“I don’t know,” I said. “Either he’s that arrogant, or that stupid, or I am. Maybe he thought if I’d forgive him for lying, I’d forgive him for anything. Maybe he was just so horny he didn’t even consider what I might think or how I’d react. Brooke knew about us a long time ago. She tried to get in his pants and he said no. She threatened to tell and get me fired…that was before I did get fired. Anyways, if he can sleep with her after all that, he doesn’t care about me at all.”
“Or, Brooke showed up to seduce him….” Hannah said before Tammy interrupted her.
“But he was in a towel…and Brooke was naked….”
“What did he tell you happened?” Hannah asked. I took another long drink of the hot chocolate. It felt good as it burned all the way down.
“He says nothing happened. He says he told her to leave and she wouldn’t.”
“And why was he in a towel?” Tammy asked.
I shrugged. I hadn’t really asked him. Brooke could have shown up as he got out of the shower. But why was she naked and why was she on his lap? “The bottom line here, I think, is that Tristan’s a lot bigger and stronger than Brooke. If he didn’t want her on him, fighting her off should have been easy. Why would he let her get in his lap? He had a tent underneath that towel, too, the bastard!”
“Well, that probably means he didn’t fuck her,” Tammy said, searching for the bright side.
“Yet,” I added. “And if he had no intentions to screw her, why was his dick as hard as a rock?”
“Well, he is a man,” Hannah said. “He had a naked girl, who is pretty hot, in his bus. Then she sat right down on his lap…an erection is to be expected. If this was Brooke’s plan, she knew it, too.”
“Why are they all like this?” I asked. I didn’t expect an answer. It was a rhetorical question and they both knew it. We sat there quietly for a while, drinking our hot chocolate and mentally commiserating about men when, suddenly, before I thought it through, I said, “Jake hit on me last night.”
“Jake our boss?” Hannah said, with wide eyes.
“Yeah, him,” I said.
“He’s a perv,” Tammy said.
“Has he hit on you too?” I asked her.
“No, he likes the petite ones like you. I’m too much woman for him,” she said with a wink. Tammy wasn’t fat by any means, but she was a big girl. At nearly six foot tall and a hundred and ninety pounds, at least, she cut an imposing figure.
I laughed and said, “You’re probably right. That and I’m starting to feel like I give off some kind of slut vibe.”
Tammy laughed at that, but Hannah said, “Oh honey. Don’t think that way about yourself. He’s the one that there’s something wrong with. He’s your boss for crying out loud. He should know better. There are rules against it even.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s too much like sexual harassment,” she said. “Don’t let him make you feel bad about yourself.”
“It’s hard not to,” I told them. “I was feeling so good about the job I was doing and now I just feel like he hired me because he wanted to have sex with me.”
“Oh no! Don’t feel like that, please,” Hannah told me. “Tammy’s right, he really is a perv. I think if he didn’t appreciate your work and he only wanted to sleep with you, he would have used the thing with Tristan against you. If the rumors are true, he sleeps with half the staff. You at least had the integrity to say no.”
Tammy had her eyebrow raised. I knew what she was thinking. “I said no,” I told her. She grinned and said,
“I didn’t doubt it.”
Chapter Two
Tristan
I started to follow Elly out into the rain, but I realized that as much as I didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought, I really shouldn’t risk being seen running around on the back-set butt-ass naked. I ran into the back and slipped on a pair of pajama bottoms. The whole time, Brooke was sitting bare-ass naked in my chair. I walked past her and said,
“Seriously, Brooke, if you don’t get the fuck out of here, I will drag your naked ass out in the rain.”
The crazy little bitch smiled at me and said, “Go ahead. I’ll tell them you did things to me against my will and then threw me out. Elly will be my witness that you were naked, too. I think she’s just pissed off enough at you to go for it.”
