Chase the Road (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (7 page)

Blake pushed at Maya and eased her
back down to the bed. He climbed over her and lowered himself. The touch of her
body to his was like fire. He felt his thickness pressing to her slit, easing
his way into her. She welcomed him with a thrust and a clenching pull, along
with a groan. Blake pulled back and thrust again, inching deeper. Moving into
her, more and more, thrusting harder, faster, kissing Maya just the same,
loving the way her body felt.

She clawed one hand at his back,
another at his ass. Blake had her then, lifting and lowering himself, their
bodies connecting with a hot, wet soundtrack to match. Blake put a hand to the
bed and lifted up, eyes scanning down Maya
’
s
body. The sight of her breasts bouncing with each of his thrusts. The way she
took her hand off his ass and reached up over her head and grabbed at the
sheets. The curve of her hip, meant for holding, so Blake held it tight.

And he loved Maya
’
s body. With every thrust, every
move, he was deeper inside her, closer to her. His eyes devoured her in a way
his body couldn
’
t and in a
way only his heart could understand.

If there ever existed a moment
of falling in love, this was it
…

Blake didn
’
t call Maya. He didn
’
t
even text her. He simply put the cell phone down on the table and put his head
against the window. The world continued to fly by and he remained there in
silence until he saw the slice of light cut into the horizon. Watching the
sunrise took him back to another place, again.

That
’
s
when Blake finally pushed from the table. He walked to the front of the bus and
sat as close to Big Matty as he could.

“
Blake,
”
Big Matty said.

“
Big
Matty. How
’
s the ride?
”

“
Beautiful,
my man. Look at that sun. Gift from above. Reminder of a new day.
”

“
How
do you keep at it? On the road? Away from the family?
”

“
Are
you asking me if I love and miss my family?
”

“
Maybe.
”

“
I
do,
”
Big Matty said.
“
But this bus, these miles, and
you guys put food on the table. My two daughters - Carrie and Annie - are the
greatest things I
’
ve ever
done. And Carrie is good enough at piano that she was accepted into some camp
program. Costs me a ton. So I need the miles, Blake.
”

“
What
about Annie? She
’
s the
younger one?
”

Big Matty looked at the picture of
his family for a second and smiled.
“
Oh,
she
’
s something. Spitfire.
All the way. She does a little of everything. Soccer. Lacrosse. Then she quit
sports and went into acting. Then she quit that and played violin. Always
changing. Always costing me money.
”

“
She
’
s worth it, right?
”

“
Every
penny I have, Blake.
”

“
What
about your wife?
”

“
Beth?
”
Big Matty asked with a big
grin.
“
She
’
s my everything. She
’
s my princess. She
’
s
…
she deserves it all. So I keep driving. I take myself miles away, which really
hurt. But I always take the miles back and go home. That
’
s the best feeling in the world.
”

Blake reached out and patted Big
Matty on the shoulder.
“
You
’
re a good man. You
’
re a great man. Thanks for
driving us assholes around.
”

“
Anytime.
”

Blake stood and walked to the
bunks. He had no idea where he was, literally. Somewhere between North Carolina
and Tennessee, right? Or were they on their way down to Mississippi. Or was it
Florida?

Wherever the hell they were going,
it wasn
’
t the right place.

The right place was in bed. With
Maya. Holding her. Kissing her neck. Tickling her sides. Smelling her hair.
Listening to her giggle. Feeling her body wiggling against his. Everything he
did to her.

He wanted that again.

He wanted that forever.

(7)

Blake stood at the edge of the
stage and pointed with his drumsticks. There were thousands - literally
thousands - of fans reaching and screaming, all wanting a chance to get a
drumstick from the drummer of Gone by Autumn.

The first stick, Blake just tossed.
It sailed through the air and came down, resulting in a little push and shove
brawl that didn
’
t escalate
too badly. Sometimes people went crazy for things. Drumsticks, guitar picks,
even the shirts of the guys when they took them off.

Then Blake saw a little kid
standing off to the right of the stage. Front row in the seats, not on the
floor. He couldn't have been more than ten years old. Wearing a hat backwards,
in a black Gone by Autumn shirt that was way too damn big for him. He was
yelling but his little voice couldn
’
t
compete with everyone else. But the second Blake saw him, he went for the kid.
He walked to the side of the stage and then balanced himself and walked on the
top of the barricade to get to the kid. He then jumped down to the seats and
handed the kid his drumstick. The kid clutched the damn thing like it was a bag
of a million dollars.

