by HB Heinzer
She kept riding me hard, lifting up until the head of my cock rested against her entrance before thrusting her hips back down onto me, grinding against me. "Surprise, baby, I took care of that." Her breasts brushed against my chest as she leaned down to kiss me.
"Are you serious?" My hips bucked off the bed, wanting deeper inside her core. I could feel the ends of my piercing drag along her tight channel. Making love to Rain was amazing, but there were seriously no words for that moment, joining together without anything between us and enjoying our "new toy," as she referred to my piercing.
As she rode me hard to another orgasm, out bodies move in sync with one another. Our lips never broke from one another for more than a second as we rode the wave to climaxing in each other's arms.
We laid there, curled together and panting, as our bodies recovered from the best sex known to man. I looked over at her, seeing her sleepy eyes looking back at me. "Worth the wait?"
"Oh, hell yes," she sighed. There was no doubt I had done the right thing by waiting. I couldn't imagine sharing that experience with anyone other than Rain. Never before had I loved a woman enough to share that part of myself.
"Take a nap, baby. It's going to be a long night." I slid out of the bed, finding a pair of shorts to slip on while she napped.
At sunset, I carried a tray of food to the bedroom, feeding her before making love to her again and giving her a full-body massage. By the time Jon knocked on our door to let us know it was time to leave, we had made love in the bed, the shower and under the stars on our balcony. That was one of the very rare moments when I wished for a different life, one that would allow us to be a normal couple without the pressures of life on the road.
As much as I had wished for normalcy that night, it didn't take long to realize that being on the road was normal to us. We thrived on the adrenaline rush of getting on stage every day, lived for the validation that came from fans screaming for us when we did well. Yeah, it's not the type of thing most people openly admit, but that validation is a driving factor to any artist.
Animal, the last song we'd recorded when we were in Portland was working its way up the charts. That meant more exposure, more requests for appearances at radio stations around the country. That meant less sleep, which also meant shorter fuses.
Tanya was more than a little upset when she heard and saw the changes we had taken it upon ourselves to make during the short break. What I had ever seen in her, I would never know. Other than being decent between the sheets, she really was a miserable, controlling bitch. I was pretty sure I saw steam billowing out of her ears the day she met us in Memphis and saw Rain's new style which, by the way, was fucking hot as hell.
She had gone shopping while we were still in Florida and replaced every corset with tight tank tops in every color. The skirts and leather pants were left buried under the bus in favor of short shorts, perfectly frayed at the ends. She looked smokin' hot. This wasn't Rain the performer in a costume; this was Rain the badass firmly in her element. Unfortunately, Tanya was sure that was going to kill our entire image. Funny how she had issues with Rain, but didn't even notice that the rest of us had ditched a lot of the costume crap she had selected for us. In a way, the summer tour was about us reclaiming what we loved.
I knew she was up to no good the morning she caught up with me as Rain and I walked to get breakfast. "Colt, sweetie..." She linked her arm in mine, pulling me away from Rain. "We need to talk."
I looked over at Rain, who shrugged and kept walking. On one hand, I wanted her to stay with me, to keep Tanya from rambling too long. On the other hand, I wasn't sure what Tanya had to say, and I still hadn't told Rain about our previous arrangement.
We stopped behind the bus, and I jerked away from her. "What do you want, Tanya?" The sun was bright, I had a killer hangover from the night before and the feel of her bony fingers on my arm made me want to vomit, definitely not the best way to start the day.
"Colton, we need to talk about you and Rain." She turned so her back was to the sun. She reached for my arm again, and I backed away.
"Nothing to talk about."
"Sweetie, you really need to think about what you're doing with her. Even if it wasn't for the fact that it's career suicide for you two to flaunt your happiness everywhere, I think you're too trusting." I rolled my eyes at her feigned concern.
"Thanks, but what Rain and I do is between us," I growled, not believing I was having this conversation with her.
