Reckless (32 page)

I was grabbing the belt buckle loops of his jeans and pulling his hips into mine when I heard a warbled chant coming from the crowd. I opened my eyes and strained to understand what I was
hearing. Kellan lifted his head and turned his face to the stage. He was sweaty from performing, and his hair was damp around the edges. It was a distracting sight, so I turned to face the stage as
well. “What are they chanting? I can’t make it out.”

Kellan bunched his brows as he listened. It wasn’t the band’s name, it was too long. After another couple of seconds, the crowd’s chants lined up and the word they were saying
finally made sense. Twisting back to me, Kellan said, “They’re saying ‘Regretfully.’ They want to hear the single.”

I nodded, since that’s what I was hearing too. Kellan frowned as his gaze returned to the stage. “We don’t have her vocal track. We can’t perform that song without Sienna
. . . unless . . .” When he looked back at me, there was such a devilish gleam in his eye that I knew exactly what he was thinking. I shoved him away and tried to scramble out of his arms.
Laughing, Kellan held me tight. “Sorry, babe. You know I don’t like disappointing the fans, and you’re the only one here that can fill in for Sienna.”

I had twisted in his arms and my back was to him; he had a viselike grip around my waist and I couldn’t break free. “No way in hell, Kyle! I am not going up there!”

Still laughing, Kellan started backing me up onto the stage. “I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to sing with me tonight.”

I started screaming and kicking like he was mugging me until he finally let me go. Tears of laughter in his eyes, he asked, “Don’t you want to live out your girl band fantasy?
I’ll help you through it, and if you get sick, there’s usually a bucket in the corner.”

Killing him with my eyes, I very firmly informed him, “You’re sleeping in your own cubby tonight.”

His expression changed so fast I had to turn away to hide my smile. “I was joking, Kiera.” Pretending like I didn’t hear him, I stormed away. “Kiera? You know I was
kidding, right?”

Not able to maintain my fake anger anymore, I tossed a smile over my shoulder. His corresponding grin was so delicious that I knew my bold statement wouldn’t end up happening. No matter
where Kellan went, my body, my heart, my soul, would automatically follow him. Except onto that stage.

A week into the tour, all of the bands had fallen into a comfortable routine: travel, setup, play, takedown, travel. Sometimes band members shuffled from one bus to another,
but generally the D-Bags shared a bus with the five members of Avoiding Redemption; the rest of the bands shared the other bus. Immediately after the first concert, Kellan had claimed the only bed
on the bus. He’d stretched a couple lines of yellow Do Not Enter tape across the doorframe and taped a huge sign in the middle of the crisscrossing X that read:
Reserved for
Mr.
and Mrs. Kyle. Stay Out. That means you, Griffin.
I was so grateful that Kellan nabbed the bedroom before Griffin had a chance to sully it. He may be practicing monogamy right now, but I still
didn’t want to share bedding with him.

Griffin pouted, but the rest of the band members thought it was funny and let us have the bed, since we were the only couple on the bus.

Aside from the fans asking Kellan about Sienna each night, and chanting for their single at the end of the show, the hype around the two was starting to taper off. I’m sure Nick just hated
that. Sienna too for that matter. But she was off doing her thing, and Kellan was off doing his. With no more leaked photos and risqué videos, there just wasn’t anything interesting to
keep the pseudo-couple at the top of the gossip news.

That didn’t stop the questions, though.

“So, Kellan, what’s really going on with you and Sienna Sexton?” A radio personality was leaning over her microphone, beady eyes intent on Kellan’s answer. I don’t
know why she looked like she had just asked him a life or death question.

Kellan smiled, but I could see the sigh behind his eyes. He was really getting sick and tired of answering the same thing city after city. I thought he might go back to saying “No
comment,” just because explaining his life was driving him crazy. “We’re colleagues. We worked together on a project, but that’s it.”

Kellan paused and waited for the question that always came next.

“So, you’re single?” By the look on the DJ’s face and the tone of her voice, it was obvious that she totally thought Kellan was blowing smoke up her ass.

An easy smile still on his lips, Kellan shook his head. “No. I don’t want to go into detail about it, but I’m in a relationship.” I was standing behind the DJ while
Kellan was in front of her. His eyes shifted to just over the DJ’s shoulder, and locked onto mine. “And I love her very much.” He shifted his gaze back to the DJ before she
noticed that he’d directed that statement to me.