The crowd enjoyed the little
spectacle and Blake took back to the stage to join the band for one last
goodbye. There was a time years ago when this was the last chance for the band
to look out to the crowd and handpick some company to join them backstage. But
now Ryan, Tanner, Gabe, and Asher all had their own company backstage waiting
for them.

As the band left the stage, Blake
held out a sliver of hope that maybe Maya would surprise them. Hell, who wouldn
’
t want to come down to Florida
for a few nights, right? They were just ten minutes shy of the beach and had
spent the early afternoon catching some sun and waves, enjoying the rockstar
life as people flocked to see Gone by Autumn in board shorts and diving into
waves. There was even a news chopper flying over, doing a news report on the
rockstars in the water as though they were great white sharks threatening the
general public.

Blake left the stage and looked
around.

No sign of Maya.

Big shock.

At this point, Blake would even
take seeing Hunter with her if it meant seeing Maya.

“
Come
on, bro,
”
Ryan said.
“
Let
’
s have a drink. That was a great show.
”

“
I
’
ll be right there,
”
Blake said.

He heard laughing and turned his
head to see Van (the bassist for Willow Son) walking with his arms around two
women. One wore a Willow Son shirt, the other with a Gone by Autumn shirt on.

“
You
ladies ever watch the sun rise with a good buzz on?
”
Van asked.

Blake shook his head.

That used to be my move.

Blake went to the backstage area, which
wasn
’
t quite as extravagant
as some of the other arenas. Rumors had been swirling that Gone by Autumn was
going to hit the town, which was very possible. But Blake didn
’
t intend on that at all. His
plan was to go on the bus and crash. They had two more shows to finish up this
part of the tour. Work up into Georgia and South Carolina, then play a show in
North Carolina and take a few days off to goddamn breathe.

That was the scariest part for
Blake.

Breathing
…
He didn
’
t
want to be left hanging on a break from the tour.

Blake hung out backstage with a few
drinks, a few laughs, and a few magazine reporters who were there to talk about
music, touring, and the future of not just Gone by Autumn, but also the future
of Willow Son.

It was actually not that bad of an
evening. Very laid back and enjoyable. The guys from the magazine didn
’
t come with the usual laptop,
recorder, pressing questions kind of bullshit that the band had to keep
themselves guarded against. They just hung out and talked. More like hanging
out with fans than reporters, which left Blake hoping whatever the hell they
wrote would reflect that.

Back on the bus, Sam sat the guys
down and had a quick
family discussion
.

Asher was the one who coined the
term because of the way Sam stood at the front of the bus, always looking stern
when he spoke.

“
Yes,
Dad?
”
Tanner asked.

“
Great
show,
”
Sam said.
“
Just wanted to let you guys know
that the numbers for the tour so far are phenomenal. I
’
m in talks for something more long term after this
is done. Coast to coast. Maybe a year, maybe longer. Private jet. Bigger bus.
Private busses.
”

“
Set
it up,
”
Gabe said.
“
I
’
m
ready.
”

“
Well,
”
Sam said,
“
there
’
s a little catch.
”

“
A
catch?
”
Blake asked.
“
What?
”

“
You
need more music.
”

Everyone laughed.

“
That
’
s a catch?
”
Ryan asked.

“
We
’
ll write a fucking album by
morning,
”
Blake said.

“
Get
the whiskey,
”
Asher said.
“
But if Blake writes it, it
’
ll only be bad, shit songs.
Oh,
Maya, where are you? My heart screams your name. I can
’
t live with
out
you. Please
…
come keep me tame
…”

“
Keep
me tame?
”
Ryan asked.

Asher shrugged his shoulders.
“
You write the lyrics then.
”

“
You
guys are pieces of shit,
”
Blake said.

“
Either
way,
”
Sam said, taking
control of the bus,
“
keep
it in mind. You
’
ll need
something to follow up what we
’
ve
been doing. More music, more sales, more shows, you know the routine here.
”

“
We
got it,
”
Ryan said.

“
Now,
I have it all set up for a little nightlife tour. Cars, security, the whole
nine. Just don
’
t get into a
fight. Don
’
t get arrested.
Don
’
t piss on anything or
anyone. Keep it
…
you know
…”

“
I
think we
’
ll be fine,
”
Tanner said.

