by L. T. Varner
“They called our flight for boarding, so let’s go, you royal pain in my ass,” Mike said, handing my carry-on to me while shaking his head.
Walking to the plane, I asked, “Mike, what video was it?”
“Just something dumb that only Daniel would send. Don’t worry about it.”
I let it go and got on the plane to head home.
I wasn’t surprised to see Mark at the airport waiting for us. They appeared very happy to see each other, throwing their arms around each other and kissing. Mike decided to go with Mark instead of coming home, and I had no problem with that.
I spent the next three days alone, buried in paperwork for the bar as Mike hadn’t come home yet to help. Our St. Patrick’s Day party needed planning, and I was starting to get a little mad at him when he finally got home.
As I watched him sitting on the couch with a huge smile on his face, I knew it was another life-changing moment for us. It always was with that smile.
“I have huge news!” he said, spreading his arms out in the air: he was way too happy for my comfort zone. “You need to sit down, Danni, this is big!”
“Uh, Mike, I am sitting down, dumbass,” I said, looking at him like he was losing his mind or something as he started laughing.
He was perhaps a little too happy and I had an idea of what he was going to say.
He blurted out very loudly, “I am getting married!”
He grabbed me out of my leather office chair and hugged me while he jumped up and down.
“Wow. Congratulations, Mike,” I said, trying to act surprised even though I knew they would eventually get married.
It was finally St. Patrick’s Day and the bar was getting loud and packed with our regulars and lots of faces I had never seen before. The house band was playing that night. We were one bartender short, so I had the task of doing two jobs that night. I wondered if I could even pull it off.
I had talked to Daniel about all the festivities at the bar and Mike and Mark’s wedding plans. Daniel claimed that he wouldn’t be my date because I wouldn’t be his date to Collin’s. I knew he was joking and even told him I put him down as my plus-one anyway.
Neither one of us brought up Collin anymore, nor did I care to think about him.
About that time, Mike was yelling at me, threatening to take my phone away if I didn’t stop texting Daniel and help him behind the bar. I stuck my tongue out at him and started taking orders.
It was crazy! The bar was packed, and all of our servers seemed to be struggling to keep up. Kendrick started yelling at me that it was time to get the band on stage. I was frustrated when Mark walked up to me, shot me a smile, and said, “I can try my hand at bartending. The worst thing that can happen is Mike will get bossy, and that turns me on a little.”
Laughing, I handed him the drink cheat sheet and said, “Okay, lover boy, just try to help the guys. They usually order a beer and that’s easy.”
He nodded, playfully slapping me on the ass when I stepped by him. I laughed and gave him a look. Mark was getting more on my good side.
I almost ran into one of the girls we had hired to dance for us and had to wait for her to do whatever move she was doing on the pole so I could get by her, not that I was complaining about seeing a hot, half-naked woman spinning around. I smiled at her, and she winked at me as she let me pass.
I finally made it to the stage as Kendrick was already getting the crowd stirred up. Starting, I felt great just to get lost in the music without having a reason to want to get lost. Somehow I had been nominated to do more of the singing for the heavy rock songs. Kendrick mentioned that he thought I was better at them than he was. I didn’t mind. In fact, it was fun to put my spin on the songs. The only bad thing was that I always lost my voice for a day or two after each show, but it was so worth it.
Looking out at the crowd, I thought I saw Daniel and decided it was a sign that it had been too long since we had seen each other. I knew he was in Denver at his show tonight.
Finally, the last song of the set started playing, and everyone was wound up. I had no problem getting the crowd to sing with me. The girls we hired to dance also had kept things pretty lively as well. We made it through and signed off for a break. I knew I couldn’t rest and went back to the bar.
I was picking up empty bottles on tables as Kendrick was engaging the crowd in contests. I was wearing torn jeans, a white t-shirt with a red bra underneath, and of course, my baseball cap. As I turned toward the bar with an armful of empty beer bottles, one of the guys we hired to manage the wet T-shirt contest threw a pitcher of water at me. The bottles went crashing to the ground, and I was soaking wet.
