by Cari Quinn
“Holy shit,” Lila said with chattering teeth. “And to think I was crying about how hot I was an hour ago.”
Margo sluiced water off her face and flipped back her hair. “There will be retribution, boys.”
“Bring it.”
Harper came in with three mops and a bucket. “Enough! I bring you people treats and this is the thanks I get.”
Deacon headed her way with a cup of ice behind his back.
“And if you think that ice is going down your pregnant wife’s back, you will be sleeping alone!”
“Aww, c’mon,” Deacon said.
She pushed a mop into his hands. Turned to Simon and Nick with the other two.
“This is sexist,” Simon said.
“No. This is your mess to clean up. You started it, Simon.”
“I did not.”
Harper’s eyebrow rose. “You were the one who dropped a handful down Nick’s shirt. I saw it. You were the instigator.”
“Dammit.”
“Gray take Pix to get her cleaned up.”
“How come they don’t have to clean up?”
“Because, Pretty Boy, Jazz has been on her feet too long. I got to sit while you guys were doing photo-ops.”
Simon growled.
“Chop, chop.” Harper turned toward the kitchen. She held a finger up. “If I come back in here and you guys left the room a mess, you will never live through my retribution.”
“Would she really be that bad?” Simon asked.
“You don’t even know,” Deacon answered.
Margo helped Lila push the furniture back to where it belonged and collect the leftover fan club memorabilia. “You guys are kind of amazing.”
Lila shook out her wet hair. “We do all right. These guys are still excited about everything. It helps for all the fan stuff.”
“True.”
“So, you’re going to stay with the tour?”
Margo looked up. “I want to. If they’ll have me,” she said on a low voice.
Lila smiled. “No need to whisper. They’re excited. The thing is you have to decide if you’re going to stay with me at the hotel—which I don’t mind—or take the bus with the guys.”
“With Simon and Nick?”
“I doubt you want to take the baby central bus.”
“Um, no.”
Lila grinned. “Didn’t think so.”
The idea of being on the same bus as Simon had her stomach swirling and her head spinning. “Can I take a look at it first?”
“Sure.”
Margo glanced at the three guys mopping. “They look like they actually know what they’re doing.”
“Bars. Lots and lots of bars.”
“That makes sense.”
“Doesn’t it?” Lila nodded to the doorway. “Let’s go take a look at testosterone express.”
“I’m probably asking too much for an ounce of privacy.”
“You are correct.” Lila laughed and took the stairs to the side of the venue where the busses were parked. “But it’s a lot nicer than their first bus.”
Margo followed Lila onto the bus. It was huge. The front was fashioned with a chair that she was sure bus drivers in the city would drool over. Then there was a rather large common area that had couches on either side beneath the tinted windows.
Lila pressed in a knob at the front of the bus and revealed a guitar holder and shelving units full of notebooks and pens. There was another holder on the door for another guitar, or maybe one of her violins.
“They do a lot of writing on the road. Passes the time.” She nodded to the bottom shelf. “Simon is forever drawing so be careful if you have your own notebook. He’s a thief.”
Margo laughed. “I’ll remember that.”
“The couches convert to a larger mattress.” She pulled down a hidden handle and slid the couch cushion out like a trundle bed. “I try not to think about what they could possibly do on those things, but it’s usually reserved for extra guests on the bus. A family member coming to visit, that sort of deal.”
Margo’s eyes widened. A groupie banging station. Well, that was a different way to look at things.
Lila rolled her eyes. “Yeah. As I said, don’t think about it too much or you will end up carrying around a can of Lysol.”
“Too late.”
“Kitchenette and microwave.” She opened slim cupboards that were remarkably deep. “Just let me know what kind of thing you want.” She reached up to the top. “This one is a freezer, so you can get little dinners for the long rides.”
“You think of everything.”
“My job.” Lila kept moving. “And back here are the bunks. This bus was outfitted for four, so you can pick up or down.”
“They didn’t spread out?”
Lila shrugged. “They have their rituals.”
She peeked into the bunk. It was plenty big enough to sleep in and long enough for her height. That was something new.
“Bathroom there.”
Margo opened the door, expecting a closet but found a huge glass shower, a commode, and a sink. “Holy crap.”
“Yeah, all the guys ever asked for was a better bathroom, so we went with really nice.”
“I think that’s bigger than my second bathroom in my house.”
Lila laughed. “So there you have it. You can stay with me or with the heathens.”
The idea of rooming with Lila had merit. They got along well and both tended toward the quiet. But if she was on the bus with Simon and Nick, she might be able to see how they wrote together.
Watch the build of a song from the ground up.
She also got the dirty socks and unfortunate bodily functions of males in the con column.
But to be surrounded by music again? A different kind of music?
“I can see it on your face.”
“The music thing.”
Lila nodded. “You’ve got the bug. I can see it. Nick can be a little peckish about sharing when it comes to music, but I bet you can get around him. Simon…he is always scribbling. He had no problem collaborating.”
“It seems like it could be amazing.”
“The only thing I will tell you is…being a woman and knowing what’s going on because I have eyes.”
Margo crossed her arms over her chest.
