His Assurance (Assured Distraction Book 3)

by Thia Finn

  I knew AD was rehearsing when I saw the time so that he wouldn’t be texting me anyway. I turned off the phone and put it away, leaned back against a post, and tried to appreciate the fact that the band playing their hearts out was trying to impress the thousands milling around.

  I never expected Lola to be gone from the house when I returned from running. She didn’t have a car, but her bag was gone, and so were the clothes from the dryer. It looked like she didn’t plan to return. When she asked me if I wanted her to leave, I should have flat-out said no instead of leaving it up to her. I honestly didn’t know how I felt about the deception. I hated liars, cheaters, and fakes, but no one could have convinced me yesterday that she fell into one of those categories.

  I rolled into the practice room with my sticks in my back pockets ready to do this. I could easily take out some of my frustration right now on my drums. KeeMac tuned his guitar and did some strange sounds with his throat that he always did before he sang, and Chandler looked at a music score. The others hadn’t arrived.

  “Hey, Chan, got some new tunes for us?” I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

  “Well, hello. I thought you might be late since I hear you’re entertaining a new lady this week.” She ended it with a smile that lit the room. KeeMac was one lucky dude the day he won her over.

  “No. Uh, she’s staying at a house on the lake with her sister and friends. It’s a twenty-first birthday party for the sister, so Lola’s entertaining them for the week.” I had no intention of sharing that we were probably already done because knowing Chan she would want a play-by-play scenario. I did not want to go there with the band.

  “What a perfect way to spend a monumental birthday. I’m sure we’ll meet her later, if not at the show, then at the after party.”

  “Shit. I forgot all about that damn thing. I don’t want to go rub shoulders with a bunch of pricks from the label all fucking night.”

  “Other people will be there. You know it’ll be the who’s who of bands, too. Peri said the guest list was extensive. Did you already have plans with your girl?”

  “Yeah, something like that.” They could believe what they wanted at this point. I didn’t know how I felt about her right now. Am I mad, disappointed, sad, or possibly all of those things? Did I even care at all? Up until a few weeks ago, seeing her was a fantasy. Now, who knew?

  The others came in, and naturally, Carter was last. On a normal day, it would be the two of us coming in together from a night of fun, but I traded that in for a woman who had me all tangled up. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. I was happy before her, wasn’t I?

  “Dude, when we meeting the new hot piece?” Carter slapped me on the back.

  “Don’t call her that. It’s not that way.” I said it louder than I intended because everyone stopped to look at me.

  “Touchy fucking subject. I like it. Seems our drummer’s found himself a keeper.” Carter picked up his bass and looked around as everyone else had their eyes on me. They were obviously waiting for me to confirm or deny it.

  “Yeah, we’ll see.” It was a noncommittal answer.

  “She’s coming out to see the concert, right? I heard you had her and a bevy of young beauties backstage yesterday. When are you going to parade them around for me to meet? I don’t remember getting an invitation to come over.” I hated that Carter had found out about them being there. I would never hear the end of it.

  Hayden and Ryan walked into the rehearsal room, and everyone greeted them. Hayden looked at me with a sheepish grin and picked up his acoustic while Ryan took his Strat out and started tuning. After the tuning, he moved to stand in front of my kit.

  “Hayden said he had a damn good time when they all went out on Sixth.”

  “Yeah, I do believe he did. That girl’s a wild one. She came home from the fucking festival with a different one, so it was one and done for her.”

  “Is that right? He seemed fucking stoked about seeing her again before they leave town.”

  “Probably not going to happen now.” I didn’t say this loud and Ryan looked at me, wondering if I was referring to Ivy or another situation. I could tell from his raised eyebrow he was waiting for an answer, but I shrugged my shoulders.

  KeeMac took over once the whole group was there, and we started in on the set list. Even though I had my mind on my home situation, we had a kickass rehearsal.