Even when I was wasted, I never, ever considered hitting a girl. I wanted to punch Brooke right then though. I wanted to feel her nose crunch underneath my fist and watch her head snap backwards. Who the hell did she think she was? The fucking bitch really needed her ass kicked. I wished that Elly had done it when she was there. I’d have paid money to see that shit.
“You better be gone when I get back,” I told her as I walked out. The little bitch wasn’t going to intimidate me. The rain was coming down in a torrent. I could barely see my hand in front of my fucking face and it was freezing cold. I couldn’t believe I was out in this shit instead of kicking it in my warm, dry bus with Elly. That was the plan and fucking Brooke had screwed it all up, bad.
I looked around the bus for Elly, but I didn’t really expect to find her. I would have gone to her bus and tried to talk to her, but she had all those fucking roommates and I really didn’t want everyone on the show to know my business. Instead, spotting the two miserable bastard security officers standing out in the rain I motioned them over. They were both young and buff—probably out of work actors that needed any paycheck to pay their bills in the meantime. Those of us who had been out of work singers felt their pain.
“Hey man, what’s going on?” The bigger of the two asked me. He had an umbrella, but it didn’t seem to be doing a whole hell of a lot of good; he was still drenched.
“I have a problem,” I said. “This chick, one of the singers…Brooke…”
“The hot blonde one with the big tata’s?” the smaller of the two asked.
“Yeah, that one,” I said. “She’s parked her ass naked on my bus and she’s refusing to leave. She even threatened to cry rape if I hauled her out myself.”
“Seriously dude?” the big guy asked. “What’s her problem? Is she drunk?”
“Nah, I think she’s just crazy,” I said.
“Um, I’m not being nosy but just in case she says something stupid, did you have sex with her?”
“No, I didn’t touch the bitch. If anything, she violated me.” The two guys snickered at that and I said, “Glad I could fucking amuse you tonight as I stand in the fucking rain. Are you going to get her off my bus or not?”
“Yeah man, sorry.” They followed me over to the bus and as much as I was hoping she’d left on her own, she was still sitting there, big as life and naked as the day she was born. When she saw security come in with me she reached down for her robe that was still lying on the floor at her feet. I stepped on it. She jumped up and said,
“What the fuck, Tristan? Get off my robe!”
“Get off my bus!” I said.
“Um, miss…we’re going to have to ask you to leave,” the smaller guy said to her tits.
“He did things to me!” she said.
“Then why didn’t you put on your clothes and run while he was gone?” the bigger guy said.
“Fuck you!” she screamed at him. Then she pushed me in the chest and screamed, “Get the fuck off my robe!” The bigger guy grabbed her arm and I stepped back. She turned to wail on him with the other arm, but the smaller guy grabbed it. I bent and picked up her robe and tried to put it across her back but she was twisting and turning and fighting them like a banshee. “You’re going to be sorry, Tristan! I swear! You’re going to be sorry.”
I stood and watched them carry her out. The chick obviously has mental issues. Fuck! Now Elly was all pissed off at me. She was never going to believe I didn’t fuck that crazy bitch. These were the kinds of things I never wanted to deal with, which was why I’ve never had a fucking girlfriend. Fuck!
Chapter Three
Elly
I stayed up late,
swapping bad relationship stories with the girls that night. As stereotypical as it sounds, trashing men made me feel a lot better. Hearing that Tammy, and even sweet little Hannah, had the same kinds of problems that I did made me feel like less of a loser magnet. Maybe they were just all losers; who knew?
It was after one in the morning before I finally passed out for the night, so when my alarm went off at seven a.m. I was in a world of hurt. The first thing I did was look outside. The sun was shining brightly. Too brightly! I shut the blinds again right away and considered pulling the covers back over my head, but I didn’t. I looked over and saw that my bunkmate Lori was already up and out…or maybe she’d stayed out all night? She wasn’t there when I went to bed and I didn’t hear her come in. Anyways, she was a big girl and I didn’t care if she wanted to stay out all night. Maybe she met a guy who wasn’t a loser; I had my own problems to deal with. I pulled myself up out of the bunk and headed in to see if the shower was free. I could hear the other girls talking and smell the coffee brewing. By the time I got out of the shower, I felt almost human.
