The Loneliest Tour (19 page)

Ryker sat up.
“
It
’
s
all good.
”
Ryker stood up.
“
Damn. I guess I
’
ll show myself out.
”

“
Careful,
”
Jett said.
“
They
’
re waiting and yelling for us.
”

“
I
love it,
”
Ryker said.

Ryker breezed by Masie, winking as
he did so.
“
Take care of
him. Not too much though. He needs to perform tonight.
”

“
Man,
get the hell out of here,
”
Jett growled.

Ryker laughed and climbed down the
steps. He opened the door and slammed it shut.

Jett was finally alone with Masie.
He leaned back against one of the tables and grinned.
“
This is the bus.
”

“
This
is massive. It
’
s like a
hotel room.
”

“
Yeah,
it kind of is.
”

The bus was really big. One of the
biggest Willow Son had ever had on tour. Complete with five beds, a bathroom, a
kitchenette, a bar, tables, chairs, three TV
’
s,
and fully stocked with food and drinks. They could survive for weeks if they
needed to without going hungry or thirsty - or entertained.

“
You
don
’
t have to drive around,
”
Jett said.
“
I can make arrangements here for
you.
”

“
On
the bus with five rockstars?
”
Masie asked.
“
No thanks.
”

“
Why?
”

“
I
’
m sure you
’
re so quiet and good on here. No
drinking. No partying. No women.
”

“
Whoa,
wait a second,
”
Jett said.
“
Do you think I
’
m messing around with other
people?
”

“
I
didn
’
t ask that.
”

“
You
’
re hinting at it.
”

“
Jett,
you
’
re on tour. You
’
re a rockstar. It
’
s all good. Whatever you do.
”

Jett gripped the edge of the table.
He gritted his teeth.
“
You
know, it really pissed me off when everyone and their brother started assuming
stuff about me after my arrest. I mean, yeah, I was busted for buying pills.
But it was such a cliché, and everyone ran with it. They assumed I was
addicted, I was a junkie. They assumed I was a burnout loser. They assumed I
was going to end up dead. They assumed my bad past fucked up my present and
future. Right?
”

“
Jett
…”

“
No.
I took it on the chin. Hit after hit. But for you to say that about me screwing
other women
…
that actually
bothers me a little.
”

“
It
does?
”
Masie asked.

“
Yeah,
it does. You
’
re not a
hookup, sweetheart. You
’
re
not a one night stand. You
’
re
not a groupie. You
’
re not
…
whatever. You mean something to
me. You matter to me.
”
Jett
touched Masie
’
s face. His
thumb stroked her cheek.
“
I
don
’
t know where you
’
re at, and that
’
s fine. I didn
’
t ask. Now
’
s not the time and place for
that conversation. You have nothing to worry about with me, sweetheart. I wear
the rockstar badge, but that doesn
’
t
mean shit. Okay?
”

“
You
know, all things considered with the tour, the band, the rockstar stuff, that
’
s kind of romantic to say,
”
Masie said.

“
Sorry
I didn
’
t line the floor
with rose petals for you,
”
Jett said with a grin.
“
But
I have something better.
”

“
Oh?
”

Jett leaned forward and kissed
Masie. A sweet and soft kiss.
“
One
of those.
”

“
Just
one?
”
Masie asked.

Jett leaned in for the next kiss.
This time, Masie threw her hands up to his shoulders and pulled him closer. Her
hands went around his neck and she dug into his hair as the kiss got hotter.

Their tongues flirted and battled,
Jett loving being able to take control of Masie like he was. She leaned into
him hard and he pushed his body harder to hers. His hands slipped around her
waist and down to her ass, squeezing. He felt himself getting hard.

If this went the right way, he
’
d be the first person to have
sex in the new tour bus. What a way a properly christen the bus.

Jett grinned and broke the kiss.

“
What?
”
Masie asked.

“
Nothing,
”
he said.
“
Nothing at all.
”

“
Come
on, don
’
t hold back on me
now, rockstar,
”
Masie
teased.

“
Oh,
that
’
s one thing I
’
ll never do. I
’
ll never hold back. Not with
you.
”

Jett moved forward again and the
bus door opened.

Jett gritted his teeth.
“
This better be good.
”

“
It
is.
”

It was Portis.

Jett turned and Masie grabbed his
hand. He looked at her and saw how insanely nervous she became.

Portis stood and slipped his hands
into his pockets.
“
Interrupting?
”

“
Just
talking about the show and tour,
”
Jett said.

“
Right.
You
’
re Masie, right?
”

“
Yes,
sir,
”
Masie said.

“
Sir?
”
Jett asked.

“
She
respects the power,
”
Portis
said.

