She's Still The One: A Brother's Best Friend, Rockstar Romance

by Kaci Rose

  I look back to where the guys are still surrounded. One of the girls from the guy's management team is there and flirting with my brother. He seems to be flirting back just a little. Maybe, it's a good thing the girl from the charity turned him down. Doesn't look like he's ready to settle down.

  I try not to look, but my eyes move on their own to Dallas. The blonde is still rubbing her tits on his arm, some brunette has attached herself to his arm, and all while, he talks to a guy in front of him.

  Fuck, I can't stay here and watch this. I stand up and without looking back I make my way out to the bus. One of the security guys from the back door walks with me to the bus door, since it's now dark out. I thank him, going in to grab my yoga pants and a t-shirt to change in the bathroom and clean off my makeup.

  Was it my mind playing tricks on me that made it seem like Dallas was uncomfortable with the girls all over him? That’s crazy, right? He lives for that sort of thing. He will pick one of them, head to his dressing room, bang the crap out of her, come back to the bus, and pass out.

  Why does it hurt so much more now knowing that's what he’s doing? It's been this way for years; nothing has changed. I need a distraction, since I know I will have the bus to myself for an hour, maybe more. Going to the living area, I grab a bag of pretzels and another water, before sitting down on the couch.

  I love this bus. It's extra wide, so we aren't cramped. There are two couches facing each other and a dining room table booth across from the small kitchen. There are four large bunks, and each of us has our own TV in the bunk. But since no one else is here, I’ll settle in on the couch, where it's more comfortable.

  Turning the TV on, I pull up a sappy Hallmark movie, planning to get lost in someone else's happily ever after, since mine seems to have taken a wrong turn. The movie is just starting, when the bus door opens.

  Great, there goes my relaxing evening. So, help me if one of the guys thinks they’re bringing some random hookup into this bus, I will rip their balls off. They have never done that shit to me before, and I won't tolerate it now.

  Imagine my surprise, when in walks Dallas.

  Alone.

  Chapter 6

  Dallas

  This used to be my favorite part of the night, when everyone wants your attention. People from the venue are always talking your ear off, and whatever girls are backstage swarm you.

  I'm trying to talk to Mitch about the plans for the next few days, and there are two girls who aren't getting the hint that I don't want them hanging on me. I pull my arm away, but they just reattach themselves.

  I turn to look at Austin, thinking maybe I can give her the come rescue me look, but she’s standing up and hurt mixed with disappointment is all over her face. Shit, she's thinking I'm going to be taking one of these girls home.

  Six months ago, yeah, I probably would have, but not now. I can't stand their touch, when the girl I’ve wanted for more than half my life, is walking out the door upset.

  "Mitch, let's finish this in my dressing room," I say and yank my arms away from the girls a final time, before stalking across the room.

  I slam the door and lock it, before turning back to Mitch.

  "No more groupies. I'm done being pawed over. I'm done with that life. If you aren't going to help try to turn my image around, then you will at least keep them away from me backstage after shows, or the tabloids will be painting me the hulk, instead of the playboy." I growl at Mitch.

  His eyes go wide, and I take a deep breath and grab another bottle of water. This isn't his fault. He wasn't on the last tour. Hell, Dave wasn't even on the tour. He popped in at some of the key shows, and as long as the PAs he had on us gave good reports, he let us be.

  "Shit, I'm sorry. Just no more. This is getting old fast, and I'm really over it."

  "Uh oh, Dave's going to be pissed." Mitch looks almost scared.

  "What does me wanting to turn my life around have to do with Dave?" I growl.

  "That's not it. It has been our experience, when a band member says, 'This is getting old,' it's code for they are thinking of leaving the band."

  "What? I'm not leaving. The playboy life is getting old. I want to settle down, have a family, and kids. I sure as hell don't want to quit."

  He gives me a skeptical look. "If you say so, man." He pulls out his phone, and his fingers go flying across it, texting or emailing.

