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  “I’m not letting her come on one of your filthy tours with you. Besides, where would you house a teenage girl so that she’d be tucked safely away from the men here?”

  “There’s a bus that’s full of only women,” he told her, exasperated as if this wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument.

  “You mean your fuck buddy’s bus? You want to put our daughter on the same bus as your mistress? How dare you even suggest that!”

  “She’s not a fuck buddy, and you know that.”

  “Well, she better not be anything to you from this point forward, or else your daughter won’t be anywhere you can find her when you finally come off this tour.”

  It took everything in me not to go slap the woman for making a threat like that to a father who actually seemed to care for his child. I remained still, riveted by Wen’s personal drama, while at the same time wishing I didn’t have to be a witness to it. To move now though, would guarantee that they knew I’d been listening in. I turned, slightly, catching a quick glimpse of Calista as she strutted her stuff across the stage, despite not feeling well just before she went on. Then, I remembered why she wasn’t feeling good. She was pregnant, with Wen’s baby, and his wife was threatening him. He would have to choose between Cal and his daughter, without knowing that she was having his baby.

  “Janet, what the fuck are you on about this time? I told you that I wouldn’t put up with you doing this to us again. You can’t even fucking stand to be around me. Why? Why the fuck do you keep doing this?”

  “Because you’re mine! We’re married! And I won’t have you make a mockery of that. It’s bad enough that Alyssa is old enough to see the tabloid shots of you and that whore together. She knows you’ve been choosing that bitch over us.”

  “What the fuck did you just say?” Wen roared. I swear they heard him all the way on stage, because there was a stutter in the drum beat. There and then back on track again in an instant, but I caught it and noticed that Cal had slid over a bit on the stage, her eyes trained our way as she sang now. She couldn’t see me from where I stood, but there was no mistaking that she saw who Wen was fighting with. She never missed a note, but something changed in her voice. It faltered a bit, flattened out, lost some of the magic that held sway over the audience.

  Wen noticed too, his eyes met Cal’s for a brief moment, the devastation clear for both of them. Jesus, he was going to do it. He was going to leave her again. I wondered if she would survive it, especially now, with the news of what their future was supposed to look like?

  Janet and Wen continued their argument, and then Janet left. Her ultimatum hung heavily in the air around us as Wen turned and noticed me, finally. With a heavy sigh, he moved toward me. “She’s going to need a good friend until I can get this straightened out,” he told me. I shook my head.

  “You’re making a mistake,” I whispered, but he heard my words, even above the din of the crowd roaring around us, begging for more from the band made of beautiful, ridiculously talented bombshells.

  “No matter what I do, it’ll be a mistake to someone,” he told me, voice defeated as the women of Dusty Rose came off stage. Cal took one look at the man she was desperately in love with and shook her head.

  “Not this time, Wen,” she told him.

  “I have to. Alyssa,” he started, but Cal shook her head even more vehemently then. “No.” The single word was just a whisper, but that one quiet little syllable held the weight of the world.

  “She’s given me no choice, Calli,” he told her.

  Calista grabbed hold of my hand, squeezed tightly, then turned on her heels and started dragging me from the space where I’d been hiding out all night. As we moved, we passed Gabe.

  “Mel?” He questioned. The movement of my head back and forth before he glanced down to see my hand held so tightly by Cal must have told him everything he needed to know. “Damn it, Wen,” he hissed and moved toward the stage instead.

  “You can’t tell him, or anyone else,” Cal ordered me as we continued our fast-paced, angry march through the back halls of the amphitheater.

  “I would never,” I tried explaining, but to be honest, I was slightly out of breath trying to keep pace with the speedy little thing leading me away from everyone. “Cal, I need you to slow down.”

  She stopped dead in her tracks then. “Shit! I’m sorry, I just… I needed… Fuck! I can’t believe this is happening again, now. I thought since Alyssa was older now, this would come to an end. He promised it wouldn’t happen again. What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

  “I don’t know, but you have time to figure things out. I saw what went down between them, honey. He didn’t just roll over. You need to know that it was nasty and she made threats,” I was telling her when she stopped me.

