The Loneliest Tour (25 page)

“
Whoa.
”

Masie lowered her head to Jett
’
s chest. It then crashed down on
her as she realized where she was and what she was doing. It was almost a
repeat thing. Only she never loved Clyde. She thought she did, but it wasn
’
t the same feeling with Jett.

I love him. I love Jett.

She slipped off Jett
’
s body and propped herself up on
her elbows.

“
Hey,
it
’
s okay,
”
Jett said.

“
Yeah,
but it
’
s not okay at all. I
let him - his name was Clyde - I let him get to me. He was the first person
that really went after me, you know? He was powerful. He ran the program. I
mean, he could have been with any woman there, but he set his sights on me.
”

“
Because
you
’
re beautiful and smart.
And open.
”

“
No,
”
Masie said with a laugh.
“
He was fucking four other women.
”

“
Christ.
”

“
Yeah.
He used the same moves on whoever he wanted. And it always worked. The promise
of something bigger and better. So not only did he crush my heart, he crushed
my dream, Jett. I had to leave when I found out what he was doing. I tried to
do the right thing and get help but it only turned on me. I was basically
attacked and made to feel like I was worthless. I let it all get to me. I
second-guessed everything I thought I knew about myself.
”

Jett reached out and wiped a tear
from Masie
’
s eye. She hadn
’
t even realized she started to
cry. Talking about this stuff always left her feeling numb. Traveling back in
time really sucked.

“
I
’
m so sorry,
”
Jett whispered.

“
I
never had any real family either. My mother did her best to survive as a single
mother. I think I was more of a burden to her. I had my dream though. My entire
room was always ballerina stuff. It
’
s
all I wanted. So when I left there I just started over. Completely on my own
and alone. I vowed to never get involved with someone again. I was lucky enough
to meet Ann Marie, who runs the dance studio I teach at. She gave me a shot and
it really inspires me to see all those kids show up and have fun. I mean I know
a lot of them are there just to get out of their parents hair for a little
while, but it
’
s still fun.
”

Jett stuck his fingers into her
hair and started to play. It made Masie
’
s
body tingle. It was such a soothing and comfortable feeling. Masie even closed
her eyes for a few seconds and let herself get lost in the moment.

“
You
’
re an amazing woman,
”
Jett said.
“
That
’
s all you need to know. How amazing you are. And
whatever happened to you, it put you here.
”

“
On
tour with Crutch Fail.
”

“
In
bed with me.
”

“
Fine.
You win.
”

Masie rolled to the edge of the bed
and sat up. She grabbed for her clothes. A fresh flood of anger started to roll
through her body. She felt Jett touch her back and she shuddered, not wanting
to have it affect her.

“
Hey,
talk to me, sweetheart,
”
Jett whispered.

“
This
is what I feared,
”
Masie
said. She stood up.
“
I
’
d get another chance and I
’
d end up in bed with someone.
”

“
Whoa,
whoa. This isn
’
t just
in
bed with someone
. It
’
s
us, Masie. I care about you. I mean, I really care. I lo
…”

“
Just
don
’
t say anything else, Jett,
”
Masie said.
“
That
’
s why I hate talking about stuff, okay? Because it
just reminds me of what I did wrong.
”

“
We
all do things wrong,
”
Jett
said.
“
You have to believe
that. I mean, look at everything I told you already. My life has been a mess.
But when I
’
m with you, it
makes sense. It all makes sense.
”

Masie paused and looked back.
“
I promised myself nothing would
happen. And it did. I
’
m
hooked on you, Jett. I
’
m
falling in love with you.
”

“
Then
fall,
”
Jett yelled. He
grabbed the covers and stood from the bed.
“
Just
fall. I
’
ll catch you.
Today. Tomorrow. Forever.
”

Standing there, looking at Jett,
Masie
’
s heart swelled even
more. She didn
’
t want to
lose him. She didn
’
t want
to leave Jett. But she didn
’
t
want to risk getting hurt again. Or losing out on everything she dreamed of
again. It was almost too much to bear in that moment.

“
Jett,
”
she said.
“
I don
’
t want anything handed to me. I don
’
t want favors. I don
’
t want to be that woman.
”

“
Christ,
you
’
re not,
”
Jett said.
“
You have to be able to see that.
How special you are. How hard you work on your own. I mean, are you sleeping
with me hoping that I
’
ll do
you a favor?
”

“
No!
”
Masie yelled.
“
No. Never.
”

“
Then
it doesn
’
t matter.
”
Jett approached Masie. He
touched her shoulder with one hand, the other hand holding the blanket around
his waist.
“
This isn
’
t a joke for me. I promise you.
This is serious. I mean, everything I
’
ve
been through lately. With the band. My personal stuff.
”

“
Exactly,
”
Masie said.
“
And you
’
re now in love with me?
”

“
What
if I am? What if I say I am?
”

There was a knock at the hotel
door.

