We’d been so busy hopping around on a string of smaller venue shows that I hadn’t had much of a chance to get away, so I had prepared a list and planned to squeeze in a shopping trip before we headed off again.
I was giving Ivy a quick snack when Claire appeared at the front of the bus.
“Hey, Elle, what are you guys up to?” Claire asked cheerily.
“We are in desperate need of groceries. I shouldn’t be long.”
“I’ll be hanging out with Ivy,” Chase replied from the couch.
Claire took my list off the counter, giving it a look. “Why don’t you let me go shopping for you? I could even bring Ivy with me. You don’t get any down time. And I’d love to have some time with her.”
Her mouth formed a pout, her eyes large and begging, waiting to see what I would say. How could I say no to her? Besides, a couple of hours off after weeks of constantly being on the clock would be nice.
“Okay, thanks,” I said.
I cleaned Ivy up and helped Claire slide her into her coat and headed out.
For the first time in a while, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I grabbed a cleaning cloth and began to wipe off the counter.
“You don’t need to do that right now, you know. You can relax,” Chase said.
He was stretched on the couch, playing a videogame. I leaned up against the counter and watched him for a minute.
“Do you want to play?” he asked, glancing over at me.
I shrugged. “Why not.”
“Come on over.” He patted the cushion next to him.
I sat down next to him, my nerves igniting inside of me - over sitting on the same couch as him? What a ridiculous mess I was.
“Here.” He handed me a controller and returned to the menu so we could start the go-cart racing game from the beginning. We played quietly at first, but it didn’t take long for me to get more and more into it, feeling competitive. The more we played, the more Chase cursed under his breath.
“Have you played this before?”
I giggled. “No, this is my first time. I like this game though.”
“You’re good at it too. Damn, I can’t believe I am being outplayed by a newbie.” He laughed. “Okay. Let’s play something completely different.”
“Monty Python fan I take it?” I asked, noticing the reference.
“Oh yeah. I grew up on reruns.”
I smiled. “Me too.”
The next game was a hack and slash game that pit us against each other.
“You are going down now,” he said, leaning his forearms on his thighs.
“Are you shit talking me?” I laughed.
“Yeah. It’s okay if you can’t take the heat.”
“Bring it on, sucker.”
It quickly became evident that Chase was going down and he began to nudge me, stretching his hand out to block my view of the screen.
“You are such a cheater!” I giggled.
He huffed and dropped his controller in defeat as my character on the screen ripped off his character’s head.
“I quit. You are officially the champion.” He held out his hand to me.
I shook it. “I must say victory tastes pretty sweet.”
“Next time we play I’m going to kick your butt.”
“Uh huh, we’ll see about that.”
Chase leaned back against the couch and stretched. I shifted to the side to give him some additional room as he reached to pickup his guitar and began to strum; it was the same piece I’d heard him working on before.
“Are you close to finishing that song?” I asked.
He sighed. “Not even close. I’ve never had so much trouble writing before. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
I set the controller down beside me and saw a pile of sheet music with notes scribbled over it on the coffee table.
“Is this the song?” When he nodded, I continued, “Do you mind if I take a look?”
“You know about music?” He watched me as I tried to focus on what he had written down, making me nervous.
“I know a little. My aunt was a piano teacher and my mom was a music teacher at our local high school. That pretty much ensured I not only learned a little bit from them, but I also ended up with a musical name.”
He looked at me with his eyebrows pulled together.
“Melody.”
“What about the melody? Is there something wrong with it?”
“No, that’s my full name,” I explained.
“Are you kidding?”
“Dead serious.”
“Wait a sec, I remember Claire calling you Mel when we met.”
I glanced sideways at him. “Yeah, that was a mistake, but what did you think Mel stood for?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Melanie? Mel…on?”
“You thought my name was Melon?” I tossed a pillow at his head. He caught it with one hand, deflecting it and laughing loudly.
“Not really, no. I guess I hadn’t put any thought into it. Okay then, Melody, since you are musically inclined, I’d like to hear what you think is wrong with this song.”
“I don’t know…” I hesitated, holding up my hands.
“Just give it a listen.”
His voice was like heaven; it washed over me, making my skin tingle. But he stopped abruptly.
“Why’d you stop?”
“That’s all I have. I’m stuck. You should have a look at it,” he said, picking up the sheet music and a pencil from the coffee table and handing them to me. “Come on. It’s not like I am getting anywhere with it on my own.”
With a shrug, I took the pencil and studied the paper for a moment before making a couple of changes and handing it back to him.
“Try that.”
A small smile played at his lips as he played the chords once more and mouthed the words he had written.
“I don’t know how you managed to fix in seconds what I have been struggling on for weeks. Thanks for your help, Melody.”
“It was nothing really, just a new set of eyes on a piece that is already pretty special. And you don’t need to call me by my full name, no one has since high school, and mostly that was when I got teased for being named after music.”
“That’s too bad, it’s a beautiful name. I think it suits you,” he stated simply, all the while inspecting the strings on his guitar.
