The Loneliest Tour (9 page)

“
Damn,
girl. I swear you use me for money.
”

“
Excuse
me?
”

“
How
the hell did you get into the VIP?
”

Jett fucking invited me.

Masie didn
’
t respond.

Ian shook his head.
“
Whatever. I have to fly out. It
was nice to see you.
”

Ian stormed away.

At least he didn
’
t kiss me, Masie thought.

Before Ian was out of sight, Masie
charged back toward the bar area. She stood at the railing, her eyes going
right for Jett.

She watched him moving along the
front of the stage, playing guitar. So smooth and calm, like he was right where
he was meant to be in life.

That
’
s
when she started thinking about what she read. The stories online. The dumb
rumors about drug addiction and whatnot, that was one thing. But he had gotten
arrested for buying pills. That was real. And it seemed like it wasn
’
t a one time thing either.

Masie swallowed hard. She told
herself that it really didn
’
t
matter because it wasn
’
t
like she was going to get to know Jett all that much anyway.

Then again
…

Jett looked up right at her. He
spotted her and pointed. He waved and continued playing guitar, not missing a
note. He then swung his guitar to his side and started to rock his hips,
laughing as he did so. People were grabbing for his feet and ankles, wanting to
touch the rockstar.

It made Masie
’
s entire body ache.

He was trying to flirt with her
from the stage.

And it was working. That was the
scary part.

The show was finished.

Jett tossed a handful of guitar
picks into the crowd, waving and smiling at the people as they all cheered and
reached for him and the rest of Willow Son. With one final wave, Jett went to
the side of the stage. It wasn
’
t
like the arenas at all. There really wasn
’
t
a place to hide until you were completely backstage in the hallway.

A guy stood there handing out
bottles of water. Jett twisted off the cap and chugged the entire bottle. He
then went right for the stairs and up. At the top of the VIP landing, he
started to look for Masie. But before he could find her, he was swamped by
other people. There were fans looking for pictures and autographs, Portis
whistling, looking to meet with the band. Harry pushed through the small crowd,
a cell phone to his ear, yelling at someone about something. It was a little chaotic
for a few seconds.

Jett hung with it though. He put
his head down and walked through the crowd, signing what he could.

Portis had bodyguards to stop all
the madness and get things organized again.

“
Have
a seat,
”
Portis said to the
band, pointing to a table.

It was a round booth.

Willow Son sat. Sweaty. Tired.

“
That
was a great show,
”
Portis
said.
“
And nobody bought
drugs after it was over.
”

“
Thanks
for that,
”
Jett said.

“
Look,
I
’
m keeping it simple. I
want you guys to finish up two songs and then get on the road. I want an album
before the end of the year.
”

“
That
’
s a heavy load,
”
Van said.

“
Yeah,
well, you can handle it. You have a blank check as of right now. Signed by me.
”
Portis punched the table.
“
Don
’
t fuck it up.
”

“
You
keep telling us that,
”
Brantley said.

“
Hey,
here
’
s a thought,
”
Jett said.
“
How about an opening band that
can actually play.
”

“
Take
it easy,
”
Portis said.
“
That
’
s a money play. They have image.
”

“
They
have dancers,
”
Ryker said.
“
Not that I
’
m complaining about watching
women wiggle around on stage.
”

“
I
’
m done with this shit,
”
Jett said. He slid to the edge
of the booth and stood up.
“
There
’
s nothing else to talk about.
”

“
Don
’
t be rude,
”
Harry said.

“
I
’
m not,
”
Jett said.
“
I
just poured my heart out on stage. My night
’
s
done. I don
’
t give a shit
about anything else. Okay?
”
Jett stood eye to eye with Portis.
“
You
want us on the road? We
’
re
there. You want us to take on Crutch Fail? Fine. But they
’
re not going to amount to
anything. We both know that. They
’
re
your money play? That
’
s
your business decision. We will support them. Call them out on stage. Play with
them. We
’
re fucking Willow
Son. That
’
s where it begins
and ends.
”

“
That
’
s all I ever wanted,
”
Portis said.

Jett took a few steps and Portis
called his name.

“
If
you need,
”
he said to Jett,
“
I can arrange for a
specialist to be on the road.
”

“
A
specialist?
”

“
You
know, for addictions. I
’
d
like for Willow Son to go on the road as five guys and come back the same.
”

Jett made a move. He was going to
knock Portis
’
teeth out.

Ryker dove from the booth and
speared Jett, charging him back and away from Portis.

“
That
was goddamn uncalled for,
”
Harry snapped.
“
You know
that, Portis. Christ.
”

“
Hey,
”
Portis said. He fixed his suit.
“
I
’
m just offering. Take it easy, gentlemen.
”

Jett pushed Ryker off him. They
swapped a few hand slaps, daring each other to throw a punch. Nobody did
though.

