by J J Cobban
“Why me?” I asked Jez.
“I get picked on for the games I pick.” She shrugged “They claim I pick stupid games.”
I looked towards Lacey and Travis, eyebrows raised. What exactly did they qualify as a stupid game and why did they have it if it was stupid?
“Oh, not me.” Lacey laughed “This is the first time I’ve played PlayStation with little J over there. It’s Travis that’s the PlayStation police.”
Travis looked at Lacey with feigned hurt in his eyes as he clutched his chest dramatically “Lacey Michaels, how could you? Babe, we’re partners in this.”
“Safety in numbers, Babe,” she teased, punching his shoulder gently. Travis shook his head before giving her a playful shove back. I laughed at them both and flicked through the case until I came across a game I had played dozens of times. I loved the franchise with a passion and it was always the game I picked when I wanted to unwind. I pulled it from the case and handed it to Lacey, who raised her eyebrows, surprised.
“You’re an Uncharted fan?” she questioned, generally curious.
A sharp gasp had me jumping towards Drake. I looked over to see Jez with her mouth wide open and flapping her hands frantically.
“You like Uncharted?” she gasped “Nobody else on this damn tour likes it!”
I felt my grin stretch until it was nearly painful. I knew from the second I introduced myself earlier that I was going to like this girl. She was honest and straight to the point and she apparently had great taste in games.
“Like it? No, I love it. Have you played the most recent one?” I could feel my excitement building.
“Bitch, I’ve played them all!” Jez laughed “Tell me I’m not the only one with a crush.”
“Hell no!” I giggled, I was in full blown fangirl mode “I love Drake! His voice is so fucking sexy.”
Jez opened her mouth to speak but Travis was already in there.
“I’m sorry.” He pressed his lips together “You love who?”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the blush heating my face. Of course that’s who he thought I meant. Why hadn’t I used the characters first name instead?
“It’s the main character,” I explained “His name is Nathan Drake.”
“Don’t sugar coat it,” came a deep voice from behind me. I grinned over my shoulder to Drake and winked. Feeling suddenly far more comfortable in the group than was really professional.
“Sorry, Jackson, no luck.”
“I’ve never played this.” Lacey admitted “I’ll give anything a go once.”
“Don’t we know it,” Travis mumbled “This has never appealed to me.”
Lacey thumped his arm after popping the game into the machine.
“How do you know you don’t like it if you haven’t tried it?” I pressed Travis. He shot me the finger and threw his remote down when he realised the game was a one player. I hadn’t thought about that when I’d picked it. I’d simply been too excited at seeing one of my home comforts.
“Hey, we can all still tell the other where to go and take turns. It’s called sharing.” Jez teased, beating me to it. Travis agreed and through all his bravado I knew he wasn’t really bothered with not playing at the same time as everyone else. The opening music started and Jez and I shared an excited look.
Jez took the first turn and before she was even seconds into the level, Travis was giving her a hard time. Jez laughed as she tried to concentrate and throw Russian barbs at him at the same time. She was doing well. Girl was a good multi-tasker. As I looked around I realised with startling reality that it had been less than forty-right hours and I was already bonding with these four people. In every other tour I had managed to keep a professional distance. The bands I had previously worked with were more than happy to keep their space. I was able to emit a sort of Ice Queen aura that made them see me as nothing but a tour manager.
Yet from the word go both bands had welcomed me into the fold. There were no questions about my background, no doubt about whether we would get on. They simply just accepted me. It was something I wasn’t prepared for. Something I didn’t know how to handle. The problem was that now I had no way of separating my personal life from my professional one.
Although if I was being completely honest, I didn’t really want to. I was enjoying having so many people around me. I liked having people to talk to. I may have only just met them but I found myself wanting to know more about them. The way they interacted with each other, they were like a real family. It was something I craved. It had only ever been me and my father and after getting a glimpse of what a large, close knit family looked like I wanted to be a part of one myself. It was strange and wholly unprofessional but I couldn’t help it. My father would rake me over the coals for already losing sight of my professional goal.