  “She always makes threats. Everyone has told him he needs to have her locked up or at the very least, declared unfit.”

  “Why hasn’t he?”

  “Because she’s always been a good mom, even if she is a shitty human being in every other way possible. That cunt dotes on that child.”

  “I’m sorry that you’re having to deal with this.”

  “Again,” Calista added. “I’m having to deal with this again. This is the last time though. I can’t do this anymore, Mel.” She burst into tears and I held onto her, knowing that her heart was breaking and to her, it probably felt like every piece of her was being torn apart with that one vital organ. I could still hear the music rumbling the building as Valhalla Rising played their set, as Calista cried her heart out, drenching the shoulder of my shirt as she did. “I know I pushed for it, but Mel, don’t get involved with any of them. This is the kind of devastation it leads to. There’s not a single good man out there in the rock star world.”

  I wasn’t so sure I believed that, but a flash of Gabe coming out of that room with Kendra hit, his shirt being pulled over his head, and down his bare chest as they moved into the hall… Maybe Calista had a good point. I let my judgement be clouded by Chevy’s positive spin on things, by the magic of the tour, and the sweetness Gabe displayed. What would happen if she were to show up on tour as Janet just did? It was something I couldn’t bring myself to think about just then, because I needed to get my friend to a private place where she could break down without eyewitnesses to her pain.

  13 – Sweet & Sour

  “Gabe, baby, right there. Yes!”

  I palmed Mel’s ass as I rode her up against the wall, backstage. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so fucking hot or hard in my life. She raked her nails down my shoulder, across my back, leaving a trail of stinging pain in her wake. None of it mattered though as I plunged over and over again into the silky wet heat of her. The sweetness of her center still sat upon my lips from where I’d eaten her to orgasm twice before. Just the taste of her on my lips threatened to send me over the edge…

  “Dude, wake the fuck up!” Something banged in the bunk just above mine. “All your grunting is giving me morning wood. Either beat that shit and get it over with, or go find some groupie to blow you. We all know Mel ain’t giving it up, especially now that Wen’s girl is giving her an earful about evil musicians,” Alex’s voice grated as he spoke.

  It was then that I finally opened my eyes. Alone. I was on my bus, in my bunk, with a solid-as-a-rock dick grinding into the mattress. Fuck. If it weren’t for the fact that I cared so much about Mel, I might actually have taken Alex’s advice. I needed a release, and bad. We couldn’t get to a stop with a hotel fast enough. The thought that Mel might join me in my room this time quickly dwindled away to nothing more than smoke and mist though. Alex was right, Calista probably was filling her head with all grades of shit about how she shouldn’t get involved with a rock star, because Mel had certainly been avoiding me since Wen’s blowup with Janet.

  He told me that she had been there, seen and heard everything that went down, and then followed Cal out of the venue so fast that it looked like hellhounds were nipping at their heels. The last
, we only knew because that had been Phoenix’s report to us when asked.

  “Sorry, man,” Wen called out from across the walkway where he occupied the bunk directly across from mine. It wasn’t often that I slept in the bunks, usually preferring one of the couches, as they were more comfortable, but sometimes, a man just needed the illusion of privacy. Considering the state I woke in, I’d say it was a good thing I’d chosen the bunk when I crashed the night before.

  “I’m the last person you need to be apologizing too, asshole. I don’t know why you let Janet keep leading you around by the balls. Alyssa is old enough to have a say in court, and you have plenty of witnesses to the threats her mom has been making for years.”

  “You don’t understand, I honestly think she would make my daughter disappear before someone could step in and intervene.”

  “Then you should have gotten the cops involved a long time ago,” Alex huffed at him. We were all pissed at the Wen, Janet, Cal drama that unfolded, because it happened every time we went out on tour with Dusty Rose. I flicked the privacy curtain on my bunk open fully so I could see Wen, who almost never shut his.

