During the show, Jordan wondered if Lucky realized how palpable the chemistry between her and Jude was on stage. She enjoyed watching how Jude kept his eye on Lucky and knew what she wanted with just a nod.
She waited off stage like she always did for Dylan, but when the show ended, he walked past her like she wasn't there.
"I deserved that," Jordan said out loud as she watched Dylan walk away.
"Deserved what?" Jude said.
"Sorry, I didn't realize I said that out loud."
As she walked away, Jude put his hand on her shoulder.
"Come with me," he said.
Shocked that he wanted to talk to her and curious about why, she simply followed him to an empty dressing area. It was plain with white painted concrete blocks and pale green tiling that reminded her of her old high school cafeteria. Setting up two metal folding chairs, Jude sat down and motioned for her to sit, too. As ridiculous as she knew it was, she wondered if she was in trouble.
"Did I do something?" she asked.
"No, of course not. Seems I can't talk to women, they're always getting the wrong idea."
"Sorry, it’s just," she paused for a moment, thinking how strange it was to talk to someone she and her best friend had idolized. "You're Jude Morrison. You do know that, right?"
He laughed and leaned back in the chair as he stretched his long legs out in front of him.
"I've been watching you and Dylan the past few days I've been here," he said. "I don't know what just happened, but I might be able to explain some of what he might be going through."
"He's not going through anything, I am. He wanted to spend the tonight together and I said no," she said, wondering why she was opening up to him of all people.
"Let me explain about life on the road. Things move fast and you meet some incredible people out there. The problem is you never know if or when you're going to see them again. You learn to take advantage of the time you do have with those people."
"Yeah well, he's going to take advantage of some time with some old friends tonight instead," she said as she folded her arms in front of her.
"Don't count him out yet, Jordan. On the road, things aren't always the way they appear," Jude said as he looked at the clock on the wall and stood. "Sorry, I have to go."
She sighed as she wondered what he meant. Entering the hall, she saw Dylan walking to the door with a small group of people she didn't recognize. One was a pretty redhead Jordan thought looked a little too young to be out so late. She wanted to go over there and put her arm around him or something to make sure she knew Dylan was taken, but she didn't want give Dylan the wrong idea just because she was jealous.
Making her way to the bus, she stopped and watched Dylan as he spoke to the redhead. More hurt and annoyed with herself than angry at him, she tried to convince herself to go over and talk to him and explain why she said what she did. She tried to take a step towards him, but her feet felt heavy and weighed down.
Staying in the shadows, she kept an eye on him. Her heart ached with the thought of losing him, but she didn't have any tears. If she lost him to this girl or any other tonight, she knew it was all her fault.
10
Lucky
During each show with Jude, Lucky couldn't believe how much better the band sounded. She loved playing with him and everything worked together. When they were on stage, she felt like Jude could read her mind. Off stage was a different matter.
Stepping out of her dressing room, she saw the same scene as the night before. She always heard the tour cities would morph together, and now she understood why. If it wasn't for looking out the window during the ride to the next city, all she would have seen was the hotel and backstage.
Kat sat on a picnic table once again holding court. She could hear her laughter echoing down the long hall. Backstage was much different than the rest of the theater. While every venue seemed to have some sort of fanciness and opulence, backstage was as bare bones as it could get.
Lucky spotted Ross and Mark hanging around Kat again. She hadn't spoken to Kat much since that first night. She was curious about Kat and thought maybe she could help educate Lucky about life on the road, but Jordan was right, Lucky needed to be careful. She was too naive to really protect herself.
"Hey Lucky! Another great show! We're going bar hopping again. You should come along," Ross said.
"I don't know. That's really not my kind of thing."
"Geez girlie, come on," Kat said. "You've got to learn to enjoy yourself. Come out with us."
Lucky scanned the area looking for Jude again. Finally she spotted him talking to a woman as she leaned against the wall. She could tell the woman was into him, who wouldn't be? Lucky could hear her giggle as she flipped her light brown hair over her shoulder, then touched Jude's arm.