  "We’re done here, and I'm going to go to bed. The first stop always drains me." Not really, but any excuse to get out of here, I will use.

  "Yeah, go, go. See you in Atlanta." He doesn't even look up from his phone.

  I walk out careful to avoid the group now surrounding Landon, who has his back to me. One of the security guards walks with me to the bus, and I take a deep breath, before opening the door. I hope she’s still awake. I don't want her going to bed thinking I was out all night with someone.

  Walking into the bus, I find Austin on the couch. She’s curled up with a blanket and some movie on. Though, she has washed off her makeup, her hair is still in the loose braid from the show. She looks more beautiful now than she did on stage earlier.

  What puts a smile on my face is the look of pure shock on her face. I'm glad I can still surprise her after all these years.

  "What are you doing here?" She asks me, as her eyebrows bunch together, like she's concentrating on what she wants to say next.

  I shrug my shoulders and flop down on the couch next to her in the middle seat. I don't want too much space between us.

  "You're here." Is all I say.

  "I had my bets on you and the blonde." She tries to joke, but I can tell it bothers her.

  "Nope." I pop the p, looking over at her. Then, I say the one thing I’ve had trouble voicing to Landon, but to Austin, it seems to flow right out. "It's been months, since I've been with anyone. That life just doesn't appeal to me anymore. I've actually been feeling a little lost. Landon still sees me as a playboy." I laugh bitterly.

  "I mean, my best fucking friend can't even believe I want to change my ways. How am I going to get anyone else, too?" I lean my head on the back of the couch and stare at the ceiling unable to look at her. I can't take it if she gives me that same look Landon does. The look that says 'sure you do' without them actually having to say it.

  When her soft hand touches my arm, I roll my head to look over at her.

  "I believe you. I've watched you these past two weeks. You’re home alone every night. Hell, if you hadn't changed your ways, you would have had a house full of girls the night I showed up, enjoying the fact that Landon was gone, and you could go at it anywhere in the house. If you ever used my room, I don't want to know. Lie to me and tell me your housekeeper Lysol's everything." She offers me a big smile.

  "I'll tell you a secret." I grin, though I doubt she believes what I'm about to tell her.

  "Hmm, I'll offer you one in return. You go first."

  "I never slept with a girl anywhere in the house or on the property."

  "What? Why?" She asks shocked. I pick my head up and turn my body to face her.

  "It's your home and Landon's, and it never felt right. Plus, it's harder to kick a girl out than leave, because I didn't do the whole spend the night thing." I cringe at that. I want to be honest with her, and I can't change the past, but I know how it sounds now.

  "You've never had a girl in your bed?" She asks.

  "No one but you," I say, as I think of all the times she would crawl into bed with me over the years, when she was scared. A bad dream, or a bad storm, or the time Landon made her watch Paranormal Activity, and she couldn't sleep, much less sleep alone, for weeks. After that, we both agreed no more horror movies for her.

  I expect her to go off on some tangent about not believing me, but instead, she shocks the hell out of me and smiles.

  "I like that. A piece of you only I get."

  Damn. It had been hard to hold my feelings back for her before, but this girl is making it impossible not to fall in love with her.
Then, she reaches out and takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. When she goes to pull her hand back, I tighten my grip. I'm not ready to let go and give up the warmth this small touch gives me. It centers me as much as it's turning me on.

  I clear my throat. "So, how was it on stage tonight?"

  "Better than I expected thanks to you." She says, as she leans her head to the side and rests it on the back of the couch. Her eyes rake over me, but her expression is hard to read, it almost looks like she’s holding back a smile.

  "What did I do?" I ask her.

  "You held my attention and made me forget about all the people in the crowd."

  Damn, I hadn't done it on purpose. I just couldn't take my eyes off her. In that dress, she looked breathtaking, and getting to sing the song with her, even I forgot we were on stage in front of thousands of people. It felt like we were in our own little bubble, and she was singing to me, because I sure as hell meant every word I sang to her, even if I can't tell her that. But if I could tell her that, it would probably send her running scared.

