Time spent on the road always seemed to fly by. The days and nights blurred together as we traveled from city to city. Once we arrived at a tour stop, we kept a frantic pace from morning press junkets at local TV and radio stations and then playing our hearts out at night. The only time it seemed to slightly slowdown was during our breaks.

When Emersyn took the stage for the first time, it was hard to remember a time when she hadn’t been part of Jacob’s Ladder. She transitioned that seamlessly. Sure, there were some bumps in the road, especially at her very first show. But after that, it was smooth sailing. Thankfully, our audiences had embraced her from the very start. Part of them knew her from her band with Jack, and the others appeared to have been won over by her musical talent and voice.

During our time off stage, we fell into a somewhat domesticated routine. With Emersyn onboard, Gabe and I ate our meals together around the table, rather than sitting on the couch or back in our roosts. On the weekends when Rae joined us, we really became one big family. Especially if she brought her ten-year-old-son Lincoln aka Linc with her. We watched movies together and talked and drank to the wee hours of the morning.

If Linc was along for the ride, we worked hard to keep the conversations and movies PG. He was a really cool kid, and I enjoyed spending time with him. More than anything, I got a trip out of watching him interact with Gabe. My not-so-kid friendly brother was really working hard to be a father figure to Linc. He was doing a damn good job in my opinion.

As for Emersyn and me, we had managed to put my infamous morning grope of her in the past. Even though I was asleep, I still couldn’t wrap my mind around how I could have touched her like that. I didn’t want to imagine what her therapist might have said about the situation. Like I was harboring some deep seeded emotions for her or something.

Tonight, as I trudged back to the bus after our show, I wanted nothing more than a scalding hot shower and to fall into bed. After our Meet and Greet, I’d stayed back to have a beer with some of the roadies while Gabe and Emersyn headed for the bus. After Harry unlocked the door, I pounded up the stairs. I swept my shirt over my head as I started down the hallway. The curtain to Emersyn’s roost was closed, so I figured she had gone on to sleep.

“All right, bro, you’ve been in there long enough. Give someone else a shot at the shower.” I grabbed the handle and jerked open the bathroom door. A high-pitched feminine squeal pierced my eardrums, and my hands flew up to cover them. As a whole lot of naked female flesh entered my vision, I should have covered my eyes instead.

Oh fuuuuuck. It hadn’t been Gabe in the shower. Instead of seeing my brother’s junk, I had just managed to see more than I ever should have of my best friend. Like tits and ass kind of more. While most women didn’t care if their girlfriends saw them naked, it was a completely different ball game when it came to male and female friends. Yes, I might’ve accidentally grabbed Emersyn’s boob once, but that was nothing like seeing her practically naked.

“Eli!” Emersyn shrieked as she fumbled to cover herself with a towel.

Averting my eyes, I ducked my head, but then on second thought, I spun around so she could get decent. “I’m so, so sorry. I thought you were Gabe.” As I got a delicious flashback of perky tits in my mind, I mumbled, “So not Gabe.” Oh Jesus, had I actually just thought of Emersyn’s tits as perky and the flashback as delicious? What kind of pervert was I? There was no way I should’ve been having those thoughts about my best friend. When I grabbed her boob in my sleep, I had felt so disgusting I wanted to cut my hand off. Well, you know, except for the fact I kind of needed it to play guitar. Next thing I would be doing is filing the images of Emersyn away in my spank bank to relive at a later time. Oh, fuck no!

“Did you ever hear of knocking?” she squeaked. I wasn’t sure I had ever heard her voice so shrill. Who knew the way to get her to reach a new vocal range was to scare the shit out of her by seeing her naked? Although I was pretty sure she would object to going on stage in the buff.

I threw a tentative glance over my shoulder, and relief filled me when I saw Sonny was now sufficiently wrapped in a towel. Turning around to face her, I asked, “Yeah, okay, so I didn’t knock, but didn’t you hear me when I said I was coming in?”

Emersyn wildly shook her head. “It was all muffled because I had the towel over my ears to dry my hair.”

“I’m really sorry, Sonny, but ever since Abby got with Jake, it’s been just us guys on the bus. When you’ve seen one dick, you’ve seen them all.”

“Tell that to all the men enamored with sending dick pics.”

