Behind the Lens (Boys of Fallout Book 2)

by Cassandra Giovanni

  I move my focus to Kie, catching him as he kicks his leg out, bending down as he bangs his head before jumping and spinning. I glance down at the preview, smiling as I realize I caught Aiden turning at the same moment. The energy pulsates off of the band, igniting the fans and just as I predicted, they begin to climb the dividers onto the risers and dive off the stage into the crowd. I ignore it, knowing more than one person is going to be dropped on their head tonight. I focus on the band, only snapping a few shots of the audience as I maneuver around the stage. By the time the show closes, I have my hair pulled into a messy bun to hide the sweaty mess its become. The guys are far worse, dripping as they move off stage. I catch Brad as he shakes his head, sweat drops spinning off him captured mid-flight on my camera. I smile. It’s going to look epic in black and white.

  “Wow!” I say as I throw towels at each of them. “That was insane!”

  Brad and Brent look at the towels I toss them, then at each other and then me. Smiles come over their faces, and my chest rises as their eyes glow.

  “Oh,” I say, stepping back. “No–I have a–” I’m unable to get the words expensive camera out before the five of them manage to encapsulate me in the nastiest hug I’ve ever received.

  “Disgusting!” I yell, gasping for air. “I can’t breathe!”

  They pull away laughing, and I gag. “Now I smell like all of you…combined!”

  James wrinkles his nose at me. “True–you were the only good smelling thing left.”

  I go to cover my nose with my t-shirt and receive a whiff of their epic stench now embedded on me.

  “I’m going to have to burn this shirt!” I snap, looking down at the Fade Burn band logo. “That’s like fucking mutiny.”

  Aiden’s eyes widen at my swearing, and I narrow mine back at him. “I’ve been listening to y’all swear all night–leave me alone!”

  “Y’all?” Kie says as he brushes pass me. “I thought we were the ones from Texas.”

  “Oh, shove it!” I say as I follow them down the hall.

  “We’re signing,” Brent explains as he falls into step beside me. “You could go catch a shower in peace and quiet before we raid the place.”

  “You sure? I can get some shots of you with the fans,” I reply, nodding down to my camera. I glance at the lens and growl. “Never mind, my lens is covered in man sweat.”

  Brent elbows me lightly, tossing me a smile. “I’m sorry.”

  I roll my eyes as he goes out a door to the crowd of fans and I continue down the stairs towards the exit.

  “Make the tour bus smell pretty, Dollface!” Kie calls at my back, and I stick my middle finger up in the air without looking back. “Feisty!”

  “Feisty!” he replies.

  I can’t help but laugh as I open the door and am hit with the fresh air. I inhale deeply before skipping the last few steps to the bus. I toss my camera on the bed before grabbing my yoga pants and a tank top and heading into the shower. When I finish, the guys are still not back from signing, so I settle in the lounge area in the back with my camera and tablet. I clean the dirty lens and then start loading the pictures into the editing software. When the guys file onto the bus, they come back into the lounge with bags of fast food and steaming cups.

  Brent hands me a coffee, and I take a sip to find it’s a vanilla latte. I tip my head back, closing my eyes as I smile. “Amazing.”

  “Fans can be pretty great,” James says as he sits down and pulls out his cell phone. “They pretty much feed us any night we perform. Some of them have our favorites memorized.”

  “Others just bring us candy,” Brad says as he bites onto the ear of the biggest gummy bear I’ve ever seen.

  “Nice,” I say as I take another sip. “Very nice.”

  “Other bands don’t get this stuff?” Aiden asks as he sits on the floor unwrapping a burger.

  “If they do, they make sure to consume it all before they get back to the tour bus,” I say as Brent pulls a burger out of the bag he has and breaks it in half. “You don’t have to.”

  “I insist,” Brent says, handing me a half.

  My mouth waters as I stare down at it. “Alright–if you insist…at least this stuff covers up your smell.”

  Brent smirks at me, rolling down the bag to expose the French fries. “Help yourself.”

  I take the bun off my burger half and cram some fries on it and then replace the bread.

  “Shut up,” I say before anyone can comment.

  Aiden holds his burger up, fries hanging over its edges.

  “Not the first time we’ve seen it,” Brad replies.

  I devour my half and a decent portion of the fries before sighing.