After I was dressed, we all went over to the cafeteria on the lot for breakfast. I didn’t see Tristan or Brooke there; I wondered if they were sleeping in after having marathon sex all night. I tried to tell myself that thinking like that wasn’t helping anyone. It actually made me sick to my stomach to think about it. I did my best to enjoy breakfast and then we headed out to the amphitheater to set up for the show that would be the replacement for the one we’d cancelled the night before. That day and the next were supposed to be days off for us, but the rain stole one. I really wanted to see a little bit of Colorado. I hoped that we didn’t get tomorrow taken away somehow, too.
As I was having that thought, I looked up and saw Jake. He was standing about six feet away and looking right at me. When I looked up, he smiled. I didn’t smile back; I just turned my head quickly and pretended that I didn’t see him. I could definitely see how he sucked the young girls in. He was so damned good-looking, like a GQ model. As I did my best to ignore him, I couldn’t help but wonder what I was doing to my career. I decided that it didn’t matter though; I wasn’t sleeping with the old pervert or anyone else in order to keep my job.
The morning passed in a rush of setting up the stage and checking sound. I thanked God that I didn’t draw getting the singers in order. I wasn’t ready yet to face either Tristan or Brooke. We went back to the bus around two to get ready for the night. It was quite an adventure to share one small bathroom with five other women. I spent half an hour on Facebook and twenty minutes on the phone with Susie before it was finally my turn.
“So how is it going with the new roommate?” I asked her.
“He’s a boy and he smells,” she complained. I laughed and said,
“Yes, but does he pay his part of the rent?”
“Yeah, he does that much at least,” she said.
“Better than Tristan,” I said, spitefully.
“Are you two still angry with each other over all that?”
I considered telling her what he’d done recently, but I felt like I’d talked it to death the night before. It could wait until I had more time to catch up with her. “I’m still angry with him, yes. He’s just a big, lying jerk.”
“Well, I hope you’re not letting it ruin your trip.”
“No, I’m having fun, except for having to wait on the bathroom. Even you didn’t take as long in there as these girls do.”
“At least you’re sharing your bathroom with girls. Why is it that a boy can’t hit the toilet right in the center every time?”
I loved Susie; she had me in an even better mood by the time I hung up. I called my Mom next and after she asked me if I was eating and sleeping okay, she said, “And how is Tristan? Is he thrilled to be the star attraction?”
“Yeah, there’s nothing Tristan loves more than that,” I told her.
“You sound like you’re upset with him. Did something happen?”
With a sigh I said, “I’m just not so sure it’s going to work out for us, Mom.”
“Oh honey, I’m sorry. You two are so cute together.”
“I have to go now, Mom. I love you. Kiss Daddy for me.”
I hung up after she sent her love back, wishing that I hadn’t called her at all. It wasn’t her fault, but I was thinking about him again and wishing we really had been cute together.
It was finally my turn in the bathroom. I dressed warm because in spite of the beautiful, sunny day, Colorado was still no California in the fall. Finally dressed and feeling better about myself in my new jeans and Roxy sweater, I pulled on my black leather boots and headed out with Tammy to get the ball rolling. The show was set to begin at five and would go until about eight. All the way over to the theatre, Tammy chatted, but I didn’t really hear what she was saying. I was trying to convince myself to stop thinking about Tristan. I hated to admit it, but I’d half expected him to call me and tell me that he really didn’t sleep with Brooke. When he didn’t call, I started trying to tell myself that maybe he really hadn’t slept with her and I’d accused him unjustly. I really was an idiot.
Just as I was about to check my headset before the show began, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at it, still hoping it would be Tristan with a totally believable explanation. It was a text and it wasn’t from Tristan.
