Ted looked around on the ground. “Did you drop it?”
“I must have,” I said as I scanned the area, cursing that it was so dim around the bench—great for make-outs, bad for searching for lost items. I tried to remember the last time I’d had my phone and couldn’t. Could I have dropped it at the festival? If so, I was screwed.
“Retrace your steps,” he said. “It can’t be far.”
I began to panic—my entire life was on that phone. It was synced to my laptop, so technically I wouldn’t lose anything, but still, it felt like I’d lost a limb. One I was very attached to (pun intended). And yes, I know that’s being melodramatic, but that was exactly how I felt in that moment.
We made our way back to the front door of the hotel keeping our eyes peeled for it: on the path, in the revolving door, in the lobby. But it was nowhere.
“I’ll just check the washroom,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
Ted nodded as I left him to push through the door into the bathroom, hoping I’d put it down on the counter, but at the same time, knowing I hadn’t. What was the last message I’d received? What was the last status I’d seen? The last picture I’d posted?
When had I last checked it? Not since we’d arrived at the hotel. Oh God, for sure it was trampled on the grass in front of the festival stage. My heart sank at the thought.
No, wait; I’d felt it buzz in my pocket when I’d been chatting with Ted in the hospitality suite. I’d ignored it since Tony and Nessa had been with me, so I knew it wasn’t something urgent.
I let out a huge sigh of relief; it had probably fallen out when I’d gotten up from the sofa. I would bet money that it was lodged in between the couch cushions. Taking one last look around the bathroom, just in case, I rushed out of it.
Only to stop dead in my tracks when I almost barreled into a smiling Ted. The reason he was smiling? My phone, held up in his hand.
“Oh, thank God,” fell out of my mouth as I snatched it from him, resisting the urge to clutch it to my chest and give it a welcome back kiss. Instead, because while I was crazy-relieved, I didn’t want to look crazy by making out with my phone, I gave it a loving, but subtle, rub with my thumb and turned back toward my savior. “Where was it?” I asked him, and then added a belated, “Also, thank you.”
He shrugged. “While you were in the bathroom, I checked with the front desk. Someone turned it in—you must have dropped it somewhere.”
It was so unlike me to be careless with my phone, also: how had I not heard it drop? But whatever, that I had it back and it seemed unharmed by the ordeal, was what mattered.
I was about to give Ted a thank you kiss (like I needed an excuse?) when I heard a bunch of voices, male voices, coming our way. Damn. I’d hoped for one last chance to say a private goodbye before we had to part ways—each going to our respective buses and heading out on the road.
Not to mention, it meant I was going to have to face Max sooner or later.
Apparently, sooner was upon me.
I glanced over at the crowd approaching, and as I smiled at Tony and Billy, who were leading the others, I saw Max out of the corner of my eye, but only the top of his head; he was looking down at his feet. It was hard to know if he was avoiding looking at me specifically, but my semi-guilty conscious thought so.
“There you are, Sandy!” Tony said, not looking as mad as I feared he might be after I’d ‘ignored’ his texts. “I was wondering where you’d gotten to.” The fact that he was smiling (and, I hate to admit, looking pretty clueless) told me Max hadn’t ratted on me, which was a relief. Not as big a relief as finding my phone, but a very close second.
Do not blush, do not blush, I begged my body as I smiled back at Tony because there was no better way to look guilty than to have a red hot face on display. At least I didn’t have to come up with an excuse and worry I’d stumble through it; Ted stepped in. “She lost her phone, and we were looking for it, but thankfully someone turned it in at the front desk.”
I held it up as evidence, trying to divert attention from my warm cheeks, just in case.
“Oh good. It’s just about time to go,” he said with a glance at his watch. Then he pointed over his shoulder, back toward the reception room. “If you want to grab any last snacks and use the bathroom, now’s the time. Otherwise, I’ll see you on the bus.”
With that, he led the rest of the guys out to the bus, including Max who still wouldn’t meet my eyes, even though I wanted to thank him for keeping my secret. That would have to wait until later.
Nessa lingered behind until it was just the three of us: her, me, and Ted. Since I hadn’t exactly been shy about my intentions for the evening, she knew what was up with him and gave me a knowing look that I knew meant I was going to have to fill her in later.
Thankfully, that meant she also understood that I wanted a few last minutes with him because that’s when she casually said, “I’m going to hit the bathroom. See you out on the bus, Sandy. Make sure you get some of those brownies if you haven’t already. Nice seeing you again, Ted,” she added, a little bit sarcastically, since they hadn’t been in a room together for more than maybe five minutes. But she didn’t seem mad about it—more like amused than anything else. And then, without waiting for any sort of response, she turned toward the bathroom and left us standing in the lobby.
“And then there were two,” Ted said.
I smirked over at him, my heart speeding up as it prepared for whatever was coming next. I took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know about you, but I could use a brownie. Nessa really sold them.”
He nodded, and we started down the hall toward the meeting room. I walked quickly, not wanting Tony to have to wait for me, but still needing another minute or two to properly say goodbye to Ted. Because it might just be the last time we saw each other for...oh, who was I kidding? Maybe ever.
