For One Beat More

Tom hadn’t let his camera leave his hand since the bus had pulled in to Vegas and it was starting to get a little annoying.

“I swear t’ God Sykes if ye don’t take that camera out my face I’ll shove it up yer arse,” Sheep threatened as they all filed into the hotel foyer. They had a couple of days off before the show and another after so they had the luxury of a few nights in a hotel on the Strip.

Tom shrugged and pivoted round towards Lexi who flipped the camera off with a sweet smile. Sheep handed everyone their room keys and ushered them towards the elevators, everyone piled in and Tom continued to snap pictures. The doors pinged open and the group shuffled out into the hallway.

“Go and get settled in, we’re going out for dinner together so be downstairs at eight,” Sheep instructed.

“Want to come over to our room to get ready in a bit?” Amanda asked Lexi.

“Sure,” the shorter girl nodded, it’d be nice to have some girl time for a change.

Oli looked to Matt as Amanda took his hand and led him down the hall, “Meet ye down in the bar, mate.”

Matt laughed and waved at his friend as he was dragged into his hotel room, “See you guys later.”

They found their room in between Lee and Vegan’s and Tom and Jona’s, Lexi slid the key card into the slot then Matt pushed the heavy door open.

“This is a nice room,” Lexi smiled, looking around at the plush king sized bed in the middle of the room as she deposited her suitcase next to it and sat her bag on the glass coffee table, looking out at the view of Vegas from their massive bay window.

“Nice view too,” Matt looped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

She sighed and relaxed against his body, “I need a shower,” she announced after a few minutes.

“Oh yeah?” Matt raised an eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes, “Alone.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying,” he called after her as she closed the bathroom door.

Lexi smiled as she turned on the fancy looking shower to let the water heat up while she undressed. Having just spent the day on the bus she was only wearing one of Matt’s shirts and a pair of denim shorts but she hadn’t bothered to wash her hair and was starting to feel a little grimy. Just as she turned to step into the shower she caught sight of herself in the massive mirror in front of the sink and stopped. She titled her head to the side and looked at her soft stomach, she would’ve been just over two months pregnant if the baby had been in her womb. She tried not to think about it but sometimes it just crept up on her, she would’ve been a mum. It had really been for the best, how were she and Matt supposed to raise a child? They could barely look after themselves never mind a little helpless person that constantly relied on them for everything, she felt like enough of a mother living with two grown men. Shaking her head to get rid of her thoughts she stepped into the steaming shower and let it soothe her aching body. Vegas was the last place in the world to be sad.

When she eventually emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam and wrapped in a towel to find Matt passed out in the middle of the bed, she smiled and wished that Tom was there with his camera. She quietly unzipped her suitcase and pulled out a pair of loose fitting sweatpants and a tank top figuring she might as well be comfortable while she and Amanda got ready for their night out.

Matt continued to snore quietly as she pulled out her outfit for going out and her make-up bag. It was only when her phone began to sing that he actually stirred.

“Hey Amanda, you ready?” Lexi asked.

“Yeah love, Oli wants to know if Matt’s ready to head down to the bar.”

“Well he’s still snoring away on the bed so I think it’s probably best if he heads over here to be honest,” Lexi smiled as she dodged the pillow that was chucked half-heartedly at her head.

Amanda laughed down the phone, “Nice so we’re just doing a swap then?”

“Pretty much, I’ll see you in a minute.”

“Good stuff. You’ll probably pass Ol in the hall.”

Lexi smiled as she hung up and pocketed her phone, “That was Amanda, Oli’s going to head over here and I’m going over to their room to get ready,” she informed her boyfriend.

“Okay,” Matt pushed himself up on his hands.

“So I’ll see you in a little bit,” she leaned over the bed to peck his lips softly.