Ryker put his hands up.
“
Bro, calm down.
”

“
Fuck,
”
Jett growled.

He stormed away, down the hall and
toward the VIP area overlooking the stage.

The place had mostly cleared out by
then. The downstairs bar was closed. The upstairs bar was still open.

But it wasn
’
t the bar Jett was looking for.

It was Masie.

And he found her.

Standing at the railing.

Jett took one step and then paused.
He eyed her body. Those damn curves that were amazing. Her hair was pulled back
again.

Casually, Jett strolled up next to
her.

“
That
was a good show,
”
he said.

Masie looked at him. Her eyes went
wide.
“
Hey. Jett.
”

“
Hey.
Masie.
The dancer.
”

“
Yeah,
the dancer.
”

“
So
what did you think?
”

“
Willow
Son? Far better than Crutch Fail.
”

“
Thanks,
”
Jett said and grinned.
“
I think so too. But I
’
m biased. What are you drinking?
”

“
Water,
”
Masie said.
“
I have to drive.
”

“
You
don
’
t have to drive.
”
Jett turned and leaned with his
back to the railing.
“
I
have a car. I
’
m famous.
”

“
Famous,
”
Masie said.
“
Yeah.
”

Jett stared at her.
“
What?
”

“
Nothing.
”

“
Reading
the headlines again?
”

Jett pushed away from the railing.

“
Hey,
wait up,
”
Masie said.
“
I didn
’
t say anything, Jett.
”

“
You
didn
’
t need to.
”
At the bar Jett ordered a beer.
He then said,
“
And a water,
please.
”

“
It
’
s all taken care of,
”
the bartender said.
“
Portis.
”

“
Of
course,
”
Jett said.

He handed Masie her water.

“
Thanks,
”
she whispered.

“
Sit
down,
”
Jett said.

They sat on barstools.

There were still plenty of people hanging
around the VIP bar. Jett didn
’
t
feel private or comfortable. He actually hated the after party stuff like this.
Especially when it was people he didn
’
t
know. People who paid huge money to be there. People who were cashing in favors
to be there.

“
Don
’
t read that shit online,
”
Jett said.
“
Be your own judge of me.
”

“
Kind
of hard to get away from, I bet,
”
Masie said.

Jett leaned toward her.
“
How does someone in your shoes
become a dancer for Crutch Fail? Is that what you dreamed of as a kid?
”

“
Totally,
”
Masie said.
“
I always said I wanted to rub
against a weird looking dude who thought he was the hottest guy ever. What girl
didn
’
t dream of that?
”

“
Good
to know,
”
Jett said.
“
And you
’
re going out on the road with them.
”

“
Apparently.
”

Jett finished his beer and put the
empty glass on the bar. He stood up and faced Masie.
“
Well, Masie, the dancer, if you
’
re going on the road with them,
you
’
re going out on the
road with me.
”

“
Now
the tour seems worth my while,
”
Masie said.

Oh, you want to flirt,
sweetheart?

Jett touched her face.
“
Yeah, I
’
m worth your while. Remember one thing. I
’
m a real rockstar.
”

Jett turned and walked away, again.

Masie chased after him.

“
You
keep running away from me,
”
Masie said.
“
You invited me
up here.
”

“
And
you showed up.
”

“
Yeah.
Well
…”

“
Well
what?
”
Jett asked.

“
What
did you want?
”

Jett opened the door to the stairs.
He nodded and Masie started to walk down them.

They got to the first landing and
he stopped her. One hand was at her waist, the other hand against the wall. He
was way too close to her for comfort right now. This wasn
’
t comfort, dammit. This was
pleasure.

“
What
are you doing?
”
Masie
asked.
“
Don
’
t you want to be up there at the
party?
”

“
No,
”
Jett said.
“
I
’
m
looking right at you. And you
’
re
burning right through me.
”

“
Oh?
”

“
It
’
s none of your business,
sweetheart, but I
’
ll tell
you anyway. I bought some pills for fun. I got caught. It was a dumb mistake.
People love to write shit for attention. I
’
m
not an addict. I
’
ve never
been one. I was in an accident and liked the way the pills made me feel at that
time. So every now and again I
’
d
grab some pills and enjoy them. Was it wrong? Yeah. Was it stupid? Definitely.
Did I take too many? Never. Was I hooked? Nope. But then I did it once and got
caught. That
’
s what
happened. That
’
s what I
’
m facing. It pisses me off that
my famous name put me in the news but got me out of some of the charges. So I
feel like a big cliche. I was at the studio recording some tracks when you came
in. And here we are.
”