  So, I take the coward’s way out and let her think that was exactly what I was doing.

  "Happy to help. I know you don't like the crowds, but they loved you tonight, and I was glad you were there."

  "I can see why you guys like it. It was a thrill, but it's still not my thing. So, don't get any bright ideas about me going on the next tour with you guys."

  "What were you going to watch?" I ask her, changing the subject.

  "Some Hallmark movie. We can watch something else." She hands me the remote.

  "Nope, you were here first, so let's do it." I hit play, and we settle in to watch the movie about a girl returning home and falling for her high school boyfriend all over again, and how close to home it hits.

  About twenty minutes in, she keeps shifting around. "You okay?"

  "Yeah, this couch isn't as comfortable as it looks."

  Nodding my head, I walk to my bunk and grab my pillow. The side of the couch is next to the booth from the dining room table, and there’s an art to getting comfortable. Instead of letting Austin in on the secret, I decide to push my luck.

  "Here scoot over," I tell her, and she gives me a weird look, then moves to the center of the couch, where I was just sitting. I put the pillow against the back of the booth and settle in, facing sideways. I put one leg up along the back of the couch and keep one rested on the floor.

  Austin opens her mouth, no doubt to ask what I'm doing, but I just grab her hips and pull her to me, until her back is resting against my chest. The TV is on the wall at about the driver's seat, and now, neither of us has to turn our neck to watch it.

  "Better?" I ask her, even though I can feel her whole body is tense.

  She takes a deep breath and leans all the way back against me a little more. Then, she finally relaxes and pulls the blanket up over herself.

  "Yes, thank you." She whispers, her voice uneven. I'm glad I affect her at least some. If I don't want my cock getting rock hard and digging into her back, I can't even think about her body leaning on me.

  She’s still a bit tense, so without thinking too much, I start running my fingers up her arm slightly. She shivers and pulls the blanket tighter, but she finally relaxes.

  The movie is almost over, when the door opens, and we both jump apart, as Landon walks in. He sees me and stops dead in his tracks.

  "Man, I didn't expect to see you here." Then, he looks over at Austin. "What’s wrong?"

  "Nothing. Just was watching a movie and got into it, when the door opening scared me." She says.

  She's a fast thinker. Plus, it really is the truth; she’s just leaving out the fact that we were cuddling on the couch.

  He looks over at me again. "You going back out?"

  I have to fight not to roll my eyes. How can his sister believe me, but he can't?

  "No." Is all I say. I don't want to have this conversation in front of Austin.

  "Well, let me text Tony, and we can head out early then." He says.

  Tony is our bus driver, who we picked up about three years ago. He's a big guy and has doubled as a bodyguard a few times. Tony is a good guy, doesn't put up with shit even from us, and has been great at keeping us in line. He's a big part of the reason I want to turn my life around.

  On the last tour, there were many nights I couldn't sleep. When he would be driving, I'd come up and sit with him, and we'd talk. He was like me, running around, a new girl every night, until he met his wife, and she made him want to change. They were married for ten years, before she passed away from cancer.

  I confessed to him about Austin, because I knew he wouldn't tell anyone. He's seen and heard plenty around here, so he could have leaked to the press for some nice money. But he hasn't, so we trust him and pay him well for it.

  I was up all night with him, telling him everything. From that night on, there hasn't been another girl. He made me realize I was using the girls to push Austin away and make sure I had no chance with her or any decent girl.

  Tony walks in a few minutes later. He looks like a biker with his gray hair pulled back in a low ponytail and long gray beard. His jeans have holes around the knees, and he always wears a shirt supporting our troops, police, or firefighters.

  Today's shirt says, 'Stomp my flag, and I'll stomp your ass.' That pretty much sums up Tony in one shirt.

