Under Her Skin

by Alexis Lauren

  "I know. I don't want to fight either. I actually wanted to apologize to you." He told her. He leaned a little closer so they didn't have to talk too loud. This wasn't what he wanted the rest of the guys to hear. He put his elbows on his knees and leaned into the aisle separating the two couches, and finally looked up at Marlo's face. "I am so sorry for over reacting to that guy the other night. I know that you think I was doing the same thing you had been the other night, and in a way I was, but all I could see was that guy attacking you a few months back, and it scared me. I didn't want it to get too far, I didn't want that guy to push you to that point, or take you somewhere unsafe. I completely flashed back to that night, and I acted without thinking. I'm sorry if I hurt you, or if I embarrassed you."

  Marlo thought for a moment. She didn't realize that he had still thought of that night. "So it wasn't just about some guy kissing me? You weren't just trying to stake your claim?"

  "I'm not going to lie, part of it was the fact that I still see you as my girlfriend, and I didn't want to see another guy kissing you, but that was such a small part that it barely registered. I saw the look on your face before he kissed you, and it sent my adrenaline flowing. From that point, all I knew was that I had to protect you at all costs."

  Marlo was at a loss for words. More and more, she was realizing that the night she was almost raped affected more than her, it affected Tobias too, and he was still living with it, while she was trying to move past it.

  "But I didn't come up here to talk about that. I came to say that I was sorry, and ask if we can at least be friends. I get that you don't want to be with me right now, but I can't live without you in my life. It's only been five days, and I feel so lost without you. If I can't have you as my girlfriend, can I at least have you as my friend?" He asked her.

  Marlo was stunned. Not only had he admitted that he still thought of that night, but now he just wanted to be friends? She definitely wasn't expecting that. "I-I guess." She uttered.

  "Great!" He smiled. He stood up and leaned over her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll let you get back to your book now."

  Metaphorically, her jaw was on the floor as she watched him walk back to the rear of the bus where the rest of the guys were. He was happy now, but he was happy being her friend. She wondered how they could have gone from being happy and in love less than a week ago to being happily just friends? It was all too confusing for her, but if that was how he wanted it…

  Tobias walked into the back of the bus, all smiles. They guys hadn't seen him this way since before the big fight between him and Marlo, so they were curious as to what happened. "What's your problem?" Sammy asked him, voicing the thoughts in the rest of the guys heads.

  "Me and Marlo are friends now. Hopefully it will get rid of the tension on the bus and put her and me one step closer to reconciling." He told them, still with a ridiculous smile on his face, as he plopped down on one of the couches. In his head, he was going over how the rest of the plan would work out, as he tuned the guys out and set his full concentration on getting Marlo back.

  *****

  Over the next few hours, things seemed to be getting better on the bus. There were no awkward silences, no murderous glances, and no threats on Tobias' manhood. But the only one who seemed to be the least bit annoyed with it was Marlo. Of course, she loved that they were all getting along, but it annoyed her that Tobias was fine with just being friends with her when all she wanted to do was kiss the living shit out of him.

  Most of the time, Tobias was either in his bunk or in the back all alone, probably writing a new song, but when he was with the rest of them, he was always in a good mood.

  The happier Tobias got as the day wore on, the more disappointed Marlo got. What had happened to the undying love between them? The passion? Had it all been an act on his part if he could get over it so easily? Was she really just a conquest for him, and since she gave it up, he was satisfied?

  Marlo was going crazy with her thoughts. The more she sat on that bus, and the happier she saw Tobias, the more insane she became. It was getting almost to the point where she dreaded the rest of the tour because she didn't think she could live on the bus anymore.

  Finally, they rolled into the concert venue, and just as every other time recently, Marlo was the first off the bus. The guys all watched her beat her retreat, then looked to Tobias for answers. "What's she so freaked about? I thought you said it was going to get better?" AJ questioned him.

  Tobias smiled, knowing that he was getting to her. "It will get better, I promise. This is just phase one of my plan. Two and three will be tonight, and depending on how she reacts to that, four will be at the next concert. But I have a feeling she'll feel a little better on the bus after the show."

  "Why can't you just leave her alone and quit playing these games with her?" AJ snapped. "She deserves better than this. You need to quit fucking with her head!"

  Tobias lunged at AJ. "Hear me now and understand this." He snarled, grasping him by his shirt and pushing him back against the wall. "I am not fucking with her head. I love her more than anything and I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to get her back. I would never hurt her, but I won't rest until I have her back. Got it?"

  AJ looked into the fiery eyes of Tobias and pushed his hands off his shirt. "Yeah, I got it. Just don't do anything stupid." He pushed past Tobias and left the bus, the other guys trailing behind him.

  *****

  Half an hour before the show, Tobias put phase two of his plan into action. He walked through the halls until he got to the wing on the side of the stage. Just as he'd predicted, Marlo was standing there, peering through a small slit in the curtain.

  "Nervous?" He asked softly as he walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

  "This's by far the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of." She answered, not turning around to look at him. Instead, she kept her eyes on the rapidly filling seats. To her, it looked like one of the scenes you see on TV, where they show a crowd filling into their seats in fast forward…where the stadium goes from empty to capacity in about ten seconds flat.