“
Don
’
t be an ass right now,
”
Jett said.
“
Please.
”

“
Hey,
I
’
m just checking on who I
pay,
”
Portis said. He
approached them.
“
Now,
Masie, I
’
ll be watching the
show closely. Actually, all the shows. I normally don
’
t do that kind of thing, but this tour is important
to me.
”

“
Me
too,
”
Masie said.

“
Now
why
’
s that?
”

Jett put a hand to Masie
’
s lower back and gave her a
nudge.

Don
’
t be afraid. Be bold,
sweetheart.

“
This
is my dream,
”
Masie said.
“
Well, not to be on stage with
Crutch Fail.
”

“
You
’
d rather be dancing with Willow
Son?
”

“
We
don
’
t need dancers to make
our show look good,
”
Jett
said. He glanced at Masie.
“
Sorry
if that offends you.
”

“
No,
”
Masie said.
“
I mean, my dream is to dance.
Tour. I appreciate the opportunity.
”

“
I
’
m not handing you an
opportunity,
”
Portis said.
“
I
’
m
not giving it to you either. You
’
ve
earned it. Keep earning it. I see everything. I know everything.
”

“
Christ,
”
Jett whispered.
“
Let me walk you off the bus,
Masie.
”

“
Break
a leg!
”
Portis yelled as
they exited the bus.

“
Wow,
you were nervous,
”
Jett
said.

“
I
’
ve never met him before,
”
Masie said.
“
I
’
ve
always hoped I would and he
’
d
help me. Shit, what if he thinks I
’
m
sleeping with you? I mean, like, you know, like a whore or something?
”

“
You
’
re too pretty to be a whore,
”
Jett said.

“
Is
that really a compliment?
”

“
I
don
’
t know, sweetheart.
Just go inside and get ready for your show. A better time will come to hang out
with Portis.
”

Jett let Masie slip a couple feet
away.
“
Hey, wait.
”

“
What?
”
Masie asked.

Jett pulled her close and snuck a
kiss.
“
You don
’
t need Portis to take care of.
You
’
re good at what you do.
Believe in yourself. I do.
”

Masie grinned and strutted away.

Jett gritted his teeth.

Shaking his head he went back on
the tour bus.

He
’
s
crossed the line from caring to really caring. Heart racing caring. Caring so
much about Masie that he didn
’
t
give a shit about what Portis had to say. All he could think about was Masie.

(13)

Jett stood at the side of the stage
and watched the show. The place was pretty packed, considering it was Crutch
Fail playing. It didn
’
t
seem like many people were interested, and those who were, danced because it
was music. Their sound was dry, processed, nothing actually original jumping
out. There was no emotion to the show and the stage presence. That could work
for some bands as long as they carried the songs and the crowd.

Crutch Fail did not.

Having the dancers running around
and doing their thing just seemed weird. It pained Jett to think it because he
would hate for Portis to pull the plug on the dancers. That meant Masie would
be off the tour. Unemployed and too damn far away from Jett.

“
Hey,
man, you want to start getting ready?
”
a guitar tech asked Jett.
“
I
’
ve got you all tuned up. We
’
ll double check. But your first
guitar is all ready to go. If you wanted to practice a little.
”

“
I
’
m good,
”
Jett said.

“
You
a fan here?
”

“
No,
”
Jett said.
“
I like the dancers.
”

“
Me
too, man. Me too.
”

The guitar tech walked away.

Jett approached the steps and put a
leg up.

The song ended with Masie having
her head back, arm in the air, leaning against Colin.

“
Fuck
yeah!
”
Colin yelled.
“
What a great fucking show!
”

Jett shook his head. It wasn
’
t cool to curse at the crowd. Or
brag about yourself.

“
I
guess we should wrap this up soon,
”
Colin said.
“
Get to the main
act. Anyone know who is playing?
”

The crowd got louder, probably the
loudest since the band took the stage.

“
I
asked
…
does anyone fucking
know who is fucking playing?
”

The crowd started with a broken
Willow
Son!
chant that picked up speed, steam, and finally all blended together.
It carried much longer than Colin probably expected. And he had no idea how to
control the crowd. It was one thing to give the headliner a shoutout, but to
lose the crowd, that was embarrassing.

So Colin yelled,
“
Here
’
s the last one!
”

The band hurried into the song,
Colin pushing Masie to the left. She stumbled but didn
’
t fall. Jett stepped up, his heart pounding.

Masie caught herself and turned,
going with the song.

Colin walked to the end of the
stage, nodding as he played guitar. He looked mad. Like he wanted to be the
headlining rockstar. He kicked his foot and screamed at people, wanting them to
cheer, jump, dance, sing.

He hurried to the mic and started
to growl, really making the lyrics sound like shit. Colin was mostly drunk by
then, unable to control himself on stage. The rest of the band moved around the
stage with the exception of the drummer, who was probably the most musically
talented in the band.