Hung Out: A Needles and Pins Rock Romance (72 page)

 He focused back on the electronic screen, swiping his finger this way and that, clearly uneasy with and avoiding her question. When she firmly repeated it, he sighed.

“No idea, really. I’ve noticed it off and on since not long after the start of the tour.”

A rush of air passed through her mouth when her jaw dropped just as she sucked in a breath. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

He seemed uncomfortable and paced a few steps closer. “I don’t know. A lot of reasons.”

A turmoil of reactions boiled. Anger. Betrayal. Fatigue.

He was watching her face as closely as she watched his, and suddenly his eyes widened. “
I’m
not doing it, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Was that what she was thinking? That Gage was using again? And if it was in her thoughts, would he lie about it? She tried to think if Gage had ever fibbed to her other than by omission.

“Look. I’m the new guy. The unwanted fill-in member of this band. At first, I guess I didn’t want to stir shit up. And then he saw us together that day… After the shower…” His eyes burned intimately into hers, sharing the memory. “It was easy to keep him quiet about what he saw when I had something on him.” Something in his tone—far more earnest than his lost-boy wheedle over last ice cream bars—begged her understanding.

“I know.” Relenting, she relaxed her battle stance, and her body swayed toward him. “I know this Rattler gig hasn’t been easy for you.”

“You either. Don’t get mad if I say this. You don’t belong here, Scar. You’ve been great with what you’re doing. With
everything
. You being here is the only reason I’ve made it through this tour without losing my mind. But this isn’t the life you belong in. Not in a bus with a bunch of degenerates.”

“This tour is just a learning experience. So that I can send someone else out into the field if I do this for real. If I open this type of practice.” She deliberated a moment and then added honestly. “And I came because of you. I wanted to be sure everything went okay for you.”

The answering look in his eyes had her wanting to throw herself on him again. Instead, she kept talking. “I’m glad I did when it comes to you. But, knowing that Landon’s been using all along makes me feel stupid and useless. I’ve had my doubts lately. I’m not sure anymore this is what I want to do. Shit, Gage. I’ve just finished all that school, and now I’m…” She couldn’t say it. That she was feeling like the direction of her studies had been a big mistake.

“You’re gonna figure it out. You’re upset and disillusioned right now. Whatever you figure out, it’s never too late to change things up. Damn, Scar. The world is your oyster and all of that. Money is no object. You’re…”

“I know. One of the lucky ones.” Why did ‘lucky’ feel so bitter on her tongue?

“I was going to say incredible. At anything you do.”

Damn. There was no fighting it. She was hopelessly in love with this man. Always had been. Always would be. Still, in the interest of self-preservation, instead of falling into his arms, she followed that pivotal realization with a simple, “Thanks.”

“I haven’t showered yet.”

Is that an invitation?

If you want it to be.

Their minds communicated through their locked gaze.

The bus rumbled to life with a mighty hum, vibrating the floor beneath their feet and effectively breaking the trance. If the driver was warming up the bus, it meant everyone was on their way back.

“I’ll just be two minutes.”

True to his word, he was quickly back just as the babble of voices sounded downstairs. They settled on the movie and each rolled into their own cave. Beneath her bunk, she heard him making himself comfortable. She listened to his “One, two, three, play!” and hit the button on her own tablet before settling her headphones on. They texted each other through the first quarter of the movie until she fell asleep.

Rotterdam the very next evening
was the last stop on the bus leg. The show in a popular pub and theatre had ended just over an hour ago. As had become her habit, she’d come almost directly to the bus afterward. She busied herself doing a preliminary gather of her belongings. Before the night was over, they would abandon this mode of transport for the train, and chill in a hotel while the truck with the gear caught up. The remaining gigs were spaced farther apart at this leg of the tour, and the last was a support slot in a festival with a yearly attendance of over a hundred thousand. Fire Flight would be the headlining band on the same stage, that same date, at that festival, and she knew although it wouldn’t be easy for Gage, he was looking forward to seeing Colt.

The small crowd outside stirred, their shouts filtering through the bus walls, and she peeped out to see Rattler parting the sea of fans. Heading them up, walking backward just in front of staff security was a young woman. Her arms stretched above her, holding a totem with what looked to be a camera or video camera attached.

The guys looked to be having fun, signing autographs—on skin—and posing for pictures with fans. They neared, and the young woman stepped aside as the bus door was held open. Gage was the first to board. High on the after-show energy, he winked and curved one of those toe-curling smiles that came so naturally.

He seemed to move with purpose as he stalked her way, and in a mild panic as the rest of the guys filed onboard, she looked for escape. With another secret shit-eating smile, which was hidden from those behind him, he reached for the fridge door—and boob grazed her in the process!

She sucked up his post show essence, and her nipples reacted, as always his to command. An attempt to slip by him only succeeded in treating—or torturing—herself with another bold and personal contact with his arm.

“Did I tell you?” His whisper warmed her ear. “I dreamed about them this morning.” Popping the cap from one of Landon’s fancy label bottled waters, he took a swig, and his voice was normal pitch with his next words. “So good.” With a lick of his lips, he made the declaration that only the two of them knew had nothing to do with a refreshing drink.

Her back hit the pole of the stairway, and she clambered up several steps and sat. The woman was on the bus now, and Landon appeared to be leading a bus tour.

“…the driver’s area. …And this TV is for movies. The one in the back we use for games.”

“What games do you guys play?”

