Rock Star Ex

by Jewel Quinlan

  She was on what must have been her second home and garden show, drifting in and out of consciousness, when the phone rang. She would have let it ring but she could tell from the ring tone that it was Kate. Why hadn’t she thought to bring the cell phone with her from the kitchen and put it on the side table? She heaved herself out of the chair and went to answer it.

  “Kate?”

  “Eve, you will not believe what has just happened!”

  She held the phone back from her ear. Kate’s excited voice had caused a searing ache to shoot across her brain. Did she not know how early it was and that it was Saturday? She squinted at the clock on her DVR, underneath the TV. The hands were pointing exactly at eleven. She must have fallen back to sleep in between shows. “What happened?”

  “Clayton Drake just called me. They want to hire us to handle the social media for their tour coming up, to promote the new album!” Kate barely got the last bit out as her voice escalated in a squeal. It wasn’t hard to envision her jumping up and down.

  “He…what?” She’d almost forgotten who Clayton Drake was. “Do you mean for Arsenal?”

  “Yes! This is our big break!”

  For a moment Eve could only stand there in shock. Handle the social media for Arsenal. One of the hottest rock bands ever… for a new album. It was the break they’d been waiting for. And there was absolutely no way to turn it down. They could finally get them away from the dinky, dry small-business consultations they’d been doing. She remembered once wracking her brains trying to come up with something exciting to post about a mechanic shop, but could think of nothing even remotely noteworthy that the shop had been doing.

  But working for Arsenal would be a whole different story. They were popular and alive and exciting. Sexy. She felt a thrill start to well up inside her. The thrill was marred only by the fact that Devon was part of the band, but there was no way she was going to let that hold her back. Handling social media didn’t necessarily mean she would have to interact with him, just promote things about him. She was sure he would be far away on the tour soon anyway.

  She pushed the thought of him away and gave a whoop of excitement, the rush of adrenaline overriding her hangover. He was not going to spoil it for her. “Oh my god! I can’t believe it! When do we start? What did he say?”

  “We haven’t hammered out all the details yet. But, when we were talking last night, he was telling me how he felt like they were behind the times with this ‘social media stuff’ and they needed a fresh perspective. Remember? You were there too.”

  “Oh yeah. Uh huh,” Eve agreed, but no such memory came to her.

  “Anyway, he loved the way we interacted with the band and the shots we took. I got some great shots of the new lead singer when he was on stage. He had asked me to send him some of the pictures for their Web site, which I did right away, of course, along with a couple of videos. And he liked it. He even checked out our posts online. He loved everything! Especially the spin I put on you as the super groupie.”

  “I was ready to kill you for that, by the way, but that’s great!” Eve said with a laugh.

  Kate chuckled. “I knew you would. He even posted the stuff I sent him on the band’s Web site and Facebook page.”

  “I know. I saw it this morning.”

  “You did? Great. But get this: he wants to continue the super groupie thing. He thinks it will build more intrigue and participation from the fans. He wants us to give an intimate, up-close perspective on the band, so guess what?”

  “What?”

  “He wants us to go on tour with them! We’re going to be on the bus, backstage, in the dressing rooms, the hotel rooms, the after parties, the whole bit. We are going to have the best time of our lives! Can you believe it?”

  Kate’s tone rose with excitement but a stone sank in Eve’s stomach. Any hope she’d had of handling the job remotely evaporated with a poof. “No, I really can’t,” she said.

  Chapter Three

  As the town car pulled away from the curb at the front of her condo in Santa Monica, Eve still couldn’t believe the whirlwind of the last three days. Seventy-two hours ago she’d had a vision of how her life would go but she never could have predicted a twist like this. This assignment would mean a huge leap forward for their business, if they did well at it. The pressure and potential of what lay before her stirred up fear and excitement that combined into one heady cocktail. The rush of it made her feel vibrantly alive.

  They’d met with Clayton Drake late on Saturday to discuss the details of the position further. It was still stunning how quickly he had hired them. From what he’d said, he had been running into a problem finding someone that the band would be comfortable sharing their space with for the next five weeks as they toured the US. She guessed he was running out of time. He hadn’t even blinked and eye at their fee, and they’d given him the high-end quote.

  After looking at Arsenal’s Web site, and the other sites they were plugged into so far, it was glaringly apparent that whomever they’d had handling this aspect of their image had sorely slacked off. The site was antiquated and their Facebook page, the bare bones of what it needed to be. The job was definitely going to need both of them to handle all the setup that needed to be done as well as update and maintain new coverage from the tour.

  After about an hour of discussion they’d shaken hands on the deal. Clayton had looked vastly relieved and promised to get a contract faxed over to them for signature right away. After that, they’d had to go home and start packing immediately. The band was leaving Monday for Las Vegas, the first stop of the tour.

  She still didn’t know if she’d packed everything she needed. They would be going across the country and every state had its own kind of weather. It was just the beginning of October and still warm, but by the end of the tour and their journey back east it would definitely be much cooler.

