by Brandi Bell
Since I had finished putting everything up while it was still early,I settled in to read on my Kindle for a while. I was currently reading a fairy tale retelling where the female character ended up with multiple lovers. It was an interesting concept,but I didn’t think I could handle that many guys in real life. That sounded more like something Ruby would do though.
A knock at my door a while later pulled me out of the book. “Come in.”
Grady opened the door. “I’m about to fix eggs and toast for the guys, would you like some?”
“Thank you, that would be very nice,” I replied. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until he offered food. I checked my clock and noticed it was only nine thirty. I needed to remember to ask what time we should arrive in Boston.
I went back to the sitting area and three of the band mates were there. I didn’t see a red head so Felix had to be the one missing. The one I hadn’t met yet had long brown wavy hair, and piercing blue eyes. That had to be Elias. There was something wild about him. Elias stood up, looked at my eyes, and said, “Holy shit, you guys weren’t putting me on. Uh, sorry, Jade, it’s just a bit hard to believe. I mean, I know there are witches, vampires, and shifters but I have never heard of this being a thing.”
“It’s ok, Elias, we’re a bit of an anomaly. It was a spell that my witch mom did to have a baby with my vampire dad. Ruby and I are the result,” I explained. “Where’s Felix?”
“Oh I guess Ruby didn’t tell you he is a vampire too, so he has to sleep all day, like we thought she did. Now I know why she didn’t want to share the room with him to sleep,” Liam explained.
We all dug into breakfast in silence. It wasn’t a comfortable silence either. I knew they had as many questions as I did, but no one wanted to be the first to ask.
I broke the tension, “So what time are we going to get to Boston?”
Grady grinned. “In about an hour, better go get ready if you still want to go sightseeing.”
“Oh yay!” I ran back to the bedroom to get my shower stuff, then attempted to take a shower on the bus for the first time.
I was surprised again, the shower was larger than I had imagined, though not by much. I had to wrap a towel around myself and make a beeline to the bedroom. There was no room for dressing in the shower without getting my clothes all wet. I got dressed, dried my hair, and then put on some light makeup. I was excited to go sightseeing with Grady. Maybe Ruby’s tour wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
I grabbed my purse and cell phone, checked my bank account, surprised again by the figure. Ruby really was splitting her earnings with me; I always forgot that she didn’t have a choice. I walked back out to the sitting area to find we had pulled up behind a building.
“That’s the venue for tonight,” Grady said behind me, which caused me to startle.
Man, he smelled so good. I was in trouble and I knew it. No man had ever given me butterflies like this.
“Ok so do we need to call an uber, or find a rental place?” I asked Grady.
“Nope we have company cars to use while on tour. If you’re ready, let’s go.”
He was as excited as a kid in a candy store and it rubbed off on me. I giggled, “Let's go then.”
He grabbed my hand and we ran out the bus towards a group of cars parked a little further back. He whispers in my ear, “That’s Chuck, the studio hired him to keep us on schedule. Play at being Ruby, he doesn’t know.”
It was good to know that she only let the band know about our condition. We walked up to Chuck and I just stood back and waited. Grady to got the keys to one of the cars and we were off.
I googled the location of the nearest occult shop so I could stock up on anything we might have needed while on tour. You could never be too prepared, I thought. I was very glad of the money I received from Ruby, since I was paying full price for supplies I already owned. We made it to the store and it was huge compared to the one I ran back home. I enjoyed my time walking around the store picking up what I needed here and there. Grady walked with me the entire time looking interested, but he stayed quiet.
I found everything I thought I might need and went to check out. The lady at the counter looked surprised at the collection I had placed on the counter.
“That’s a lot of stuff. Are you working some big spells?” She asked.
“No, I’ll be away from home for a few weeks, and the bag with my supplies somehow didn’t make it on the bus,” I explained, a little irritated she was asking questions. I just wanted to get my purchases and go.
“I would have to do the same thing!” She exclaimed. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need more help.”
I paid for my purchases and we headed off on our sightseeing adventure.
Boston traffic, even at eleven in the morning was crazy compared to where I have lived my entire life. It was thrilling to let go of my careful control for a little bit. I hadn’t expected to feel so free, I wanted to stay mad, but being in Boston, getting to experience a taste of history, I couldn’t keep ahold of my anger at Ruby. It flew away as we traveled down the highway.
We arrived in the historic district and parked to walk to Paul Revere’s Door. Once we arrived we found out they do tours of the house. So we paid the five dollars each to take it. It was like taking a step back in time. The tour guide explained the house was built on a former parsonage and that Paul Revere bought it in 1770 for his family to move into. It was one of the first historic house museums in the country according to the same tour guide.
After the house tour we grabbed a map and decided to walk the freedom trail for the full experience. We visited all of the stops along the way. When we were done, Grady asked if I would like to go have dinner with him.
Dinner was nice, we shared stories and joked like we had known each for a long time. I was a bit sad on the way back to the bus knowing our day together had ended.