I calmly asked whoever was listening, “How do you instantly piss someone off? Oh, I know, throw water at them.”
I lost control and went charging after the jerk as he started backing away from me. I felt an arm around my waist pulling me backward.
“Remember, you are on probation, dirty girl,” a low, playful voice said close to my ear as he now had his chest pressed against my back to try and contain me. I said a few more choice words to the jerk before I calmed down and regained control of myself. Whoever it was, he was starting to get on my last nerve when I heard his voice again, “You look good wet.”
I turned around, realizing it was Daniel, and instantly I jumped into his arms and hugged him, getting him just as wet as I was.
“Sweet Daniel, I am so happy to see you,” I said, messing up his hair.
He put me down and said with a little dose of sarcasm, “Hey, you got me all wet.”
“It is so great to see you. I thought you were playing in Denver tonight,” I said, finally stepping back so we could see each other.
He shook his head at me in frustration and said, “You don’t listen to me, do you? I told you that last night we played in Denver, and we were making a pit stop here for tonight so that I could see you.”
“Oh,” I said.
He leaned closer to me and said, “The answer is, yes, that includes my whole band. But, don’t worry, I warned him to stay as far away from you as possible.”
I nodded as I absorbed this uncomfortable information and Daniel helped me pick up the bottles. I heard Kendrick on the mic asking for his fearless leader. I wanted to stay and talk to Daniel, but he started pushing me toward the stage, saying I had work to do.
I didn’t even have time to change my shirt before we began again. I was going to sing this entire set because Kendrick and I decided to try something different. “Different” was his way of telling me I could get the crowd worked up faster than he could. It was a little weird not to have a guitar in my hands as I stepped up to the mic. We got through the first song and knowing we were covering Collin’s song, I found myself getting nervous.
We started up, and I saw Daniel front and center recording us on his phone. I knew I had him on my side as I held nothing back and neither did anyone else in the band. Everyone was fired up as we sang his lyrics about playing a dangerous game. It was probably the loudest I had ever heard the bar before. That was awesome, even better when I saw Collin on the side of the stage glaring at me with a dirty look on his face.
The next song started, and I still felt on top of the world, until I realized I was about to sing a song about wanting someone you couldn’t have. Collin had disappeared by now, and I hoped it remained that way for the rest of their stopover.
We finally came to the end of the set, and I didn’t know if my shirt was still wet or I was just sweating that much, I decided to change. I unlocked my office door and went to the box in the corner with all the new bar shirts in it.
I heard Daniel behind me asking, “Can I have a shirt too? You got me dirty.”
Without looking up from the box I was digging in, I asked, “What size, dirty boy?”
“Large. Large all over, if you wanted to know that.” I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You got another large T-shirt I could have?” Collin asked, I hadn’t even realized he wa
s in the room.
Super, I thought as I kept digging through the box trying not to let the butterflies in my stomach make me sick. Why did his stupid voice affect me this much? So annoying. I found the size I needed and stood up. I tore off my wet shirt with my back to them and then my bra because it was wet, too. I pulled on a red bar shirt and turned around to throw two shirts at Daniel, all while trying not to make eye contact with Collin.
I looked at Daniel and said, “Let’s have a drink.” They followed me towards the back.
In the garage, where it was a lot quieter, they leaned up against my SUV as I grabbed beers out of the cooler. I handed two to Daniel, determined not to talk to Collin. I think he got my point then because he headed back inside.
“So, what did you think?” Daniel asked with a mischievous smile on his face.
“About what?” I asked before taking a drink of my beer.
“The finished video I sent you,” he said, before drinking his beer.
“What video?”
“The music video you are in that I emailed to you.”