When we got there, we were barely inside the door when Ted’s hands were on my face and I registered the bump of his hat against my forehead as he kissed me.
It was a hot kiss, a desperate kiss, a goodbye kiss.
Under my lids, my eyes burned with tears, but I tried to will them away, to tell myself not to be sad for something that could never happen, but enjoy the moment for what it was, because it was a very enjoyable moment.
Finally, he eased away, came back for one more light press of his lips against mine, then pulled back fully, opening his eyes.
“Yee haw,” he said, making me laugh, even as I lifted my thumb to swipe away the tears that had leaked out.
“Aw,” he said, reaching up to help with the tears. “Don’t do that.”
“Sorry for being stupid,” I said.
He shook his head. “It’s not stupid,” he said. “And, no apology necessary. It’s flattering that you’re going to miss me so much.”
I screwed up my face at him. “Shut up, conceited.”
He grinned down at me. “You should be flattered too. Very flattered.”
My heart thumped at that admission, and my ego was suddenly restored again. “You’re not making this easier, you know.”
“No, I know.” He looked over at the food table. “Would a brownie help?”
I sighed. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.” He handed me one, and I took a big bite. I chewed a little and then smiled at him, knowing my teeth would be coated in brownie. “Sorry you’re going to miss my beautiful face,” I said, even spitting a little bit of brownie shrapnel at him by accident.
Ted shook his head and laughed. “Now you’re not making it easier. Stop being adorable.”
“Ugh, this sucks,” I said. Then it began to suck worse when my phone buzzed in my pocket. “I think it’s time to go, though.”
He nodded and grabbed a pile of brownies, folding them neatly into a napkin for later. Once he was done, he put his little package down on the table to give me a hug and then a kiss, though not a heated one, which was j
ust as well because I was sure my mouth was still full of brownie bits.
“We’ll talk,” he said as he gestured me through the doorway to the hall.
“Of course,” I said as he came alongside me and we walked toward the lobby. “But it’s not...I mean, it won’t be...”
He shook his head, obviously knowing what I was trying to say, that it wouldn’t be the same. “No, it won’t be. Maybe we shouldn’t have done this, and maybe it’s selfish, but I’m glad we did, Sandy.”
Looking up at him, I nodded. “Me, too.” And I meant it. Which I guess was why it hurt so much.
It was no surprise that Ted and I were the last to return to the parking lot where our respective tour buses were parked side-by-side.
Tony and Billy were standing beside the open door of the Wiretap coach, chatting. As we approached, Tony saw me and nodded before saying something to Billy. Then, they shared a bro hug with a few solid back-pats like the old friends they were. After that, Billy waved at me and then climbed aboard his bus.
I guess that was as good a signal as any.
“So, see ya,” I said to Ted at the spot on the asphalt where we’d have to part ways. My voice sounded weird, making me glad no one else would hear my lame and fakely casual sendoff.
He tipped his hat to me. “Enjoy the rest of your tour. Have a good life, Sandy,” he said as though we’d just shared a sandwich and not an evening of super-hot kissing. And the wording of it—it was like he was never going to speak to me again. I panicked a little, worried that that was his intent, but the sparkle in his eye told me otherwise. I hoped.
Without another look that would be too telling to Tony’s watching eyes, I went up the stairs of the Wiretap bus. When I got to the top, I greeted Gary, kicking my shoes into the big box.
It was only a moment later that I heard, “Heads up, Sandy,” and looked up just in time to catch the slippers being flung at me.
I grinned at Darren who was currently standing next to my bunk. “Thanks,” I said, sliding my feet into the slippers, grateful for them since the floor of the bus was often cold with the AC running all the time.
He nodded and came forward, dropping into his favorite spot on the couch in front of the big monitor where the other guys were playing video games. Well, most of the other guys. Max was (not surprisingly) absent and, I assumed, in his bunk. While I needed to thank him for not ratting me out and also try to see if our still-new friendship was salvageable, I was tired and had work to do, so I was relieved not to have to deal with him yet.
Tony had followed me up the stairs and told Gary it was time to pull out before making his way to the office in the back of the bus.
I followed him and grabbed my laptop, then took a seat at the table in front of the fridge. I put on headphones so I could edit some of the video from the day’s concert. There was no way I’d get it all done, especially with how tired I was, but I could at least get some footage of the two bands together that we could post right away.
As we pulled away from the hotel, Nessa came up from the back of the bus and sat beside me. “Hey.”
I smiled at her, wishing we had some privacy because not only did I want to tell her about my hookup with Ted, but I wanted to know how things went with Will. But that wasn’t going to happen as long as we were stuck on the tin can with a million other people.
The best I could hope for was we’d be able to steal some time in the morning, or at the very least, back stage at the next show. Or maybe we could text to get the basic facts, but talking was always better. “I just need to cut some of this video. Maybe grab some good clips and screen shots for social media.”
“Mind if I watch?” she asked, nodding toward my laptop. “I saw from the wings, but...”
“Sure,” I said, angling my computer toward her a bit so we could both see.
I looked at her and mouthed, “You okay?”
She nodded.
