Straight from the Heart

by Breigh Forstner

  “Wait, you’re saying that Cale kicked that guy out because of Lucy?” I still wasn’t putting it together, and how it had to do with me.

  “Long story short, yes. But that’s something Mr. Know-it-all will have to tell you about, I’m afraid.” Damon’s hand rested on top of mine, his fingers grazing the spot above my wrist. “But why don’t we get out of here and head back to the hotel?”

  Not a bad idea. The air was starting to get cool, and my shoes would not hold up if I walked a long way. Stupid stilettos. “You know what I’m in the mood for?” He raised his eyebrows in question.

  “Movies on HBO?”

  “How did you guess? They had an ‘Evil Dead’ marathon on tonight, those are my favorite movies.” I smiled widely, and he chuckled.

  “Mine too. How about we go back up to your room and watch it? I’m sharing a room with the guys and I know they were already partying when I took off,” Damon said, and I could relate. But the idea of Damon Charming in my hotel room ALONE had me nervous. This time it was different though. I had to tell myself that. He wasn’t drinking anything besides water, and I could tell he was genuinely trying to prove he was “charming,” so to speak.

  It was working.

  He wrapped his hand in mine on our way back to the hotel, instantly warming me up. He was talking about some of the music he had been writing with Lucy, wanting to play it on the last leg of the tour.

  “You really can play you know,” Damon complimented me as we rode in the elevator to my room.

  “Think so?”

  “Uh, yeah. You put a lot of guitarists to shame. That cover you guys do of ‘Afterlife’ is insane. Like I said before, Cale’s lucky he’s got ya.”

  “Thanks. It took me awhile to nail the solo because I was so used to playing an acoustic guitar. I’m finally getting the hang of it.” I admitted and he clutched my hand tighter as we landed on my floor. Straightaway, I heard the sounds of girls screaming and glass breaking against the wall. I shook my head as Damon and I stepped out. “Why does that not surprise me?”

  Damon half smiled and gestured towards the guy’s room as we passed it. “They’re guys, Bryn. When you’re stuck on a bus for months on end with only testosterone, it’s good to get out and,” He saw the disgusted look on my face and stopped. “I’m sorry.”

  I laughed it off. “No worries,” I replied as I opened the door. I secretly thanked myself for cleaning my mess of papers and clothes up before I left for the date. “Make yourself comfortable, I’m going to go change really quick.” I was ready to take off that dress. After eating as much food as I ate, I was busting at the seams. Damon mouthed ‘Okay,’ sitting down on the edge of my bed. I grabbed a pair of cotton shorts and Detroit Tigers t-shirt, hurrying into the bathroom.

  Once I put on my t-shirt and shorts, I gave myself another once over and walked out into the main room. Damon had taken his shoes off, back against the headboard. He whistled when I sat beside him and as a result, I slapped him on the chest. “Never seen you this laid back, Bryn. You’ve been avoiding me ever since that first night on tour.” It was the truth. No one had seen me in anything besides my show outfits except for the guys in the band. But then again, they walk around in practically nothing, sometimes just shorts and no shirt, not caring that I was in the room. Good eye candy though, I had to admit.

  “Alright.” I stopped him. “No more mentioning that night okay? We’re starting on a clean slate tonight!”

  “Fine, whatever you say, boss.” He saluted me, draping his arm around my waist, scooting me in closer. My head laid against his shoulder as the beginning to the original “Evil Dead” was starting.

  Not once did I worry about what Cale was doing or the tour.

  I woke up the next morning with my face muffled in the pillow, deep in the satin sheets that were on the bed. That was the best night’s sleep I had in a long time. I couldn’t help but smile when I replayed the events from last night in my head. Damon was a gentleman and treated me like a princess. We ended up watching movies until past midnight when I must’ve fell asleep. Sitting up in the bed, I noticed a note lying next to me.

  Bryn,

  I didn’t want to wake you up when I slipped out during the night. You looked so peaceful the way you were sleeping, and I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries by staying. I hope you had as much fun as I did and I really hope you’ll let me take you out again soon.

