Authors: Michelle A Valentine
She sighed and reached her dainty fingers up to touch my face. “Sometimes you seem too good to be real.”
I stared into her green eyes and threaded my fingers into her dark hair. “Now you know exactly how I feel about you.”
Chapter 10
The bus felt cold without her. I lay on the bed and stretched my hand over to touch the pillow where her head typically laid. It’s only been a couple hours, and I was already losing my shit.
It was early, and I wasn’t tired, but I didn’t feel much like being social.
I picked up my cell and checked the time. In about ten minutes, her plane would land, and I could call and make sure she got there safe. Traveling alone wasn’t something I liked her doing. There were too many crazies out there, and I wouldn’t be there to shield her from them.
A knock on the door startled me from my thoughts. “Come in.”
Riff pushed the door open and stood in the doorway. “We’re about to start a
Halo
campaign. You in?”
This felt like old times—the bus rolling down a lonely stretch of highway while we kicked each other’s asses in a war video game. It was the best way we found to pass the time, other than sleeping, when we were cooped up inside Big Bertha for hours on end.
But right now, I wanted to wallow in my sadness over being without Lane. “Nah, I’m pretty tired.”
Riff folded his arms across his chest while his crazy Mohawk stood high on the top of his head. “Dude, I know you miss her, but you can’t mope around in this room the entire time she’s gone. It’s not healthy.”
I sighed. “I know, but it’s hard to be without her.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean, but still you have to live, man. She won’t be gone for ever.”
That was true. I would see her again in a week when I got a three-day break between shows, but until then, I didn’t see anything wrong with a little depression. “I get it. But I’m really just tired. It’s been a long day.”
A sarcastic laugh tumbled from his mouth. “Kyle took you shopping all day, how stressful could that be?”
Since he was my best friend, I needed to share with him my true venture of the day, so I fished the ring box from my pocket. “It was kind of a big deal.”
I held it between my thumb and index finger for Riff’s inspection. His eyes widened. “Holy shit! Does she know you have that?”
I shook my head. “Nope.” I sighed. “She left before I got a chance to ask her.”
“That’s a huge deal. You sure about this? Don’t you think you should wait awhile?”
“No. It’s the right time. It’s something I’ve thought about doing since high school. Plus, that douchebag, Striker, keeps sniffing around her. What better way to show him she’s off the market?”
Riff took the box and opened it up and let out a low whistle. “Well, don’t rush in because you feel threatened by Striker. She loves you. Any idiot can see that.”
That was what I thought too, but apparently Striker was the only blind man around. “Like I said, it’s not just for his benefit. This is something I want. I want her to know I’m committed to her.”
He handed me back the box. “If you’re sure, then I’m happy for you. Now, get your ass up, and come help me whoop Trip’s ass. I’m not taking no for an answer. I need my wingman.”
I sat up and tucked the box back in my pocket, a little less heavy-hearted, and readied myself for some guy time.
An hour and a half into the game my cell rang. I checked the I.D. and felt a little silly for the sheer amount giddiness that rolled inside me from seeing Lane’s name. I hoped the guys didn’t notice. I’d never hear the end of it.
I pressed the phone to my ear after I rubbed my thumb over the green answer button. “Hey.”
“God, I miss you.” It was awesome to hear she was feeling the exact same way I did. “A week is so long.”
“Too long,” I agreed.
“Well, maybe I’ll actually get some work done this week without you here to distract me all the time.”
I laughed. “So glad you’re looking forward to being without me.”
“You know what I mean,” she chided. “It’ll be nice to have my proposal done for Striker this week.”
The name Striker coming from those beautiful lips was just plain wrong. “Let’s not talk about him.”
“Noel…” Her voice held a warning.
“I’m not jealous or anything. I just don’t like him.” Honesty was the best policy about my thoughts that revolved around him.
Normally I would never have believed Lane would’ve gone for a guy like that, but after that night in the bar, I knew different. It was hard to get the vision of how he touched her that night when they danced out of my head. I snapped when I saw he was about to kiss her, and she was going to let him. Things in me went crazy and I attacked him to keep that from happening.
