Assure Her (Assured Distraction Book 1) (13 page)

Trick seemed like a nice enough guy and she thought maybe she could find the same rush of feelings that KeeMac brought out in her. When Trick spun her around and thrust his leg between hers, he pulled tight up against him. He continued grinding against her center, causing her to want more from him. He was massaging her clit with his leg, and she reacted to it with ragged breaths. When Trick started nipping and kissing down her neck, she held on to him tighter, engulfed in the desire she found herself lost in. The alcohol was making her react so much more freely with this virtual stranger than she would have ever done sober, but right then she didn’t care.

When she had been with KeeMac, he made her feel like she was desired, made her feel special. Maybe she could feel this way with other guys she met along the way. Was she willing to put herself out there, though, to have the experience of just having sex? Did he do this to the women he was with now or other women before her? If she was going to pursue relationships with random guys she met on the road, would any of them make her feel what he did? Did acting like the others in the band did with random hook-ups with groupies make her a whore like them? She simply didn’t know if she could bring herself to be that way. She felt like she respected herself more than that.

She opened her eyes and looked back up to the VIP section in time to see KeeMac standing at the railing, glaring at her. As their eyes locked, she realized the scene he’d been watching play out on the dance floor. He abruptly broke the connection with her, grabbed both of the girls beside him in a tight embrace and led them toward a private room on their floor. Chandler’s eyes never stopped following them. Before he opened the door, he looked back at her once more, giving her that smirk she knew so well but was somehow darker, less of the friendly and playful one she was used to, and the three passed through the door. Knowing what was about to happen up there, remembering her experience with him last night, her hurt ran deep as she realized she had not only encouraged but enjoyed their time together. She had been his “girl for a night”. And he was now moving on to someone else—two someones, actually—just that fast. She immediately felt cheap and sick.

Spinning around to Trick, she pushed out of his hands. She needed to get away. “OK, my time’s up. It’s been fun, Trick, but I’m going now.” She all but ran from him back to her table and had her clutch in hand when he caught up to her.

“What the fuck, Chandler? I thought you were having fun.” His voice got louder with each word.

“Yeah, it was fun, and thank you for the dance, but I’m leaving now. I don’t think I’m cut out for this.” She whirled around and started toward the steps.

Trick caught her upper arm and roughly pulled her back toward him about the same time that Gunner and Ryan reached them. “Got a fucking problem here, Cupcake?” Gunner asked. He towered over both Trick and Chandler, a menacing expression on his face that even made her shrink back a bit.

“It’s OK, Gunner. I’m ready to go and he was just trying to convince me to stay.”

“Buddy, if our girl says she’s out, let her go. Now,” Gunner barked in Trick’s face, who quickly let go of her arm. He nodded his head as he walked down the steps and out of the VIP section.

“I’ll see she gets back to the bus,” Ryan said. “I’m ready to get back to my bed.”

“No, it’s fine, Ryan. I’m staying here tonight, in the hotel. I just need to go to the desk and get my keycard.”

“Damn that prick, Cash. He didn’t say anything about us staying in a room.” Ryan and Gunner exchanged puzzled, pissed off looks.

“No, I’m staying on my own.” When it was obvious they weren’t getting her gesture, she added, “I don’t want y’all to feel like you have to change the way you’d do things when Jacoby was with the band. Go, have fun. I’ll see you in the morning before the bus leaves.”

“Did you clear this with Cash, because if he doesn’t know, he’ll be pissed?”

“No, but I am a grown woman and I have my own money to do the things I think are best for me. And believe me, it’s best for me if I stay in the hotel while y’all have your overnight guests on the bus.” A little light went off in Ryan’s expression, because he knew she was referring to someone’s specific guests.

Turning to Gunner, Ryan said, “I’ve got this. We’ll see you in the morning.”

Gunner felt like he had missed something, but two women were waiting like anxious puppies on the periphery. “Alrighty then. See you tomorrow, Cupcake.” He looked hard at Ryan for a moment and then left them alone.

