The officers looked at each other and the bigger guy said, “I don’t think we can do that.”
“Aw come on, man. It’s really important. If I had any damned money, I’d even be willing to pay you to help me out here. But, they don’t give me my million until the tour is over. I could be convinced to part with some of that then though, just to show my gratitude for a job well done.”
“I think you just offered us a bribe,” the smaller guy said. I wasn’t sure if he was offended or amused.
“I’m sorry, shit! I just don’t know what to fucking do. My girlfriend thinks I slept with that skank; she thinks I lied to her. I don’t want to lose this girl. I can’t believe I’m even saying that out loud because it is so not like me, but I fucking do not want to lose her…please help me.”
They looked at each other again and the bigger one said, “Is Elly your girlfriend?”
“Yeah man, she was before this. Now she thinks…”
“She thinks you cheated on her with this Brooke chick?”
“Yeah. I have lied to her before, so I have priors there. But I’m not lying this time, and she doesn’t believe me.”
“I like Elly,” the big guy said. “She’s a nice girl. She’s got a lot more class than that other chick, that’s for sure. It’s too bad she thinks you would choose a girl like that over her.”
I smiled and said, “Yeah, she is a classy lady and I would never do that to her. I swear. But she thinks I did, and with good reason. If you won’t do this for me, will you do it for her? She needs to know that I wouldn’t cheat on her. This isn’t just about me; it’s about how it’s made her feel.” I was playing it up a little for their benefit, but as I said it, I realized it was actually true. I hadn’t really considered how bad it must feel to her to think I’d choose that slut over her.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Brad told me. “I can’t promise anything. The CEO may already have them. I’m sure he’ll go over them because of the report. If he didn’t take them already, I’ll try and get a copy before he does.”
I felt relief wash over me and I shook his hand and said, “Thanks man! Seriously, just the fact that you would try means a lot to me.”
I gave him my phone number and went inside the bus at least feeling a little better. I still felt like shit about the fact that Elly would think I did that to her…but then I’d thought the same thing when I saw her with that pretty boy…fuck! This relationship shit was jacked up!
It took me a long time to quiet my head enough to fall asleep. It was the first time in months that I wished I had just one little sleeping pill. I told myself that I’d come too far to even think about that. I thought about Elly instead, and the good stuff….
I slept in the next day and woke up to the bus moving. I knew we were pulling out early, but it was still a little disorienting when they did it while I was asleep. We were on our way to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We were supposed to pull in there around ten or eleven in the morning for the six o’clock show that night. I looked at my phone to see what time it was and realized I had a text. It was already almost ten, which meant we were almost there. I looked at the text and saw that it was from Brad, the bigger security guy.
Hey Tristan, I got those for you. I’ll come by with them when we pull into Santa Fe.
I texted back.
Thanks, man.
Then with a self-satisfied smile, I went back to sleep.
I got woken up not long after when I heard the bus stop and then the commotion of the crews outside setting things up. I looked out the window, hoping to catch a glance of Elly, but no such luck. I showered and ate a bowl of cereal while I waited for Brad. He didn’t disappoint. By noon I had a copy of the security tapes in my hand. It was two DVD’s. I sat down and watched one, happier than shit to see that it was date and time stamped, too. I also realized as I watched it that the camera’s panned every so often and caught every angle of the bus. There was a perfect shot of me answering the door in my towel and Brooke standing there in the robe with the six pack in her hand. I saw myself let her in and close the door. Shit! That didn’t really prove anything other than what Elly already knew: I was in a towel with a naked chick on the bus. From the looks of the tape, I could have invited her over. I popped that DVD out and put in the other one. As soon as it started running I said,
“I’ll be a son of a bitch!” out loud. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I watched it, happy because it looked like what I needed, and pissed because I couldn’t believe the controlling bastards actually did this.
I called Brad. “Hey, Tristan,” he answered.
“Why the fuck didn’t I know I was being videotaped. One of these DVD’s was taken inside the bus. What the fuck is that about?” As I talked to him, I looked around the bus. There were little tinted boxes in the front corners that I’d never paid attention to. Fucking surveillance cameras.
“Um…you asked me for the tapes so I just assumed you knew. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“I knew there were tapes of the outside. I had no idea they had fucking camera’s inside the bus, too. What the fuck? Does Tony watch them and get off on seeing me naked?”
He snickered; no one liked Tony. Then in a calm voice he said, “It’s just for security measures, Tristan. No one even watches them unless there’s a problem, a break-in or something like that, or something like what happened the other day. It’s good they were there, not just for Elly’s sake, but what if that crazy bitch did try to say you tried to force her into something? I promise you, no one is trying to invade your privacy. You’re a star now man. You can’t be too careful.”
I knew he was right, but I was still pissed. I didn’t like the thought of them thinking they had a right to watch me without my permission. “They should have at least told me. That way I’m not walking around naked and shit. It’s a fucking violation,” I told him. He was quiet and I suddenly realized I was yelling at the guy who did me a huge favor. He actually put his job on the line for me, or at least for Elly. I said, “Shit, man, I know it’s not your fault. The fucking producers act like they own us and it pisses me off. I’ll take it up with them. The rest of this is golden though, thanks.”