Lane sighed into the phone. “Okay, no more talk about him.”
“Thank you.” I paused. “Have you made it to the hospital yet?”
“I just pulled in the parking lot and wanted to call you before I went inside to tell you that I love you and miss you already.”
The heart in my chest swelled. “I love you, too. Tell your mom I hope she gets back on her feet soon. I want to show her my mad pancake flipping skills.”
She laughed. “Will do.”
After the call ended, I felt better about missing her somehow. It gave me comfort to know I’d be with her soon and that I could call her anytime I wanted.
****
The next show was in Orlando, and it was an outdoors. Singing to a sold out crowd of over twenty thousand people always got me amped. It was still surreal at times that we had the amount of fans we did. And man, some of them were dedicated.
Backstage I watched as Embrace the Darkness ended their set. It was really starting to get under my skin that Striker and his band were getting a lot of notoriety.
He seemed to really enjoy hoarding on things that were mine—fans and Lane—things that meant the most to me.
Striker sauntered off the stage with that cocky grin he wore half the time I saw him. “Try not to chase the fans off, too,” he commented as he walked past me.
I narrowed my eyes. “What the fuck is that suppose to mean?”
He spun on his heel to face me. “It means you’re really good at driving things away. Careful, mate, or you’ll drive more than your fans straight to me.”
I closed the gap between us. “Try something with her, fucker. Give me one more reason to beat your ass.”
He laughed. “You don’t scare me, Falcon. I’m just waiting for you to fuck up before I make my move on Lane. She’s too good for you.”
Every muscle in my body shook and spots clouded my vision. On instinct, my fist drew back ready to blast Striker in his smug face.
My arm snapped forward, stopping inches from my target. I jerked my arm hard, so caught up in my anger I didn’t notice Riff had my arm hooked in his.
Riff dragged me back. “He’s not worth it.”
My nostrils flared, and my brain couldn’t absorb his words. “He needs to stop trying to fuck my girl.”
Striker laughed as he stalked off, my heart still hammered hard as every piece of me still wanted to tackle him with full force.
Riff shoved me back. “Noel, dude, calm the fuck down. He’s just trying to get to you and you’re letting him. This is exactly what he wants—you to doubt Lane and drive her straight to him. Don’t let that happen. Lane loves you.”
My chest heaved as my body was still in fight mode. “You’re right.”
I scrubbed my hands down my face and took a deep breath. Striker found my weakness, and he took full advantage of it.
Trusting Lane wasn’t the issue, but knowing Striker was set on taking her from me ramped me up even more to stake my claim on her for the world to see.
Chapter 11
After two weeks of being without Lane, I still missed her like crazy. Life just wasn’t the same without her.
I rolled over and I picked up my cell and searched out her number. I needed her voice to be the first thing that I heard in the mornings. It was our new morning call routine and it was one of the only things that kept me going.
It rang a couple times before Lane’s groggy voice answered. “Hey.”
“Hey, baby. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“Oh, no. I was awake.”
My brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m feeling a little sick again,” she answered.
“Are you having the same symptoms as before?” I questioned again.
“I wish.” She sighed. “I’m been sick to my stomach all morning.”
I rubbed some sleep from my eye. “You’ve been throwing up?”
“Yeah, but thank God I was able to bring Mom home after surgery last night. It would’ve been hell to feel like this at the hospital.”
I sat up in bed and then tossed my legs over the edge. “I’m coming down there.”
“Noel, you have shows to do.”
I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me and hopped out of bed. “To hell with the shows, Lane. You need me, I’m coming down.”
My suitcase was out on the bed before I even finished my last sentence.
“I’m fine, really.” She was trying to convince me, but I knew she needed me. Kathy needed help getting around after her surgery, and Lane wouldn’t be much help to her if she wasn’t a hundred percent herself.
“I’m taking the next flight in what ever city we’re closest to.”
“Noel—”
“No more arguing about this, Lane. I want to come. Please don’t fight me.” I threw some clothes in the bag and zipped it up.
“Okay.” I could hear the reluctance in her voice but pumped my fist anyway.