Ryan took Chandler’s hand and led her to the front desk for her keycard. They rode the elevator in silence. He wanted to say something about KeeMac, but decided it wasn’t his place to get in their business.

She put the key in the door, and turned and looked at Ryan, “So, thanks for seeing me to my room Ryan. I’ll be there bright and early in the morning.” Chandler gave him a bright smile hoping she was doing a fair job of covering her real feelings.

It was obvious he was thinking of what to say but finally nodded his head and said, “Go in and be sure to lock the door, Chandler.” He waited until he heard the lock thrown and the bar slide into place before he left her door. Ryan knew KeeMac had already fucked things up with her, which was funny since KeeMac had been the one to point out to them what a problem it could be having a female band member on the tour.

Chandler stripped down and climbed in the shower. She wanted to wash the sweat, Trick’s touch, and the club’s smell off. Slipping back into her panties, she climbed into bed. She just wanted to sleep and not think about the evening. It would be hard to do, though. Not once, but twice, she had let Keeton treat her this way. She couldn’t allow it again but picking up strangers at parties didn’t appeal to her after tonight. This wasn’t a league she was ready to play in, apparently. She prayed that the rest of the tour was going to get better for her since she had already learned a few lessons in the first couple of days. Playing with the band was awesome when they were on stage but she didn’t know if she was cut out for life on the road. She was thankful that, for tonight at least, she was able to find refuge from the drunken depravity that was taking place on the bus.

––––––––

C
handler woke to the sound of Stephen Tyler blaring from her phone at six a.m. again. “Damn, I have to find a new alarm tone,” she said out loud. “One that isn’t so invasive.” Steven in full-force was becoming just a bit too much first thing in the morning.

“What?”

“Where the hell are you?” It was Cash, and he didn’t sound happy.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Is the bus ready to leave? I thought I had ‘til eight?”

“We’re not leaving ‘til eight but when I got off the couch, I saw your curtain still open and it was obvious you hadn’t slept there.”

“No, I stayed at the hotel.”

“And what made you decide to do this, may I ask?” He was pissed now. She should have told him last night.

“I didn’t want to be in the way of the guys and their company last night,” she said quietly into the phone.

“Go to the Starbucks in the hotel, and I’ll see you there in fifteen minutes,” he ordered then he hung up on her.

“Angry much?” She glared at her phone.

She put her clothes back on, and laughed at the thought of looking like she taking an early morning walk-of-shame minus the heavy make-up when she had actually spent the entire night alone.

Cash was waiting with coffee in-hand for her when she sat down. “Well, I hope he was worth it,” he said, surveying her clothes.

“Who was worth it? I was alone, and that’s just insulting that you would automatically assume that.” Her indignant tone surprised him.

“What, exactly, were you doing Chandler? When you asked me what time the buses were pulling out, you could have informed me you had alternate plans for the night.” He had calmed down since they had spoken on the phone.

“I thought the guys would enjoy their guests better without me on the bus. I went to the meet-and-greet and the after party, as required, so I was seen by everyone. I fulfilled my part as band member. I even danced with a fan. Ryan left the club with me and walked me to my room to make sure I was safe.”

He took a deep breath and exhaled before he spoke. “I appreciate you trying to be considerate of them, but number one: DO NOT EVER leave the bus overnight without me knowing it beforehand. What if the driver made a last minute decision to move the bus and you weren’t there? The guys were all asleep and he might have assumed you were there, too. Number two: you might as well get used to strange girls being on the bus. It’s just the nature of these tours. The guys have heard about all the fun being on the road can be and now it’s their turn to experience it. Not everywhere we stay will have a hotel close by. Then what? I assumed you were ready for this since you knew you weren’t signing on with a church choir.”

“I know. I thought I might have some time to get used to being around the guys before overnight guests started appearing. I’m good with it, though. I hope they are.” She thought about KeeMac when she said it. “Is the bus full of guests right now?”

“I assume so. The driver said we still had few extras. Maybe we should make it a rule of no overnight guests for them so it would be easier on you.”