  “I fucking know, all right? I was trying to spare Alyssa having to lose her mom to a mental institution, jail, or worse,” he admitted.

  “Do you really think you’ve spared her anything? There’s no way that Janet has been able to hide her crazy around your daughter, man,” I noted. “It was one thing when she was younger, but your girl is 16 now. She sees more than you probably think.”

  Wen scrubbed his hands down his face. “I’m going to get everything straight as soon as we get the break in the tour.”

  “That’s still a few weeks away,” I pointed out. “Cal’s already spoken to Deacon about getting a replacement. He’s fighting her on it because she’s obligated. Your actions are hurting her career too at this point.”

  “I don’t want her to go,” he told us, the misery in his words was plain to hear. “Maybe you guys can get a temp in for me, or hell, handle shit without me there backing up the sound for a few dates. It’ll give Cal some space and me some time to bring Janet to heel.”

  I nodded in agreement. “Let’s get through tonight and then we’ll figure out what Deacon will allow us to get away with on that front. I’m pretty sure he’d rather sacrifice one band member than a full band from the tour.”

  “We’ll have a full day to stop and do what we want once we pull into Gainesville,” Tim mentioned. “Get your shit straight with Deacon and Ev then,” he stated pointedly to Wen. Then he turned to me. “And you, get Mel out and away from all this shit for the day, or the night, whatever you can manage.”

  “She’s been avoiding me ever since Miami Beach,” I reminded him.

  “Okay?” The one word was more question than acceptance. I just stared at Tim who was standing between the bunks, head on a swivel between Wen and me. “She’s doing a great job of avoiding you because you’re letting her, and that’s probably feeding into how right Cal is about ‘fucking rock stars’ and all the reasons Mel should avoid them.”

  “Fuck me,” I hissed, much to everyone’s amusement.

  “Probably not the first words that should come out of your mouth when you see Mel,” Alex teased. “Women like to be wined and dined from what I hear.”

  I wasn’t sure why he had a change of heart, and was suddenly Captain Helpful, since he had made it known that he had an interest in the same woman. As if he could hear my thoughts, Alex sighed and then leaned his head down from his own bunk to stare into mine.

  “It’s obvious she enjoys your company, for whatever fucking reason, and who am I to stand in the way of true love? You fucking idiots keep shitting all over that four-letter word all by yourselves, and honestly, I’m starting to think I don’t ever want a part of that shit.”

  Well that was both disturbing and something I was thankful for. As the bus continued to rumble its way toward our destination, I ignored any further commentary and started planning what to do to win Mel over from the man-haters club. Just after Chevy left, we had started a ritual of sorts where we met for lunch every day, or breakfast when lunch was out of the question. I’d thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with Mel then. We talked about our lives, the people in them, dreams for the future, and the things we’d lost out on. In short, we’d bonded over those quick meals and stolen moments. When we went two days without, due to my scheduling, I felt an ache in my chest at her absence. At least then, if I saw her in passing, she would have one of her genuinely beautiful smiles at the ready for me.

  Ever since the Wen and Calista debacle, Mel had avoided areas where we might have those quick exchanges of smiles, and she definitely started skipping out on the meals together. I thought it was just so that she could be there for Cal, but maybe the guys had a point. It was possible that the whole situation had put her off about being with me in any capacity, or it could be that she just wanted to see how much effort I’d put forth. I shook that thought off almost as soon as it formed though. Mel was not a game-player. If she was spooked, that was real and something I’d have to work to get past.

  I pulled out my phone, and started planning. Tim had been right. I hadn’t tried hard enough, so there was zero chance I was going to take no for an answer tonight, unless she had a legitimate reason to not go out with me.