  “Thanks for sharing,” I say to Brent as he drops the last fry into his mouth.

  “Anytime,” he replies and then nods to my tablet. “Can I get a peek at some of those photos?”

  “Yes,” I say as I take a napkin and wipe my fingers, so grease doesn’t get on the screen. “But only after you shower.”

  “Fair is fair,” Brent says as he stands, pulling his shirt off. I follow him out to the bunks and drop down on my bed.

  “So…” I begin trying to look at his face but feeling my eyes fall on his tattooed chest. The words only open eyes can see scrawled across it. I blink before continuing, “Who knew your ass was such a hot commodity?”

  “There’s a reason I jump into the crowd backward, other parts of me tend to be a hot commodity too.” My face burns as his playful eyes meet mine and a smile tugs at the corner of his lips before he pulls out a pair of pajama pants and a black tank. “I’d rather have people grab my ass than a handful of my junk–” He glances at Kie in his bunk. “I’m not this guy!”

  Kie hangs his head out, so he’s in my line of view. “Damn straight!”

  I blink up at him before turning to face the bottom of the bunk above me.

  “I’ll be back in two minutes,” Brent says. “Don’t fall asleep.”

  I begin flicking through the pictures, a smile gradually growing on my face as the butterflies of seeing my work dance in my stomach.

  “Hey,” Brent says, knocking me out of my stupor. I shake my head, my eyes focusing in on him after staring at the screen. “Can I see?”

  I swallow as I look up at him, leaning his arms against the top of my bunk as he looks down at me–shirtless.

  “Only if you put your shirt on,” I say as my eyes run over his toned chest and abs.

  He smirks, his muscles rippling as he pulls the tank over his head. “Better?”

  “Sure,” I reply.

  It’s not better per say. It’s just not as distracting. I move over on the bed, trying to take a deep breath secretively. Brent isn’t the first well-built band member I’ve toured with, so why the hell are my hormones out of whack? He smiles at me as he tilts his head and shimmies in next to me.

  Yup, that’s it.

  That damned smile.

  “I caught you crowd surfing–including you poking some kid’s eye out as you used his head to get back on stage,” I say, looking down at the picture as I stop on it.

  “No, shit,” Brent replies, his arm pressing against mine as he leans over to look at it.

  “Yeah,” I say, counting in my head as the heat from his body floods over mine, leaving my skin tingling.

  His head moves back as he chuckles. “That’s sick.”

  “This is my favorite,” I reply, flicking to the picture of him winking at me, microphone covering his mouth but not his smile.

  He bites his lip before saying, “I look adorable, don’t I?”

  “Sure, if you say so…and this is my second favorite,” I reply, trying to ignore the feeling of weightlessness that’s coming over me. I move to another one of Brent, but this time he’s with James. He’s screaming into the microphone, one hand on his chest, while James sings into the microphone, his finger pointing at Brent. “You can really see the dynamic you guys have.”

  “I’ve never seen a pictu
re of us like that–it’s usually us facing in different directions,” Brent says as he yawns and leans out of the bunk to yell at the guys in the back. “Is there any coffee left?”

  “Ha, you’re joking, right?” James calls back to him.

  Brent pouts as he sinks deeper into my bunk.

  “We could always go to sleep,” I say, looking up at him and ignoring the urge to put my head on his bare shoulder.

  “Yeah, you two could stop falling in love and go the fuck to bed,” Kie says, knocking his feet against the bunk.

  Brent pulls his body out of my bunk and then pulls himself into Kie’s.

  “What the fuck, man!” Kie says, and it’s muffled.

  “But, Kie, I wanted to cuddle!” Brent says, and the bunk shakes with their weight.

  “You don’t have tits man,” Kie replies, pushing Brent out of the bunk.

  Brent lands on his feet, and I smirk.

  “I beg to differ,” I say. “Have you seen his pecs?”

  “Blah, blah! Brent has nice pecs–so does Aiden!” Kie replies, hanging his head in my face.

  “Whose are bigger, though?” Brad asks as he walks passed.

  Aiden jumps out of his bunk, stripping off his shirt and my eyes widen.

  “Holy–” I say under my breath as Brent follows suit.