“Sure, Tristan. And hey man, I really wouldn’t worry about those tapes. I’ve been doing this job for three years and the first one I’ve watched was this one, and just because you asked me to. Like I said, Jake will probably watch the part where we carry Brooke out if she contests what we’ve said, but that’ll be the end of it, I’m sure. ”
“Yeah, thanks man.” I hung up, still watching the clear ass view they had of everything that went on in the front of the bus. There was a shot of the sliding doors that led to my bed, but at least they didn’t seem to have a camera in there. I went in there and into the bathroom and looked around just to make sure. I didn’t see anything that looked like a camera.
Arrogant mother-fuckers really did act like they owned us, though. It was different than just being a star. They thought because they had a hand in making you a star that they had the right to control your life. That was bullshit. I thought about this Jake guy and Tony; neither one of them liked me, no matter how hard they tried to pretend that they did. I started wondering if the whole point was to try and catch me doing something I wasn’t supposed to. As pissed about it as I was, I was smart enough to realize that I should wait until I had my money in my hand before I said anything. They could bet that I would, though, as soon as I got it. I wasn’t their fucking property. They were the ones who would be nowhere without me and I couldn’t wait to tell them that.
I spent a few hours with the band again that afternoon after all of that. The one thing that always helped me, always calmed me, was music. No matter what kind of shit I was dealing with, the music drowned it all out. We played through the songs for the show that evening, changed up a few things at the last minute, and then I went back to the bus and got ready for the show. Elly and the other worker bees were setting things up for the show all day. I was
going to give her the tapes that night. I kind of wished I could get her to agree to watch them with me, so I could see her face. I knew she was too pissed off for that, especially now that I’d accused her of fucking that preppy guy. I’d done a lot of thinking about that and I had got myself ninety-nine percent convinced that she was telling me the truth.
I was happy to see that she was working the room that we had to pass through to get to the stage. We hung out there until it was our turn and it would make it easy for me to give them to her. I sat in the back and went over my songs in my head, watching her without letting her know I was watching. I used to do that a lot when the show first started, after that first time with her in the bar. It was weird; that seemed like a long fucking time ago. So much had happened since then. She still made my cock twitch in my pants every time I looked at her.
Finally, all of the other singers had done their thing, and we did our group song. I was supposed to stand next to Brooke, but I didn’t want to be anywhere near the skank so I mixed it up. She knew what I was doing and tried to give me one of her ugly, “You’ll be sorry” glares. I was not sure what she meant when she said that, but I really didn’t give a fuck.
It was a huge fucking stage and the place was packed and after the group song I couldn’t wait to get back out there and do my thing again. I fed off that shit. Before I did that though, I stopped next to Elly where she stood at the door. She looked at me with wide eyes, wondering what the hell I was up to, I’m sure. I smiled and handed her the DVD’s. Then I winked at her and said, “Watch closely.”
She looked down at them, confused. She started to say something but I ran out on stage then. I wasn’t going to tell her what they were, or she’d probably just be stubborn enough not to watch them. I left it all at the curtain and went out on stage and did my thing. It was rock night and I was doing a Guns N Roses song. I was in my element, rocking out to tens of thousands of screaming fans. It only made it that much sweeter to know that in a few hours, Elly would be watching the tapes.
CHAPTER NINE
ELLY
I stood there holding two DVD’s in my hand and wondering what the hell Tristan was up to as I watched him own the stage. He was so damned amazing out there. Sometimes I wished he sucked up there as bad as he did in personal relationships, then maybe it would be easier to walk away from him when all of this was over. I was sure that’s what I needed to do…for my own sanity. It wasn’t something I had a good history of doing. I usually stayed until every ounce of feeling I had for the guy was used up, wasted on the shit he put me through. I looked down at the DVD’s again. They were marked on the outside with a date and time…four nights prior. That was the night I caught him with Brooke. Even more curious then, I opened the case and the inside said, “Surveillance, Bus 2014.” That was the tour’s name for Tristan’s bus.
Son of a bitch! This was the security tape from outside his bus. I looked back out onto the stage. He was killing it that night, spot on perfect. The women in the audience were going crazy and, as usual, throwing him their undergarments. I suddenly realized that if the tape I had in my hand proved what I thought it must…I’d have to get used to women throwing themselves at him. I doubted seriously that he would have given me them if they didn’t clear him of my accusations. I sure hoped that was the case. I’d much rather hate Brooke than Tristan. I would have to learn to trust him, though. I tucked the DVD’s into my pocket and watched the end of the show. He had a VIP meet and greet afterwards; some sixteen year old girl who’d won a contest. I watched for a minute while he schmoozed her and her mother with his charms. He was something else, that’s for sure. Shaking my head, I headed out to help clean up.
Tammy and I worked in the singer’s room first. Tammy asked me about Cole, she’d seen him and me at the fair the day before. As we cleaned, I told her what happened with him and about Tristan stalking us. She laughed, and then apologized for laughing. Then, she laughed again. Finally she said, “You told me the other night that you didn’t think he really ever cared about you; don’t you think he must or it wouldn’t have bothered him to see you with Cole?”
