"Anytime." He waited for her to get into her room, then he went to his own.
Kaylee looked around her empty hotel room. She wanted to throw something, to break something. She needed to let go of the furious anger that threatened to choke her. Ashton hooked up all the time, so why was tonight any different? If it wasn't Ryver, it would have been some other girl.
But it was Ryver! She was supposed to be her best friend. And it was Ashton! Did it really matter what he did or who he did it with? If it were another girl, would she be this pissed? Kaylee was so confused. She didn't know what was happening or where her feelings were headed.
She grabbed her pajamas and changed out of the club clothes that reeked of smoke. She washed the makeup from her face, still angry but somehow on the verge of tears. Knowing she had to have something to drown out the thoughts in her head, she grabbed her ear plugs and little mp3 player. Music in her head always kept her thoughts from going too far. Putting them in place, and shutting the world out, Kaylee crawled into her bed and fell asleep.
The next morning, the world looked a little brighter for Kaylee. She knew that she had overreacted the night before, but she still wasn't sure why. She was already showered and dressed when she heard a knock on the door between the rooms.
She opened it to find her best friend - or former best friend - Ryver, looking unkempt and ashamed. "Can I come in?"
"Of course," Kaylee told her, trying to sound upbeat, but seeing Ryver come from Ashton's room brought a sharp pain to her chest.
"Do you hate me?" Ryver asked bluntly.
"No," Kaylee answered. It was true but at the same time, it wasn't. The calm that she had felt earlier was shattered by seeing her disheveled friend.
"About last night..." Ryver started.
Kaylee held her hand up. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hardly breathe. "I don't want to hear it. Please."
"But..."
"No, seriously, I don't want to hear it. Help yourself to the shower, I'm going downstairs for brunch," Kaylee said, knowing her words must have sounded harsh, but she just couldn't handle hearing about Ryver's night with Ashton.
She left before another word could be said. She went downstairs to drown her sorrow in food. Her emotions were all over the place - she was upset, but then again, she wasn't. She was accepting of the way Ashton was, but at the same time, the thought of him with Ryver made her want to cry. She was certain the last thing she wanted to do was eat, but she had to get out of there somehow, and it seemed the easiest option.
Not realizing how hungry she was, Kaylee chuckled when her stomach growled in the elevator. "So much for no appetite," she murmured.
She looked around the dining room where the brunch buffet was set up, grateful to see her brother and Colton already. She filled her plate, then zigzagged through the tables to meet up with the two familiar faces.
"Wow, have you not eaten in the past week?" Noah asked, looking at the mount of food on Kaylee's plate.
"Leave me alone," she grumbled.
"Ok, what's wrong? You only eat like that when you're upset." Her brother was concerned.
"Nothing, I'm just hungry." Kaylee plastered a fake smile on her face. She dug into her food, practically inhaling it. Before long, she was so full she could barely move, even though she still had half the food on her plate. "I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach."
"When you're ready to tell me what's wrong, let me know." Noah stood up and kissed Kaylee's head. He was such a good brother to her, she didn't know what she would have done without him.
Kaylee was just getting up from the table when she felt a hand on her back. A deep voice whispered in her ear, "Nothing happened last night."
Kaylee turned to look into Ashton's face. The relief that flooded her was extreme in its force. She immediately blinked back the tears that threatened to glaze over her eyes and reminded herself that she couldn't trust a thing he said.
"What you do is your own business," she said coldly.
"I know that," he smirked. "But I'm telling you that nothing happened. I thought you might want to know. I didn't touch her."
"Well, yay for you," she bit back. She hated that smirk. She wanted to wipe it right off his face. He was so full of himself, like she actually cared what he did the night before. She tried hard to convince herself of that, even as her heart was racing and a part of her wanted to sing with relief.
She started to walk away from the table, and nearly stumbled when she heard what he said next.