  They stand in front of me both smiling wide with eyebrows up. Aiden’s tattoos crawl over his arms and up his shoulders, stopping at the crest of his collarbone. While Brent’s shorter, he’s just as built. His arms look sparse compared to Aiden’s full blown color sleeves, but I prefer the smaller bicep tattoo and the words on his chest. I blink a few times before I realize my mouth’s hanging open and there might be a bit of drool.

  “So, who has bigger tits?” Kie asks, jumping down and sitting next to me. He puts his head in his hand, cocking it. “Brad, what do you think?”

  Brad comes and sits on the other side of me, imitating Kie.

  “Umm,” I begin.

  “I vote for Brent,” James says leaning against my bunk. “And you Brad?”

  Brad’s eyes travel between Brent and Aiden’s chests. “I vote Aiden.”

  “I vote Aiden, too.” Kie nods, and I cringe.

  “So;” Kie turns to face me. “Looks like you decide whether it’s a tie or Aiden wins.”

  I curl my toes as I look from Aiden to Brent, taking in the whole of their bodies. I open my mouth, then close it as my nails bite into my palms. I’m pretty sure I’m the color of an apple by the massive amount of heat radiating from my cheeks.

  “Brent,” I finally say, my voice high-pitched and barely audible.

  “What was that?” Kie asks.

  “Brent,” I repeat, louder.

  “Ha!” Brent says, poking Aiden.

  “That’s only because you two have chemistry,” Aiden replies, slipping his shirt back on. “Everyone knows I’m way hotter than you.”

  I suck my lip in, trying to remember what the hell breathing is and how to do it.

  Chemistry. That only works if the two people want it.

  I don’t.

  Like Hell, Nat.

  Brent shakes his head before pulling his shirt on. “Just because you have blue eyes doesn’t mean you’re hotter than me!”

  “Whoa, you’re all attractive,” I say, standing as I go to the fridge and stick my head in. The cold air hits my face, and I grab a drink before looking over the door. I need another shower. An ice-cold one.

  “Even me?” Kie asks, fluttering his lashes.

  I roll my eyes. “Yes, even though your ego is big enough for everyone in the band combined.”

  “You’re not too bad yourself,” he says, raising his brows in a way that makes my skin crawl and not in the good way that Brent looking at me does.

  “Get off my bed,” I say, throwing my drink at him. He dodges it before jumping up into his bunk.

  “Sweet dreams, Dollface,” Kie replies as Brent flicks off the lights.

  I rub my face as I stare at the wood grain, my gaze drifting to my side where Brent is looking at me from the corner of his eyes.

  I stick my tongue out at him before covering my face with my pillow.

  How the hell am I going to survive this?

  Chapter 12

  I slam my head into the side of my bed and wake up cursing. This is one thing I don’t miss about being on tour. Sleeping in bunks like this blows, especially when the bus is moving. At least I didn’t roll completely out of bed yet. I yawn, looking up at the bottom of the top bunk. I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep after being woken up so suddenly. I roll onto my side, and Brent is facing me smirking. I narrow my eyes at him before pulling the blanket over my head.

  Damn it.

  He looks so freaking cute like that, half asleep with his hair falling in his eyes and poking out awkwardly at all sides. I slowly let the blanket down, and he’s still staring at me.

  “What?” I ask as I sit up, running my hands through my thoroughly tangled hair. My body flushes hot.

  Is my hair poking out awkwardly at all sides?

  Stop caring! They’re like every other band!

  Except him.

  I watch as he turns, sitting up and stretching. His thin black tank undershirt stretches with him causing his muscles to go taut, and the veins in his arms and abs become visible.

  “Tired?” he asks.

  I look at him through my bangs. “What do you think?”

  The smirk comes back over his lips, and he stands.

  “I think your mascara is running,” he says, signaling to my face.

  “Thanks,” I say, and my face goes hot again. I pull my drawer out and grab my toiletries and a change of clothes.

  “Hey,” Brent calls to me as I yank the door to the bathroom.

  I turn, trying to wipe my eyes. “Yeah?”

  His eyes fall to his feet. “I didn’t say it looked bad.”

  “Running mascara attractive?” I reply, and my eyebrows go up.

  Kie sticks his head out of the shades pulled over his bunk. “He’s trying to say you always look attractive.”