"Honey, she's going to hurt you," she cooed. If I wasn't a gentleman, I would have been tempted to slap the coy smile off her face.
"She's not. You stick to band business; I'll pay attention to my personal life." I looked around the side of the bus, praying Rain wasn't hearing the shit Tanya was spewing.
"I know you think you can handle it, but getting involved... it's not smart, sweetie." She stepped closer to me, this time reaching for my face and I couldn't resist the urge to bat her hand away. "I'm saying you really need to think about what you're doing. It doesn't look good."
"I'm well aware of what I'm doing, Tanya." I took off my sunglasses so she could see the loathing in my eyes. "And I think you're wrong."
"Sweetheart, this is what I'm paid to do. I'm only looking out for your best interests here."
I fisted my hands through my hair, trying to figure out how to get through to this woman. It was quite apparent her issues had zilch to do with what was best for the band and everything to do with what was best for her sexual desires. "First, you need to stop with the little pet names. I am not your honey, your sweetie, your sweetheart, nothing. I'm part of the reason you have a fucking paycheck, and you might want to remember that."
She stared at me, mouth hanging open, looking like she was about ready to throw a tantrum.
"Colton, it's my job to make sure everything that happens is what's best for the band's success. I'm sorry if you think there's something else going on here, but there isn't." I was impressed that she was able to act sincere. If this gig didn't work for her, she could easily get a job acting. "We need to talk about this and figure out how to make sure Jon and Travis don't suffer because of this decision."
"Tanya, this really isn't the time. We have to be on stage in just over an hour, and I still have to eat. I appreciate your concern, but seriously, you need to back the fuck off on this one." On cue, my stomach growled.
"We need to talk about this," she said petulantly. Just as I was about to lose my cool, my little guardian angel floated around the back of the bus.
"Baby, are you ready for lunch? We don't have much time left." Rain looked up at me with complete adoration in her eyes. I knew part of that was for Tanya's benefit, but it was still nice to see the love I felt for her reflected back at me.
"Yeah, just a sec..." I turned my attention back to Tanya. "Not another word," I growled before joining Rain to continue our morning.
As we walked to the picnic area where all of the bands could hang out when they weren't on stage, my cell phone chirped with a new message. Seeing that it was Tanya, I slipped the phone back in my pocket without looking. When it chimed again as I sat down, I opened the phone to see two picture messages. The first was Rain and her band director friend, dancing at a bar. Her hair was dark brown, so it was obviously from her recent trip home. In the second, she and the band director were leaning close to one another over a small table in a coffee shop.
I couldn't ask about the pictures so close to show time, but I could feel it eating away at me like acid. Rain kept trying to push for information on what I had been talking to Tanya about. I couldn't even look at her, which killed me. I didn't want to think there was anything behind the pictures, and knowing Tanya sent them only made me suspicious, but I couldn't deny the familiarity in the way she was looking at him. It was the same way she looked into my eyes when we were talking late at night.
After she stormed away from the table the second the last bite was in her mouth, I didn't see her again until we were on stage.
The crowd went insane when she came on stage, growling about feeling like an animal caged in her personal hell. Ironically, the lyrics came from dealing with her flat out refusing to talk about us having a relationship in the early days after she joined the band.
We exited the stage after our set, all of us dripping in sweat and in need of some shade when I saw Tanya waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Not bad, Rain, but not great either." Was it impossible for Tanya to get over her shit and see that Rain had killed it out there? I'm pretty sure we could have been screwing on stage, and the fans would have gone crazy for her. She was that good.
"Gee, thanks Tanya. I'll try to step it up for you next time." Rain was fuming. Between the incident from earlier in the morning and now this, I was worried we were about to see the claws come out.
"I thought we'd agreed on what you'd wear when you have to be seen by people." At Tanya's disapproving scowl, I whispered a warning to Jon as we both moved to break up the impending fight.
"No, you agreed—" I wrapped my arm around Rain, pulling her away before she could finish.