  She had waffled between outfits most of Sunday trying to decide which necessities to bring. Chloe had sat in her open luggage on the floor and watched her suspiciously as she’d laid everything out on her bed, arranging and rearranging things. She’d tried on outfit after outfit, trying to make sure she had the most versatile pieces. It probably wouldn’t have taken so long if random thoughts of Devon hadn’t kept disrupting her concentration. With each set of clothing she’d tried on she’d found herself wondering what he would think of it.

  At one point she’d found herself back in the closet, not knowing why she had gone in, as the memory of him staring down at her from the stage played through her mind. It had kept getting worse as her departure time ticked nearer. She didn’t want to think of him but it was hard not to. There had been a lot of changes since she’d last seen him. Maybe her brain was trying to reconcile the old memories with the new ones. Yes … that had to be it.

  She’d almost forgotten to drop Chloe off at her parents’ house because of him. Thank goodness for her mother calling to find out where she was.

  The car was off the freeway now and making its way up Figueroa Street. Her heartbeat sped up as the arena loomed into view. The driver pulled up to a gated entrance and the guard in the shack raised the bar after checking his pass. As they passed slowly through the back of the arena it surprised her to see the amount of people and activity.

  There were all kinds of cars, golf carts, bikes, buses, trailers and other equipment she could not name. Men moved quickly in and out of large doors with equipment and trash. After thinking about it for a moment, it all made sense. Aside from being a venue for concerts, the Staples Center was home to not only the Los Angeles Lakers but the Clippers and the Kings as well. It had to take a lot of work to clean up after all the fans from one event and then rearrange it for the next one.

  The town car slowed and turned to park next to a large, glossy, jet-black bus. Kate was standing next to it with Clayton. She waved as the car pulled up.

  “Eve. Good to see you,” Clayton said as he opened the door for her. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt.
With light brown hair and dark eyes, he wasn’t a man that would particularly stand out in a crowd but he had a pleasant smile and easy manner that made people comfortable. When they’d all met on Saturday and gotten to know each other better her gut had told her that she would like working for him, which was reassuring. She’d learned to always trust her gut. It usually figured things out before she did.

  “Thanks,” she replied and shook his hand. Then she turned to hug Kate hello. Her friend was positively beaming with excitement and she knew she had to be too.

  “Let me show you your new home for the next five weeks before the guys get here.” Clayton gestured to the bus as he checked his phone. “They’re on their way.”

  Eve turned to get her bags from the driver.

  “Don’t worry about those, Eve, they’ll take care of them,” said Kate. “Just tell him which one goes on the bus and which one goes under.”

  They’d been told to put together a smaller bag with their essentials and a clothing change. The rest of their things were to go in a larger bag for underneath the bus, where they could access it during stops. She pointed them out to the driver and then followed Clayton and Kate up the stairs.

  Inside she could only stop and stare. The few RV’s and busses she’d seen before were a far cry from the Arsenal tour bus. The inside looked just like a house. The front section of the bus was a lounge area with two deep brown, leather couches facing each other along the walls and large, flat screen TVs overhead. Drawers lined the space beneath them. The windows had blinds on them and there was tile, actual tile, on the floor. Overhead were all kinds of recessed lights to create multiple kinds of ambiance. The cream-colored, leather passenger seat next to the driver had also been swiveled to point backwards, completing the look of a living room.

  “This bus sleeps six,” Clayton was saying. “You’ll be on this bus with the band for the whole tour. The bus has pop outs so normally, when it’s parked, there’s more space to move around.”

  He moved back further. “This is the kitchen. Sorry we didn’t have enough time to get you things you might need. Just give the driver a list of what you want from the store and he’ll get it taken care of. In the meantime there should be enough food to go around. I’m sure the guys will share.”

  There was black granite on the kitchen counter top and a stainless steel sink. Wooden cupboards were below and overhead, nicer than the ones in her condo, although smaller. Clayton pulled out the stainless steel drawers that were the refrigerator and freezer and showed them the latch that held them in place while the bus was in motion. There was even a microwave. Opposite the kitchen was a long curved dining seat with a polished wood oval table. The back of the seat had a pattern on it. On closer inspection she realized that the pattern consisted of all kinds of tiny guitars.

  “This space is also a studio so that the band can work on new material while they’re on the road.” He pointed at the two microphones overhead. “They like to be able to play and record while they’re travelling.”

  “Oh, that’s right, the song Ricochet was written while they were on tour a few years back,” Eve said.

  “Dry Fire was too,” Kate chimed in.

  Clayton grinned, pleased. “You guys did your homework. Yes, both of those were recorded on this very bus.” He walked further back and they followed. “These are the bunks. You two get the ones on the bottom. Each bunk is equipped with its own iPad so you can watch TV, surf the Web, et cetera.” He pulled one from its holder in the ceiling of a bunk to show them.

  There were three bunks lining the walls on each side. They were going to be sleeping inches away from the band. Eve’s cheeks flushed slightly at the thought of being so close to Devon. There would be no avoiding him … quite the opposite, in fact. As the new lead singer he would be the focus of their posts, blogs and tweets, which were mainly her responsibility to put together. I can handle it. I can handle it, she told herself.