“Drop the defensive act. We all know you and Simon are…” She waved her hand. “Doing stuff.”
“Great.”
“It’s no big deal. I would just recommend that you keep it off the bus. Things can get hairy and this should be a safe haven for you and for everyone.”
Margo relaxed. “That’s a good idea, actually.”
“I have them.”
“That you do.”
“Okay, let’s go get your stuff from my hotel room and get you settled.”
“Good deal.”
They turned and Simon stood in the doorway. “Ladies.”
“You have a new roommate.”
Simon’s eyes fired then did that slumberous I-just-got-out-of-bed thing and Margo’s skin prickled with goosebumps. Definitely keeping sex off the bus.
“Welcome aboard, Violin Girl.”
“Thanks,” she said quietly.
“Hurry back, now. I love bedtime stories.”
“Simon,” Lila warned.
“What?” He grinned.
Keeping sex off the bus was going to require Herculean strength.
Definitely.
Sixteen
Simon blew on his mug of ginger honey tea and stared out the window. The lush green crept out from the median and along the sides of the highway. With them heading across the country, he wasn’t sure how much longer they’d have green and vibrant instead of brown from lack of rain.
He grinned as the Brooklyn Dawn bus passed them with a yawning Jamie sitting in the sun. They didn’t have the super-tinted windows that Oblivion’s bus did and were probably dying. The sun had been ruthless for the last few days. It was mid-June and they were entering t
he fourth week of the tour.
As much as the thick heat of Georgia hurt to think about, he’d appreciated the heavy moisture. His throat did, especially. His vocal cords had actually felt well-lubricated.
The outdoor amphitheaters were dry as dust in most towns. Of course the Midwest was having a record-breaking heat wave, and that’s where they were headed next.
“Morning.”
Simon’s gaze swiveled to Margo and he swallowed a groan. The heat meant Margo wore a helluva lot less than she usually did. Like the boxer shorts and racerback tank top she habitually wore to sleep.
God help him.
They’d both agreed to keep sex off the bus. Well, mostly he’d gotten the directive from Margo, but knowing it was only Nick on the bus with them gave him the heebs.
No need to step into that arena with him. Things had been different a few years ago. The women he’d hooked up with had been transient. This was a whole different kind of…thing.
It wasn’t a relationship. It was more like frenetic sex in any and all available places. Last night had been in the stairwell between the venue and the locker room.
Christ, she’d tried to blow the top of his head off when she’d pushed him against the wall and sucked him off in three minutes flat. Then walked away with a flick of her tongue at the corner of her mouth.
His cum.
There, on the edge of her mouth. And she’d neatly licked her lips clean and went about her business.
Now she would sit across from him on the bus in her all purple night clothes and he wasn’t supposed to jump her.
How had his life come to this?
“Sleep all right?”
She nodded and unwound the braid she always wore to bed. Her eyes were heavy and her cheeks rosy with fresh creases on them from her pillow.
She was fucking beautiful without a lick of makeup on.
It was disgusting.
“How long until we arrive, Joe?” Margo asked.
“You’ve got a good six hours, Miss Margo.”
She tipped her head back. “Ugh. I should have slept longer.” With a disgusted groan, she stood and rummaged through the coffee cupboard. “What are you working on?”
“Nothing.” Simon looked down at his notebook. He’d been scribbling lyrics in the margins, but none of them went together. A verse, then a bridge of another song and a chorus of yet another.
None of them were good either.
In the middle was an owl that looked more like a dragon in disguise. He was pretty fucked up. Probably because he’d started it in his bunk last night when he’d had too much wine.
Damn Lila for bringing wine onto the tour. He was enjoying it more than booze lately. There had to be something wrong with him.
“Doesn’t look like nothing.” She tipped her head. “Looks like one of the little guys from How to Train Your Dragon.”
“Yes. Thank you. I couldn’t figure out how I’d come up with it.”
“We were on a cartoon kick last week.”
“Yes, you made us watch Tangled four times.”
She smirked over her shoulder as she added milk to her coffee. “You know you liked it.”
He and Nick had watched it a fifth time without her, but she didn’t need to know that. “More like we were thinking up ways she could use her hair for more than its healing properties.”
“Perv.”
“Indeed.”
She picked up the remote. “Want to watch Charmed?”
Simon stretched out his legs on the couch. “I do love me some Piper Halliwell.”
“Really? I thought you liked Phoebe.”
“Nah, I like the one who can blow up shit.”
“Huh.” She curled onto her couch and hit play on their Netflix account. “You surprise me sometimes.”
“Yeah, well, you surprise me every day.”
She turned her attention to him and gave him her half frown, half smile thing. It was so cute because it made her freckly nose scrunch up.
They passed the time watching the three witch sisters blow up shit, discover Phoebe’s boyfriend was a demon, and help random idiots in every episode.
Somehow scintillating stuff.
Nick came out during hour two and watched with them.
“Okay boys and girl. T-minus thirty.”
Margo jumped up off the couch and sprinted for the showers.
Nick stood. “No…dammit.” The door slammed and the snick of the lock made him groan. “Every time.”
“I’m getting to like cold showers.”