We pulled up to the bus not long before sunset. It looked like I had just enough time to write down a note before Ruby woke up; I let her know how pissed off I was at her. I changed into fluffy bunny pajamas just to irritate her and laid down.
Chapter 2
When the sun came up I was on the bus again, at least this time it wasn’t such a shock. Ruby had left me dressed in a slinky red baby doll, probably as payback for the fluffy bunny pajamas. I didn’t even want to think about what she had been doing in our body.
I got dressed and pulled my hair back and headed out to the kitchen for coffee.
Grady waited there with a cup already poured and a big smile on his face. “I was hoping you would rise every day with the sun.”
“Like clockwork,” I said, “I rise with the sun and Ruby rises with the setting of it.”
“Well, at least I get to hang out with you during the day,” He grinned.
“There is that,” I smiled shyly. “Where are we headed next again?”
“Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s about a twelve hour drive from Boston and we left around two in the morning, so we should be there this afternoon. Do you want breakfast?”
“Sure, what are we eating this morning?” I grinned. He made me feel like such a school girl.
“How about breakfast burritos? I’ve got everything to make them. Sit back and I’ll let you know when they’re ready.” Grady said while he grabbed ingredients out of the small fridge.
“Sure, I’d love one. I’m going to grab my Kindle.”
I went back to the bedroom and grabbed my Kindle, then sat in the sitting area and waited for breakfast. I was near the end of the book I’d been reading. The mermaid was about to get her three mermen, when Grady said, “Breakfast is ready.”
I jumped out of my skin, more submerged into the book than I meant to be. “Uh great thanks. Sorry about that. I sometimes lose the world when I read.”
“No problem. I do the same with fantasy novels like The Wheel of Time,” Grady replied with a grin.
Dang, I had already developed a crush on him, and it was only
the second day. We ate breakfast and chatted about our childhoods, books, and movies we liked. We found out that we had many similar likes and dislikes. Although, he was much more adventurous than me. It still was enough to make the butterflies in my stomach flutter.
I cleaned up the dishes since Grady cooked, it was only nine in the morning, so I decided to go back to my book and see what happened to the mermaid and her men.
The story was finished, it was a happily ever after for all of them. I looked up and noticed Elias and Liam were sitting with us. The clock showed it was already eleven thirty. Woah the morning had gotten away from me, I thought. We still had two and a half hours before we arrived in Raleigh. I decided to get to know the people I would be spending the next six weeks with better. We sat and chatted for a while. Elias told me that he loved art as much as his bass playing. He carried a wacom with him everywhere to sketch what caught his attention. He showed me some of his drawings, and they were amazing.
Liam loved composing music. That surprised me since he was the drummer. He composed all of the music for the band, with help for the lyrics from the others.
All three guys liked action movies, but they agreed they would allow me a drama or chick flick every once in a while. We all loved the Marvel universe which was awesome, but only Grady shared my love of Doctor Who.
Before I knew it we were on the outskirts of Raleigh. Talking to Ruby’s band mates passed the time quicker than I expected. I legitimately enjoyed their company. Felix being the exception, but we had yet to meet.
“What’s everyone’s plans for today?” I asked, excited to be in another town to explore.
Liam wanted to stay on the bus to finish some music he was working on. That left Elias and Grady.
“I don’t know? What’s there that’s good to do here?” Grady asked.
“I just want to sit somewhere and draw something interesting,” Elias said. “Can I tag along if you guys leave?”
“I can google things to do and we can go from there?” I offered.
Both guys agreed, so I grabbed my phone and googled what there was to do in Raleigh. I found the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and both guys agreed to go there.
Grady got keys from the same guy as yesterday and we were off. I was excited to see what the museum held, also to spend some time with Grady again. Elias was excited to draw somewhere new.
We pulled up and there was a giant globe coming out of the building. Elias smiled, “I’m ready to start drawing. I’ll text you if I finish before you guys.”
I was excited to get inside and see what it offered. My stomach growled when we got out of the car and both guys chuckled.
“Looks like a cafe should be our first stop,” Grady suggested.
“I changed my mind, food then I’ll draw,” Elias said.
“Sounds like a plan. Lets see if they have food here or if we need to find somewhere else,” I said.
“There’s a cafe over there in that building across the street,” Elias says.
We went over and ate at the Daily Planet Cafe, then split apart. Elias went to draw, and Grady and I went to explore the Museum. The first floor was dedicated to all things North Carolina. There was some art, some information on the coast and stuff like that. The second floor was more fun, we got to see a whale skeleton and dig for crystals like kids again.
Up on the third floor we got to see live snakes that are native to the area. There was also a bridge to the building we ate lunch in. When we walked across the bridge, our hands brushed against each other. The fluttering started again, especially when Grady kept his hand close to mine. On the other side there was everything from fossils to a DNA lab.
I checked the time and the museum was getting ready to close, so we headed towards the exit to find Elias.
It was such a fun experience. I grinned from ear to ear by the time we found him lost in his drawing. I tapped him on the shoulder to tell him we were there and noticed he was drawing Ruby. That was interesting. “Hey, Elias, the museum is closing. Should we find something else to do for a while?” I said gently.