  Kate still didn’t know anything. She hadn’t wanted to get into it with her and there really hadn’t been time to. It actually was preferable to keep it locked away. If she shared then it meant experiencing the pain and loss all over again, and she was done with both of those feelings. Besides, she’d rather not ruin Kate’s experience of this trip with her old drama.

  He showed them the lockers where they would keep their stuff. Each bunk had a corresponding locker. They continued back and he showed them the bathroom and shower. It was still amazing to see how similar everything was to a normal house. There was a porcelain toilet in the bathroom along with a granite counter with a sink and wooden cabinets. Even a decent sized mirror with a nice frame bordering it. The shower was quite good too. The soothing cream-colored tiles reminded her of the walk-in shower stalls at her favorite spa.

  “Wow, I can’t believe how nice this is,” said Kate, her eyes wide.

  “I know,” Eve said.

  “Oh, we’re not done yet,” Clayton said with a grin. “There’s one more section to show you.” He tapped a button and, what had looked like the rear wall of the bus, slid apart to reveal a back lounge with creamy off-white colored sofas. It also had a flat screen TV and a small granite table with two workstations. There were plenty of power outlets and cables as well. “Here is where you can get your work done in peace.”

  “No way!” Kate squealed. “This is so cool!”

  Eve smiled along with her friend’s excitement, feeling the same way.

  “What? You guys have never been on a tour bus before?” Clayton teased.

  They shook their heads.

  “Really?” He drew his head back, seemingly in mock disbelief. “And here I thought, from the other night and all, that you’d had experience with this sort of thing.”

  They all laughed. Clayton started to say something more but was interrupted by a voice calling, “We’re home!” from the front of the bus.

  “Oh good, they’re here. Come with me.” He strode toward the front of the bus and Eve followed behind Kate.

  As they emerged into the front lounge it suddenly seemed packed. When it had just been the three of them there’d seemed to be plenty of space. But now, as they stood with the four members of Arsenal, it felt tight. They were all fit, handsome musicians and, in actuality, there was plenty of room for everyone to sit. It was their presence that seemed to fill the space, she noted. Especially Devon. He stood the furthest back, just at the top of the stairs, but he may as well have been right in front of her. His energy was the strongest. Which actually made sense, being that he was the lead singer and all. He hadn’t seen her yet. She was hidden behind Kate and the other band members who were slapping Clayton on the shoulders in greeting.

  Instinctively, Eve reached into the side pocket of her purse for the small camera she kept there. It didn’t look like much but it had set her back several thousand, being that it was a top of the line compact. She busied herself snapping pictures, glad that the lighting was sufficient so the flash didn’t go off. She didn’t want to interrupt their camaraderie.

  This was the beginning of their journey and it was her job to capture it. Both she and Kate were skilled at what they did but they each had their strengths and, over time, had naturally divided the labor between them.

  The round of hellos finished and Clayton stepped to the side so the girls could come forward.

  “Hey, I remember you guys,” Tommy said. “That was the best after-hours party I’ve ever been to, hands down. It’s Eve and Kate, isn’t it?” He shook both their hands warmly. His short, strawberry blond hair was stylishly tousled and he smiled all the way to his friendly, light brown eyes.

  Drew, the bassist, and Shane, the drummer, also stepped forward to shake their hands. Eve felt Devon zero in on her as she said hello to each of them.

  Clayton raised his voice and announced, “Guys, this is your new social media crew for the tour. They agreed, within the last twenty-four hours mind you, to cover your asses for the next five weeks. They are going to get the public to po
sitively drool over each picture, video and breadcrumb of type they see on the Web. So do me a favor and be nice to them.”

  For a moment there was silence and then smiles lit the men’s faces.

  “Well, who better to handle the gossip lines than two women?” Devon said dryly, making everyone laugh. He stepped forward to shake their hands a relaxed smile on his face. “Ladies we’re happy to have you. Welcome to the tour.”

  His clasp on her hand was gentle but firm. Eve did her best to be professional but she knew he could see past it. His eyes roamed over her face, assessing, and he held onto her hand a little longer than was necessary. Hot blush flooded her cheeks and she pulled her hand back. To hide her nerves she busied herself with her camera, setting it to video to see what she could capture in the next few moments.

  “Great job, Clayton,” Shane said. “These two are a hundred times better than the other freaks you brought through.” Shane had tattoos that covered both of his forearms and wore black tunnel plugs in his ears.

  “For sure,” Drew said emphatically, in an English accent. He leaned in towards them and whispered loudly, “The last one he brought through had to be three, four hundred pounds. No way that dude would have even have fit in a bunk. Not to mention the snoring.”

  “Yeah, nobody snores around here,” Devon said, arching an eyebrow.

  “Oy! I’ve told you. It’s just when I have allergies,” Drew protested.

  All the guys laughed at that one.

  “Don’t worry. It’s not that bad,” Tommy told them. “I’ve got earplugs if you need them.”