"You should be thanking me; I did it for you." He wasn't sure if she wanted her to hear that or not, but it was the truth.
"I'm not even going to ask what you mean by that," she said before stalking out of the dining room.
She felt a little more calm as she went back to her room, but wondering what Ashton had meant was nagging at her mind. He had done it for her? Done what? Turned Ryver down...for her? She didn't know if what he had said was good or not. Why did he have to be so confusing, and so damn annoying?
Chapter 8
Kaylee got back to her room to find Ryver packing her stuff. "Hi," she said softly as she walked into the room.
"Hey," Ryver answered, a little coldly.
The sadness and fury she had felt before her breakfast rose up again. Kaylee took a deep breath to calm down.
"Listen, I'm sorry about last night. I don't really know why I got so upset with you for hanging out with Ashton." Kaylee sat at the edge of the bed. She felt bad that their friendship was going to be ruined over something like this. She knew that the visit had started out with good intentions, only to end in a bust.
"It's pretty obvious to me that you have feelings for him," Ryver said in a huff.
"Whatever, I don't have feelings for that arrogant ass!" Kaylee rolled her eyes. Ryver just shrugged as if she didn't care one way or the other.
After what Ryver had said sank in, Kaylee had a question. "Wait a minute. If you thought I had feelings for him, why did you go after him?"
Ryver sighed. "I wanted to get laid, and at the time, he seemed like a sure thing." She didn't sound as though she had a bit of remorse for what had happened. In fact, she sounded defiant, as if it were her right to get laid by whoever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
"Jayden was a sure thing! Colton was a sure thing! I'm sure there were tons of guys at the club who were sure things. Why did you have to go for the one person you thought I liked?"
Kaylee was pissed. She watched as Ryver said nothing, and just shook her head as she kept packing. After a long moment, Kaylee realized that she what she had to say next had been a long time in coming.
"You know, there's a time in life when you need to grow up. Something like this would have passed in college, but we aren't in college anymore. And I guess we aren't friends anymore either. A true friend would never have done that. I know it, and you know it, and we both know that your actions last night were all about you and nothing else."
Kaylee got up from the bed, and walked to the door. She put her hand on the handle, and paused before turning it. "We had some great times, and I refuse to let my memories of those times be tainted by what you pulled last night. I hope someday you grow up, but until then, I think it's best if we cut all ties. I'm sure you can see yourself out."
Ryver didn't look up the whole time that Kaylee was talking. She kept her head down, and kept packing. It wasn't until Kaylee left the room that Ryver stopped what she was doing, and looked at the door that her former best friend had just gone through. She closed her eyes, trying to get Kaylee's words out of her head. Though she knew Kaylee was right, she didn't want to think about it. It wasn't the first time she had heard someone say something like that to her, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last either.
Ryver finished packing, and left as fast as she could. If she could have erased the last few twenty-four hours, she would. The whole visit had been one giant mistake.
Kaylee sought refuge in Jayden and Colton's room, far enough a
way from Ryver that she wouldn't have to look at her, but close enough that she could hear her leaving. She lay on Jayden's bed with her head tipped back, looking to the table where Colton and Jayden sat. They were talking about the concert they'd be performing that night, and where their next destination was going to be.
The phone rang, startling Kaylee since it was right next to her head. Jayden dove across Colton's bed to grab the phone before Kaylee could, then shot her a sheepish look when she gave him a questioning glare.
The phone conversation was short, and Jayden barely got one word in. When he hung up, he let Kaylee and Colton in on what was said. "That was Cody. We need to meet in his room in five minutes."
Kaylee laughed, "You got summonsed to the manager's room like you'd get called to the principal's office." She rolled on the bed laughing, and Jayden got up from Colton's bed and jumped on her. He tickled her, which made her laugh so hard she had trouble catching her breath.
"Laugh all you want because you need to be there too, funny girl," he taunted.
Kaylee stopped laughing with an effort. "Is it good or bad?"
