Diving Into Him by Elizabeth Barone Page A

was still touring. They had replaced him with another young twenty-something-year-old with a baby face. She felt sorry for Koty. If South of Forever didn’t do well, he would forever be known as the guy who had been in a boy band.
    The beard on his face made him look like a rock star sex god, though, she mused. Lowering her eyes, she stared at the chipped paint on her fingernails. He had always been a great lover. Shedding the boy band and giving himself a more roughed up image made him look the part. Warmth pooled in her belly, and she bit down on the inside of her lower lip. She needed to get laid, and soon. Maybe she should buy a vibrator. She tried to imagine laying in her room alone at night. She wondered if Koty would hear it from across the hall. Heat spread across her cheeks and bit at the back of her neck. She needed to stop thinking about sex, and she definitely needed to stop thinking about Koty. She turned her attention to Griff.
    He elbowed her in the ribs, gently. “Don’t worry, kiddo. I’m going to save your ass again.” He snickered.
    “Yeah?” She lifted an eyebrow at him. “And how are you going to do that?”
    He lifted his coffee in a salute. “I’ve got a plan.”

Chapter 8
    The trunk of Griff’s rental car was packed to the brim. Jett closed the lid. It bounced right back open. Jutting a hip out, she put her hand on her hip, shaking her head at the thing in mock disappointment.
    “What’s the problem?” Griff jogged down the front walk, carrying a small amplifier.
    “That’s not going to fit.” She tried closing the trunk again. The door refused to latch.
    “Here.” Griff handed the amplifier to her. He grabbed the door of the trunk with both hands and slammed it down hard. It latched, but remained cracked open.
    “What’s with this?” She held up the small amplifier. She had no idea why he had grabbed it. The studio had enough for all of them, and they probably wouldn’t even need them all at once. She had bought it when she was a teenager, and it somehow survived every move.
    He opened the passenger door. Sweeping an arm, he gestured for her to get in. “You can put it at your feet.”
    “Do we even need it?” She lifted an eyebrow at him.
    Griff shrugged. “Maybe it’s superstitious of me, but I feel like it’s our lucky charm. Do you know that it’s been at every Perpetual Smile practice?”
    Jett frowned, staring down at the little amp. Chewing on her lip, she ran through the hundreds and hundreds of rehearsal sessions she had spent with her former band. As she thought about it, she realized that he was right. “That’s weird,” she said. She lifted it into the air. “Someone always grabbed it by mistake.”
    “Or maybe it was divine intervention.” Griff winked at her, then jogged around to the driver’s side.
    She glanced at the front door of the condo, wondering where Koty was.
    “He’s coming,” Griff called from the inside of the car. He started the engine.
    Shrugging, Jett got into the car. She tucked the amplifier in front of her feet. She hoped that it actually was lucky. They were going to need all that they could get.
    Koty jogged out of the house. He slid into the back seat without a word. Griff pulled out of the visitor spot in front of their condo, easing the car toward the exit of the complex. Jett glanced at Koty in the side mirror. He gazed out of the window. Twisting her lips to the side, she tore her gaze away. What he did shouldn’t matter to her anymore.
    They drove in silence. Griff turned on the complementary satellite radio. “I could get used to this,” he remarked as he fiddled with the buttons, searching for a good station.
    Jett watched out of her window as they passed brick sidewalks and art galleries. It was weird to be in a car instead of walking. Usually everywhere they needed to go was in the SoWa district, and if not, there was always the T. She wondered if she and Koty would ever get their own car. She had never owned a