  I look up at Kie smirking at me and roll my eyes before sliding the door shut behind me.

  “What the fuck, man!” I hear Brent say to Kie, and I then there’s the sound of a hand against wood.

  “Dude–grow a set!” Kie replies. “She’s hot. You can just come out and say it, you know?”

  Brent’s voice is quiet when he answers, “And risk sounding like a total tool like you?”

  “Hey, at least she knows I think she’s hot,” Kie says, and there’s a hint of laughter in his voice. He seems amused at flustering Brent.

  “I’m pretty sure she knows Brent thinks she’s hot too,” I hear Aiden say. “Kid freezes up the second he looks at her.”

  My body flushes with heat as I turn on the water and hum to myself to cover up their conversation. I don’t need to know if Brent thinks I’m hot or not. It doesn’t matter.

  I press my fingers into my eyes before splashing my face with water and washing it. It doesn’t help wake me up, and I sigh, patting my face dry. I need coffee, especially today since there are interviews with the press, a signing at a popular clothing store, concert and a meet and greet with fans. It’s going to be a long day, and I need to meet the other bands on the tour and make sure to take photographs of their sets. I slip into one of the only pairs of flare jeans I brought followed by a loose tank top band tee and look in the mirror. I put on silver eyeshadow, cat eyeliner and mascara before putting on some blush. It’s not a lot, but I never put on that much. My mind goes to Brent, and I shake my head. I’m not going to put on more makeup just for him. My heart thuds in my chest so hard I can hear it in my ears.

  I shouldn’t even want to impress him, but a part of me does. I squeeze my eyes shut before shoving my makeup back into its bag. I’m not going to give in. There are a ton of girls who want to date rock stars–the bad boys of metal. Even if they get lucky and somehow end up
with one of the good ones, it’s never what they think it will be. It’s not some glorified relationship. It’s not easy, and it’s lonely. Sure, you get to say so and so is my boyfriend, but try saying that as some chick tweets a picture of her jumping into his arms. Even if you do trust him, chances are you’ll have moments where you start to wonder.

  I’m not going to be one of those girls again. I grab my stuff and head back to my bunk. I drop it into my drawer before going into the kitchen area. The guys are at the table in various forms of pajamas, eating cereal, streusel or, in Aiden’s case, a protein shake. Brad stops with a mouthful of bagel.

  “Are you sure you’re a chick?” he asks, staring up at me.

  I freeze with my hand on the fridge door. Brad’s neck flushes up to his ears as he chokes on his bagel.

  “I mean because you just took like two minutes to get ready–no other reason,” Brad says once he stops hacking.

  I pull the front of my shirt forward, looking down at my hot pink lace bra before looking back up at him. “Yup, looks like I’m still a chick.”

  Brent bursts out laughing before coughing and locking eyes on me. “By the way, you look amazing without makeup.”

  “He is a man!” Kie says, leaning back in his seat and looking between the two of us.

  Brent pulls his tank top forward and looks down before locking eyes with me with a lopsided grin. “Yup, looks like I’m still a dude.”

  I try to remember all the things that suck so bad about dating a guy in a band, but when I look at Brent’s genuine smile, those reasons turn to incoherent babbling.

  Wha, Wha, Wha.

  I blink hard before turning to the fridge to get something for breakfast.

  Meet other bands. Signing. Shoots.

  Do your job.

  And remember the number one rule.

  Don’t date or otherwise screw around with the client.

  Chapter 13

  I grab my camera and phone, scrolling through my text messages. I’m getting used to Skylar’s daily texts with updates as to what’s going on with both the band and me. She’s bubbly and sweet, and I wonder if the industry will harden her like it has me. My eyes drift to my journal sitting next to me. I inhale, standing. I’m pretty sure that it won’t. She doesn’t have Jace Smith in her past. I pick up the journal and drop it into my drawer before heading into the kitchen area where the guys are vegging out. I’m meeting with each of the bands that are on the tour today. Most of them will be on the whole thing, while others will drop off and new ones will come on for a night or two. I’m meeting Fade Burn first, then Saints for Sinners and finally, Chaos Coma. I run my tongue over my teeth as I think of the last band. The singer is from Monster Five, and while I don’t need to meet them since I already know Toby, I figure I should at least act cordial.