"You never know with Cody." He shrugged his shoulders. "We better go, he hates it when we're late." Jayden stood, offering his hand to Kaylee to help her up. She took it, and when she was back on her feet, the three of them headed to the floor below to meet with the band's manager.
Ashton and Noah were already waiting for them when they got to Cody's room. Everyone wore a blank face, so it was hard to gauge whether they were in trouble or not.
"Good, everyone's here," Cody said, closing the door. "I have some news. Some may think it's bad, some may think it's good." He looked around at all the blank faces. "I just got a very interesting call. A producer from the MTV Music Awards called, and it seems one of the bands in the Best New Artist category have gotten themselves into quite a bit of trouble, so much trouble that they need to be removed from the nomination. They would like to put you guys in their place. It seems the makeshift video we put out has caused quite a stir with the audience, bad for the suckers who couldn't stay out of trouble, good for you guys."
Everyone looked at each other for a long moment. It was almost as though no one wanted to break the silence. Was this good? Was this bad? Colton was the first to voice his opinion.
"No way! That video was shit. All it shows are clips from our past concerts. How can anyone even call that a video when most of these artists spend serious bucks on their videos?"
"Well, your popularity is growing faster than we'd imagined. All the rest of the shows we have you booked to play are sold out now. It seems like you guys are better received than any of us had predicted," Jayden, always the publicist, told them. "That makes the format of the video irrelevant at this point. The fans have spoken and they really like you. To MTV, that's really all that matters. Besides, when you guys play, you're captivating, and people can't help but watch and enjoy what they're seeing and hearing."
"So, essentially in two weeks you will be in Miami at the Video Music Awards," Cody said. "This is a really big break for you. Even though you have a growing fan base, we still need this kind of publicity to launch you guys even further into the mainstream. That means you will be on your best behavior, and you won't cause any problems," Cody warned and looked at Ashton.
"Hey! Why're you looking at me?" Ashton asked, offended. "I always behave."
Cody actually rolled his eyes. Kaylee hid a grin behind her hand.
"Listen, Ashton, we know you're a 'playboy', and that's the image that you want to portray, but do you think you could keep it clean for one night? It's great if you have a date, but there are certain behaviors that don't belong at the awards ceremony," Cody explained.
"I get it, keep it PG-13," Ashton said. He thought for a moment. "Wait, do I know anyone PG-13?"
"Can we all bring dates?" Noah asked, unable to hide the smile spreading across his face. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening to them.
"Yeah, I'd actually recommend it. It'll give you guys more of a sexy, untouchable vibe, which will drive the women crazy," Jayden said. "Besides, you guys are going to be nervous as hell, and a lady by your side might just help to calm you down."
"Hey, not only does she have to be PG-13, but she also has to be a lady. You're in big trouble now!" Colton teased, knowing well the type of girls that Ashton usually went for.
"Not a problem. I can just take my pick," Ashton answered, the smile not faltering for a minute. He was confident that he would find the perfect date. He even had someone in mind already.
It seemed as though Cody's meeting was coming to an end, so the guys were finally able to show their excitement. They were laughing and passing out man hugs to each other, while Kaylee sat to the side. She was so happy for them that it eclipsed all the other emotions that had been swirling around her head and heart today.
"I'm so proud of you guys; you're going to have a great time there." Kaylee smiled as she was pulled into a giant bear hug from her brother. "I can't believe I'm going to get to watch my big brother on MTV at an awards ceremony!"
"Wait, you're not going?" Colton asked.
"Well...I'm not actually part of the band," Kaylee said.
Cody froze for a moment as the room got quiet. He hadn't even thought about Kaylee. "Sorry, guys. They only offered tickets to the band and their dates. Jayden and I aren't even going."
"It's okay, guys!" Kaylee put on a brave face. "You're going to have a great time. I don't need to be there to be able to share the joy of your success."