Heat flushed across my face and I was glad he wasn’t looking at me. A compliment from Chase? Was he sick? Either way, I’d take it.
Chase set his guitar down beside him. “Now that we have this cool new truce going on, I hope you realize that I plan to take full advantage of your musical talents.”
“What? I looked at a paper for two seconds, that is not talent. You and the guys, now that is talent. You wouldn’t be so popular and have so many amazing songs if you sucked.”
“Hang on, are you saying you like my music?” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.
Oh please,” I scoffed. “Just because I like a couple of songs doesn’t mean that I’m going to fall at your feet. Sorry if that disappoints you.”
He chuckled as he got to his feet. “You know, I had a lot of fun this afternoon. Thanks for hanging out when you could have found something else to do with your time. Anyway, I’d better get my ass in the shower before the show tonight.”
“I had fun too.”
I wasn’t sure how much time I had before Claire would return, so I climbed up into my spacious bunk to read a few pages of a book I had started a couple of nights before. I didn’t get far before the sound of running water had me imagining what he would look like as the water poured down his perfectly sculpted chest. Or what it would be like to be pushed up against the shower with him.
Rolling over, I groaned into my pillow. Unfortunately being stuck on this tour bus didn’t exactly provide the best conditions for getting any relief of my lady needs, it just fuelled my frustrations further. Hrm, I wondered if he got off in the shower? Shit, my thoughts were spinning aroun
d again.
Chapter Eight
Chase
It wasn’t unusual for the sound of Ivy playing to wake me in the morning, but when I woke the next morning it was quiet – too quiet.
I glanced at my phone. It was later than usual. I threw on a shirt and climbed out of bed to investigate.
“Morning,” Elle greeted me quietly, covering her mouth to yawn. She was standing at the stove, stirring something in a pot. Her hair was a mess and she wore an oversized sweater and baggy sweatpants, but the sight of her, knowing what was hidden under the unflattering clothing, set my body buzzing.
“Why is it so quiet in here?” I asked, scratching the stubble along my jaw.
Elle pointed to the couch. “Ivy’s snoozing. She woke up last night with a fever. I texted Claire last night and one of the security guards grabbed some medicine for me. I gave her some of that about an hour ago and now I’m making some chicken noodle soup in hopes that she’ll eat something.”
I walked over to the couch quietly, so as not to wake Ivy, and felt her forehead – warm to the touch and her cheeks were flushed, but she looked peaceful.
“Have you been up all night?”
She nodded. “Pretty much. Ivy was restless and wanted to cuddle.”
“You could have woken me up.”
She shook her head. “I would have if it were something more serious, but you were already up really late last night. Besides, you can’t exactly afford to get sick too.”
Elle reached over and pulled the coffee pot free, pouring steaming hot liquid into a waiting mug and handing it to me.
“I’m sure you have things to get to.” She pointed to the door of the bus.
“Are you kicking me out?” I laughed, surprised by her boldness.
She nodded. “There are a lot of people relying on you to stay healthy. I’ll take care of Ivy. Go, before she wakes and wants to climb all over you.”
I left the bus, laughing at Elle’s take charge attitude. As each day passed, I was glad that Elle was the person Claire had hired.
The band meeting had been long, and it seemed even longer thanks to my inability to focus on anything other than getting back to check on Ivy.
A few of the guys were heading out to lunch but I passed hurrying out of there as fast as I could. When I returned, Ivy was curled up in Elle’s arms, both fast asleep on the couch. The pink on Ivy’s cheeks had faded. She was already feeling better.
I stood there watching them sleep for a moment, enjoying the peacefulness. Gently, I scooped her up and placed her in her bed. I could hear Elle stir behind me.
“What’s going on?” she asked. Elle looked pale, and I hoped it was only from the lack of sleep.
“I just put Ivy in bed. You should go back to sleep. Thank you for taking care of her today.”
“That’s okay.” She stood and walked past me to her bunk. “Goodnight, Chase.”
“Night.”
The bus was a quiet reprieve from the noise of the day. I could feel some of the tension I had been carrying fall away. I went to the cupboard and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured myself a shot to help ease the headache from the frustratingly long day, then headed to my room.
Seeing Ivy curled up like that with Elle had stirred something in me. I hadn’t really put much thought into it before, but I could see just how much the two of them had bonded. Elle didn’t give a shit who I was, her priority was Ivy, and I’d never be able to tell her how much I appreciated that. As I drifted off to sleep, my thoughts of Elle strayed from the sweetness of her to the sexiness of her curves. She had been all I had dreamed about in weeks. I had to stay away, but I didn’t have to stop my fantasies – and my hand was getting a damn good workout as a result.
Elle
I knew before I even opened my eyes that whatever Ivy had come down with, she’d shared it with me. I felt achy all over, my body was freezing and sweating all at the same time. Forcing myself from my bunk, I noticed Chase and Ivy colouring on the couch.
“Hi, Ewlle,” Ivy said when she noticed me.
Chase looked up too, a smile quickly being replaced by a frown.