I looked back to the TV, watching as the Jez tried to make the character on screen climb an impossibly high cliff face. I sat back in my seat. A glance to my right showed me Drake had his attention fixed on the game as well. I looked from the TV to Drake and back again. It was then that I wanted to laugh at myself as a thought occurred to me.
I had more in common with the character on the screen than I had originally realised.
Jez cursed as the character slipped slightly, only just managing to catch himself on a lower ledge. Much like the character I was at risk of falling. Granted my fall wouldn’t be as dangerous as falling off a cliff but it was no less dangerous emotionally. Drake chuckled as Jez cursed, once again letting her character slip. His cheeks dimpled and his eyes seemed to sparkle with humour. I felt my chest tighten as I observed him. As his head turned towards mine I snapped my attention back to the screen in front of us.
Oh yeah, Nathan Drake and I had a whole lot in common as far as falling went.
Unfortunately, when I fell, there would be no ledge to catch me.
Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ Ｆｉｖｅ
Ｄｒａｋｅ
Our first stop was Shreveport. Since leaving Dallas that morning we’d only had to stop once so we’d made it with plenty of time for sound check and even a couple drinks. For the most part we had all fucked about on the PlayStation but after a particularly heated argument between Travis and Jez we’d swapped to a film for the remaining two hours of the journey. As the bus pulled to a stop everyone moved to grab their bags and rucksacks. Scout was in the process of slipping her handbag over her arm upon my approach.
“Ready, darlin?” I spoke in to her ear, smiling when her body shivered. She kept her face composed, now more than ever in professional mode.
“Yep,” she smiled, moving down towards the door. My eyes drifted down to the way her ass swayed in the snug dress she was wearing. My mouth watered as I tried to think of what it would be like to put my hands on her. Feel all of those soft curves against my body. My eyes nearly rolled back into my head as visions of her in nothing but those damn boots she was wearing filled my head.
“Yo, move the fuck out the way.” Travis shoved at my shoulder firmly “You can drool over her outside of the bus, y’know.”
I moved ahead without answering him. Sometimes ignoring Travis was the best course of action. After knowing him for over ten years I had learned where to pick my arguments. On a bus, right before sound check was not the time.
The mid-afternoon air was thick with heat as we all stepped off the air-conditioned busses. I looked to my left and smirked when I saw Jace bouncing an extremely fussy Koda. The little girl was a Mama’s girl through and through. She clenched her little fists and everyone knew the screams were going to be coming sooner rather than later. The rest of Ultimate Corruption were filing off their bus and making their way over to us.
“Alright.” Scout called out “Sound check is in forty minutes. You can get settled and whatever it is you want to do in that forty minutes but everyone’s asses better be on that stage when time is up. Rissa you can settle yourself and the little one in the green room for a while if you want.” The green room was wher
e everyone got to chill and hang out before they hit the stage. Having Rissa in there meant that she still got to be with everyone before everything kicked off.
“Thanks, is there any chance-”
“There should be soundproof earmuffs waiting in the green room for you.” Scout cut her off with a smile.
“Now, thirty-eight minutes and counting,” Scout looked at the time on her watch and then looked around the group “If even one of you shows up to sound check drunk, I’m gonna start kicking ass.”
With those parting words, she moved towards the venue.
Okay, anybody else turned on by her?” Seth suddenly asked, raising his hand “Come on, show of hands who wants to bang her.”
I felt my spine stiffen as he looked around the group, getting more than a couple chuckles and even more groans. Then Mikey and Asher put their hands up. My eyes narrowed at the two of them before catching the slight look of hurt on Lacey’s face at seeing Asher’s hand in the air. In that split second, I was angry for two reasons. The first being at Asher’s blatant ignorance for Lacey’s feelings towards him and the second for the three men admitting to something that I had found myself thinking about for most of the day. A surge or possessiveness coursed through me, making my fists clench.
