by Anne Mercier
“We can do six tiers and then have the cupcakes like we discussed,“ Mrs. Stramboli tells us. “We can do those in multiple flavors as well, to match the cakes.“
Jesse grins and all-but bounces, reminding me of Meggie. I snicker.
“We get to take home the extras, right?“ Xander asks.
Jesse pokes him in the chest. “You don't get to take home anything. We,“ he says, pointing between us, “get to take home the extras.“
Xander shrugs, clearly unaffected and I know why. I wonder if Jesse will—
“Shit. Lucy'll share with you anyway,“ Jesse pouts.
Xander grins. “Hell yeah she will. That's my girl.“
Jesse shoves Xander aside when he throws an arm over my shoulders. “Get the fuck out of here. That's my woman—my wife you're touching.“
“Jesse Kingston!“ mama scolds.
“Sorry mama,“ Jesse apologizes, then gives Xander a glare.
I bite my lip so I don't laugh. Xander is such a shit. He's riling Jesse up and Jesse's falling for the bait. My husband is clearly too distracted by the delicious desserts in front of him to pay any real attention to anything else.
Xander sends me a wink.
“We can order extra. I think we should order four different cakes a week when we get back anyway. I know how you guys love your sweets. And when we ladies are PMSing, if we don't have our chocolate or whatever it is we're craving, you guys are toast,“ I narrow my eyes.
“So, Mrs. Stramboli,“ Xander begins. “Do you deliver or should we come in every week to pick up the cakes?“
Mrs. Stramboli winks at me. “We can deliver. Just let us know at least three days in advance since you're asking for specialty cakes and frostings.“
Xander nods. “Cool. Cool. Do we get to take these home today?“
Now she's biting her lip to try not to laugh. Xander looks like a kid in a candy store asking if he can have the last piece.
“Of course.“
“Dude,“ Xander says, his cool slipping back into place as he fist bumps Jesse.
“Fuck yeah.“
“Jesse Kingston,“ my mother scolds.
“Sorry mama.“
I snicker again. She's already told him he has to call her mama—hell, she's making all the guys call her that. Hilarious.
I look at the clock. “Oh shoot. We need to get going or they're going to leave without us.“
“Babe,“ Jesse says. “They can't leave without us. We're the singers, the drummer, and lead guitarist,“ he adds, pointing at Sera who's currently stuffing her face full of red velvet cake.
“True, but I don't want the tour to start off on a bad note.“
He nods. We say our goodbyes to my mom and everyone. Xander winks at each of the ladies and they all but puddle at his feet.
“You are so bad,“ I tell Xander.
He grins, showing me his straight white teeth. (He had braces as a teenager. I'm trying to get pictures.) “Nah, I'm not. They'll be smiling for the rest of the day. My work here is done.“
How can a person fault him for that?
“HOW MANY BUSES are there?“ Sera asks incredulously.
Cage pats her back. “Five. Jesse is funding the entertainment bus.“
I lift a brow. “Entertainment bus?“
Cage nods. “It's got a huge seating area in the middle, tiny kitchenette, a few cubby beds.“
“Cool,“ Sera grins. “That'll leave space for those who need alone time and all that too. I imagine there'll come a point when we get on each other's nerves.“
“I'm sure.“
Xander walks up. “Sera, darlin', you could never get on my nerves. You're too beautiful.“
“Shovel that shit somewhere else, Mackenzie,“ she tells him with a laugh.
He puts a hand over his heart. “You wound me. Truly.“
“Aww, my Xander,“ I cajole. He walks over, kneels on the ground, and hugs me around the waist. His head comes just above boob level and he's leering. I laugh. “You are such a perv.“
“Yes, yes I am.“ He reaches around and grabs my ass just as Jesse walks up and cuffs him on the back of the head.
“Hands off my wife, dude.“
I can't help the smile that forms. When Jesse calls me his wife, warmth flows through me and I get butterflies in my stomach. I love being his wife. I love him being my husband. I sigh inwardly. My life right now is amazing. Perfect, really—and I'm waiting for the bottom to drop.
Xander stands up and kisses me on the cheek. “I love you, dollface. I'm glad the manwhore makes you happy.“
“Oh,“ I say as tears form in my eyes. “Xander.“ I hug him tight.