“You look like a hot mess.” He chuckled half-heartedly. He shifted Ivy off of him and stood up.
“I feel worse than that,” I tried to joke.
I put his hand on my forehead. “Shit, Elle, you are burning up. You have to go back to bed.”
He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around, guiding me back the way I had come.
“How’s Ivy?” I asked, trying to side-step him.
“She’s back to normal, but don’t try changing the subject.”
“I’ll be fine,” I protested. “I’ll rest on the couch.”
He shook his head. “No, you won’t. You are going to go to my room and shut the door. It will be quieter there for you in there.”
I let him lead me down the hall, and I slipped into his bed. “I’d like some water,” I mentioned.
“I’ll be right back.”
He left me for a moment before returning with a glass of water and waited for me to have my fill of it.
“Now, get some more sleep.”
I nodded and closed my eyes, vaguely hearing him close the door as I drifted back off to sleep.
When I woke, I was feeling just about back to normal, and I was grateful for that. Sliding the door to Chase’s room open, I was faced with an empty bus. What caught my eye was a video game controller sitting on top of a crumpled-up blanket and a pillow that were strewn across the couch, which didn’t belong there. I put it from my mind for the time being and decided to hop in the shower before anyone returned. The hot water eased some of the ache left in my muscles. When they still hadn’t returned, I decided to strip all of our beds and shove the sheets into the washer and try and rid our bus of the germs and keep Chase healthy.
A half hour or so later, as I was heating up some soup, Chase and Ivy climbed back on the bus, Ivy running towards me.
“Are you feeling better?” Chase asked as I lifted Ivy into my arms.
“I am, thanks.”
He nodded, his hands fidgeting as we stood there looking at each other awkwardly.
“So, what is with the blanket?” I asked.
“I slept there last night.”
“Last night? You mean that you slept on the couch after you lifted Ivy from my lap?”
He shook his head. “You slept the day and night away. I was beginning to worry.”
“I’m so sorry that I invaded your space for so long.”
He shrugged. “If you feel better, then it was worth it.”
The washer buzzed to let me know it was finished. Chase looked at me with a raised brow.
“I’m washing all of our sheets,” I explained.
“You didn’t’ have to do that; but thank you. I don’t mean to be pushy, but do you think you feel well enough to take over with Ivy? If you don’t, I can ask Claire.”
I smiled as she wrapped her arm around my neck. “Pretty sure you couldn’t tear us apart.”
He laughed. “Okay, well I have to get ready for the show tonight. Be good for Elle, lovebug.”
“Okay, Daddy,” she replied, blowing him a kiss.
After Ivy had gone off to sleep that night, I sat down on the couch, grabbing one of Chase’s game controllers. What he had done for me had been pretty selfless. After such a rocky start, I was glad to see that the waters seemed to have calmed – I giggled to myself as I crushed the generated opponents on the screen – at least until our next online battle.
Chapter Nine
Chase
It was always great to be back in my hometown of Edmonton and getting to spend a little bit of time with my parents. They’d been waiting for me when we pulled up to the venue that morning. Stepping off of the bus, I was pulled into Mom’s waiting arms.
“Hello, darling, welcome home,” Mom beamed.
“Hi, Mom. Hi, Pops.”
She held me close for a short time before pushing me t
o arm’s length. “Now, where is my grandbaby?”
I chuckled. “That didn’t last long.”
As if she had heard our conversation, out stepped Elle holding Ivy.
“Oh, hello,” Mom greeted her with surprise in her voice.
“Mom, this is Elle. These are my parents, Rita and Jim.”
Elle smiled brightly. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Ivy reached out and squealed in delight. “Nana! Papa!”
“Oh, my sweet girl.” Mom snuggled her close. “Now you know I am taking her for the night and when you come to pick her up tomorrow, you can stay for lunch.”
“Mom, I have to see when the bus leaves tomorrow.”
Mom frowned at me. “Chase, we haven’t seen you in so long, the least you can do is have lunch with us. Besides, I’m going to make your favourite meal. And Elle, you must join us too.”
Elle smiled warmly at my mom. “Thank you very much, Mrs. Brighton, that is very kind of you.”
“Please call me Rita,” she said with a glint in her eyes that I knew all too well – she was going to try and play matchmaker.
I tensed at the suggestion of her joining us, and it wasn’t because I didn’t want Elle to join us. It’s just that Mom was already treating Elle like she did with the rest of the band – just like family. We’d come to some sort of weird truce after our night in the rain, but my feelings for her went far beyond having a simple little lunch with my parents. Images of Elle stretched across my parents’ kitchen table as I went down on her flowed through my head.
Fuck me, where the hell had that idea come from? I was going to lose my mind. My dick was hardening, and my mom was still standing in front of me.
“Okay, sweetheart, I know you have plenty to do before the show, so we’ll get going.”
Thank fucking God. I gave Ivy and my mom a kiss and watched as they drove away, my hands shoved deep into my pockets to try and hide my bulge.
Chasing Melody Page 4