  The moment he's in the door, Austin's face lights up.

  "Hey, Tony. What’s on your to-do list in Atlanta this time?" Austin asks.

  Tony always picks one thing to see or do, while we’re at each location, before he comes back to the bus and sleeps. Both Landon and I can drive the bus if he ever needs a break, but he's never once taken one, and he always has us to locations early.

  "Georgia Aquarium. I want to see those whale sharks again."

  Tony winks at me, and then does a quick walkthrough of the bus, before getting ready to head out.

  "Well, I'm going to bed. I'm beat." Landon says and makes his way towards his bunk.

  Turning to Austin, I run a finger lightly up her arm, like I was doing before. I’m quickly becoming addicted to touching her. "I really enjoyed watching the movie with you."

  She offers me a soft smile. "Me too."

  I glance over my shoulder and see Landon is in the bathroom, so I lean down and kiss her cheek. “Go get some sleep, baby girl. We have a long day tomorrow." I don't know why I just called her that, and I wait for her to call me out on it, but instead, her cheeks flush, and she ducks her head and goes to her bunk.

  I settle into the passenger’s seat next to Tony and sigh.

  "Going to be a fun tour, huh Dallas?" I know exactly what he means. Being so close to Austin, it's not going to be easy to hide my feelings. Day one, and I’ve failed miserably.

  I have a feeling this tour is either going to make us or break us in more ways than one.

  Chapter 7

  Austin

  I’m excited today is a down day. We have a few concerts under our belt now, and tomorrow night, we play in Asheville, North Carolina. So today, Dallas and I are going to visit The Biltmore Estate. Landon is doing some food tour that sounded really fun, too. But having a day of Dallas to myself, as we explore this mansion, holds a little more appeal.

  Landon headed out about thirty minutes ago, saying he was going to start the day coffee shop hopping. More like getting mobbed by fans, as he tries to drink coffee. Pass.

  I take one last look at myself in the mirror. I have on jeans, tennis shoes, and a long blue flannel shirt. I braided my hair over my shoulder, and I have sunglasses to use that will hopefully stop anyone from realizing it's me, not that I’m as recognizable as the guys.

  I'm finishing my hair, as the bus door opens, and Dallas steps in. He runs his eyes over me, and it feels more intimate than it has in the past. Things have shifted, since our night of watching the movie on the couch. It's more intense. He flirts and chooses to spend time with me over the crowd, like Landon is.

&nbs
p; "You look beautiful." He looks me over again, and then clears his throat. "I rented us a car for the day." He nods his head towards the door.

  I smile and grab my purse, as we head out. When I see the car, I just laugh.

  "They didn't have an older one, I tried." He says, as I take in the brand-new Corvette. I shake my head and look over at him.

  "This is perfect."

  Dallas opens my door for me, before moving to his side and getting in.

  "Top up or down?" He asks.

  "Up on the way there; down on the way home."

  He nods and revs the car, before heading out. I take in Asheville, as we go. Dallas drives a bit slower, almost like he knows I want to see everything. As we pull into The Biltmore gate, it's like being transported back in time. The long winding driveway pulls you away from town and down into the rolling countryside. I can imagine horse-drawn carriages making this drive and later the cars from the 1920's.

  I look over, and Dallas's smile is as big as mine. We skip the visitor center, because he bought our tickets online and head in scoring a parking spot that’s close enough to walk.

  The views of the front of the house with the large fountain are exactly like the pictures.

  "We have to get a picture," I say. We turn our backs to the house, as I pull out my phone to take a selfie with the massive house in the background. Dallas wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to his side. He leans his head to the side on top of mine, and we both have huge smiles.

  "This is my new favorite picture,” I tell him.

  "Don't post it online, until after we leave, or we’ll be mobbed." He says.

  "Yeah, I'll wait until tomorrow to post it, but I’ll send it to Landon to show him what he’s missing," I say, as I send a quick message to him.