“I don't remember if I got to say anything meaningful in Vegas—considering we were at Denny's it was probably something that included bacon. So, I'll tell you now. You're a great lady, Luciana Russo-Kingston and you two are perfect for each other.“ He pulls back and looks into my eyes. He lifts a hand and wipes my tears with his thumb. “If he hadn't seen you first, I'd have wooed you until you were mine.“
“Oh,“ is all I can say. I lift a hand to his cheek. “You're so amazing Xander. One day you'll find your princess. I promise. I'll help you when you're ready.“
He smiles and nods. “He ever does you wrong, I'll kick his ass. You two ever split, I'm going to chase you until I catch you.“
“Xander.“
He shakes his head. “I'm not in love with you, Luce, but I could be if I let myself. I'll take that help you're offering to help me find my princess. I thought I might have found her once but…“ he trails off.
“You'll tell me the story when we get some time, won't you?“
“I will.“ He hugs me again. “Love you, dollface.“ He taps my nose with his finger then kisses it.
“I love you too.“
He walks away and Jesse comes over. Oh my. Wow. I was not expecting that. Jesse wraps an arm around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head.
“Everything okay?“ he asks.
I nod. “Yeah. He just gave me the wedding moment that we both likely forgot.“
“Ah. It looked pretty intense.“
“Xander can be pretty intense.“
Jesse nods. “He can. Usually only when it's something important to him.“ He narrows his eyes. I can tell he's figured it out but he's not asking and I'm not telling.
“Load ‘em up,“ Cage yells.
“Want to go on the lounge bus first and deal with organizing the other bus after we stop for dinner?“ Jesse asks.
“Yeah, let's do that. We can relax and I can get used to the motion of the bus.“
He looks at me. “You don't get motion sick do you?“
“No. I've just never traveled in a bus quite like this one.“
“Baby, you're in for a treat. This sucker will ride like a Cadillac.“
I snort. “You're so full of shit. More like a tank.“
He chuckles and kisses my lips.
“C'mon wife.“ He grabs my hand and helps me onto the bus. Everyone's pretty much seated.
I spot Damian and smile. He smiles back. “Where are the rest of the roadies?“ I ask.
“On the other bus. Jesse's been extremely generous and is funding two lounge buses. I'm sure Cage would have funded them if Jesse wouldn't have told him it's what he was going to do.“
I snicker. “Ah yes, my overbearing husband.“
Damian's eyes flash. “So I heard. Congratulations.“
“Thank you.“
“Talk about shock factor,“ he says with a laugh.
I laugh in return. “Right? The media had no idea what to do with that one.“
“I can only imagine.“
“It was one hell of a night in Vegas,“ Xander chimes in.
Ethan laughs. “The best was the Elvis search.“
I groan. “Are we bringing that up again?“
“Hell yeah,“ Ethan says, nodding his head.
“Oh, this is gonna be good. I can already tell,“ Damian grins.
/> “We were walking down the strip when Lucy got it in her head to search for the ‘real' Elvis because, as Lucy said, everyone knows Elvis is alive.“
“Dude,“ Xander interjects, “it's true. He's alive.“
Ethan rolls his eyes. “Anyway, when we got into Caesars Palace, Lucy spotted fat Elvis and it was on like Donkey Kong. She and Xander, who was on board the crazy train, ran up to Elvis and were telling him of how he dies and how he should avoid drugs, especially when he's in the bathroom.“
Everyone on the bus starts laughing. Xander throws them a look and moves over to sit next to me.
“Fuck you guys,“ Xander tells them as he throws his arm around my shoulders. “You too, Kingston,“ he scolds, pointing at Jesse.
“Yeah, fuck you guys,“ I chime in and grin at Xander.
“Well, Lucy came on just a bit too strong because she freaked fat Elvis the fuck out to the point he started backing away. She wouldn't let him get away. When he made it to the front door, he made a run for it but, well, he was too slow. Lucy caught him.“
“What?“ Damian laughs.
Jesse's laughing. “She tackled him in front of the fountains.“
Damian throws his head back and laughs.
