Chapter 60 Fallen God 15

Chapter 60 Fallen God 15
Dion

I knew Lola would be back. Like she said, she lived here after all, but it didn't stop me worrying about her, especially when the afternoon dragged by and the sun began to set. I wasn't old fashioned enough to think she couldn't handle herself in the streets, but I couldn't help but think of all the dangers the city held after dark.

And it was making me irritable and unable to concentrate, something my band mates were quickly tiring of. I couldn't blame them for that. I'd asked where she was at least a dozen times in the last hour. 

“Come on, man.” Jax cuffed my shoulder hard as I again uttered the words I would soon be famous for. “Get your head back in the game. We need to get this down if we want the space in the recording studio next week.”

Next week. I frowned. It wasn't enough time. Usually we spent months, if not years, putting together material for a new album, yet Erik wanted us in the studio next week? It was absurd in so many ways. And yet it kind of made perfect sense. We were all riding the wave of our last successful tour. And the major award we had won before it. Erik wanted us to keep riding that wave and a surprise album release would do that. The fans would love it; they would go out in droves to buy it or download it, and when the next tour happened, we would sell out yet again.

I loved touring. Playing live and listening to the thousands in the crowd go wild was why I sang in the first place. But a successful album would take me away from Lola a lot, and another tour would take me away for months. I'd already spent months away from her and we were just getting to know each other again. I didn't want any success I might achieve to ruin what little chance I had with her. 

“He's too busy looking wistfully at the door waiting for you know who,” Tate chuckled, but it was short–lived as Louis glared at him. Our drummer and newest member of Dionysus Rising wasn't happy about the fact that I was practically living with his sister, and he was even less happy about the fact I was crazy about her and everyone knew it. 

“Don't fucking say it.” Louis twirled the drumsticks he had brought along, even though the living room was far too small for drums to be squeezed in. He had been forced to tap out a beat on the arm of the sofa, pausing now and then like the rest of us to make notes and give suggestions. And I had to admit the song was coming together nicely. It had been pretty good to begin with, Tate had been right about that. But hearing it with the music my friends put together took it to another level. 

Louis twirled the drumsticks again. And I had a sneaky suspicion it was because he needed something to do with his hands, so he didn't punch me in the face. He turned his eyes to Erik. “I am not happy with this arrangement, you know.”

“You don't like jamming at Elodie's?” Erik's innocent act didn't fool anyone, let alone Louis. 

“You're making Dion stay here. Him and Lola living together isn't–”

Tate barked out a laugh. “Living together. They are doing so much more than living together if what I walked in on earlier today is anything to go by.”

“Shut up.” I threw a cushion at his head and missed. 

“Yeah shut up, Tate.” Jax joined in with the laughter and after a few minutes, so did Erik. Everyone was laughing but me and, of course, the big brother of the woman they were talking about. Louis was eyeing me coolly, his hands finally still.

“No one wants to think about Dion like that,” Jax continued. “Naked.” He shuddered.

“Don't need to think about it. We’ve all seen him nude. I probably have photos somewhere.” Erik called unhelpfully.

From the kitchen, Elodie popped her head around the door. “I wouldn't mind seeing Dion naked again.”

Jumping to his feet, Jax bellowed. “Woman!”

Elodie’s giggle was loud as he chased her away. She liked to tease him about seeing us all naked from the time we had been skinny dipping, but truthfully, Elodie only had eyes for him. They were so in love that at times, it was nauseating. 

“Don’t care about Dion being naked. My sister, on the other hand, no, hell no,” Louis said, his voice quiet, icy anger making his voice lower than usual. He didn't need to elaborate, the threat was clear as our eyes met.

“No one is talking about Lola.” Tate tried to soothe the situation that he had started. “It was a joke.” Turning his attention to me, he frowned. “Neither Dion nor Lola were naked when I turned up. I was messing with you. Isn't that right?” He implored me with his eyes. 

“No nakedness at all,” I said truthfully, and technically, it was the truth. Neither one of us had been actually naked. That didn't mean things hadn't happened. Beautiful wet things. Things that I couldn't wait to do again. 

“If you don't respect her, Dion, me and you are going to have some serious problems.”

Raising my hands, I smiled. “I respect Lola, Louis. Have no fear about that.” Hell, if he didn't believe that, then he hadn't read the lyrics of the song at all. 

“Your reputation isn't exactly…” He paused.

Yeah, I knew what my reputation was. It was the same as his and that's what he was afraid of. That I was going to treat Lola like he treated women. Which made him a hypocrite on so many levels.

“I know what my reputation is, Louis,” I said softly, “But Lola isn’t like any other girl, she's…” I’d been about to say different, but that didn't quite cover it. Even though she was, in fact, different to anyone I’d ever met, Lola was so much more than that. A one of a kind lady. A beacon of light.

Hell, she was my damn muse. 

Writing a song about her, and about the heartbreak and pain being away from her had caused me, was going to make us all very rich people. 

Louis summed it up in three words. “Lola is special,” he said, looking me dead in the eyes. 

“Yes, she is, and that's why I’m never going to hurt her. You have my word on that.”

He studied me for several long, stretched out heartbeats and then nodded. “Make sure you don’t.”

“Right, now that's out of the way.” Erik clapped his hands. “How about we actually get back to work?”



At a little past seven, Elodie returned from her little impromptu shopping trip. She had a heavy woollen hat over her soaking curls and the shoulder of her coat was damp. In her hands were several carrier bags that clanged when she moved. Elodie was, like me, on the teetotal train, but she looked like she was carrying enough booze to put the Navy to sleep.

“Look what I found!” With a flourish, she stepped further into the room and Lola stepped up behind her. If Elodie looked damp, Lola resembled a drowned rat. 

“Lola.” Without thinking about the people who were watching us, I rushed forward. “Where the hell have you been? You're soaked.”

Shrugging off her coat, she grinned a little self–consciously at everyone staring at us. “I had an interview and then I did a little Christmas shopping and…” Her eyes travelled around the packed living room. It hadn't been a big room to begin with and with all the band packed in, it was positively cramped. 

“Did you get the job?” her brother asked.

“Of course she did.” Elodie handed the bags to Jax, who stood with waiting arms. “She also got cheese and hot chocolate, so…” she wiggled her eyebrows, “you know what that means, right?”

We stared at her silently. Sometimes Elodie was a goofball. She didn't show it much, but it was always there waiting to break through her professional exterior. 

“Oh, come on, guys,” she huffed. “It means hot chocolate and cheese toasties. All we need now is a Christmas tree and it would be like a Christmas movie.”

I didn't know what kind of Christmas movies she had watched growing up, but it didn't sound very festive to me. “I could eat,” I mumbled, my eyes still on Lola, who was slipping her feet from her heeled boots.

“And I wouldn't say no to a boozy hot chocolate,” Tate grinned.

“Coming up.” Elodie gave a little curtsy. “Lola?”

“I'll be in to help in a second. I just want to get out of these wet clothes.” There it was again, that beautiful, sweet smile that charmed everyone around her. “I need to warm up, I feel like a snowman,” she gigged softly

Eagerly, I took her hand. If she needed to warm up, then I was more than willing to help her. In fact, I would have her hot and sweating within minutes.

“Sit your ass down, Dion.” Erik pointed to the spot on the sofa that I'd just vacated. “You ain't going anywhere until this is done.”