After throwing my head back with a laugh, my eyes met hers. “Good point.”

Nibbling on her lip, Emersyn said, “I guess this was bound to happen with us being in such close quarters.”

“True. But from now on, I’ll make sure to knock. I’ll make sure Gabe gets the memo as well. In fact, we might even instate a shower schedule where you’re ensured to have the whole bus to yourself.”

Emersyn rolled her eyes. “I’m not that much of a special snowflake that I can’t take showering on a bus with you two.”

“Yeah, well, I would argue your horrified scream at the sight of me could have broken glass.”

She laughed. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“I’m seriously surprised the mirror didn’t shatter.”

“Whatever,” she replied.

When my gaze zeroed in on the area directly above her cleavage, Emersyn shoved me. “Jeez, didn’t you get a good enough look a few minutes ago?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re staring at my boobs.”

I laughed. “Trust me, I’m not staring at your tits.”

“You could have fooled me,” she huffed, pulling the towel tighter against her.

“You still have the scar.”

“Excuse me?”

With my index finger, I motioned to the slightly discolored area below her collarbone. “The scar you got that time we were climbing trees.”

Emersyn’s eyes widened. “You remember that?”

“You scared the hell out of me. No lie. I can still hear the thump sound when you fell to the ground.”

Pinching her eyes shut, Emersyn began reliving the memory. “You were reaching your hand out to me when my foot slipped on the limb. A branch jabbed me in the chest as I fell. When I landed, it knocked the breath out of me.” Her eyes popped open as a small smile curved on her lips. “I’ll never forget the look on your face—you were pale as a sheet. The worst part was I couldn’t tell you I was all right.”

I grinned. “I’m not going to lie I probably pissed my pants a little that day.”

“Because you were worried our parents would kill you if you’d maimed me?” she teasingly asked.

“That was part of it.” I shook my head. “More than anything, I was worried I’d killed my best friend. I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it.”

“You really thought that?”

“I sure did.”

I froze when fresh tears pooled in her eyes. I couldn’t believe as hard as I was trying not to upset her, I had somehow managed to set her off. The next thing I knew she was throwing her arms around my neck and pressing herself against me. “Oh Eli, everyone should have a best friend as wonderful as you,” she murmured, her breath fanning against my ear.

After I brought my arms up to embrace her, something from the darkest recesses of my brain switched on. For the first time in my life, I noticed the soft curves of Emersyn’s body. The perfect way she fit against me. The way her breasts pillowed against my chest. The flow of her hair down her back. The sweet smell of her perfume. The silkiness of her skin.

It was everything a man would notice about a prospective lover.

It was everything I shouldn’t have noticed about Emersyn.

Clearing my throat, I quickly pulled away. “Anyway, I’m sorry about that day, and I’m sorry about bursting in on you.”

Emersyn gave me sweet smile. A chaste one she would give to her older brother or friend. “You’re forgiven.”

I jerked my thumb at my roost. “I’ll give you some privacy and let you finish getting ready.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“No, no. I don’t mind.”

Before she could protest anymore, I turned on my heels and hurried down the hallway. After jerking aside the cover on my roost, I dove onto the mattress. As I lay back, I pinched my eyes shut. While it was probably crazy as hell, I began repeating in my mind, there is no way in hell I’m hot for Emersyn, there is no way in hell I’m hot for Emersyn, there is no way in hell I’m hot for Emersyn.

Nope. Nada. Not happening.

Okay, sure, there was some glaring evidence to disprove that statement. Yeah, I had once grabbed her boob when I was asleep. I had also described said boob as perky and delicious. And I had just enjoyed feeling her up against me.

Oh God.

After spiraling through my self-deprecating tirade, a lightbulb finally went off in my head. It wasn’t about Emersyn at all—it was just about sex. Well, more precisely, it was about the fact I hadn’t gotten any in six weeks. Or had it been longer? Hook-ups were harder when we weren’t on the road.

I exhaled a sigh of relief. Now all I needed was to get laid, and then I sure as hell wouldn’t be thinking about Emersyn in any other way than as my best friend. And I’m sure there was absolutely no way in hell Emersyn would want me thinking that about her either. She’d just buried her husband, for fuck’s sake. The last thing she needed was her comforter turning into a creeper.

Operation Get Eli laid was about commence, and the sooner the better.