Jealousy fueled her. She headed towards them, unsure what she would do or say, but stopped when Ross grabbed her arm.
"Say you'll come out tonight. I came all this way from Philly for you."
"Alright. I'll go," she said as she watched Jude slip his arm around the woman's waist and lead her towards the exit.
"Were you going to talk to Jude?" Ross asked. "I can get him for you."
"No, it's okay. I'll talk to him tomorrow."
"Did I ever tell you my sister has a friend who knows someone who--"
"Please just shut up."
Thankfully he didn't go on. Lucky didn't know how much more she could take. She wanted to hate Jude for bedding the acquaintances of the world, but she had no reason to. He was only her drummer.
"I'm so glad you agreed to come along, Lucky. Last night was such a sausage fest. I could've used another girl around," Kat said.
Lucky nodded. She really didn't want to go out. Part of her thought that if Jude could spend time with a groupie, then maybe she could too. It made no sense to her at all since he didn't know and probably didn't care.
As she left, she noticed Jordan by the bus. Surprised that Dylan wasn't with her, she decided to check on her.
"I thought you'd be with Dylan."
"He met some old friends. She doesn't look that old to me, what do you think?"
Lucky turned to follow Jordan's gaze and saw what was bothering her. It looked like the same exact scene she just saw with Jude. She felt her anger rise again.
"I hate him!"
"Who? Dylan?"
"No. Never mind me. I'm losing my mind. Go talk to Dylan. You two have something. Don't let whatever that is happen."
"I need to remember that sometimes things aren't always what they seem," Jordan said before getting on the bus.
Lucky stomped off towards Dylan. She had so many things she wanted to say to Jude that she couldn't say and believed Jordan felt the same way about Dylan, maybe even more. Tapping him on the shoulder, the girl he was talking to shot her a dirty look as he turned around.
"What do you think you're doing? What about Jordan?"
"She didn't tell you? She told me to do whatever I want. She doesn't care, so why should I?"
"Are you really that stupid? You know what? If you are that stupid then she's right, go do whatever you want. But if anything in you cares at all about my friend, then you'll get on that bus with her."
She stormed off to a darkened corner and covered her face with her hands. Why was she so emotional? What was this guy doing to her? They'd barely spoken yet she was falling apart. She was officially being ridiculous.
Once she composed herself, she rejoined Kat, Ross, Mark, and the other people in their caravan. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed Dylan getting on the bus. She smiled to herself, proud that she had stepped up for her friend.
Lucky really didn't want to go bar hopping, but it was something the group seemed to want to do so she was willing to give it a chance. Spending most of her life as sheltered as she was, she looked at everything differently than other people her age.
They split into two cabs and headed to a rowdy karaoke bar Kat heard was a lot of f
un. Ross kept trying to put his arm around Lucky, but she wasn't interested. After being near a man like Jude, a cute boy like Ross simply couldn't compete.
"Hey Luck, I wanted to talk to you," Kat whispered as the cab pulled up in front of an old brownstone that had been turned into a bar. "You gotta let Ross and Mark on the bus. There's plenty of room and they've been hitchhiking to our shows."
"Seriously? Hitchhiking's dangerous," Lucky said.
"I knew you'd feel that way. So what do you think?"
"About them coming on the bus? I guess it's alright," Lucky said with a shrug.
Lucky didn't think she had a choice. She would never forgive herself if something happened to them as they hitchhiked to her shows.
Looking around the old neighborhood, Lucky felt disappointed. She was hoping that if they were going out, she'd see some sights. The only sight she saw was a bum passed out against an old worn building.
Ross put his arm around her shoulders again but she quickly shrugged it off. The bar was dark and smelled like stale, old beer. At the far end was a small stage with a video screen and a DJ in the corner. They sat in a black corner booth.
