“I know, man, it’s fucking earlier than shit,” he complained.

Oops. Guess I spoke too soon about the swearing. Looking down at Kiera, I rolled my eyes at what my bandmate considered ‘earlier than shit.’ Kiera barely held my gaze; she was doing everything in her power to make sure she didn’t take in even an inch of Griffin’s bare skin. Her discomfort with his nakedness was adorable, but…I really should put an end to this. Especially since I could hear Griffin starting to move our way.

I was about to tell him to go put some fucking clothes on, when he interrupted my thoughts by saying, “Hey, Matt wanted me to tell you that if you miss another rehearsal, he’s tossing you from the band.”

Looking back up at Griffin, I raised an eyebrow. “Really?” Toss me from the band? That was a new threat. Guess I’d finally pushed Matt to the breaking point with my multiple absences. I wasn’t worried in the slightest about Matt actually evicting me—not for a handful of rehearsals—but I supposed it was time to start putting in more of an effort.

Lightly laughing, still amused by the idea of Matt kicking me out, I shook my head. “Tell him I’ll be there.” I looked back down at Kiera, absorbing her absorbing me. Warmth filled me as I remembered our many carefree afternoons together. Those memories were worth the harassment. “I guess my head has been other places lately,” I murmured.

Griff took that in the dirtiest way possible. Close enough now to shove my shoulder back, he said, “Well, zip your head back in your pants and get back in the game. We need you on board.”

Damn. Griffin scolding me for being flakey—and meaning it this time—was eye opening. I guess I really did need to start being a professional again. We did have a new song that we were trying to get just right so we could include it on the tour after all. I supposed that was important. Kiera was still handling her responsibilities, going to school…most days, and I wanted her to keep doing that, which meant, I shouldn’t be shirking my responsibilities to the band. Kiera wasn’t the only important thing in my life, and she wasn’t the only person counting on me either. I needed to remember that.

With a heavy sigh, I told him, “I’m on board, Griff. I’ll be there, okay?” For real this time.

He gave me a sniff, his face actually looking annoyed. “You better.”