Hey, I’m here at the show too!
I stared at the number for a while. It looked familiar to me but I couldn’t remember who it belonged to. Whoever it was knew I was at the show, unless it was just a random coincidence. I started to ignore it, but then I got another right after that.
Maybe we could hang out after the show? I’ve missed you. It’ll be fun to catch up.
Finally I had to answer.
Who is this?
The response came quickly.
Cole.
Shit! How did he know that I was there? I hadn’t talked to him in at least a year. The last time was right before I went to rehab. He was drinking heavily back then and I told him it wouldn’t be good for me to be around him. The truth really was that once you crossed that line between friendship and sex, there was no going back. He didn’t seem to care much back then. All of a sudden he misses me?
How did you know I was here?
Facebook!
I decided it was time to turn off location services. That’s another thing, if he missed me so much, why the hell hadn’t he ever messaged me on Facebook? I decided to politely decline.
I have to stay and clean up after. I don’t think I’ll have time.
Tomorrow?
Shit! I guessed it wouldn’t hurt to just hang out for a while, although it was probably going to be as uncomfortable as hell.
Yeah, we have a day off tomorrow so I have some things to do in the morning. Maybe we can get a cup of coffee or something.
He sent back a smiley face.
I’ll text you tomorrow. Can’t wait.
Shit! Cole and I were good for one thing…helping each other deal with the tragic loss of a man we both cared about. No, that wasn’t really true. We had been good friends once, a long time ago. After my boyfriend, who was also a good friend of his, died, all we did was help each other get high and drunk and then we had wild sex so we didn’t have to think about it. I guessed a cup of coffee wasn’t going to kill anyone. We’d be back on the road right afterwards and Cole and I could go our separate ways for another year…or more. I put him out of my head for that night and concentrated on my work. If anything did come up later down the line with Jake, I wanted to have the fact that I did a great job to fall back on.
I watched as each of the singers did their thing. Brooke was fifth on stage and she seemed a little off that night. She looked gorgeous, as usual. I should have given her a black eye at least. It would have been nice to see her up there with a ton of concealer, trying to cover it up. I shook off that nasty thought and moved onto my next when Tristan came out. As usual, he was amazing. It
was country night and he did a song called Burnin’ it Down by Jason Aldean. I stood there trying not to let it get to me as he sang about lying naked in bed and making his woman feel like an angel as he sang to her. Argh! Stupid bastard was probably thinking about Brooke while singing it.
When the show was over, he must have went straight back to his bus. I went in to clean up the equipment in the green room and Brooke and Ethan were there, but no sign of Tristan. I got a glare from Brooke, but the fact that Ethan was there kept her mouth in check, I think. It kept my mouth in check too. I had plenty that I’d liked to have said to the skank, but not in front of mixed company. I kept to myself, and by the time I finished wrapping cords and unplugging systems, they were gone.
The girls and I worked until after ten cleaning up and packing up. When we finished, we all went out for something to eat. Afterwards, since we had a night off, most of them went out to a club. Hannah and I begged off and went back to the bus. We talked for a while, mostly about the show and everyone that had anything to do with it. Hannah was really well-informed about everyone. I guess it was because she was one of those people that felt safe to talk to. I told her about my plans the next day and that I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing Cole.
“Why not?” she asked.
I didn’t talk about my boyfriend that had overdosed to anyone other than family or Susie. I’d never even really told Tristan all about him. I finally just said, “We both lost a good friend and because of that, while we were grieving, we crossed that line friends aren’t supposed to cross. Things got weird and uncomfortable. I haven’t seen him since.” I didn’t tell her that we didn’t only have sex once; it was several times. It was also drug and alcohol fueled. Those were details that Hannah didn’t really need to know.
“You know, sometimes you can get that friendship back, and sometimes things and people are in the past because that is where they belong. You won’t know, though, until you see him again.”
Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family) Page 58