"What do you want to drink, Lucky?" Ross asked.
"I don't know. What is there?"
"It's a bar, girlie! They can make whatever you want," Kat said.
"I've never had much alcohol except for the other night," Lucky said. "What should I get? Pick something sweet for me."
"No problem, I know exactly the drink," Ross said.
When he came back, he set down a brownish drink in front of Lucky that was garnished with cherries and an orange slice. Leaning towards it, she sniffed the drink before stirring it with a thin straw.
"What is it? I smell juice but can't figure it out. Orange or pineapple?"
"Both. And some other stuff. It's called Sex on the Beach," said Ross.
Lucky took a sip. "Mmm, that's pretty good." She took another sip, enjoying the fruitiness of the drink.
"You should get up and sing a song. These people don't know they're in the presence of a rock goddess!"
"I'm far from that. If you want a rock god, go look for Jude."
"Again? You sure mention him a lot."
Lucky took another sip of her drink, hoping the topic would change. She couldn't help it – Jude consumed her thoughts. It wasn't something she was even aware of until that moment.
"Why don't you sing something?" she yelled, trying to hear herself over the noise.
"Nah, I just thought people should hear you. Get to know you." He stood up in the booth and yelled, "This is Lucky Saldano! Right here!"
Lucky slumped down in her seat and hoped no one heard him. Embarrassed by how Ross was acting, she kept drinking from the straw and finished her drink in minutes without realizing it. When he got up to get another round of drinks, she stopped him.
"No, nothing for me. I need to get going. Stan likes to leave by eight so he's not driving in the dark. We have a long drive tomorrow and I need some sleep before that. Geez, I'm talking a lot," Lucky said. She rubbed her cheeks, thinking her face felt strange, then shook her head. "Must be the tour catching up with me. I really should get back to the hotel."
Lucky wondered if she fell asleep because the drive back to the hotel seemed to fly by. As they entered the hotel, Kat, Ross, and Mark headed to the bar. Lucky thought she saw Jude sitting in the lobby, but as she got closer, she realized it was someone else.
As she made her way to the elevators, she saw a tall man with tousled hair she was sure was Jude. But it only ended up being one of the bellhops. Annoyed that he was on her mind so much that she was hallucinating about him, she decided the best thing to do was to find him.
She didn't care if he wasn't alone. As she thought of Jude in bed with that bitch he left the theater with, a fire lit inside of her. She knew she was being stupid and letting her jealousy drive her, but she didn't care. She was going to find Jude's room. Served him right if she interrupted him.
She went up to the front desk and waited for the young woman behind the counter to get off her call.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"Hi, I'm Lucky Morrison. I need the room number for Jude Saldano. He's in my band. Can you believe that? I can't."
"I'm sorry, we don't have a Jude Saldano," the clerk said as she typed into the computer.
"What? No! Morrison. Jude Morrison. How stupid am I? I mixed our names," Lucky said, feeling her cheeks turn red.
"Yes, here he is. He's actually registered under a different name, but since he's in your band," she said with a shrug as she handed Lucky a small piece of white paper with the number 486 on it.
Lucky rushed to the elevators and pressed the up button repeatedly as she waited for the doors to open. Riding the elevator to the fourth floor, she wondered how Jordan was doing and if she and Dylan had made up. But Jordan quickly slipped her mind as she found room 486 just a few doors down from Jordan's.
She put her ear up to the door. Listening quietly, she thought she heard music coming from the room. She was expecting to hear a woman's voice, a giggle, or a banging headboard, whatever sex might sound like, but she didn't hear any of that.
Wondering what they could be doing so quietly, Lucky gave up and pounded on the door three times. When no one answered, she was ready to knock again when the door flew open, revealing Jude wearing only a pair of jeans. Her heart leapt in her chest.
"What the hell, Olivia? Why are you--"
She's got to still be here, she thought angrily. I bet I did interrupt them.