“NO, NO, NO! I don’t want you making exceptions for me. Let them have fun. They work hard and should get to play hard.” She laughed at what that insinuated.

“You know, you have the same options they have. You can invite guests, too.” She almost spit coffee across the room at his comment.

Coughing, she held up her hand to stop him from helping her. “Yeah, I don’t see that happening in the short time I’ll be on the bus.”

“Well, the offer is there. What’s good for one is good for all.” He stood and threw money down on the table. “Let’s get back and show the skanks off the bus.”

She laughed at his term for the groupies, even though she felt the same way.

Chandler was not looking forward to what crawled off the bus and where they would come crawling out of. She had to stop thinking about KeeMac. He was here to have fun, and she was not going to be the one to prevent it. She decided to stay off and let Cash take care of it. She moved around to talk to the bus driver who was looking at his phone.

Gunner, Carter, and KeeMac all walked off the bus following five scantily clad women. Sleepy and well-fucked looks on all of their faces let everyone there know how the night had gone. The girls all wrapped around the guys to give them parting kisses. KeeMac and Gunner both had two girls on them, so it was obvious they had truly enjoyed themselves. She thought Cash’s term was too nice for these girls now.

Chandler had her back to the group during their goodbyes, and as soon as she saw the opportunity to board the bus, she did, making a mental note to buy some Lysol when they stopped. She might buy some Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer too, just to be safe. Cleaning up, in the wake of these nights did not appeal to her though. Rubber gloves would most definitely need to be added to the list, as well.

****

T
he buses for both bands departed right on time. Chandler had gotten a decent night’s sleep so she didn’t want to hang in her bunk the whole drive down to Vegas. She sat in the empty living room for a while and tried to read until KeeMac came out in his underwear and a tee shirt and sat down on the same couch with her and flipped through the channels and tried to strike up a conversation with her. She wasn’t ready to face him yet. She tried to separate her feelings from the reality of the situation and the fact that they weren’t a thing, no promises had been made or broken and that he was free to do whatever with whomever he chose. She was just having a difficult time reconciling with herself that she had fallen under his spell so easily before she saw him for the manslut he was.

She made an elaborate show of uncoiling her headphones and putting the ear buds in her ears and picking music before returning to her e-reader. She even moved to a different seat so she could put her feet up, hoping that would send the signal that she wasn’t interested in his friendly chitchat. She was still attracted to him; there was no denying that. But she knew she deserved better and she wasn’t about to chase after a man that couldn’t pick her out of a lineup after a few drinks. She was no groupie and she wasn’t going to be played like one either. He could just take his “friendly” conversation elsewhere.

KeeMac stared at her for a few long minutes after she moved to her new seat, which, unfortunately put her more in his line-of-sight, but she made a point of ignoring him. He watched her periodically during the baseball game he had on, but she thought she made a good show of not noticing him at all. An hour or so later, Ryan came out of his bunk for something to drink and grabbed a Poptart from the kitchen taking the seat next to Chandler. She smiled at him and pulled her ear buds from her ears, and they chatted cheerfully for a while with KeeMac chiming in on the conversation a few times. Eventually, Ryan excused himself to return to his bunk.

KeeMac turned to Chandler thinking she was finally up for some conversation. But she looked at him disinterestedly, and let out a big yawn. She stretched her body out to full-length causing her sleep shorts to ride up and KeeMac’s eyes zeroed in on the exposed skin of her long, tanned legs. When she caught him looking he didn’t even bother to look away or act like he was embarrassed for being caught checking her out. He looked up into her strained blue eyes and smirked.
He actually smirked!
Like he approved of what he saw. She was annoyed. He looked like he was about to say something, maybe even flirt with her, and she was not going to give him the chance to make her all dopey-eyed again. She stood up, grabbing up her electronics, and announced that she was tired and going back to sleep in her bunk, leaving KeeMac there alone on the couch, just him and the baseball game.

Ryan returned a minute later with his phone in-hand and found KeeMac sitting on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. “What’s wrong with you, buddy? Rangers can’t be losing that bad?” he asked the stressed lead singer.