Elias jumped and covered up his wacom really fast. He didn’t want us to see what he was drawing. I felt guilty for seeing it already.
“You can pick where we go next if you would like?” I offered.
Elias ran his hand through his hair, “I was just in the zone, I get like that when I draw. Let’s head back to the car and then see what else there is to do. I wouldn’t mind staying out later.”
We got back in the car and started it to cool off. It was a humid heat which was not comfortable. We pulled out our phones to see what was open. “Found something! North Carolina Museum of Art is open until nine since it is Friday night. What time do you guys need to be back for the show?” I asked.
Elias grinned, “There is no show tonight so no time to be back.”
“Uh I hate to break it to you, Elias, but I have to go back to switch to Ruby. She’ll be seriously pissed if she is caught out like this. What time is sunset today?” I asked.
Grady looked at his phone, “Sunset is at eight eleven tonight. So we have time to check out some art then grab fast food on the way back.”
“Sounds good to me, if we get caught in traffic on the way back, maybe she won’t be as mad as if we were just hanging out in public. I’ve never pushed it that far to be honest,” I said.
We walked around and looked at the exhibits, and there were so many amazing ones I couldn’t even name them. Time went by so fast that before I was ready, it was time to leave, and I was, once again, sad it had to end.
We got in the car and grabbed Chick-Fil-A, since Elias had never tried it. The line took longer than expected so we were still about ten minutes from the bus when the sun set and I was gone.
I woke up the next morning with a paper taped to my face. Ruby communicating with me more than once was a shock.
Jade,
I’m glad you are loosening up and living a little, even if it’s going on lame history tours and museums, but we need to get a couple of things straight. Elias, Felix and Liam are mine! I don’t share even if we do share a body. Grady is perfect for you, so keep your paws off my guys and I’ll do the same for you. Oh, and I‘ll let you wake up somewhere really strange if you ever do that to me again. I’ll forgive you this time since you were on your way back and the boys stuck up for you. They’re such saps.
Have fun,
XOXO
Why didn’t Ruby sign her name? Well, now I know she was more worried about me hitting on her guys than being late to the bus. Surprisingly she dressed me and not badly. My hair was even pulled back and slightly damp. This had never happened before. I was curious what her angle was. Then I read the back of the note.
P.S.
I got you all ready so you and Grady can leave before the others get up. Go get breakfast and coffee or something. You’re welcome!
Oh, that’s her angle. She wanted me away from her harem. The fact that I got to bond with Grady was a bonus. No complaints from me. I learned not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I walked out to the front of the bus and Grady was dressed with keys in hand ready to go. “I take it Ruby told you her plan last night?”
“Yes, I wasn’t going to argue if it meant I got to spend time alone with such an amazing woman,” Grady said with a grin.
There went those butterflies again. “Well let's go get coffee then decide what to do from there,” I suggested.
We drove to a local coffee shop, where we had breakfast and coffee together. The coffee was so good I took another one to go. We decided to go to the Triangle Rock club to do some indoor rock climbing. Grady enjoyed rock climbing, but I had never tried.
It was quite an experience. Grady was very good at climbing, but me... not so much. I didn’t have the upper body strength to pull myself up far. It was fun though. I decided I needed to start exercising more so I could try more athletic things, like rock climbing in the future. I also wondered if the
re was a spell as a short cut, probably not. Most spells for gains, such as improving your own physical strength, had a way of backfiring.
After the rock climbing we decided to go and have lunch, then went back to the art museum to spend longer looking around. Time flew by as we walked and talked. Before I knew it, it was dinner time.
“Why don’t we go sit down and eat a nice meal before we have to be back for the show?” Grady suggested.
“Sounds nice to me, can we have Italian?” I asked.
“You find it, I’ll drive us there,” Grady chuckled.
I got on my phone to search for Italian restaurants. I found a review for a little hole in the wall downtown so we checked it out. It was amazing. I had a glass of wine with dinner, and found myself loosening up. Every time Grady smiled at me I felt the flutters. It was getting really hard to ignore.
We drove back to the bus in a comfortable silence. It was only seven so we had plenty of time before Ruby would make her appearance thankfully. As we pulled into the parking lot behind the bus, Grady turned to me. The flutters got worse. “I really want to kiss you, Jade, and I think you would like me to kiss you too, but I want to make sure I'm not misreading the signs.”
“Uh huh,” was all I managed to squeak out before his lips were on mine. Wow, I thought, then I lost the ability to think as the kiss deepened. The sensation of his lips moving across mine was all there was. He ran his tongue across my lips and I parted them. Our tongues danced together. I wanted it to go further, then suddenly there was a knock on the window behind me. I almost jumped out of my skin.
Elias stood outside the door laughing, “Sorry to interrupt your steamy make out session, but Jade needs to have Ruby showered and ready to get dressed for the show tonight.”
My face burned bright red, damn Elias. He either just saved me or destroyed me, I couldn’t decide which. Looking around, the car windows were steamed up so I guess he was being literal. “Ok, I'm headed in to shower,” I said, unable to meet his eyes.