Read Online Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin by Mariana Zapata - Free Book Online Page A

lumpy bed at my parent’s house even more. It was the things I took for granted, like showering without shoes and hanging out in my room half-naked, that I missed the hell out of.
    But I knew it wasn’t any of those things that were really bothering me right then. I was a little bit aggravated with Eli for still doing the kind of shit that had gotten him in trouble in the past. We’d agreed before I joined the tour that he’d tone down the drinking as one of my conditions. He’d been holding onto his end of the bargain so far, but I wasn’t betting on the streak continuing today.
    There was also the chance I wasn’t giving him enough credit, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
    “Can I come in?” a soft voice asked, the door to the back room cracking open.
    “Of course,” I answered, recognizing Sacha’s low timbre on the other side.
    His dark head of hair peeked in before he swung the door open. “I wasn’t sure if you were doing something.” His eyes flickered around the room cautiously before he plopped down onto the length of the couch opposite the one I was sitting on.
    “I’m just reading. What are you up to?” I asked, eyeing the lean muscles beneath the tank he was wearing. Sacha had on shorts that were riding up his thighs, showing off what seemed like meters of nearly pale skin beneath dark leg hair. He was also wearing a scuffed pair of running shoes, not his normal set of clean black ones.
    He scratched at the short hair on the side of his head. “I’m waiting for Julian to come back,” he explained, referring to the guitar player for his band.
    “Didn’t he go with my brother?” I swore I saw him get into the taxi with the other morons. If that was the case, there was no way the group was coming back anytime soon. Much less coming back sober. I wouldn’t bet any money on the chances of them being able to stand on two feet when they returned.
    Now that I thought about it, I should probably try and have my camera app open on my phone just in case something ridiculous happened during the show.
    “He said he was only going for a couple of hours.”
    I hated people telling me that they would do something and then not. Disappointment was bitter. It wasn’t like it was my fault Julian had taken off, but I felt bad he’d left Sacha hanging. I would much rather take someone being blunt and hurting my feelings in the process, than let me down.
    I sighed before breaking it to him. “They’re not coming back soon.”
    Those translucent gray eyes that bordered on sky blue blinked in my direction.
    “Were you planning on doing something?” I asked.
    “We were going to go for a run,” he explained with a shrug. “It isn’t the end of the world.”
    Slipping my legs off the couch to plant my feet on the floor, I raised my eyebrows at him as I set my book on the seat next to me. “I’ll go with you if you want.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah.” I nodded. “I used to run track.”
    “You did?” He made it sound like the idea was preposterous. Rude. It may or may not have been because I complained about the bus being too far from the venue back in Birmingham when I was moving merch bins, but in my defense, it had been raining.
    Either way, I couldn’t help but scratch my forehead before amending my answer. “In high school.”
    Sacha flashed those perfect white teeth on display. “What you’re meaning to tell me is that you’re pretty much a professional track star?”
    I made sure to keep my features even as I nodded. “Exactly.”
    His eyes widened playfully. “I’m pretty fast,” he warned.
    “We’ll see how fast you are,” I said and immediately felt a little weird for inviting myself. “But only if you want the company. If you don’t, I completely understand.” And I might cry a little, but I kept that part to myself.
    Running was one of the only things I’d kept up with over my life, especially in the time since my breakup; I made time for it a few days a week on the