  “The new music has a sweet sound to it,” Hayden told everyone. He sat in with us sometimes, if nothing else but to learn our new music. It honed his skills and allowed him to learn from Ryan, who was the best guitar player I knew. When you put KeeMac and Ryan together, they were unstoppable, and Hayden benefited from them.

  “Okay, let’s meet backstage around seven since we don’t go on until nine.” We all nodded in agreement to KeeMac’s directive.

  “You want to grab a beer?” Carter asked before I stood.

  “Sure, why not.”

  We walked into the bar down from the studio and took a seat, ordering two longnecks like we always did. I knew he was going to ask me what was going on.

  “You want to tell me what’s going on with you and the French hottie?”

  “Not really, but I know you’re like a fucking little girl when it comes to gossip, so I might as well tell you and get it over with. I am not sure she’s the one for me.”

  “Dude, what’s not to like about her? She’s gorgeous, and you told me you’d met your match in bed with her. What more could you ask for?” He took a long pull from the bottle.

  I drank deep from my bottle and then looked directly at him. “That’s all you think about, looks and sex. There’s more to life you know. Personality, trust, loyalty, morals, values. Those are all important to me, too.”

  “Whoa, my fellow fuck and run buddy. No one’s talking about you marrying the girl. She’s here now. Who knows when she’ll be back?” He held the amber bottle between his thumb and index finger, close to his lips while he spoke.

  “You see, that’s where you’re wrong, and that’s where I got my sorry ass handed to me by making fucking assumptions about her. My mind’s fucked up right now. She’s not exactly from France. She went to school at UT and lived back and forth all of her life between Houston and Paris. The little sister is going to school in Paris now with all of the girls she brought here for her birthday.”

  “No shit?”

  “Yeah, no shit. So guess how much I felt like a dumb ass when she finally owned up to it all. And she didn’t even offer the information until I forced her.”

  “Secrets, huh?” He finally turned and looked me in the eyes. “You sound like it’s a deal breaker for you.”

  “Yeah, you know how I feel about liars. People need to own their shit. I wouldn’t lie to her, and I made damn sure she knew it from the beginning.”

  “Wait a minute. Surely you’re not fucking telling me that you never once told some of that sweet little pussy we’ve picked up along the way, a different story to keep them off your scent later.” Carter looked at me like I was lying to him now.

  “Why would I lie about it? Got no reason to. Hell, half the time I got laid on the road was because I was in a band.” I smiled to myself thinking about it. “Are you telling me you’ve lied to chicks to get them in bed with you?”

  “Hell yeah. Don’t get me wrong; the whole rockstar thing is a fucking awesome draw for these groupies, but sometimes, I just want a regular damn woman. Someone who likes me for me. We get all the bat-shit crazy on the road we can handle, so when we are home, I try to be incognito as much as I can. Believe it or not, there are females out there who don’t know who we are. Granted, they are few and far between, but I like that shit when I find it.” He looked at me with a stupid grin.

  “So you fucking lie to these chicks on a regular basis?”

  “Every chance I get.” He smirked and downed the beer, then signaled for another.

  I couldn't help but stare. I’m still not sold on accepting her lies and deceitfulness, es
pecially when she had the chance to tell me.

  I rolled into the VIP parking area about an hour ahead of time. I had nowhere to be, so I decided I might as well hang out and meet up with some of my friends from other bands. Hell, I could even sit in with some.

  I hadn’t spoken to Lola, so I had no fucking idea if she was here, but I felt sure she was with the girls. They came to Austin, so I knew they were having fun somewhere out in the hordes of people milling around from stage to stage.

  One of my favorite bands, Priority, was backstage waiting to go on when I walked in the lounge area. They were an alternative band with a drummer who killed it behind his kit. After we had talked a few minutes, it was time for their set, so I decided to hang around in the VIP section to listen. They played one of the smaller stages since they aren’t as big an act as AD, but they were a damn good band all the same.

  When I wandered into that section, the first people I ran into were Journey and three others. Fucking awesome. Just who I was dying to see. It only took a second to figure out that Lola was not there. Maybe she had already found some other damn fool to latch onto.