“
No!
”
Jett yelled.

“
Jett,
it
’
s Harry. I
’
ve called you three times. We
have to talk right now. It
’
s
important.
”

“
Not
now,
”
Jett growled.

“
Go,
”
Masie whispered.
“
I
’
m
fine. I
’
ll be fine. I
’
m sorry I brought all this up,
okay? It just bothers the hell out of me still. And it shouldn
’
t. I
’
m pathetic.
”

“
You
are not pathetic,
”
Jett
said. He kissed Masie
’
s
cheek.
“
You
’
re perfect. I
’
m not going to hurt you. I
’
m not going to let you down. I
’
m sorry if I said anything that
made you feel uncomfortable. I would never want that for you. And as far as
this tour goes? When it
’
s
over, it
’
s over. That
’
s the tour. Not us.
”

“
Jett!
”
Harry
’
s voice boomed through the door.

Jett gritted his teeth.

He then dropped the sheet and walked
to the door, opening it.

“
What?
”
Jett asked.

“
Whoa,
”
Harry said.
“
Uh, can you get some clothes on?
Meet me on the bus?
”

Masie caught herself smiling. She
never met someone that could cut through her like Jett did. Masie hated
admitting what she did wrong because she hated to feel weak. But as she stared
at Jett
’
s perfect ass, she
realized that being weak wasn
’
t
always a bad thing
–
just
as long as someone strong was there to pick you back up.

**

Jett ran a hand through his hair.
The band all sat around, looking half beat up. It had been a long day of
traveling. Normally they spent those days resting. They
’
d sleep, watch movies, talk. It had been a while
since they spent the day drinking, jamming, and actually partying hard on the
bus.

“
What
’
s so important?
”
Jett asked.

"The tour is going to be
broken up," Harry said.

"What the hell does that
mean?" Colby asked.

"You guys are too big for the
arenas. Which is a great thing. It
’
s
a really great thing. But the bad thing is that we don
’
t have the logistics figured out for a bigger tour.
”

“
So
why does that bother us?
”
Jett asked.

“
Because
once this leg is done, we
’
re
done for a little bit.
”

Everyone looked at each other.

Ryker looked pissed off.
“
That doesn
’
t make sense.
”

“
Well,
it kind of does,
”
Harry said.
“
You
’
re not going to like it. It
’
s a business move. It
’
s
a play.
”

“
A
play?
”
Van asked.

“
We
take the footage from the little tour,
”
Harry said.
“
Package it
together and sell it. Distribute it for a bigger tour. During that time you
guys get free run in the studio to finish up what will become a full length
album. You can tour up and down California, grabbing as many little shows as
you want. Anything to generate a buzz.
”

“
This
is all Portis,
”
Jett said.
He stood up and folded his arms.
“
He
’
s cashing in big time.
”

“
He
can
’
t count on Crutch Fail,
”
Harry said.
“
He realizes that. Their numbers
are dismal.
”

“
They
aren
’
t good,
”
Brantley said.
“
And financing the band? Come on.
Putting them on prematurely was stupid. Having those dancers was stupid.
”
Brantley looked at Jett.
“
Sorry, man. No offense.
”

“
None
taken,
”
Jett said.
“
I get it. The idea was bad. The
whole thing was bad.
”

“
And
Portis takes risks but he doesn
’
t
keep going when it
’
s bad.
You guys have proven yourselves to him. But Crutch Fail hasn
’
t done that. And it
’
s time to pull the plug on the
thing. You know you
’
re set.
I mean, musically and financially. The backing is there. The fans, the money,
the studio. You have Portis in your pockets.
”

Jett was completely torn. He knew
he would be fine in life. But he worried about Masie. She wouldn
’
t just fall into him. She wanted
her own life. Her own dreams and passions to chase down. And goddamn if that
wasn
’
t the sexiest thing
about her. Yet Jett wanted to scoop her up and take her away from it all.
Protect her from all the bad in the world, but that
’
s not how it worked.

“
Any
questions?
”
Harry asked.

“
So
tonight is the last gig?
”
Van asked.

“
There
’
s two more shows slated up
north,
”
Harry said.
“
Not sure what Portis will do. He
’
s making money on you guys but
nowhere else. To him he
’
d
rather build the buzz and let it explode when it
’
s
time. I know you guys don
’
t
function like that and I
’
m
sorry about it. But that
’
s
the way it is right now.
”

“
If
that
’
s what we have to do,
”
Jett said.
“
As long as we can get into the studio.
”

“
The
entire industry is different,
”
Harry said.
“
A guy like
Portis knows how to survive. That
’
s
important to remember. And if he likes you, he
’
ll
throw money at you until you make it all back and then some.
”
Harry
’
s phone started to ring.
“
Now I have to take some calls. I have a few
conference call meetings. I
’
m
organizing some press and other stuff. You guys just stay put. Play the show of
your lives tonight. Remember what you have.
”