I throw them a glare. “What? He needed to hear it to avoid the humiliation.“
Ethan shakes his head. “Anyway, after we help fat Elvis up, he threatens Lucy with a restraining order and we head on down the strip where we find skinny Elvis. He sits down with Lucy as she and Xander tell him the story of how he'll die if he doesn't stay away from drugs.“
“The guy was cool as hell,“ Kennedy adds. “He just sat there with them and humored them. Then he asked if we all wanted to go to breakfast.“
“Hmm,“ I say with narrowed eyes as I lean into Xander.
“Fuckers. Every one of them,“ he tells me and I nod. They only snicker louder, including my sister and my husband. Traitors.
“We get to Denny's,“ Ethan continues, “and we just get served our breakfast when skinny Elvis asks Lucy if he can perform hers and Jesse's wedding ceremony. She, of course, says yes because: 1. It's Lucy, 2. She's hammered, and 3. It's Jesse.“
“Enough said,“ Damian says with a raise of his hands.
“So we go off in search of wedding bands. Skinny Elvis had the hookup so it didn't take too long before we were back at Denny's where these two said their ‘I do's' and were pronounced man and wife—but not before Lucy licked skinny Elvis's cheek because he had some syrup on it.“
“Huh,“ I tell Xander. “I think Damian might piss his pants.“
Xander nods. “If I were closer I'd squeeze his bladder and make sure he did.“
“What the fuck?“ Damian asks, laughing even harder.
“There you have it. The story of Luciana and Jesse Kingston's wedding,“ Ethan finishes with a bow.
“We're going back,“ Xander tells them.
I nod. “Hell yeah, we are. We're going to find Elvis. He can run but he can't hide.“
Xander nods.
“Maybe you'll find Tupac, too,“ Jace jokes.
I give him the finger.
“Aww, babe,“ Jesse croons, lifting me into his lap. “It was a great adventure and now you're my wife.“
I soften immediately. “Yeah, I am!“
“Yeah, you are!“ Sera cheers. “Mrs. Jesse Kingston.“
I get all gooey inside again and look at Jesse. His expression is soft and full of love as he leans in to kiss me softly on my lips.
“I love you, wife.“
“I love you, husband.“
Meggie bounces over and slides in next to me, resting her head on Jesse's shoulder. “I love my husband, Jesse Kingston, because he is so very dreamy.“
“Oh my God, Megs. You shit.“
“Why do you always say that?“ Jesse asks with a chuckle.
Meggie grins and I sigh.
“Go ahead. Tell him,“ I tell her.
“Okay,“ she bounces again. “When we were in high school, anytime anyone would mention your name, she'd get this look in her eyes. You could just see her going all squishy. Anyway, one day she was reading a book—a romance novel, of course.“
“Of course,“ Jesse agrees.
“She told me about one part in the book where the heroine says the hero is ‘so very dreamy' and Lucy said that's how she felt every time she saw you.“
Jesse grins. There are a lot of “aww's“ going around the bus.
“That's cute and very sweet,“ Sera reassures me.
“Thank you,“ I tell her, feeling defensive.
“I can already tell there isn't going to be a single boring minute on this tour,“ Damian muses.
“For sure not,“ Cage agrees. “I mean, it is the BFD tour, after all.“ Sarcasm. It is his friend.
“Fuckin' A,“ Xander shouts. “Speaking of that, the logo on the side of the bus is epic. Well done, Cage my man.“
Cage just nods.
The logo consists of BFD in black slanted letters, the letters for Blush are hot pink and slightly smaller but more spread out going down the side of the bus horizontally, the Falling letters are black, and the Down letters are red, fitting all of our color schemes. Pretty cool. Then there's the pinstripes matching the smaller lettering going all the way down the sides of the bus. It's really pretty awesome looking.
“I love it,“ I tell Cage. “This tour is going to be amazing.“
“You going to puke when you get up there on stage?“ Kennedy asks.
I give him an exasperated look. “Did you have to go there? Really?“
He chuckles. “Reality check, Luce. The fans will be there but remember they're there because they're your fans.“
“Uh, not so much,“ I tell him. “They're your fans. Falling Down fans.“
“Nah. Your songs are doing great on the charts and your album is moving up fast. You got this,“ Ben tells me with a wink.