  Tobias then had both hands on her shoulders, giving her a soft massage to ease her tense muscles. "Just relax. Remember, it's just us up there, with no one else around. If you get scared or lost, just close your eyes and picture it being just the five of us. Or if that doesn't work, just look over at me and I'll take care of it."

  Marlo rolled her head forward and concentrated on the feel of his hands kneading her muscles. Slowly, the tension left her body, entering a world of peace and satisfaction. She felt light and loose, thankful that Tobias was there for her.

  All too soon, his ministrations stopped, but they had served their purpose. Though she was no longer floating in the land of oblivion, she was still feeling considerably better than before, and she had only Tobias to thank for it. But as she turned around to thank him, she noticed that he wasn't there anymore. He was already gone. Though she was a little disappointed that he had left, she was grateful too, that she could avoid the awkward moment of thanking him while not knowing what he was feeling towards her.

  *****

  The concert played out well, and even though Marlo was nervous before, she got through the show just fine. Tobias noticed her close her eyes a few times during the first song, but after that, she was fine. She looked relaxed and confident, but sometimes it just took a little while to warm up on stage.

  At the after party, he planned to put phase three into effect. It wasn't that any of his first three phases were anything major, but they were important. He needed them to show her that he was on her side, that he cared for her, and that even though she didn't think she could, deep down she knew she could trust him.

  Since they had such a large crowd for the concert, they had a larger than normal after-party backstage. Luckily, the concert venue had a room big enough to accommodate all of the people, but it was still a little crowded. Tobias made sure to keep Marlo in his sight, and
tried to stay relatively close to her all night. He noticed that she had been watching him every so often, and on more than one occasion, he knew that she had seen him turn girls down that were hitting on him.

  If Tobias was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that turning those girls down was a lot easier than he thought it would be. Sure, they looked good, and might give him a few minutes of satisfaction, but ever since he had a taste of something solid, something that would last, that was all he wanted. And their looks…he knew that deep down, those girls weren't nearly as pretty as Marlo. Yes, their makeup hid their flaws and made them gorgeous, but Marlo had such raw beauty, and there was no amount of makeup that could compete with that.

  Maybe this whole thing was what they both needed. He knew that she needed something to open her eyes to realize that she could trust him, and maybe he needed something to show him that having only her in the rest of his life wouldn't be too bad after all. He knew that if anything had ever held him back from being completely with Marlo, it was the fear of having only one girl for the rest of his life. But he knew for sure, after everything that had happened between them, that he wanted only her for the rest of his life, without a doubt.

  It was almost as if a thousand lights came on as he realized this. He finally knew how he would end his plan, the ultimate sacrifice to get her back. He should have done it before, but he knew that the time wouldn't have been right, and there would have still been doubts. But there were no more doubts in him, and he knew that very soon, there'd be no more doubts for Marlo.

  He looked over at her again, and noticed that she was alone, with a far off look on her face. Smiling, he went over to her. "Would you like some company?" He asked her.

  Startled, she looked up at him. "Sure." She told him, moving over on the couch to make room for him. "I never got to thank you for earlier."

  "No big deal. Just glad I could help." He told her with a shrug of his shoulders. Inside his head, he had to keep reminding himself to just act like her friend, even though her lips looked so delicious, all he wanted to do was devour them. Silence engulfed them, neither one really knew what to say since they had never really been friends. They went from basically being enemies to being in love, all at once. They never really had the middle ground to help them communicate when love wasn't involved. "I miss you." Tobias blurted out.

  Marlo nodded. "I miss you too." She lowered her eyes to the floor, she didn't know what was going on between them anymore.

  Before either of them could say anything, Tobias felt a pair of hands cover his eyes from behind. "Guess who." The sultry voice said.

  Tobias was taken aback. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it for sure. If it was the person he thought it was, he knew there would be trouble. He pulled the hands away from his face and turned to look at the woman. There stood the bitch radio deejay from New York that had tried to cause problems between him and Marlo.

  "What the fuck are you doing here?" He spat at her. "Get out, you're not welcome." He looked over at Marlo and saw the shock and hurt on her face.

  "Is that any way to treat a fan? Word in the tabloids has it that you and the girl broke up, so I thought I'd come and comfort you. Show you what a real woman was." She purred at him, trying to put her arms around his neck in a hug, not even paying attention to the looks of disgust he was shooting at her.

  "I don't care what happens between Marlo and me, I would never touch you, ever again. I told you to get out, so go, before I throw you out myself." He yelled at her, attracting the attention of everyone around them. Security came over to see what was happening, and after getting the orders from Tobias, they escorted her out.

  Once she was gone, Tobias looked over to Marlo. "I'm so sorry about that. I wish she'd just leave us alone."

  Marlo shook her head. "It's not your fault. I know you don't like her." She looked around the room for a minute. "I'm going to head back to the bus now."

  "Can I walk you back?" Tobias asked her, not wanting her to be alone for someone to jump her.