“I love you, and I’ll see you soon,” I told her before I ended our call.
I carried my luggage to the front of the bus and dropped it near the steps. Riff and Tyke sat at the table eating breakfast, while Trip stood at the island finishing up a bowl of cereal.
Riff eyeballed it before he turned his gaze on me. “What the fuck is that?”
I shrugged and knew this wasn’t going to go over well with the guys. “I have to go, man.”
“Go where?” Trip asked wiping milk from his lip after slurping down what was left in his bowl.
“He’s going to Texas to be with Lane,” Riff answered.
“What about the rest of our shows?” Tyke asked with a frown on his face.
“We’ll have to cancel or postpone them, I suppose.” All three of my band mates stared at me like I’d grown a third eye. “Guys I’m sorry, but she needs me for a week or so. Her mom broke her leg, and she’s sick. I have to go.”
Riff flexed his jaw muscle, clearly pissed at my decision. “Fine. If you want to disappoint all the fans because you’re being selfish—”
“
Selfish
? This is the first time in my life I’m thinking of others.” I met each one of their stares individually. “I love her, guys. I have to be there when she needs me. I would really appreciate a little understanding on this.”
After a couple tense moments of silence, Riff rubbed his chin. “I guess pushing back the dates a couple weeks wouldn’t kill anybody.” Trip and Tyke nodded in agreement. “I’ll work on having them change the dates. It won’t be easy, and will be a total pain in my ass, but I’ll do it. Go take care of things.”
A grin crept up on my face. “Thanks guys, I’ll owe you one.”
I instructed the bus to turn off at the next exit before I went back and to wake Kyle, who was still fast asleep in his foxhole to tell him I needed a ride. In just a few short hours, I would see Lane again. The thrill of it excited me more than the biggest rush of playing live music to thousands of screaming fans.
Four hours later, I landed in Houston and picked up my rental car. The solitary drive was a nice change. It was very rare now-a-days to be completely alone. The silence was welcomed.
When I pulled into the driveway of Lane’s childhood home, old memories of when we were in high school flooded me. I’d pull into this drive and honk my horn. Lane would come bouncing down the walkway and would hop in the passenger seat of my Chevelle. That was when life was simple.
I knocked on the front door, and Lane answered the door with a huge smile. “Hey!”
She was cheerful. A complete change from when I talked to her on the phone a few hours ago. “Feeling better?”
“Much! I don’t know what was wrong with me this morning. I couldn’t stop throwing up and every smell made me nauseous.”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her outside with me, out of earshot of her mother. Alarms were going off like crazy in my head. “Do you think you’re pregnant? It’s been nearly four weeks since you saw that little munchkin looking doctor. It’s possible.”
Lane flinched. “No. I’m on birth control.”
“It’s not uncommon for birth control to fail if someone is on an antibiotic,” I told her.
She tilted her head and crunched her brow. “How would you know that?”
I shrugged and I felt my cheeks burn in my embarrassment. “I read up on pregnancies a lot when I thought I was going to be a father. As you know, there’s not much to do on that bus. A man can only stomach video games so long. Well, most men, anyway. The twins are addicted to them. So, I thought I would educate myself on babies.”
She dropped her head. “What would we do if that’s why I was sick this morning?”
I tipped her chin up with my index finger so she’d look at me. “We’d get married of course.”
She pulled away. “You can’t marry me because you feel guilty if I’m pregnant. I’m not Sophie.”
“Hey.” I wrapped my arms around her waist. “What we have is real. Sophie doesn’t even exist on your level. A baby for us wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
She shook her head. “I still wouldn’t want you to ask me solely because of it though. This isn’t the 1800s. We can have a baby and not marry.”
The temptation to dig the ring out of my luggage was overwhelming. If I gave it to her now, she’d never believe I’d had it before there was even a possibility of a baby. She would think I bought it on the way down here because I suspected she was pregnant after the way I had just jumped to the conclusion right off the bat.
I would just have to wait and plan out a beautiful proposal to make things perfect. She needed to know we could be perfect together and my reasoning for wanting to get married came straight from the heart.