  Good Luck Tonight,

  Damon

  P.S. If I didn’t tell you already, you are gorgeous.

  I immediately felt my cheeks flush. I’d gone on dates with Ethan to fancy restaurants, courtesy of our parents, but last night felt different. I was able to be who I wanted to be, not some stereotypical snotty rich girl on a date with her equally rich boyfriend. Damon was the complete opposite of what my parents would approve of, and I think that’s part of the reason I gravitated to him.

  Then there was Cale.

  I had feelings for him too. There was no denying that, as much as I hated to think it. As I sorted out my clothes for the day, I thought of how the guys and I were going to spend the whole day together singing songs and practicing for tonight. Cale wanted to do a cover of “You’re Going Down” by The Sick Puppies, planning to add my voice in the mix. I had the song on replay as I ate my room-service breakfast, my mind flickering back to Cale. Again. Cale was easily one of the most creative people I have ever met. He could take a song and completely flip it around, adding a few extra notes and harmonies and making it epic in my mind.

  Hearing a faint knock at the door, my body froze. I hoped no one heard my out-of-tune singing or seen my crazy dance moves through the peep hole. I peeked through the little hole in the door and saw Cale’s right eye staring back at me. Standing back, I unlocked the door, allowing him in. His hair was wet from a shower and was wearing a tight solid navy shirt and silver basketball shorts.

  “Did you have a good night?” I asked him with a flirty smile as he gave me a hug. I breathed him in and he smelled like Axe body spray and men’s shampoo. Keep it together Bryn. Just because he smells good doesn’t mean anything.

  He yawned, stretching his arms over his head. “Wasn’t too shabby. Had some people in the room, drank, that kind of stuff.” I think he was purposely trying to leave out that he had girls in the room. As much as I didn’t like the sound of it, it wasn’t like I owned him. We were just bandmates. He glanced at my unmade bed, pointing at it. “So why didn’t you come in and party with us?”

  I shrugged. “I had that date.”

  “You still went out with the bastard?” I cringed when he started to swear. This over protective act was starting to piss me off a little bit, like he was just another older brother that I didn’t need. “I’m surprised he didn’t try to put the moves on you. Was he at least a gentleman?”

  “Like I just said, yes I did. Everyone deserves a second chance, Cale. He’s a really nice guy.”

  “I never said he wasn’t, but, whatever that’s your choice.” He kicked the wall and sat down. Luckily his foot didn’t leave a dent. I really didn’t want to have to pay for it.

  I started to laugh. “You know you’re pretty sexy when you’re jealous.”

  He looked at me as if he didn’t expect those words to come out of mouth. But I knew I was right. His face formed a weird expression and mouthed “Sexy?”

  “What?” I asked in between giggles. My laughter was uncontrollable now. I fell back into the recliner in the corner, trying to hide my face from him. I’m sure it was beat red from laughing so hard. “That’s the first word I could think of Cale! You just seemed so protective. And sexy just popped into my head.” As if he needed an explanation.

  Cale walked over to me and knelt down, putting his hands on my knees that were curled up to my chest. “Of course I’m protective. You’re 18 and new around this scene. These guys are eating you up alive and I hear every little thing they are saying. I’d say I’m sorry but I’m not because it’s up to the guys and I to
keep you safe.”

  Swatting him away, I got up, pulling down my shorts so they didn’t show so much skin. “Let’s just get to practice. Raptor, Vince and Luke meeting in here too?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, they had more fun than I did, so it’s taking them longer to wake up and recover. Gives us a head start to work on the vocals.” I handed him my iPod and he flipped through the songs to find the one we were practicing. His fingers stopped scrolling and played “You’re Going Down.”

  We listened to the song a couple of times, and in the middle, he would tell me when to come in and what pitch so our voices stayed in harmony. I didn’t quite understand why he thought we should perform this song but Cale admitted to me that The Sick Puppies were one of his favorite bands.

  “The bass line is sick,” was his excuse. He didn’t even play bass.