God, I really did have the best husband on earth. I schooled my features as best I could, but I just couldn’t remove the small smile on my lips. The DJ pursed hers. “Okay, well, how
about you boys play us a song?”

Kellan seemed confused about why the DJ looked so apathetic over his answer. She’d asked him a direct question, he’d given her one. It may not have been what she wanted to hear, but,
well, too bad.

Matt and Griffin strummed their guitars while Evan beat out a rhythm on a lone snare drum. Kellan’s voice filled the studio, pitch-perfect, and the mood instantly lightened. No one could
deny that the D-Bags were good. No, not just good . . . amazing.

Afterwards, the group of us slipped into a couple of waiting cabs and headed back to the tour bus. The driver of the cab Kellan and I were in was listening to the radio station we’d just
left; I recognized the DJ’s high-pitched voice. Evan was riding in the cab with us. Leaning forward, he said, “Think they’ll talk about us now that we’re gone?”

Kellan and I shrugged, then started paying closer attention to what she was saying. I instantly wished I hadn’t. “Kellan’s a liar, that’s all there is to it. Just
colleagues. Right. I’m supposed to believe that that freaking hot music video was fake? Sorry, sweetheart, Sienna’s not that good of an actress. Those two are swapping a lot more than
lyrics! In a relationship? Yeah, tell us something we don’t know, Kellan . . .”

Kellan groaned and dropped his head back on the seat. I completely understood the feeling. Guess I know why no one was really hearing what he was saying now.

The station started taking callers after that, and every single one of them were diehard Kell-Sex supporters who helped twist everything Kellan had just said into something else entirely:
“He loves Sienna! And did you hear his voice when he said it? Sigh. Best boyfriend ever!”

Best boyfriend ever? God. Not only had the fans stolen Kellan and given him to Sienna with a big red bow around his middle, they’d even stolen my praise of his significant other
skills.

While Evan shook his head in disbelief, Kellan looked over at me, “Remind me to never do another interview for that radio station.”

Duly noted.

Raising an eyebrow, he added, “Are you sure you still want me to be vague?” I bit my lip, but nodded. The hype would die off sooner or later. If I could keep my privacy, I wanted
to.

The boys were playing at another House of Blues tonight, but in Dallas this time. I’d never been to Texas before. For some reason, I kept picturing Kellan in a cowboy hat everywhere we
went. It gave me the giggles, which Kellan found adorable. When I told him why I was laughing so much, he shifted his weight to his hip, put his hand up to his hairline like he was wearing a
Stetson, and drawled, “Well, hello, little lady.”

Griffin immediately beaned him in the back of the head with a Hacky Sack. “Dude, grow some balls. You’re an embarrassment to penises everywhere.”

A tight smile on his face, Kellan reached down, grabbed the sack, and tossed it across the bus. He nailed Griffin right in the junk. As Griffin’s face turned bright red and he doubled over
in pain, every boy nearby cringed in sympathy and let out a long, “Oooooh.”

Justin shook his head as he patted Griffin’s shoulder. “Wow, ouch. Guess you won’t be having anymore kids there, huh, Hulk?”

Griffin weakly lifted his hand and flipped him off.

As everyone onboard chuckled, Justin’s bassist, Mark, rushed onto the bus. Looking around, he searched for his band mates. Spotting Justin first, he told him, “You are not going to
believe who’s here.”

A really uncomfortable feeling started sizzling in my gut as I watched Justin’s cute face contort into confusion. “Ah, okay, who’s here?” I locked eyes with Kellan and I
could see the same expression on his face that was in my heart.
Please let it be anyone but her.

Filling me with dread, Mark’s gaze swung around to Kellan. “Sienna Sexton, man.”

Kellan and I both exhaled at the same time.
Damn. It.
Kellan twisted around to face Mark. “She’s here? Why?”

Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s got some uptight blond bitch with her who told me to find you, stat. Who the hell actually uses the word ‘stat’?”

Kellan sighed again. “That would be Tory.” He looked over at me. “I guess we should go see what Sienna wants.” Wishing I could do anything other than agree, I nodded.

Maybe for moral support, or maybe just out of morbid curiosity, Evan and Matt followed us to where Sienna was waiting. Griffin stayed behind. He still couldn’t sit up straight. Sienna was
in a private office of the club that someone had hastily converted into a green room. Thing 1 and Thing 2 were guarding her door, keeping all the looky-loos away. Since no one was here yet besides
the staff, I thought that was a tad unnecessary.

