Love Will Read Online Free Page B

at Peron’s ashen face. He’s vehemently shaking his head.
    “Seven’s even better!” Ben says. “Damon and Tavo are in the club… you ladies want to come with me?”
    “Where’s Will?” one of them asks.
    I don’t even look his way, because I know how he’s going to answer.
    “He’s right here. Will? You have some visitors.” I glance at Peron first, then finally over at our manager with my hands poised to catch the shirt he’s holding. Instead, he tosses it to the front of the bus.
    “Nice,” I say to him as he welcomes all seven of the girls onto our bus.
    “I’ll be back with Damon momentarily,” Ben says as he leaves us alone with the women. If I were to guess from their behavior in the limo and their dress here in front of us, I’d say they were strippers. Feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of them, I skip over my usual questions and head to the important one.
    “How’s everyone tonight?” I ask, walking toward them confidently with a smile that always wins women over.
    They answer with “fine” or “good” or “better now that we found you.”
    “That’s great. Do you all know Peron?”
    “Hey, Peron!” they seem to sing together. He looks petrified with fear. I’m sure he is. Brooke would not approve of this.
    “I’ve got one question for you all… who’s already had a little too much to drink tonight?” Again, I smile, encouraging them to fess up. I’m met with a few giggles and five raised hands. “You two… what’s up? Not drinking tonight?” I ask the only ones who didn’t answer in the affirmative.
    “Just taking it slow,” one says.
    “I like to remember what goes on,” the other admits.
    “Cool. Well… I think you ladies,” I say, pointing to the other five, “are probably about matched for Damon and Tavo at this point. Make yourselves at home. You two… would you like to join me and Peron in the back room?”
    “Will…” Peron says.
    I ignore him, scratching the fine trail of hair beneath my navel as I stretch.
    “Sure!” the two girls say.
    “Nice,” I respond with a sly grin, walking toward the freezer and pulling out a frozen strawberry daiquiri mixer that Tavo insisted we bring along for such an occasion. “What do you even add to this?” I whisper to Peron.
    “Rum,” he says, “and ice.” I gather everything and the blender, handing a bucket of ice to one of the women and lead them both to the back room–which, coincidentally, is Ben’s sleeping quarters. He’d offered it to our lead singer–the whole reason we’re on tour–but Damon insisted he wanted to be a part of the songwriting process, and he knew being close to me and Peron was integral to that.
    As I wait by the door, ready to close it behind us, I notice Peron still lingering next to his bunk, wavering. “Peron, come on. And bring some crackers. Stat .”
    “I’m not hungry,” he says, holding his hand over his stomach as if he’s going to be sick.
    “Don’t worry. We’re not eating them.” He reaches into the cabinet and pulls out a sleeve of Saltines, then grabs his glasses on the way to the room. I make sure to lock the door behind us. “So, ladies,” I say after plugging in the blender, “what are your names?”
    “Julia and Darci,” Julia says, pointing to herself and then to her friend.
    “It’s nice to meet you both.” I walk over to Ben’s closet and rummage through his shirts, finding a nice, crisp, white button-down, still in the bag from the cleaners. He’s not as muscular as I am, and his arms are a little shorter, so I have to leave the cuffs undone, but I’m not worried about the fit. I don’t bother buttoning any of the other buttons, either, which seems to make Julia and Darci happy.
    While Peron busies himself making drinks for the girls and presumably for himself, I sit down on the bed and invite them to do the same. Nervously, they join me. “I don’t want to disappoint you both, but uh… the fun I intend to have in