  You learn something new every day.

  Vince, Raptor and Luke knocked on the door a few minutes later, smelling like they hadn’t showered or put deodorant on. It didn’t help that when they gave me a group hug the day old smell wafted up. I made a mental note to take another shower later on, or just spray extra coats of perfume before the show.

  “We should go up to the Sears Tower, dude. None of us got the chance to see it last year when we were here.” Raptor moaned, lying flat against his stomach on the floor. Luke kicked his side and he stood right up, clutching his rib in pain. “The fuck? I’m still tired.”

  “Well don’t have sex with random strangers and maybe you’d sleep,” Cale remarked, feeling pretty proud. The guys started laughing, and I gave him a strange look. “Don’t laugh, Rap. I know you messed around with more than one of those girls. Wasn’t the groupie, was it?”

  “I can have ‘relations’ with whomever I so choose, Mr. Boss Man.” Raptor air quoted ‘relations,’ deflecting the attention from him to Cale. “And don’t tell me you didn’t have some fun either, Pelton. You seemed pretty amused by that stripper giving you a show and what’s his face from that other band. I don’t remember his fucking name.”

  So he was caught. I knew Cale had to drop his so-called perfect act at some point. I had a feeling someone like him would’ve been the biggest ladies’ man of them all. That tended to happen when the lead singer of a band was flawless and had a cocky attitude that draws hundreds of women to him on a near daily basis. That was exactly why I needed to stay away. Damon was the exact same type, but something inside me told me he was really being genuine and wanted to get to know me better. At the same time I had to remember I couldn’t be too trustworthy either. With what happened with Ethan, I wasn’t fully ready to give someone my trust yet, let alone heart.

  “Ooooo you loved it alright.” Vince reminded Cale. “She was trying to take you into the bathroom and…”

  “And what?” I asked Vince, amused by the situation and how Cale hated being put in the spotlight.

  “She was trying to give him a private one-on-one tease show in the bathroom, more like ‘come here and fuck me.’” Luke started cracking up, and I couldn’t help but smile. Cale shifted uncomfortably in the chair next to me, slouching down.

  He glanced over at me, giving me an apologetic look. “You weren’t supposed to hear that, B. Believe me, and I’ve already tried to forget it.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I think it’s quite amusing actually.” I admitted. “But I really think we should go see that tower. Get away for a bit before the show.” Everyone else agreed reluctantly.

  So I fixed my hair and threw it into a sloppy ponytail while the rest of the guys went back to their room to clean up.

  It was the nicest afternoon I’d had with the guys so far since knowing them. Not once after leaving did we talk about the show, but instead talked about how amazing the view was from atop of the Sears Tower. I had grown over the past few weeks to consider these boys my brothers. Except whenever I caught a glimpse of those amber colored eyes, I felt different. Maybe it was the way he would sneak glances when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. It gave me butterflies and a sense of uneasiness all in one combination.

  When we got back to the hotel Hal was waiting for us with the tour bus loaded and our suitcases already packed. We were playing at the United Center, and as the bus pulled up to the other tour buses in the lot, all of us were getting pumped up. After unloading everything and moving our equipment backstage, Cale had drinks poured and waiting for us in the dressing room. For the show, I opted for red jeggings and an off the shoulder Aerosmith t-shirt that was tattered up at the bottom. It showed off skin at the edge of my stomach, which I was getting more comfortable with since I tried to work out with the guys as much as I could. I styled my hair so I was channeling the 80’s hair bands, combing my hair into a huge poof and tying in a black bow to top it off. If only my parents could see me wearing this. It would be a field day!

  When I stepped out from behind the small curtain that the guys built for me to use when I changed my clothes, I felt all eyes on me. Lucy was in the room chatting it up with Luke and came over to give me a nod of approval. She had dyed her hair to have bright blond streaks in her black hair and had it in loose ringlets with a purple top hat on top of her head. I envied this girl and how she could pull stuff like that off.

  “Damn I have some competition now!” She gave me a devilish smile and hugged me. “You better get out there and find Damon. All he’s been talking about is you and your romantic little date last night.”