Both of the men looked at Kellan like they didn’t know who he was. When Kellan moved between them to grab the doorknob, they each put an arm in his way. Irritated, Kellan told them,
“I’m Kellan Kyle, remember? You’ve seen me before?” No muscles in their faces moved, neither did their arms. Irritated, Kellan raised his hands. “Sienna asked for
me.” One of them spoke into a headset, waited a few seconds, then opened the door for us.

“You can go in. Ms. Sexton is expecting you.” Kellan rolled his eyes as he reached back for my hand.

Sienna turned to the door the minute we stepped through it. She was just as breathtaking as the last time I’d seen her—flawless, glowing skin, perfect body wrapped in tight,
revealing clothes, and long, dark shimmering hair. Much to my disappointment, no sudden deformations had struck her down since we’d parted ways. Damn. Tory was behind her, leaning against a
wall with a scowl on her face as she flipped through a planner bursting with colorful Post-it Notes.

“Oh my God, Kellan! It’s been so long.” Sienna moved to embrace him and Kellan held his finger up. She didn’t toss her arms around him, but she did peck his cheek
lightning fast. “It’s absolutely lovely to see you.” I hadn’t missed the fact that she hadn’t even acknowledged me yet, or Matt and Evan either. All her focus was on
Kellan.

As Kellan swished his hand behind him, she finally glanced at the rest of us. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on your tour?” he asked.

In a shy, yet flirtatious way, Sienna raised one bare shoulder and averted her eyes. “I’m playing nearby, and had the night off.” She looked back up at him. “I just
couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to see you perform.”

Kellan slowly nodded. “Well, it should be a good show.”

Sienna clasped her hands together, pure joy on her face. “It’s going to be fabulous. I can’t wait!”

Looking confused, Kellan asked, “Did you want to see me, just to tell me you were watching the show tonight?”

A look flashed over Sienna’s face that reminded me of Nick. It was an expression of annoyance, of someone who clearly didn’t like to be talked to in any way but with the utmost
deference. It vanished instantly as she gave Kellan a broad smile. “Actually, I had a brilliant idea, and I wanted to run it by you.”

Kellan deliberately placed one arm over the other. “Yeah? What’s your idea?”

Sienna frowned at his posture, then immediately brightened again. Watching her emotions flip back and forth was like playing with a light switch on a wall. “Well, I don’t know about
you, but I’m being hounded nonstop to perform the new single at every show.”

She lifted a brow in question. Kellan nodded. “Yeah, I’m getting that a lot too.”

Biting her lip, she poked a well-manicured nail into his chest. “I can’t really perform it without you.”

Kellan looked down at her finger, then back up at her. “Nick can give you my vocals, or you can hire another guy to sing my part.”

Irritation flashed in her eyes before she cooed, “It’s not the same. I’d like to perform it again with you. Really wow the fans. Blow the lid off this place.”

Raising his eyebrows, Kellan looked around the room. “You want to perform the song tonight? Here?” I understood his confusion. It was a hole in the wall compared to the arenas Sienna
played at.

Sienna seemed overjoyed by the idea, though. Vigorously nodding, she told him, “Wouldn’t that be wild? Nobody would expect it. What do you think?”

Kellan seemed unsure, and looked back at Evan and Matt for guidance. Evan was frowning; he’d heard and seen just what the media was doing with Kellan and Sienna. Matt—ever the
manager—was smiling; he knew how huge this would be. The place would go absolutely crazy if it happened.

Seeing that he still needed to be persuaded, Sienna leaned in and told us, “Just imagine the headlines tomorrow, and what that could do for your friends’ careers. ‘
Sienna
Sexton surprises the audience on Avoiding Redemption’s sold-out tour . . .’”

Kellan worked his lip while he gazed down at me. Not seeing any harm in this, I nodded. Looking back up at her, he asked, “All you want from me is one song?”

Giggling, she nodded. “This is going to be great. For all of us.” I sighed, and hoped that was true.

It was decided that the D-Bags would go up last, by whom, I don’t know. It made sense I guess. Sienna coming in last would be a great topper to the evening, and her coming in right after
the D-Bags performed would make the night flow better. And, I hated to say it, especially to Justin, but the bulk of the crowd was here for Kellan. The D-Bags closing out the show made sense.
Kellan didn’t agree, and fought to keep Justin as the closer, but he was overruled.