“Thanks Benny.“
He sighs. “Luce.“
“Yes?“ I sing-song, batting my eyelashes. Ben just shakes his head and laughs.
“Yeah, Benny,“ Sera mimics with a grin.
Ben sends her a look but it's not one of exasperation. It's one filled with heat and promise.
Well, well, well. A budding romance, perhaps? I raise a brow to Jesse and he shrugs.
Xander pulls out his iPod and Kennedy swears.
I look at him in confusion; Ethan, Ben, and Jesse all groan.
“What?“ I ask Jesse.
Just as Jesse opens his mouth, Xander starts singing and I pause with my mouth hanging open. I stare in disbelief, not because he doesn't have a great voice, because he does, but because he not only sings the song, he also starts grooving and dancing as he plays Candy Crush on his phone, totally oblivious to the fact that everyone else on the bus is staring at him. Xander isn't singing metal. Xander isn't singing rock. Oh no. Xander starts singing, Hips Don't Lie by Shakira.
I look at Jesse who just shakes his head. Meggie and Sera have their mouths hanging open like me, while Trace just shakes his head and Jace starts singing along.
“Dear God,“ Cage says. “We're only an hour in and he's already started.“ He shakes his head.
Kennedy nods grimly. “And so it begins.“
“Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner.
It ain’t over ‘til you both get your cookie.“
—ALEC BALDWIN
WE ALL SETTLE in. There are multiple conversations going on at once but I don't engage. I can only think of the look I saw Xander giving Lucy. I know that look. I give her that look. It's not just a look of admiration. It's a look of longing and affection. I don't think he's in love with her, but I think he's pretty fucking close. Who can blame him really? Lucy's fucking fantastic. Kind, caring, sweet, sexy as hell with a body that won't quit. But she's my wife. I know he'd never try anything with her, but I can't help the possessiveness that goes through me when I remember the look.
Lucy's talking and laughing wi
th Sera, Cage, and Damian. Damian. That fucker. He acts all fucking innocent when he's talking to Lucy, but the minute she turns her back, he throws me a look that says, “I'm going to fuck with your world.“ He wants my wife. Hell, he wanted her the day Trace and Meggie hooked up with Blush at Nichols Records. I knew it then and I know it now. Him I don't trust. I've known him for a couple years now and he's always rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know what it is about him, but I just get a bad vibe from him.
Xander's sitting to my right humming some Black Eyed Peas song, when he suddenly jumps up and starts dancing in the middle of the bus singing SexyBack by Justin Timberlake. He scared the fuck out of everyone with his outburst and now they're just staring. He reaches a hand out to Meggie who takes it and starts dancing with him. Lucy and Sera join in and Xander hooks his iPod up to the sound system.
“Aww, fuck me,“ Kennedy whines. “Now he's got chicks who'll encourage this shit too. There's no stopping him now.“
Xander belts out a line from the song and wiggles his ass in Kennedy's face. Kennedy lifts a foot to Xander's ass and pushes him across the sitting area. The dude doesn't stop singing. He just laughs and keeps right on going. I can only shake my head.
Cage rubs his face with his hands then looks at me. “Four fucking months of this shit.“
I nod. It's going to be an interesting four months. It's going to be a long four months with Xander's music.
We're all pretty used to Xander's habit of singing and dancing on the tour bus. He's been doing it since we started touring. His choice in music and him dry humping our legs, arms, or the table. We usually let him go nuts for a couple songs then tell him to rein it in. Yeah, I can see that won't be happening this tour.
Lucy looks at me as she rolls her hips and I start getting hard. That's all it takes. Just a look. Just one sexy little move and I'm hard and ready for her. No one's ever affected me like she does. When she walks by and her scent drifts over me, I close my eyes and I feel calm, at peace. When she kisses my lips, my heart skips a beat. I don't think that's ever going to change. She owns my heart. She is my heart. And now she's my wife. Life doesn't get any better than this.
Now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop—because it will. It always does. Nothing can be this perfect for long. Someone always comes along and fucks it up. Why? Because they can't stand to see someone happy when they're miserable. All I know is, if and when someone fucks with mine and Lucy's current state of “happy“, I'm going to fuck with them right back.