Frankie smiled. He leant over to look at my screen.
"Nice photos."
I gave him a curt nod. I didn't want to be unfriendly but he could back off a bit.
"Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to get all in your space. I just saw you sitting here alone and figured you'd like someone to talk to. I'm not on the make or anything. Got a wife and kid back home. They're my life."
He got out his phone and showed me some photos.
"Cute kid," I said.
"Yeah, got her looks from my wife. Luckily."
He told me a few stories about his daughter. She'd just started school. The doting father thing helped me relax. Not every guy in this world was a creep.
"Do you miss them?" I asked him.
"I miss them like hell. Every day. They are my everything, you know. At least I was at home for Marlie's first day of school. Got to see her all dressed up in her uniform, proud as anything. But there are all the little things you miss. Being on the road is hell but it's how I earn my money so I just have to suck it up."
I nodded. It sure was hell.
He kept talking about his family. It was nice to have a normal conversation.
After a while, I realized I really did need to get some work done.
"Nice talking to you," he said.
"No problem. Remember, let me know if any of these guys give you trouble," he said.
I was used to handling my own battles but it did make me feel a bit better to know someone had my back.
Savage
FRANKIE SENT ME A MESSAGE: talked to your girl, she seems ok.
But Frankie wouldn't pick up on the small things like I would. There'd definitely been something wrong last night.
Maybe she'd been tired or maybe some photography thing that I couldn't even hope to understand had gone wrong. A catch in her voice didn't mean some dude had been fucking with her.
I shouldn't try to work out every single mood or I'd drive myself insane. I trusted her. Alice wasn't the type to cheat. But I didn't trust any other man around her. Especially not Kit Molloy.
I walked around, doing a last check on the house before I headed off. Gary, my manager, tailed me.
"Don't forget to change the security codes," he said. "A few people know them now."
Good point. I keyed the new codes into the security panel.
Alice hadn't messaged me and I didn't want to bother her. I thought about her every moment of the day but she had other things on her mind. Like her job. Plus, she'd probably made a bunch of friends and was spending her day joking around with them.
I had to focus on my own things. My album had launched and it'd done well so far, but not spectacular.
"Don't sweat it," Gary told me. "It's not got a lot of airplay yet, and you've got the tour to do."
I knew that but I was used to every release getting to the #1 spot almost immediately. Well, except the last two. StarX had been on the downhill slide then. We'd still made the top ten but it hadn't been that immediate hit. No surer sign that your shelf life is about to expire.
I'd been able to accept that and so had most of the guys in the band. But not Nick. According to him, we had to work harder, longer hours. We could climb back. There'd been no telling Nick that we were just too old. Washed up. Forgotten. There'd been no telling him that we couldn't possibly work any harder either.
Nick had always been the cute one in the group. That cutesy thing no longer worked when you hit puberty, and got even more tired when you were pushing twenty-one years old.
It'd have been better to get out while the getting had been good rather than die a horrible, prolonged death in the public eye.
When I'd punched Nick in the head, it's been like a mercy killing for the group, even if no one else saw it that way.
This album though, wasn't going to be that #1 hit. And that didn't make it a failure. The reviews had been great. I wasn't being mocked but taken seriously, as a muso. I kept telling myself that meant a lot more than ranking high. The goalposts had moved but my brain hadn't moved with them.
My phone beeped again.
It was Alice this time. A zillion sparks buzzed through my body and I smiled to myself, like a smitten schoolgirl.
I miss you.
Those sparks threatened to turn into explosions. She missed me. She'd messaged me.
Hell, I had it bad. No matter how I tried to fool myself, just a message from her and I lost my shit.
I miss you more.
Was that too sappy? I'd always been the guy who never instantly replied to a message. Chicks want it more if you make them wait. I'd always played the mind games. Sometimes waiting until they'd messaged me two or three times before bothering.
I'd never do that with Alice. I wanted her to know I was here, just waiting for her response.
A limo pulled up at the gates.
"Ready for the airport?" Gary asked.
"I was born ready," I replied.
I had to get this tour on the road. Get it done, and get the public loving me again. At least keeping a clean image would be easy. With Alice so far away from me, I'd be sitting in my hotel room every night after the shows, talking to her on the phone. The only trouble I'd be getting into was my own hand.
Three hours in the air, though. No Wi-Fi access. That would kill me. I sent her one last message to say I'd be unavailable then turned off my phone.
Alice
THE BUS PULLED INTO the motel. We had nothing to do tonight but sleep. The place was on the outskirts of town, nothing fancy at all.
"This is the worst," one of the girls said. "There's nothing here but dust and boredom."
She wasn't wrong. I had no idea where we'd even get food.
"There's a cafe and a bar here, that's it."
The band stayed somewhere else but those of us on the crew got the budget option. At some of the other stops on this tour we'd get to stay at fancier places, all together, but for the next few nights, this motel was home.
"There's a pool," someone yelled out.
"Pool party!"
I lined up to get my keys. I had no work to do all night, nothing tomorrow while the crew set up either. That meant some glorious sleep.