  ~*~

  Two hours later, we finally pulled into Gainesville and as the crews worked to get the buses situated, I dressed and hopped off the bus, making a bee-line directly for Dusty Rose’s bus. I swiftly knocked on the door, and was answered by a tight-lipped frown from Roni. “I hope your boy’s happy. Pretty sure our girl flew the coop the minute the bus stopped.”

  “Cal’s gone?”

  “She tore off out of here the minute we came to a full stop. Deacon’s been giving her hell about finding a replacement.” The blush that stole across her cheeks told me that Deacon probably wasn’t the only one giving her hell. “We were pretty pissed about the possibility of having to pay money back to the label for missed dates,” she admitted without me having to ask.

  “That’s fucked,” I told her.

  “I know. What’s more fucked is that we all warned her this would happen again, and what it would mean to be stuck on tour with him afterwards.”

  “It’s a shit situation all around,” I agreed.

  “It didn’t have to be,” Roni argued.

  “Can’t deny that, but Roni, I’m here for Mel,” I finally told her, not wanting to hash out our bandmates’ relationship drama any longer when I had my own to deal with. Roni grinned at me then as she stepped aside so I could board the bus.

  “Good luck with that. Cal has had her ear the whole time, and she’s been relentless about no-good male rock stars.” Roni winked at me and then hopped down the last step to the asphalt below. “I’m out of here and the others already left, hot on Cal’s heels. So, you have the place to yourself.”

  A simple nod was all I returned before moving further into the bus. “Oh, I can make more, if you’re back,” Mel called out as I heard the pop of bacon sizzling. The smell wafted up and tantalized my starving stomach into a loud growl. Mel’s laughter stopped abruptly when she turned and noticed who had made the noise.

  “I didn’t realize you were here,” she offered after a startled gasp.

  “We’ve been missing each other a lot lately, I didn’t want to take the chance of that happening again today. We have a day off and I’d like to spend it with you.” Mel bit into her bottom lip and glanced up at me shyly from beneath lashes that nearly kissed her cheeks as she kept her head tilted down.

  “I’m not sure…” She started to say, but she stopped as I moved closer and tucked a finger up under her chin to lift her gaze to my own.

  “Mel, the girls are most likely gone for the day. Please, let me spend some time with you. Whatever their problems, they don’t belong to us,” I tried to remind her gently.

  “I should hope not,” she whispered back.

  “Yo
u have more of that here,” I asked, tipping my head toward the bacon and eggs she was whipping up in the tiny little kitchen.

  “I do, would you like to stick around for breakfast?”

  “I would be honored. Anything I can help with?”

  Mel rewarded my offer with the first real smile I’d seen her wear in days. “Just park your butt and wait patiently. There isn’t enough room in here for one person to really cook well, let alone two.”

  “I’m okay with allowing you to cook for us, if you’re willing to go out with me tonight.” Mel turned, spatula raised above a pan where she had just flipped an omelet over. Her brow raised in question as she waited for me to tell her more. I didn’t respond to her, instead watching as she turned back to her cooking.

  “Where exactly do you propose we go tonight that you won’t be instantly recognized and swarmed by fans?”

  The grin that spread across my face should have been warning enough. “Do you trust me?” She hummed a noncommittal response that made me chuckle. “Okay fine, wear jeans, boots if you have them, and make yourself up however you like.”

  She laughed at the uncertainty that was no doubt heard in that last little bit. I didn’t want to tell her to pretty herself up, because honestly she didn’t need anything to help with that. The woman was just naturally beautiful as is. “Okay, I’ll go along with it, but if we get mobbed, I’m definitely blaming you.”

  “Fair enough,” I told her as she plated me up a cheese omelet and bacon.

  “All we had left were the eggs and cheese, so it’s nothing fancy.”

  “This is better than the ramen noodle breakfast I had two days ago, so no apologies necessary.”

  “The way you guys keep in such good shape, I would think you would eat better on tour.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “We try, but sometimes we run out of shit too. Besides, we burn far more calories than we take in each night when we do have to eat like shit.”