head of PR, and she says we need to find an angle to make you even more a part of the group,a way to increase not only HERS's popularity but yours as well."
Felix shrugged. "I'm popular enough."
"Hmmm."
The manager did not sound too pleased with that response, but as she consulted her notes, my phone pingedwith a text. And then several more. They must've come in when my phone was dead. All of them were from Freya. My throat went dry, my chest tightening the more I read.