He knew by the look on my face that I hadn’t seen it yet. As it dawned on me what video he was talking about, we both started hurrying for my office at the same time. We kept trying to stop each other, and when I finally got to the door, we both realized it was locked. Staring at each other, we calmly put our beers down. Then we started running for the back door while trying to stop each other as we made it outside.
I could tell he wasn’t a runner as I quickly jogged around the bar ahead of him. I got to the door first and started to make my way through the crowd when Daniel grabbed the back of my pants. Pulling me back, he was now in front of me and people were noticing that we were both trying to get somewhere first. I grabbed Jackie’s arm and put her in his way because he likes cute girls and of course he stopped. I got ahead of him, and he quickly looked at Jackie and told her he would be right back. I was trying to push through when again he grabbed the back of my pants and pulled me back.
“You want to play dirty? I can play dirty,” Daniel said as he shoved me right into Collin’s arms. I looked up at him after I crashed into his chest, noticing the way he didn’t hesitate to put his arms around me.
“Sorry, Collin,” I said as he was laughing.
“What are you two doing?” Collin asked, leaning closer to my face.
I saw Chuck standing by my office door, and I yelled over the crowd, “Grab him!”
Chuck pointed at Daniel and I nodded as he yanked Daniel to a stop by his shirt. I backed away from Collin, and he started following me, not letting go of my belt loop that he had managed to get his finger through. I got to the office door and was getting the key from my pocket when I realized Collin was telling Chuck we were playing a game and he was helping me cheat. He let Daniel go as he laughed at us before walking away.
Daniel and I started fighting over the keys, trying to unlock the door first. Collin was there pushing up behind me, trying to help Daniel. Collin’s arms had gone around my waist before he lifted me off the ground. I couldn’t move as Daniel got the door open and went to my computer. Collin put me down, and I ran in and tried to knock Daniel out of my chair. Then it became a fight over the chair as we noticed that Collin and Mike were sitting down on the couch across from my desk laughing at us. We fell out of the chair, and I landed on top of Daniel.
“Oh, baby, just like that,” Daniel said through his laughter as he tried to pull me away from my desk.
He managed to roll me over and sit on my stomach while holding my arms down. He started typing on my computer as Mike told him my email password.
Daniel calmly asked, “Are you ready to act like an adult yet? Or, do you need to stay in time-out a little longer?”
I couldn’t help laughing hysterically at Daniel as he started poking me in the chest. Collin and Mike were still laughing at us, so I gave up and nodded yes.
Before he would let me up, he asked, “What did you learn?”
I rolled my eyes, and he said, “I’m pretty sure rolling your eyes wasn’t it, so I ask again, what did you learn? The correct answer is: Daniel is the king, and he is sexy as hell.”
I thought to myself; you have got to be kidding. I heard Collin say, “Wait,” to Daniel as he got out his phone and started recording us. Daniel started over by asking what I had learned.
I quietly said, “Daniel is the king and is sexy as hell.” Of course, he said he couldn’t hear me and made me repeat it until I was practically yelling it.
“Good. Now you have to play nice. You’re on probation, and I am not above calling the police and having you arrested so I can see you handcuffed again. That was hot.”
Daniel sat in my chair and pulled me onto his lap, asking if I was ready. I wasn’t sure but just nodded my head yes anyway. Mike and Collin moved behind us to see the video, too. My dad came up first thing with his guitar, and I thought wow, he looks great. I realized Daniel had grabbed my hand because apparently I was tapping it nervously.
At first, it wasn’t too bad, and then I gasped in sheer panic. I saw Collin and me on the bed rolling around together. I couldn’t remove my hand from my mouth. I was so embarrassed.
Mike said, “You guys look great. This is great.”
I was horrified seeing what little clothing I had on and Collin’s hands all over my ass on the screen. They had cut out the parts of us kissing, but had left in the part when I arched my back as he kissed my chest. I thought, well this can’t get any more humiliating. That is until I saw that they had left in the part of me kissing Collin’s stomach and how low I had gotten, much lower than I thought I had. I wanted to die when it ended.