  "No, you stay here. I don't want to ruin your night. I'll just get a security guard to walk me." She told him.

  "It's no problem, really. I'm ready for some peace and quiet anyway." He looked at her hopefully.

  "Fine, but I really don't want you to stop partying just because of me." She told him, hesitantly.

  "I'm stopping because I want to. Don't worry, you aren't ruining me." He smiled at her.

  Just as they were walking out, AJ grabbed Tobias and pulled him aside. Tobias motioned to Marlo to wait for a minute, then turned to AJ. "What's the problem?"

  "Was having that bitch come here your idea?" He asked, not at all happy about the scene that had played out a few minutes before.

  "What? No! That was not part of my plan. All I wanted to do was show Marlo that I wasn't interested in any of the other girls that come here, even though I was single. That bitch showed up on her own, and if anything, she did more harm to my plan than good." He glared at AJ and shook his arm out of his grasp. He walked back to where Marlo was waiting for him.

  "What was that all about?" She asked him.

  "Nothing. AJ just has his panties in a bunch lately." He told her, walking to the bus with her. "You in the mood for a game of cards or something?" He asked.

  "Sounds good." She told him with a smile. And for the next couple of hours, things between them were easy and light, giving them both hope for the future.

  Chapter 27

  By the time the rest of the guys got back later that night, Marlo and Tobias were sitting at the front table, in a heated game of Crazy Eights. They were laughing and joking, which was so refreshing to the other band mates, though their choice of card games had the others confused.

  "Why are you guys playing a kids game?" AJ asked.

  "Because she was kicking my ass at poker, rummy, and 31, so I figured we'd try to play a game more my speed. Go Fish is next." Tobias laughed, the love shining in his eyes as he looked up at Marlo while he explained their game selection. His eyes never left hers, and she knew it, causing her to blush furiously.

  "I think he was just letting me win." Marlo laughed.

  "No way!" Said Sammy. "Tobias is ruthless. He never throws a card game to let anyone win, under any circumstances."

  Marlo laughed again, knowing the truth behind Sammy's words. "Well, how about we call this one a draw because I am exhausted." She looked up at Tobias, stifling a yawn.

  "Finally, I at least get a draw!" Tobias shouted, jumping up from the table and doing a victory dance.

  Everyone laughed at him, and as Marlo went to move past him to go back to her bunk, Tobias grabbed her and spun her around in a dance a few times before letting her go. "Good night sweetums." He smirked at her. All she could do was smile, roll her eyes, and shake her head.

  Marlo grabbed her pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. As she stood in there, she took a moment to fan herself. She looked in the mirror and saw her flushed face. She was in no way over Tobias, and there was no way they could be just friends for much longer. She loved him, he loved her, and nothing would be able to come between them again. She just needed to figure out how to get him back, and let him know that she did trust him, but she just needed a reminder of it every now and then.

  Later, in her bunk as the bus began to roll towards their next destination, she tried to think of a way to get Tobias back. She knew that she had to do it soon, friendship just wasn't cutting it for her anymore. She knew they would be staying at a hotel at some point in the next few days, so it would be the perfect time to make her move, and get the man she loved back into her life, the way he should be.

  *****

  Once Tobias was sure that Marlo had fallen asleep, he asked Dusty if he could talk to him in private. Sammy and AJ seemed to get the hint, and went to the back to play a video game.

  "What's up man? You look like you're about to shit your pants." Dusty joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  "I need to ask
you something serious, and know that you're on my side." Tobias told him, looking him straight in the eyes with a look of determination on his face.

  Dusty sobered immediately. "Go ahead man, talk to me."

  *****

  The next morning when everyone woke up, the bus was stopped outside of a hotel. "Sweet!" Sammy yelled and ran off the bus, excited because he had forgotten that they would be in a hotel for the next few nights. The rest took their time getting ready, knowing that there was no rush.

  A few minutes later, Sammy came running back to the bus. "Guys, they have a kick ass breakfast buffet in there! Hurry up and get ready so we can eat. I'm starved!"

  "Maybe you should change out of your pajamas then Sammy. I'd hate to be seen with you in public wearing your cartoon pajama pants." AJ laughed.

  Sammy looked down and smacked his forehead. "No wonder the waitresses were laughing at me." He hurried to the drawers near his bunk and pulled out some jeans and a retro t-shirt. Not caring who was around, he dropped his pants in the middle of the aisle, and changed his clothes right there.

  "Nice underwear Sammy. But I would have figured you’re a boxer brief kind of guy, not the tighty whitey variety." Marlo teased as she came out of the bathroom to see Sammy mid-change.

  His face reddened as he turned around. "It’s laundry week. This is my version of 'granny panties', ok?"

  "Whatever you say man." Dusty chided, walking past and lightly shoving Sammy into the wall.

  "Just pull your pants up so that we don't see any skid marks, ok?"

  Marlo looked to the front of the bus where Tobias was sitting quietly. She was a bit surprised that he wasn't back there picking on Sammy, he was usually the first to bust on any of them. Instead, he sat on one of the couches, biting one of his finger nails and zoning out, staring into space.