Scarlette’s attention on the interview-slash-bus-tour wavered every time Gage swallowed a sip. Watching the bob of his throat was far more interesting.

“…our kitchen. And oh look, it’s stocked with assholes
and
food.”

Gage didn’t take offense. One of his dark brows cocked; he tossed his shaggy hair from his face with a lurch of his chin; and downed another drink of the water.

It was the perfect revenge. The young vlogger was as openly smitten by him as Scarlette was pretending not to be. Her camera stopped scanning and focused on her new subject, Landon forgotten.

“How’s the water?”

If the green-eyed monster hadn’t been fucking with her head, Scarlette would have felt some empathy when the girl followed up her dumb question with a teen-like giggle. After all, she knew what it was like to be dumbstruck by Gage.

“Water’s good.” Gage replied, and Scarlette awarded him silent stars when he stationed his eyes above the gal’s neck.

Landon, whether from losing the spotlight, or from anger over the jacked water, wasn’t so accommodating. “You dick!” And then he explained to camera girl. “It’s my fucking water.”

“You boys are bad. I can see I’m going to have to edit the crap out of the audio.” She’d regained her poise and her flirty smile remained on Gage. “So is this a typical after-show party for Rattler? Ten Euro water?”

One of the others elbowed his way into the tiny space. “Hell, no. Rehab boy, get the lady a real drink.”

Gage opened the fridge and with a mannerly sweep of his hand, indicated the contents. “Can we offer you…”

Scarlette’s mind rambled again as he read off labels, but a minute later, she wished she’d been paying closer attention.

“…Scarlette Rose! I can’t believe it!” The video camera seemed to be a natural second set of eyes for the vlogger. When the lens swung from Gage to rest on her, Scarlette automatically recoiled.

Gage came to her rescue, stepping between her and the camera. Landon inadvertently ran interference when he could no longer take being out of the focus and demanded whether or not they were going to finish the Rattler bus tour.

“Right. But afterward, I’d love, if you’re up for it, to have five minutes of your time?” The woman addressed Scarlette. “I’m sorry I forgot myself. I’m Alexa Ardine. I’m a huge fan.”

Again, Gage saved her, spouting off something about publicist and papers and advance scheduling as Landon herded the poor girl toward the back lounge.

Alexa turned back and again to Landon’s obvious irritation, the camera turned with her. “Of course. It was just such a surprise. There you are. Right there in front of me. So, holy crap on a cracker. Are you tonight’s surprise headliner?”

Scarlette was sure the girl had been speaking to her, but the last inquiry before Landon practically shoved her and her camera and began gushing off about their gaming consoles, had obviously been directed to Gage.

Landon looked as if he had come to this hypothesis too. With another withering glare directed at Gage, he jerked at the dividing curtain and commenced playing tour guide. “And this is the privacy curtain. It’s layered with some sort of sound reducing panels.”

The moment the woman was out of earshot, Landon turned back to hiss at us. “You two with your freak show are taking the focus off the band—off of Rattler and off of the
music
.” The remaining band members moved closer, backing their original bandmate in his statement.

G
age watched Scarlette disappear up the spiral staircase. He contemplated following her but knew Landon’s furious words were likely ringing in her head. She wouldn’t want to be alone with him.

Beyond the back curtain, he could hear the drummer’s cheesy pick-up lines. Obviously giving their buddy privacy to seduce the young vlogger, the rest of Rattler watched videos on the front TV rather than retiring to their gaming domain in the back. Their tour manager boarded and took a seat at the table, flipping open his laptop.

Making his way down the aisle, Gage slid open the door to the very front where their driver was punching at the GPS device. “Mind if I sit?” He indicated the copilot chair. Over the course of the tour, he’d spent many an hour up here in various buses with various drivers to get away from either Rattler or Scarlette. At the driver’s friendly but preoccupied “okay,” Gage flopped down. He stared beyond the windshield at the activity in the parking lot and the small crowd still around their bus.

The tour was close to an end, and he had no idea what to do about Scarlette. He’d begun it, hoping to win her back. And yet, the closer he got to this hope becoming a reality, the same original doubts began to plague him. A relationship between the two of them wasn’t in the best interest of either of them. And yet, he knew now, she wanted him back as badly as he wanted her.

The hunger in her eyes fed him, satisfying a deep primal need. Sometimes, it was hard to contain himself. The lust in her look when he’d boarded the bus tonight had him wanting to take her right there in the kitchen. Lift her to the counter, spread her long legs, and feast in every way he wanted.

“We’re good to go.” Rattler’s tour manager poked his head in long enough to nod to their driver, which meant Vlog girl was gone.

What the chick had said to Scarlette replayed.
Scarlette Rose
. Why lately was her middle name coming up? Idly, he reached for his phone and brought up the browser.

S-C-A-R-L-E-T-T-E. Spacebar. R―

There it was times twenty. And that was just the first page of results.
Are you the surprise headline act?
He spent a few minutes clicking and reading before jumping up with the phone still in his hand.

Ignoring everyone’s curious looks, he strode past them and began up the stairs. “Scarlette!” Each step and skipped step twisted a tad more around the pole. “Scarlette
Rose!
” He landed on the second deck and found it quiet. “Scarlette.” He sprinted to her bunk and eased the curtain back enough to see her. Headphones plugged her ears, and he took in her closed eyes. “Hey, Scar.” Her eyes popped open, and she ripped an earbud from the ear closest to him. “You sneak, sneaky star!”