"You can't let her get to you, baby. She's trying to get you to fuck up. Don't give her any ammunition." There was no doubt in my mind that Tanya was trying to hand Rain a shovel to dig her own grave. If she could provoke Rain into creating a spectacle in public, it would create the problems Tanya kept telling us were on the horizon. I tried to remember that as the pictures on my phone popped into my head. It seemed even more likely that Tanya had a reason for sending them.
Rain stopped in her tracks, pulling me back to her. "What do you mean 'she's waiting for me to fuck up'? Is that what you two were talking about earlier?"
"No, she'd never actually say anything like that, but it was obvious she was baiting you. If Jon and I hadn't been there, she might have gotten her way from the sounds of it." I breathed in her scent, a combination of strawberries and sweat as I kissed her head, reminding myself that this was the woman I loved, and I owed it to her not to fall for Tanya's bullshit games. "Just...watch what you say and do. That's all."
I ran into the bus as Rain talked to some of the crew. I needed to get out of my sweat soaked jeans and find a t-shirt before we went to listen to some of the other bands. When I got back to the front of the bus, I saw Rain and Jon driving off in the Silverado.
I texted Rain to see what was going on, but she didn't respond. While it shouldn't have bothered me since I knew damn well neither of them would do anything shady, anger built inside of me with every passing hour they were gone. I pulled my phone out and looked at the pictures Tanya had sent me, every time seeing more and more in the space, or lack of, between my girl and another guy.
After almost two weeks of burgers and chicken on the grill every night for dinner, I couldn't bring myself to eat it again, definitely not the brightest move when the beer was openly flowing and free. By the time Rain came back to picnic area, I was well on my way to shit-face drunk.
I saw her walking towards me, freshly showered and couldn't stop my mind from wandering. "Well, well, if it isn't my favorite little cloud. Have fun with Jonny boy today?" When I tried to wrap my arm around her shoulder, she pulled back from me.
"Yeah, sure."
"Whatcha do all afternoon?" I reached for her again, this time managing to slide a hand around her back to rest on her hip.
"Oh, you know...found a deserted park, invited a few groupies and had a wild orgy." Thomas, the bassist for one of the other bands showered me with beer as he burst out laughing at Rain's statement. I knew it was bullshit, but her flippant attitude pissed me off.
"Seriously, Rain. You fucking disappeared for hours. No one knew where you were. I'm really not in the mood for any shit tonight," I yelled, wanting to know why in the hell she didn't see a problem with her actions.
"Stop, Colt. I'm not talking to you about this here. Not while you're drunk." She pulled away from me, pushing me hard when I moved towards her again. I staggered back, trying to stay on my feet, the only saving grace being the snow fence barricade behind me.
"Whatever." I motioned for her to leave as I turned back to the guys. I didn't need to deal with her shit. I was trying to drink away the memory of her shit.
By the time everything shut down for the night, I was well and thoroughly fucked up and ready for answers. My best friend and my girl disappeared for half the fucking day. They couldn't get out of there fast enough after we got off stage.
Jon put his hand on my shoulder as I staggered back to the bus. "Get the fuck off me, man," I warned.
"What's your deal tonight?" Jon pulled me around to face him.
"You tell me," I growled, pushing him backwards. "Want to tell me where the fuck you were today? And I already know, so don't fucking lie to me."
"Colton, knock it off man. You're fucking drunk, it's not the time to talk about anything. Especially since you're obviously more fucked up than I thought you were."
"Fuck that!" I screamed. "I know what I saw, and I can't let it go, and then you two disappear all fucking day. What would you think if it was your woman?"
"Dude, listen to yourself. You're just going to throw away the one thing you've wanted for years without having any clue what's real and what's being twisted around," Jon growled. "You're letting that bitch manipulate you, don't you see that?"
He was right. The two brain cells that weren't saturated in alcohol knew that, but the rest of my brain had turned off already.