"Hey, how come you get a room on your own?" one of the girls asked. "I have to share with Sheryl and she snores like a bitch."
I just shrugged.
"You coming to the pool party?" she asked me.
I shrugged again. "Probably not."
The girl turned away. Then I realized that I would be on this tour for a month. I couldn't be the loner huddled away on my own the entire time. My shrug probably looked dismissive rather than the shrug of someone who needed some quality phone sex time.
"I've got to talk to my boyfriend tonight but maybe I'll join you later."
That was the first time I'd called him my boyfriend to someone else. Holy crap, that made me blush. Blush like a schoolgirl, struck with first love.
"Sweet," the girl said.
As I walked away, I realized I had no bathing suit with me, nothing. After all, I'd been packing to go on tour and work, not for a beach resort.
My room was right on the poolside and people had started partying already. I couldn't escape the noise.
That water sure did look cool and refreshing. Not as refreshing as phone talk with Savage, obviously.
I ordered a burger to be sent to my room and waited for Savage to message me that he'd landed. The shrieks outside got louder.
That worried me. I walked over to the window and made sure there were no gaps in the blinds that people could see through. I did not want to be caught in the act and become a laughing stock for the entire tour.
I pulled at the edges but still, a sliver of light came through. In the end, I gave up and went into the bathroom to take Savage's call.
"You sound echoey," he said when he rang.
"I'm in the bathroom. There's a whole pool party going on out there, right outside my window. I don't want some snoopy bastard looking into my room."
"Why not, love? That might be hot."
"You want me doing that with other people watching? Other men?"
"On second thoughts, maybe not. I'd rather keep you all for myself. Are you going to join the party?"
"I wasn't going to but I figured being social doesn't hurt occasionally."
"You aren't planning on wearing a skimpy bikini, are you? And, if you are, send me photos first."
"I don't have a skimpy bikini." Guys never realize that when you have big boobs, the straps on something like that cut the hell out of your shoulders. "I'll probably just throw on a t-shirt and undies."
"I still want photos," he said. That husky tone came into his voice. "Lots of photos."
By the time we finished, the party was in full force. Lots of horseplay in the pool and groups standing around drinking. It was only 11 o'clock but some of them were totally wasted already.
Someone handed me a beer and I sat down on a lounge chair to drink it. The girl from earlier came over with her friend.
"Hey, you made it. How's the boyfriend?" she asked.
"Fine."
"It must be tough, being separated. Is it true?" she asked, sitting down beside me. "Are you dating Ash Savage?"
I wasn't sure how to answer that. We weren't public yet. That was something we'd deal with after the tour. I wasn't sure how these rumors spread around but then, we hadn't exactly been discreet either.
"You can tell us," the other girl said. "We know how to keep our mouths shut. We know all the dirt but we'd be out of jobs quicksticks if we blabbed."
She had a point, and I was really dying to talk to someone.
I nodded.
"Wow, that's so fucking cool. He's hot. What's he like in the sack?"
God, I was not going there. It was one thing for people to know we were dating, a whole other thing for them to know the intimate details.
I blushed.
"Shut up, Sheryl," the other girl said. "I'm Penny, by the way. And you are Alice. Sheryl asks way too many inappropriate questions. Just ignore her."
The two of them told me about the rest of the crew, putting stories to the faces.
"What about Molloy?" I asked. "Have you been on tour with him before?"
"I have," Sheryl said. "Best tours ever. He knows how to party."
From the look on her face, I knew just what kind of partying she'd done with him. Oh well, I'd be busy enough on this tour that I could keep well away from that kind of thing.
"So, why are you here instead of on tour with Savage?" Penny asked. "I wouldn't leave his side."
"I agreed to do this before we met." That was the understatement of the decade. I'd only met him because I'd wanted to do this tour.
A third girl on the tour came over to join us. Kaitlin. They introduced her to me. Penny kept talking about Savage.
"Jeez, what a dick," Kaitlin said. "I can't believe you're dating him. Oh well, stick around and maybe one of the real musos will show you some interest."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
My fingers gripped the edge of my deck chair.
"You know, trade up. Or just fool around. It's not like he's going to know. He's probably doing the same."
I stood up. The best option here was to just disengage.
"I think I'll go for a swim."
Alice
THE POOL SURE WASN'T heated. I shivered in the freezing water, trying to get used to the change in temperature.
I wanted to swim some laps to cool my head off. Better to do that than to slap the bitch. I shouldn't even let her get to me. Who actually cared what she thought?
There would always be people who thought like that. There'd be people who thought I was not nearly good enough for Savage too. That was one of the issues we had to face, but the best way to face it was by not giving a rat's arse.
Laps were impossible. Too many people in the pool fooling around. It looked like a bunch of other guests had joined in.
I gave up and just sat in the shallow end, enjoying the water.
A woman in a room near mine opened her door and screamed at everyone to shut up. She'd have no luck with that. The party had just gotten into full swing. She sighed and went back inside. Poor woman. She just wanted to sleep and she had this rowdy party going on outside her room.
I totally got it.