I asked, “Has my dad seen this yet? Please tell me no.”
Daniel laughed and said, “Yes and he loved it.”
“Well, that is just great,” I said, my voice dripping with frustration as I stood up.
Mike asked, “Anyone want to have breakfast?”
Thank God for Mike, always trying to help me get through an awkward situation. I adore him for that.
Chapter 19
Act Like Adults
Collin sat across from me at breakfast at our full table of his road crew members and some people from the bar as well. He watched me the whole time with a look of anger and frustration on his face. I was probably as confused as he was. We made small talk with each other about neutral subjects. He asked about the bar and I, in turn, asked about his tour. Nothing was mentioned of his last visit that Daniel conveniently started calling “The Strip Club Beat Down.” Leave it to Daniel to make it stick when others mentioned it, as well.
Breakfast was great, but I was ready for bed. It had been a long day. The waitress put the check down beside me and walked away after giving Collin a desperately longing glance. He shrugged and ignored her. I’m sure it was nothing new to him. I grabbed the check and headed up to the counter to pay. As I laid the check on the counter hoping to get the attention of a cashier, Collin grabbed it.
“I will gladly take care of this baby,” he said, giving me a sly smile that stopped me from arguing with him.
Walk away now or jump on him, I thought to myself. The right side of my brain won out, and I walked back to the table. As we exited the diner, Daniel put his arms around me from behind, almost making me fall forward as he picked me up off the ground.
“Dirty girl, I was wondering what your plans are next week?” He held me up, attempting to walk while glued to my back.
I laughed and said, “Recovering from my humiliation of that awful video.”
“You need some excitement in your life, and I know exactly how to give it to you,” he said against my ear, trying to unzip my jacket playfully.
“Again, Daniel, I am not sleeping with you or showing you my boobs. We’ve talked about this in depth, remember?” I joked as I removed his hand from my jacket.
“Sorry, I forget the ‘no’ part,” he said jokingly as he carried me to the SUV.
Daniel was determin
ed not to let go of me as we both kept laughing at each other; Mike helped catch us before we both fell face-first onto the cement.
“Danni, give me a week of your time. I promise it will be fun, and I will try to keep my hands off your nonexistent boobs.”
“Ok, Sweet Daniel, what the hell are you talking about?”
He laughed and said, “Wow, and they say I’m slow. You are the slow one.”
I hit him in the ribs jokingly and said, “Last week you asked me how to spell ‘nonexistent’ so you could mock me in a text and now you’re calling me slow?”
He put his hands up in surrender and said, “Guilty as charged, but I’m serious. Please go with me for a week on the bus and keep me company.”
Hanging out with Daniel for a week sounded great, but close quarters was probably not the best thing for Collin and me.
Daniel leaned in close and whispered, “Collin has his own bus so it will be just you and me.”
“I don’t know what I have going on,” I said, trying to avoid the question.
Mike piped up and said, “Nothing. She has nothing going on for a while, so she would love to go.”
Daniel took that as a “yes” without even looking at me for an answer.
“I’ll ride home with you so you can pack and I can pick out your underwear since I am the one who has to share a bed with you. I have lingerie standards.”
I shook my head knowing it was a lost cause arguing with Daniel. Anyway, what could it hurt to spend a week with my sweet Daniel?
Mike climbed into the driver’s seat as Daniel jumped on the passenger side, forcing me to sit in the back. To make things much worse, the other two bandmates and Collin wanted to ride along, as well.
As he stood directly behind me, Collin put his hand on my hip and said, “You’re small so you can climb in the very back.”
Great, I thought, climbing into the backseat gave him a direct view of my ass. Trying to fit my legs in front of me in a tiny seat proved to be harder than I thought it would be, especially when Collin climbed in and sat next to me. Even better, I mumbled to myself, wanting more distance between us.