  I blushed. “So he told you everything?”

  “Oh you’re too cute, Bryn. Yes, and that’s a shock for him because usually I find him with a different girl every night. I’m the one that kicks the whores out of the bus and sends them on their way!” She took a drink from the can of lemonade in her hand and let it linger.

  “I’ll see you around, Luce,” I told her, giving her another hug and slipping out the door before anyone else could comment about how I looked. Because we were at one of the biggest venues on the tour, I had a harder time finding my way around, but I soon found Damon standing in front of Ignite the Flames dressing room. He was wearing a blue plaid shirt that was rolled up his sleeves, and tight black pants that hugged his muscular legs perfectly. His hair wasn’t gelled tonight so some of it hung in his eyes, but those eyes were only on me.

  “Hey.” I said coolly, bumping into him. He wrapped his arm around me and drew me closer to him.

  “Hey yourself.” He mumbled as he kissed my forehead. I felt his smile in between my eyebrows.

  “I loved your note by the way.”

  “Well you looked too beautiful to wake up. Plus I didn’t want you to think I was a creep or anything by staying in your room.” He winked and squeezed my hand. “I can be a gentlemen when I want to be. Especially for someone as pretty as you. You deserve someone that will treat you right.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Ahh, well you were a good date Damon. I had fun last night.”

  “Me too. Next time we have a long stop I’ll take you out for the day and we can sight see, pose for crazy pictures, and possibly sightsee.”

  I giggled. “Do you do this often?”

  He threw his hands up. “I never said I dated girls. You’re the first I’ve taken out in a long, long time, and I’m glad.” I half expected him to say that. He was a hot lead singer of a pretty big rock band. Of course the girls were going to flock to him and try to jump him. I didn’t consider us ‘dating’ per say after only one date, but it wasn’t out of the question.

  Just then Abel, lead singer from The Nemesis walked by us and slapped Damon on the back. “Break a leg, fucker.”

  “Don’t fall off the stage moron. I won’t catch you this time!” Damon shouted after Abel, who didn’t look back but gave him the finger as he walked away. I gave him a look of uncertainty and he waved Abel off like it was nothing. “Once an asshole, always an asshole. He’s my brother so I give him shit all the time.” Abel was Damon’s brother? I should’ve guessed it, since they had the same longer blond hair and bright grey
eyes. I never really talked to him much so far on the tour except in passing between dressing rooms and after show parties.

  “I never would’ve guessed,” I replied sarcastically.

  Damon looked at the oversized watch on his arm and stood up straight. “I better get back in and get everyone pumped up.”

  I was sad to see him go, but I knew my ‘brothers’ would come looking for me at some point. “If you must. But you better be watching me from the side of the stage tonight.” I winked, and he smiled widely.

  “Believe me, Bryn, I won’t miss it.” He promised, and hugged me, letting his fingers linger on my open skin for a few seconds longer than I expected.

  ***

  The set went ten times better than I ever anticipated. We were high on the crowd of thousands that were rocking out in front of us, heads rocking back and forth and shouting the words to our songs. I couldn’t explain what was happening, but I felt tension between Cale and I on stage. He wouldn’t come near me, instead throwing himself elsewhere, onto the ground, and nearly into the drum set.

  It was finally time to debut “You’re Going Down.” Cale wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he talked to the crowd. His eyes met mine with a slight nod and the bass line took off. I swear I could never have as much stage presence as Cale did. He looked hot as hell as he sang; sweat now pouring off of his biceps and that tattoo by his shoulder. Argh, I had to tear my eyes away and pay attention to the crowd. My eyes drifted to the ever growing mosh pit in front of us and I let out a slight laugh as I ran over to the microphone stand on stage right and joined Cale for the chorus. Our eyes locked again as he strode over to me, now only inches away. Our voices were in perfect harmony and I gave him a smile. Even just a little one, but he had to put on an act when he was onstage. I’m sure once we were all done with our set he would go back to acting like an ass all over again.