"Now you're sticking up for her? Are you screwing her too? How do you explain this? Does it look like manipulation?" I scrolled through the pictures Tanya sent me. Even Jon couldn't deny the proof in front of him. I knew I had crossed a line accusing him of sleeping with Rain, but there was no doubt in my mind that something was going on with the punk band director in her hometown.
"Man, fucking talk to her, but not tonight. Why don't you head over to the other bus, sober up and then you two can sit down when we get to Springfield tomorrow." He started pulling me past our bus to the bus our crew lived in. I jerked away from him and cocked back to hit him. Why, I'm not sure. I just needed to hit something and he was a hell of a lot softer than the side of a bus.
Pain shot through my arm as he jerked it behind my body, leading me in front of him towards the bus. "Man, you're lucky I need that hand to be intact. Otherwise, I'd break it off and feed it to you right now. You're beyond fucked up. Let's go," he growled into my ear.
"Yeah, you probably can't wait to get me out of the way, can you? Now that she's putting out, you can't wait to get a piece of it." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I heard our bus door slam, pulling me out of my drunken haze just enough to know how screwed I was.
"You know what, Colton...you just fucked up the best thing you ever would have had. Fuck you, accusing me of sleeping around. Fuck you for making it sound like you're the one who opened me up to sleeping with anything with a stiff dick. Whatever you think you know, you've obviously lost your damn mind." I could see her balling fists at her sides, trying hard to fight the urge to hit me. I couldn't say I would have blamed her in that moment if she had started wailing on me. I deserved it. I was a complete and utter dick.
"Rain, baby..." I hiccupped, a sure sign I was going to puke and pass out soon. Probably for the best, since I knew I was fucking up every time I opened my mouth but couldn't stop it. "I didn't mean it like that..."
"Really? So what exactly does 'Now that she's putting out, you can't wait to get a piece of it' mean? Please, tell me how I'm taking that the wrong way. I'd love to hear your bullshit explanation." She stepped closer to me, puffing up her chest like she was preparing for a fight.
Jon pushed his way between us, pushing me back. "Rain, let me get him to bed. You two can talk tomorrow."
"No Jon, we're going to talk about this. Now. How can you not be pounding the shit out of him right now? He told you he thinks we're screwing around too." She glared at Jon, poking her finger into his chest.
"Because he's an idiot when he d
rinks. We'll probably have to remind him why we're pissed off once he sobers up," Jon stated flatly. "Now, let me get him to bed, and then you're going to come with me. I need to keep you two away from each other so you don't light a stick of dynamite under all of our asses tonight."
I swallowed hard, willing the bile rising in my throat to retreat. It did, but once again, I couldn't stop the words from flowing out of my mouth. "That's right, probably gonna take her—"
Jon's fist making contact with my jaw cut my rant short. My neck popped as my head whipped to the side. I wanted to pummel the hell out of him, but his first punch woke me up enough to know there was no way in hell I was in any condition to fight. "Colton shut the fuck up and get in that bus. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you talk about her that way. Go sleep it off."
I sat on the crew bus, replaying every stupid thing I had said to Jon and Rain. I would let Tanya get under my skin, and then I drank about three times as much beer as I should have. If either of them were still talking to me, it would be a fucking miracle. As I started to drift to sleep, I saw Rain and Angie jumping into the truck and leaving.
Less than a minute later, Jon walked onto the bus, looking like he was closer to ten feet tall than six and a half feet as I was slumped in one of the chairs. He kicked me hard, making sure I was awake. "Come on, asshole. You get to sleep in your bed tonight." He pulled me up and started dragging me off the bus. "If you're gonna puke, better fucking do it now. Not having that shit on the bus."
"Where'd she go?" I asked, praying the answer wasn't that she had quit because of the bullshit she'd been through.
"Don't fucking worry about it. You have much bigger problems than the fact that she's not on the bus for tonight." He threw a bottle of water and the bottle of aspirin. "You might want to think about the shit you were spewing tonight. Maybe write it down so you remember it when you're sober because I'll guarantee she's not gonna forget."