I glanced up at the front, and when I confirmed all the guys were focused on their gaming and facing the TV, away from us, I leaned close and asked, “Will?”
It was just one word, but I could have been asking her if he was staying with the band or if they’d finally hooked up. Actually, in my mind, I was asking both but left it open to her interpretation.
She turned her head over her far shoulder, making sure no one was coming out of the office and that we were still as isolated as we could be in the middle of the bus and then turned back to me. “He’s staying.”
I resisted the urge to shout out a “YESSSSS!” and instead just bumped my shoulder into hers.
“Awesome.”
She nodded, looking forward, toward the guy in question.
I was desperate to know what had happened with them, would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of wherever they went to ‘talk,’ but I’d have to wait to find out. Now was not the time for details and it was impossible to know by their (lack of) body language toward each other.
“Tony know?” I whispered.
She shook her head. “Not yet, shhhh.”
I nodded in understanding.
“Ted?” she asked, eyebrows raised.
“Later,” I whispered back, which she understood. It was too complicated to explain. But I did want to tell her. I really wanted to tell her, but it would have to wait.
I got into the zone, listening and pausing, cutting and re-listening to the footage over and over. I was tired but at the same time energized by what I was doing and being able to relive the awesome concert and capture it so others could see how amazing it was, too.
I really was made to do this stuff and hoped this summer gig—an internship of sorts, I suppose—would help me make a career out of it down the road. It was sort of a no-brainer, I mean, with a name like Tony Capri on my resume—
My thoughts were interrupted by an elbow to my side. Not a hard one, intended to hurt, but a firm poke as Nessa was obviously trying to get my attention. I glanced over and then up at Max, who was standing at the end of the table, glowering down at me.
Great.
I pulled off my headphones and barked a “What?” because A. I didn’t like being interrupted and B. by the look on his face, I could already tell I wasn’t going to like it, whatever it was he was about to say. That he’d come out of his bunk to say it made it even worse.
His eyes narrowed even more. “This your idea of revenge?”
Revenge? I exhaled because seriously, I’d already filled my drama quota for the day. And while I hated that he’d seen Ted and I making out and definitely could do without his judginess, I didn’t think I had anything to get revenge on him for.
Did I?
Wait—had he done something?
Ugh. I suddenly just wanted to climb in my bunk and bury my head under my pillow. It was really late after a long day, I was tired, and now my brain was having trouble keeping up.
But he was there staring at me, and there was no getting away from him and whatever he felt he needed to say. “What are you talking about?”
Max held up his phone toward us. It was open to the Instagram app, showing a picture of him from the concert, one that I’d taken. I hadn’t posted it yet myself, but all my cell phone photos automatically uploaded to a shared folder in the cloud so anyone—Tony, Nessa, or even one of the guys—could have grabbed and posted it.
I squinted and leaned forward, pressing into Nessa beside me so I could read the caption:
Loved seeing my bae while in Portland today. Love you, L xxx Max. #Portland #Wiretap #truluv #bae
Nessa snorted. “If you’re going to get upset about obsessed fans posting garbage about you, you’re in the wrong business.”
Max, who was normally at a surly simmer, suddenly looked over-the-top furious. “This isn’t some crazed fan’s post about me. This came from MY account. As though I posted this.”
Nessa gasped, realizing at the same time as I di
d that this was a problem, a real problem. She looked at me, and I instantly got my back up because wait, did she seriously think I would have posted something like this out of spite?
I stared back at her, shaking my head. “I didn’t do that.”
Max wasn’t buying it. “Oh really? Well, who did?”
I almost went nuclear at that. But Nessa must have seen it and suddenly intervened, grabbing his arm. “Max,” she said. “You obviously got hacked.”
Leave it to the voice of reason to calm him down. He looked at her for a long moment, but I watched as finally, the steam leaked out of him, his shoulders slumping as he realized she was right.
But it didn’t change the fact that he’d immediately jumped to the conclusion that it had been me. And he hadn’t exactly been quick to apologize.
“I can’t believe you thought I would do that,” I said, still super pissed. “Let me out, Nessa. I need some air.” I pushed on her arm, and she slid out of the booth as Max backed up to give her room.
Max muttered an apology, and then, “But after what happe—”
I glared at him, getting a small sense of satisfaction when he quickly clamped his lips shut on the rest of his sentence.
But I wasn’t done. “Shut up. I don’t care what you think of me, but get this straight. I would never jeopardize anything to do with this band, so get it out of your head that I would sabotage you for my own reasons. I’m not that petty, no matter how much of a jerk you are.”
If he honestly thought I would do something like that just to get back at him for embarrassing me in front of Ted, then he didn’t know me at all. Clearly, I was wrong if I’d thought we could ever be friends.
Ted was so deluded for thinking Max had feelings for me. Max had the absolute lowest opinion of me possible—he’d as much as just proved that. It was almost funny how wrong Ted was. Almost.
Not that I should be thinking about any of that, or how all I wished was that there was a way to get off the bus. To disappear, get some time to myself and just go back to being a regular girl with a boring life. But that wasn’t possible with the bus motoring down the road at whatever million miles an hour.
The Rosewoods Rock & Roll Box Set Page 55