“I don’t know. He’s got a big ego. Maybe that’s what’s wounded and not his heart.” I told her. I didn’t like the thought of him being hurt, but after what he’d put me through, I told myself that he probably deserved a little bit of what he was dishing out. Then I patted my pocket where the DVD’s were and wondered how bad I was going to feel about that thought if it turned out he was telling the truth.
After we finished cleaning up, the girls invited me out to get something to eat. I declined, wanting some time alone to watch the tape. Hannah offered to stay back with me, but I encouraged her to go and asked her to bring me some take-out. As soon as everyone left, I stuck it into my laptop and watched. The tape started early that morning so I fast-forwarded until I saw Brooke show up and knock on the bus door. A few minutes later, I saw Tristan answer it in a towel. I couldn’t see his facial expression because the camera was too far away. I saw him let her in though, and then that was it until I showed up. That didn’t prove a damned thing other than what I already knew. She’d gone over in her robe, whether that was to seduce him or not, he should have kicked her out. If this was all there was to it, this wasn’t going to help him at all. I watched it all the way through, though, knowing that he must have had a reason for wanting me to see it. I saw myself go inside and then run out crying and stand there like a fool in the front of the bus. Then a while later, Tristan went out in a pair of pajama bottoms and then came back with security. I finished watching it and I took a lot of pleasure in watching security carry her out kicking and screaming. She looked like a naked maniac. If America could see her then. That part made me happy, but none of it proved anything. Confused, I took it out and popped the next one in. I was surprised at what I saw on that one.
I’ll be damned they didn’t have a camera inside his bus, too! I thought about how he must have felt about that when he found out. I could almost hear him ranting about how the motherfuckers were violating his privacy. I smiled at the thought and went on watching.
I saw Brooke hand him the beer. The camera was closer inside the bus, so I could see the look on his face. He didn’t look like a guy who had been expecting her…or was happy that she was there. I saw him turn around to put the beer on the counter and that was when the stupid, skanky bitch dropped her robe. When he turned back around, his face didn’t look happy at all. He actually looked pissed. He was pointing at the robe and then the door as he talked to her. I didn’t need audio to know he was cussing. Against my better judgment I looked at her body and thought, if he was telling her to get out while she was standing there looking like that…shit, I was so fucking wrong. He was more than just faithful to me, he was ready for sainthood.
He did have a hard on, but I really couldn’t fault him for biology, could I? Hannah had said, it: “He’s a man, after all.” Everything happened fast, then. I think he sat down to hide the tent and again, I couldn’t help but feel proud of him, and guilty as hell for doubting him. Then he pointed at the robe again while he was talking. She bent down...that nasty ho! Her ass was in his face and then the next frame shows her dropping it onto his lap and him trying to push her back while she tried to kiss him and rubbed her tits all over him. I saw red after that as I watched me come and go and then Tristan get dressed while the naked slut just sat there. They had words again before he left. While he was gone, she sat there, smiling. She was really a whack job. I watched security come in with Tristan and I saw him step on her robe. I laughed aloud at that; good job! I reveled in watching security toss her out, kicking and screaming and I suddenly wished that I had pulled the bitch’s extensions out of her head that night. I looked at the clock: it was after midnight. I didn’t give a fuck, I was having this out with her right then even if security ended up having to haul me away.
Brooke shared a bus with Rosa. I found my way across the lot and when I found her bus, I banged on the door. Rosa a
nswered it. Trying to keep my composure I said, “Hi Rosa. I need to talk to Brooke.” From the look on Rosa’s face, I could tell that Brooke must have told her something about that night. She actually looked a little scared and I wondered what my own face must have looked like. She grabbed her jacket and said,
“I’m on my way to go hang out with Ethan. Come on in, she’s in the back.” Rosa left me standing inside the doors of the bus. I looked around and saw that there was a section like the one in Tristan’s bus that partitioned off the sleeping area. That must be where she was. I walked over and beat on that door.
“What?”
“Brooke, it’s Elly. We have some things to talk about.” My voice was shaking.
“Get lost!”
“Brooke,” I said, trying to steady my voice. “I suggest you get the fuck out here, now!”
A few seconds later she pulled the door open. She looked pissed. I didn’t care.
“What the hell do you want?”
“I want to tell you what a nasty skank you are. I saw the security tapes of you dropping your robe and trying to force yourself on Tristan. How pathetic are you that you can’t get a guy to fuck you without jumping naked into his lap? You missed your calling, you should be working in one of those places where they give lap dances—then at least you’d get paid for your troubles!”
“I’m the skank? You’re the one who slept with him knowing he was only fucking you to get a good spot on the show.”
“Fuck you! I had nothing to do with him getting a spot on the show and you know it.”
“So you say,” she said. Then she looked me over and said, “I can’t see any other reason he’d want to fuck you. My little brother has bigger tits than you do.”
I had my fists clenched at my sides, but I was still in control…kind of. Unfortunately for Brooke, she didn’t know when to quit,
My Rock #7 (The Rock Star Romance Series - Book #7) Page 4