Going back to my room and catching some sleep would be the most awesome thing ever. I had earplugs and a good book. That suited my mood much more than this.
I climbed out of the pool and almost ran slap bang into someone.
Damn person getting in my way. I was about to yell at them when my chlorine-affected eyes focused.
Kit Molloy stood about an inch in front of me.
"Excuse me," I said, trying to get past him.
Instead of moving, his eyes flitted down my body. Luckily, I'd put on the t-shirt and was well covered. Didn't stop him ogling my breasts though. He might be the star of this show but my breasts were mine and the only one I wanted ogling them was Savage.
Kit Molloy had been the leading man in every sexual fantasy I'd had for years, but not anymore. Now he just creeped me out.
I pushed him aside.
"Hey, photographer, have a drink with me?"
Instantly, Penny and Sheryl appeared by my side. They wanted Molloy? They were welcome to him. He couldn't make me drink with him.
"Kit!" Penny screamed. "You slumming it with us?"
He ignored her. Then he grabbed my arm and dragged me to a table with a few members of his band. He practically threw me into a chair.
It was then I noticed my chest. Hell, this t-shirt had become transparent when it got wet and my nipples were as hard as rocks from the cold water. All three guys stared at them.
I shivered, and not from the cold. I didn't like this situation at all.
Molloy handed me a beer. Luckily, Penny and Sheryl both pulled up seats next to me. I didn't open the beer. I'd sit for a minute, until Molloy's attention strayed, then get back to my room.
Meanwhile, I folded my arms over my chest.
"You're not talking much, photographer."
Once, I'd have done anything to have a chance to talk to Molloy. Not so much now. Even if I wasn't dating Savage, the way the guy talked repelled me.
"I'm cold. I might go change into some dry clothes."
"You can do that but Molloy will just have you wet again," the guitarist said.
All three of them of them hooted and fist bumped him.
Urgh.
I pushed my chair back. I didn't need to hang around for this. I shot them a half-grin and stood up. Again, Molloy pushed me back into the chair. His glazed eyes didn't bode well. I wasn't sure I wanted him knowing which room was mine. He might follow me and I didn't want to deal with that.
Penny moved her seat closer to his. Go, Penny. If she distracted him, then I'd escape. She was much better-looking than me anyway. Long legs, gorgeous smile and hair that wasn't wet and ratty.
But he ignored her, his attention still on me.
"Come on, get into that beer. Or you want something harder."
He got a bag out of his pocket. It looked like coke.
"I'm fine," I said.
His interest in me would only be momentary. I was the new, shiny thing but there were enough women around that he'd soon fixate on someone else.
Before I could even get a plan together, the roadie I'd met earlier, Frankie, walked over. He pulled up a chair, inserting himself between me and Molloy. Nice work.
Molloy moved back. I'm not sure many people would have that effect on him but Frankie seemed a lot less likely to kowtow to him than most of the crew.
"You look freezing," he said to me. "Maybe you should run off and change while I chat to Kit."
I didn't know if that was planned or just a lucky coincidence but it was the perfect escape. I gave him a nod of thanks before scooting back to my room, securing the door behind me.
Maybe I'd overreacted, but my heart
pounded. Something about Molloy scared me a little. Once, I'd thought he had the eyes of a soulful poet but those eyes he'd just looked at me with were glassy and vacant. Not just from the coke and not just from the booze but because he lacked any compassion.
I stripped off and jumped in the shower. It was then I realized my arms were bruised where he'd grabbed me.
It was only 27 more days. I'd just keep well out of Molloy's way until then.
Savage
WHEN I GOT FRANKIE'S message, I wanted to get straight on a plane and sort this mess out. Molloy could keep his fucking hands off my girl. And his eyes. And every other body part. I wanted to rip his brain out of his head so he could not have a single dirty thought about her.
I couldn't leave though. Not only would Alice kill me but I had shows to do. I sat alone in my hotel room, unable to sleep for worry.
The guy was a total bastard. I'd met him once, about three years ago at a music award show. I was no saint myself, that's a proven fact, but I have some morals. A pretty tight moral code, actually. There's right and wrong and some shit has no grey area.
I love a drink and I love women. I've never had the need to put my hands on a woman who isn't interested in me. And I've never bad-mouthed a woman I've slept with. Even the ones I don't sleep with, the ones who are a bit crazy. If they have enough good taste to be into me, then they are okay in my book.
Screwing some groupie so you can laugh about her with your bandmates afterwards, that's just the sign of a shit human being.
On top of that, he'd been a total pig to the staff backstage. Ordering them around, acting like a big shot. I could be demanding because I knew exactly what I wanted and how I wanted it done, but did it cost anything to use a "please" or "thank you"?
Hell, I was turning into my own grandmother. Still, values are values. Those little things show a person's character. Which was why I did not want that character near my Alice.
I shot Frankie back a message. I didn't want to run off half-cocked.
He replied straight back.
Don't panic. She's back in her room and Molloy is heading to a club. Coked off his brain.
Still didn't reassure me.
Keep them apart.
Rock Mayhem: 8 Complete Rock Star Romance Novels Page 15