Nick snorted. “You need them for a whole different reason.”
Simon turned in his seat, spreading his arms across the length of the couch. “It’s hard being me.”
“Oh yeah, hardship of the ages.”
“You don’t know.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “You want to take the interview for the radio station or me?”
“I’ll get the one after the show.”
Nick nodded. “Sounds good.”
By the time they pulled into Alpharetta, he and Nick had a game plan and a setlist.
“So, no on ‘Lit’ and ‘Taste of Candy’?”
Simon shrugged. “Not feeling ‘Lit’ lately. If you want to do a ‘Taste of Candy/Sugar Kiss’ medley, that’s cool.”
“Hmm. Maybe.” Nick scribbled in the little Moleskin notebook he kept in his pocket at all times. It had every setlist from the start of the tour in it. And his off the wall grading system, as well.
Margo scooted across the narrow passage between the bathroom and her bunk, flashing a lot of leg.
Christ. Damp Margo did not need to be in his head today.
He stood and grabbed a baseball cap from the overhead bin. “I’ll grab a shower later. I’m going to sweat as soon as I walk out that door.”
Nick nodded. “I’ll see you in there.”
He slapped Joe on the shoulder on his way by. “You are the man.”
Joe grunted which made Simon grin. They traded off between Joe and the new driver, Bobby. He knew Joe preferred to drive the baby bus. Mostly because he was in love with Pix, like an indulgent father with an impending grandbaby. The man was fiercely loyal to Jazz and to a lesser extent, Harper.
He hopped off the last stair and caught sight of Jamie and David from Brooklyn Dawn. “Hey guys.”
Jamison DuCaine pushed her jet black and red-streaked hair over her shoulder. “You’re up before noon. What’s wrong, forgot to go to bed?”
“I should ask the same. You were drinking me glass for glass of that California white last night, DuCaine.”
“Yeah, well it was a cool one hundred degrees on the bus. I couldn’t sleep.” She tugged her sunglasses down her nose. “Besides, wine is for pussies. May as well be drinking grape juice.”
Simon barked out a laugh. “Nice. It worked for me.”
Jamie put her shades back on. “That’s because you pickled your liver with vodka, man. You can’t hang with the big kids anymore.”
“I’m literally two years older than you.”
“I know, so old.”
Simon shook his head. “You are a cruel, cruel woman.”
“You have no idea, Pretty Boy.”
Simon sagged his shoulders. “I’m going to kill whoever told you that nickname.”
“You’d have to kill quite a few of your bandmates. They all call you that.”
“Bastards, all of you.” Simon called out to the group standing near the side entrance to the venue.
The two pregnant ladies just wiggled their butts at him.
“Nice.”
They were wearing matching denim overalls with tank tops, Harper in red and Jazz in screaming yellow. He hated to admit that they were adorable. As long as they weren’t in his bus they were adorable, anyway.
Simon climbed the stairs to the backstage area and paused when he saw Lila and Donovan both there. Well, that wasn’t good.
“What’s up, guys?” Simon asked as he met with the rest of the g
roup.
“Where Nicholas?”
Really not good. Simon tipped back his hat. “He was getting dressed.”
Lila pulled out her phone and typed before slipping it back in her pocket. “All right. As soon as he gets here, we’re going to talk.”
“Is there something wrong?” Jazz wound her arm around Gray’s.
“The whole band should be here for this,” Lila said. She looked up at Donovan. “There’s a small room over there we can use.”
Jamie pushed her sunglasses onto her head as she walked by with a frown.
“Why do I feel like I’m going to the principal’s office?” Deacon asked.
Simon snorted. “Like you were ever in detention, St. Deacon.”
“That’s what you think.”
Simon’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, well. Looks like I might have to ply you with shots tonight, Big D.”
“Unlikely.”
Simon made a face at his back. He followed everyone in and sprawled in a folding chair.
Nick came in five minutes later with his wet blond hair slicked back. “Oh, shit,” he said and stared at Donovan. He sat down next to Simon. “What’s the suit doing here?” he whispered.
Simon shrugged.
Donovan nodded to Nick and dipped his hand into his pocket. “As you know the lawsuit with William—I’m sorry, Snake—has been a beastly bit of business. I know he used to be a mate, but at this point, we’ll have to cut off any talks with him.”
Nick shrank down in his chair.
Simon nudged him. “You haven’t.”
“He’s texted me a few times.”
“Christ, Nicky.”
“What was I supposed to do?”
“Mr. Crandall?”
Nick sat up. “Yes?”
“If this goes to trial, you’re on the list for the plaintiff.”
“I’m not great with the legal-speak, but did you just say I’m on Snake’s side?”
Donovan tapped his steepled fingers together. “No. But whatever they have to bring to court on this will hinge on your testimony.”
Nick stood. “I didn’t do anything.”
Lila held up a hand. “He’s not saying that. But whatever Snake has up his sleeve will have something to do with something you said.”
“That sure sounds like I did something.”
Donovan touched her arm. “I don’t like where this is going. I’m still convinced he doesn’t have enough to win, but a sob story and a tough jury in a civil suit don’t always go together. I think we should settle.”