“
I
’
m hanging here,
”
Blake said.
“
I don
’
t need that shit tonight. I
’
d rather be alone and just
…”

Asher turned and looked Blake.

Blake braced for the shithead
comment, but it didn
’
t come.
Instead, Asher nodded and put a fist out.
“
We
got you, man. Do what you need to do.
”

An hour later, Blake sat at the
edge of his seat, half a bottle of whiskey downed. The guys were gone, the
night was on, and he had run through all the saddest songs he could think of.
He played some shit on guitar, wrote some shit down, and nothing was cutting
it.

So he waited.

Big Matty wasn
’
t on the bus, put up in a hotel
for the night, paid by the band. So he could have a bed to sleep in for once
and actually relax. Talk to his wife and kids. More so, to give Blake the bus
alone.

The door opened and he saw legs, a
belly button, and tits.

That
’
s
all he needed to see to give half a damn.

“
Blake,
”
said one of the security
guards.
“
This cool?
”

“
All
good,
”
Blake said. He
looked at the woman and nodded.
“
You
know what this is, right?
”

“
Yeah,
”
the woman said.

“
Good.
”

Blake pushed the bottle of whiskey
to the other side of the table and then stood up. He offered his hand and took
the woman right back to his bunk.

A memory for her and another pound
of guilt to carry for him.

When they finished, they both fell
asleep. Blake woke up and grabbed his phone. It was just before one in the
morning. He
’
d been out for
less than thirty minutes. He looked over at the woman next to him. Maybe he
could have at the very least gotten her name, but what the fuck did it matter?
He could have gotten to know her. Maybe she was a cool woman. Maybe she was a
true fan. Maybe she played guitar. Or she had interests that Blake had. Or
maybe she was his complete and utter opposite, and while it would drive him
crazy that she didn
’
t
understand a thing about him, maybe it would make him fall deeply in love with
her.

Blake stared at the sleeping woman
for a few more seconds and then rolled out of the bed. He put on his jeans and
nothing else, then went to the front of the bus again. The damn thing was
starting to feel like a prison anymore. But that prison was all in Blake
’
s mind.

He had his phone in his hand and
finally did something he should have done a long time ago.

He called Maya.

Not a chance did he think Maya
would actually answer.

So when he heard Maya
’
s sweet voice say,
“
Hey Blake!
”
in that bright tone, he smiled
so big it hurt for a second.

“
Maya,
hey.
”

“
What
’
s wrong? Is everything okay?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Blake said as he looked around
the empty tour bus.
“
Yeah.
Just hanging on the bus.
”

“
Doesn
’
t sound loud.
”

“
The
guys went out. Partying on the beach kind of thing.
”

“
And
you
’
re not?
”

“
Not
in the mood.
”

“
Since
when are you not in the mood for a party?
”

“
I
know, right?
”
Blake forced
a laugh.
“
No, they
’
re going out with, you know,
like a couples thing. I
’
m
kind of
…
I don
’
t know
…
just a little tired right now.
”

“
How
was the show?
”

“
Great.
Always great. You know that.
”

“
Yeah.
I wouldn
’
t expect anything
else.
”

And then came the awkward silence.

Fuck,
Blake thought.

“
Blake,
I
’
m sorry I
’
m not there,
”
Maya said.
“
I know you wish I was there. I
know everyone does. I just
…
I can do everything from here, you know?
”

“
I
know,
”
Blake said.
“
You have to do what you have to
do.
”

“
Yeah,
I guess.
”

Blake swallowed hard.
“
Just, for a second, Maya, just
be honest. Do you want to be out here? With us?
”

“
Yes,
”
Maya whispered.
“
I was always there.
”

“
Then
…
why
…”

“
Blake,
I don
’
t want to sound the
wrong way in all this. Okay? I
’
m
here. Right where I
…
where
I need to be.
”

“
Need
to be?
”
Blake asked.
“
Not where you want though. Is
that what he tells you? Is he worried about you with the band? Or with me? Or
better yet, are you worried around me?
”

“
Should
I be worried?
”
Maya asked.

“
Maybe
you should.
”

“
So
I could stare at you, Blake? And wonder what the hell you
’
re thinking
…
but you never talk.
”

“
I
’
m talking right now,
”
Blake said.

“
Then
say something.
”

“
Say
something,
”
Blake murmured.
“
Like
…
what do you want me to do? Make
it harder for you? Make it harder for me?
”

“
Make
what harder?
”
Maya asked.