"Where is she? Where's that slut you left with? I need to talk to her," Lucky said as she pushed the door open and stepped inside his hotel room.
She was surprised at how brazen she was being but pushed all of that aside. She had spent years daydreaming about Jude, why should someone else get him?
"She already left?" Lucky said as she looked around his room. "I thought you were the all-night-long kind of man."
Turning to focus on Jude with his bare chest and his jeans slung low around his hips, she was glad she got those words out because now she was speechless. Her eyes immediately followed the artwork of his koi sleeve tattoo across his chest to where he had a tattoo of a small heart with a thirty-second note inside. Unable to stop herself, her eyes traveled down to a small trail of hair below his belly button that disappeared into his jeans.
"That's none of your business," he said as he closed the door then walked over to the couch where a notebook lay open. "You've been drinking. If you're going to be a big rock star when you grow up, you'll have to learn how to handle that better."
"I am all grown up," Lucky said, annoyed. "I'm not a child."
"Then why would an adult woman come to a man's hotel room in the middle of the night? Were you hoping to get--"
She waited for him to say the word, but he didn't. Instead he turned away.
"You should get some sleep," he said.
"Don't tell me what to do."
He sat down and picked up his notebook, slipped a pen into the open page, and closed it. Lucky couldn't help but be curious. When Silverlight was huge, she read everything about Jude that she could get her hands on. She never read anything about him being a writer.
"Working on a song?" she asked.
"Didn't I ask you to leave?"
"Actually no, you didn't," she said.
She sat beside him and reached for the notebook, but then stopped when she thought about how violated she would feel if someone opened her own notebook.
"I'm sorry," Lucky said quietly.
"For?"
"For barging in. For reaching for your notebook. For being here," she said as their eyes met. "Feel free to stop me at any time."
"No, keep going. I'm enjoying this."
"I hate you," she said, grinning.
"I can tell. I'd hate to see what would happen if you liked me."
He gave her a crooked smile and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Suddenly she felt a little di
zzy and warm.
"Are you okay, Olivia?" he asked as he moved closer to her. "Are you going to be sick?"
"I…I don't know. I'm just not feeling well all of a sudden."
Jude got up, poured her a glass of water, then sat down beside her and slipped his muscular arm behind her on the back of the couch. Having him so close made her heart flutter and her head spin even more.
"Drink this, it’s just water," he said. "How much did you drink? I know you're young and on tour, but you have to watch yourself. You can't trust everyone."
"One. And I am watching myself."
"One? One drink? Geez, you're either a lightweight or that was some drink. Guess you're a cheap date," he joked.
"Guess I would be."
"Guess?"
"I've never been on a date," she said, then quickly bit her tongue.
Damn, why couldn't she keep her mouth shut? It seemed she embarrassed herself more and more lately. And he was the last person she ever wanted to embarrass herself in front of.
"Wow, why not? A beautiful girl like you must've had guys falling all over you."
"I'm not beautiful," she said quietly.
"You know you're beautiful. Don't play coy with me. When you're on stage--"
"When I'm on stage, I have confidence. That doesn't make me beautiful."
"Okay, I get it, but you don't need the stage. You're gorgeous on and off the stage. And confidence is sexy. Trust me on that."
Her face flushed and heat spread over her skin. This is what it feels like to be on fire, she thought, hoping he wouldn't notice.
His eyes locked in on hers and she felt lost in them. Nothing else mattered anymore but being near him. As he slid closer to her on the couch, she held her breath hoping he was going to kiss her.
He slid his arm onto her shoulders and pulled her closer. With his other hand, he softly stroked her cheek before moving his fingers into her hair. Her heart was pounding wildly. Tilting his head slightly, their lips were about to touch when he stopped.
"Never been on a date, huh?" he whispered, his lips so close to hers she could feel his breath. "Have you ever...?"
Lucky: A Rockstar Romance Two Book Boxed Set Page 7