"You can come with me," Noah said, as if that settled the matter.
"That kills the vibe you want to give to the fans," Cody said quietly. "Your sister as your date isn't really a date...there is no sex appeal in that."
Noah turned sad eyes to Kaylee. He wasn't sure what to say.
"You will have a good time," she assured him with a bright smile.
"It won't be the same without you, kiddo," Noah assured her, ruffling her hair.
"You'll get over it. Trust me," Kaylee told him with a teasing cuff to the chest.
She backed away from Noah, allowing him to get back to his bandmates and finish their celebration. She quietly slipped out of the room without anyone noticing and went back to her room. It wasn't that she wasn't happy for the guys, but for the first time, she felt like she was just a hanger-on, someone who didn't really belong, but was tagging along anyway. She hated feeling as though she wasn't an integral part of the band, but it was true, wasn't it? She was just the singer's sister.
Over the next few days, the band was on a high. Their concerts were all dead on, and they were getting more publicity since the nomination for Best New Artist had been made public. The fame machine was in full swing.
Kaylee started to distance herself from the group, even from her brother. She spent a lot of time with Cody and Jayden, which led to spending time with Brandon.
They were rebuilding their friendship slowly, and Brandon was working really hard to regain her trust in the time that he had left with the band. His assignment had been extended for a while longer, from writing a simple piece to writing a weekly diary about the trials and tribulations of an up and coming new band.
"You're kinda like the guy in Almost Famous ," she told him one night as they were watching the band play.
"Did he get the girl in the end?" he asked with a teasing smile.
Kaylee blushed. "I think he did..."
Brandon twirled one of her curls around his finger and leaned in close. "Maybe I'll get as lucky as he did," he said into her ear, and her blush went from pink to red hot.
Everyone noticed Kaylee slowly shrinking into the background, but it never seemed like there was a right time to confront her about it. The band's appearances throughout the days before the shows kept them constantly on the go, then after the shows, they were all too busy partying to have a serious conversation. By the time the party was over, they were all too exhausted to do anything but fall into th
eir bunks and sleep like the dead while the drivers took them to the next town.
One morning, Kaylee returned to the band bus after spending the night on the manager's bus, to find Ashton waiting for her. The other guys were still asleep, and Ashton looked like he was going to fall asleep at any moment. The rough nights had taken a toll - his usually handsome face looked older, the five-o'clock shadow made him look tired rather than sexy, and the dark circles under his eyes told the story better than any bottles of booze or lines of women ever could.
"Finally," Ashton said when he saw her. He sat up on the couch and patted the seat next to him, letting Kaylee know that he wanted her to sit there.
"You look like shit," she said.
Ashton shrugged. "I will get a few days of sleep and be my fine self again."
Kaylee slowly went to the couch and sat down sideways at the far end, bringing her feet up on the couch, sitting so that she was facing Ashton. "What's up?"
"You haven't been around lately," he said, making her aware that it was obvious to the rest of them. "I've been wanting to talk to you."
Kaylee nodded her head. They hadn't really said anything since that morning at breakfast, when he told her nothing happened between him and Ryver. She wasn't sure she was ready for this talk, no matter what it was, but she had no idea what he had wanted to say.
"Look, you don't owe me any explanations..."
"I don't have an explanation," he said, confused. "I have a question."
Kaylee blinked at him. She watched as Ashton folded his hands, then spread his fingers wide. He cracked his knuckles. He looked toward the window, then back at her, then down at the floor.
"You look nervous as hell," she said, pointing out the obvious.
"This thing with the music awards, I was kind of wondering if you'd be my date," he asked in a rush.
Kaylee looked stunned. Whatever ideas about the unavoidable conversation she had in her head were so far off base as to be on another planet, and she was in no way prepared for the words that came out of his mouth. She wanted to be smart and hit him with a zinger, but there wasn't a single thing that came to her head.
Miles of Pleasure Page 6