  “Hi, Gunner,” Journey said when our eyes meet.

  “Hey.” I was not giving her a damn thing.

  “Why are you out here? Wouldn’t let the big rock star behind the scenes for all of the acts?” It was obvious her little kitty claws were out and ready to do some damage. The uncomfortable look the other three wore told me this was not going to go well. I needed to get the hell out of there, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “Your sister find her another sucker to get her claws into?” That was the wrong thing to say to her because the others stepped between the two of us to keep her from launching into me.

  Addie spoke up which surprised me. “She’s here somewhere wandering around alone since the prick she was supposed to be with dumped her.”

  “Well, maybe that smart son-of-a-bitch figured out she’s not as innocent as she seems.”

  I guessed she took offense to my comment because she stepped up toe-to-toe with me before I could make a move. “I haven’t known her all that long, but innocent doesn’t seem like the image she wants to achieve. She seems like a fun girl who knows what she wants and goes after it.”

  “Yeah, she can go after someone else then, because it won’t be me. I’ll see y’all later.” I turned to walk away and then remembered the party. “Oh and y’all can still make the party tonight because you’re on the guest list, and I’m sure there’ll be a bunch of dumb fucks waiting to hook-up with a girl who knows what she wants.” I threw Addie’s words back in her face. I knew it was wrong, but she pissed me off, and I didn’t think before I said it. That would probably bite me in the ass later on.

  Journey stomped around until she stood in front of me and spoke up. “You don’t even know my sister or me or my friends for that matter. I’ll bet you were so anxious to get in her pants that you never spent enough time hanging out just getting to know her. Paris was probably the same damn thing, too.” She even got up in my face, and her stance told me she was ready to throw a punch if needed. Thankfully her friends were strategically located beside her to prevent that scene from happening.

  “My sister is a great person. She’s loving, and kind, and caring.” Journey was in my face which allowed her message to be loud and clear, but she upped the volume when she continued blasting me.

  “Do you even know what my sister does for a living? She’s a nurse for sick children. She chooses to help babies get well, and while they are in her care, she spends time playing with them and getting to know them to make their stay a little more bearable.”

  I didn’t have a comeback because she was right. Lola never said what she did, only that she had a job. We always spent time talking about band stuff and other things when we weren’t in bed.

  The punches to my chest with her index finger caused me to back away with each poke. “You don’t have to worry, though. She’s not going to bother you again. You can be damn sure of that fact. Because of you, she’s going back to Houston in the morning. So yeah, thanks for that, you know, ruining my birthday week.” She spun around and stalked off with the rest of her entourage following.

  “Good plan,” I said to myself as a flash went off in my face. Our little scene must have been fan-worthy because I saw phones recording me and taking pictures when I looked up. Just fucking great. YouTube here I come.

  “Gunner, look this way.”

  “Gunner, aren’t you the drummer for Assured Distraction?”

  “Is she your latest groupie stalker?”

  “Was that group of girls one of yours and Carter’s lucky ones?”

  All of this happened before I was able to get backstage away from the pack. I didn’t want them knowing my personal business. Peri and Cash were going to love it. I decided I better put in a call so they could do some damage control. I didn’t know if the whole crowd overheard or if they just caught Journey’s little tirade. Wouldn’t this look fucking great online?

  Peri answered on the first ring. “What’s up, Gunner? I heard y’all had a great practice today.”

  “Yeah, it was good.”

  “I’m not going to see your set this evening since the party’s starting at ten, and I need to be at the party venue. I’m sure it’ll be epic playing to the home crowd.”

  “Should be.”

  “So are you going to keep letting me carry this conversation, or are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” I swear she had a sixth sense sometimes. Peri could do this with the band. She read us from our voices and the look on our faces.

  “I fucked up and let a situation get out of hand in the front of the crowd waiting for Priority to start their set. I feel confident YouTube placed it on the top trending posts by now.”

  “And who’s the star of this show?” I knew I had her attention.

  “Me.”

  “Only you? What did you do, moon the crowd?”

  “Uh, no. Lola’s sister and three other girls.”

  “And what did this your party of five have recorded?”

  “A loud argument and maybe someone being held back from attacking me. And then a girl in my face screaming. Yeah, that’s about it.”

  “With loud obscenities, I’m sure,” Peri added.

  “Yeah, there was some of that, too.”

  “Really Gunner? Did it have to be just before the show and party tonight? That’s all anyone will be talking about instead of the great new music the band introduces.” She was pissed, but I knew it would be this way before I called.

  “So, can you get it pulled from YouTube pretty fast?”

  “We’ll see. I’ll get PR and the lawyers on it now.”

  I saw the girls coming from my perch on the corner of the open-air building and knew something was wrong immediately. It was getting dark but not enough that I couldn’t see their faces. The beaten down grass was only made worse from Journey’s stomping.

  “What happened? Are you hurt?” I asked Journey before she could get to me.

  “Only my feelings.”

  “What? Who do you know out here that would hurt your feelings?”

  Lauren’s animation when she spoke up surprised me. “Journey, Addie and Gunner had an argument.”

  I jerked my head around and looked at the two. “What the hell, Journey? Why would you do that?”

  “He was being a douche talking about you, and that was enough for me.” Journey’s feisty posture and red face told me everything I needed to know.

  Addie’s hands flew all around as she re-enacted the story with a Broadway performance. “Yeah, you should have seen her. I’ve never seen Journey so angry. We had to hold her to keep her from jumping on him.” Shit, this was not good. “Then I jumped all up in his face yelling at him about how he treated you. Once I finished, Journey took another turn and told him all the great things he didn’t know about you. He didn’t say too much after that.”

  “I send you off on your own, and you c
an’t stay out of fucking trouble? What happened was between Gunner and me. I was as much at fault in the situation. He simply reacted worse than I thought. Now you’ve blown it all out of proportion. We’ll never get it worked out.”

  “Great,” Journey added. “He’s not good enough for you.”

  “Yes, he is. Didn’t you listen? What happened is my fault. I was deceitful and kept something important from him when I should have told the truth from the beginning. This is what happens when you lie to people, and I know better.” The anger I felt toward them was only multiplied because I was furious at myself for not being an adult and telling the truth from the beginning.

  “How did this skirmish between y’all end?” My glare at the four of them one at a time let me know that none wanted to finish the scene for me.

  “There might be some of it on YouTube.” Journey couldn’t look me in the eye because she knew this would never be what I wanted to happen.

  “Awesome girls, just awesome. Have you had enough? I’m ready to leave now.”

  A collective “NO!” came back at me. “We can’t leave right now. Assured Distraction is about to go on, and we’ve never seen them live.”

  My feelings didn’t seem to matter at this point judging by the looks I received. “Fine. Y’all stay, and I’ll go back to the house. I’ll take an Uber and leave the car.”

  “Whatever,” Journey said. “He told us we could come to the party still because there would be lots of people there, and we were still on the list.” I suppose she looked at me to judge my reaction to this news.

  “That’s great, Journey. Defend me one minute and ditch me the next. I’m outta here. Be safe.” I threw her the keys. “If all of you drink, take a cab or Uber. Don’t drive.” I spun around and headed off toward the entrance at a determined pace. I had no intention of watching AD play a set.

  Before I managed to find the entrance, I heard the roar of the crowd and familiar sounds from the giant speakers at the other end of the park and knew AD had taken the stage. I recognized all of their songs since I had spent the last year memorizing their music. It made me feel closer to Gunner which now seemed wrong. The longer I walked, the slower I went. Without admitting it to myself, I wanted to listen to a few songs before leaving. KeeMac’s smooth vocals came through the mic, and it was mesmerizing the way he belted out the lyrics. The crowd went wild when they started the song that had been at the top of the charts since the last album released.