“Quit being an asshole.” Lacey snapped “She’s your tour manage and deserves some fucking respect. Not that she’d ever even touch any of you.”
“Is that a challenge, fair lady?” Seth waggled his eyebrows, not picking up on the real cause for Lacey’s tone.
“Grow up.” She rolled her eyes, moving inside the venue. Jo and Travis shared a look before joining her. Nico, pissed at the loss of his fiancé, slapped Mikey and Seth upside the heads. They laughed good naturedly and Asher covered the back of his head as he walked in front of Nico. A cell phone ringing had me cringing. The last time my cell phone sounded it had put a major downer on my day. I pulled my phone from my pocket, expecting to see the screen lighting up. When the screen was still black I looked around for the source of the noise. I saw Jace handing his daughter to Rissa before answering his cell, walking away from the group slightly. Rissa caught my eye and made her way over to me. Koda was babbling happily as she chewed on a raggedy looking bear.
“Hey you,” she grinned “who’d have thought the next tour we went on I’d be married and a mother, huh?”
I laughed at that, draping an arm around her shoulders. The last tour we’d been on had ended abruptly when Jace and Rissa got hitched in Vegas, creating a media sensation for the entire band.
“Anything is possible with you kicking about.” I teased. Rissa, like her cousin Jo, was more of a sister to me than a friend. I chucked Koda under the chin gently and smirked when she giggled and drooled slightly on the poor bear in her grip.
“You think Lace is okay?” she asked, wiping her daughters chin with her bib.
“I think our guitarist needs to open up to someone. All I know is that it’s something to do with Asher. Every time that guy says anything to her she lights up. She’s got it bad and he has no idea.” I shook my head “I honestly don’t know what to tell you. We guys aren’t like you chicks. We have a problem, we fight it out. No talking feelings and shit.”
A light scoff sounded from my Rissa’s other side. Jez appeared with her brows raised and a disbelieving look on her face.
“You are constantly asking me to share my feelings.” She held her hands out and Rissa handed over Koda, who was happy to go to her babysitter “You are way more sensitive than the other guys.”
I felt my ears beginning to heat up “Why don’t you say that a little louder?”
“Aw, he’s blushing.” Rissa laughed, nudging me. I gave her a nudge back and rolled my eyes.
“You staying to watch the show tonight then, Mama Bear?” I asked her, holding the door for the girls “What time is bedtime?”
“I won’t be able to watch tonight. The sets are later than usual and I need to get the little lady down well before then,” she sighed, I knew she liked to watch her husband on stage. Before having Koda she’d been a photographer for Rayne of Glory. Her pictures were used for promotion and our various social media sites. Rissa was like a wizard with the camera.
“Eh, hello?” Jez used her free hand to wave at Rissa “You remembering me? The babysitter.” she drawled the last word. Rissa smiled and gave a sarcastic wave back.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to take advantage,” she chewed her lip “Although, it would be a great opportunity to take some shots of both bands.”
“Then it’s settled. Girls night for me and Koda.” Jez grinned. She shifted Koda onto her left hip and I had to fight the urge not to laugh. Jez was such a petite thing that Koda seemed almost out of proportion for her little body.
“You managing there champ, your hip big enough to support her?” I joked as we reached the door to the green room. Jez shot me the finger as she handed Koda back to Rissa.
“Your neck seems to support your fat head just fine,” she sang as she walked into the room. I moved to follow Rissa until I heard raised voices. I looked to my right and frowned when I saw Scout in a full-blown argument with a man in a suit. From the look on her face she was seconds from shoving her heeled boot up the guy’s ass.
“I’ll catch up.” I told Rissa, closing the door and walking towards the conflict.
“Look, lady, I was told that I’d be dealing with Mr Tarrino himself, not his teenage daughter.”
“For the last time!” Scout snapped, “I am a fully qualified tour manager and I have been working on the details of this tour for fucking months. My father is handling the home front. So if you have any questions regarding the plans for tonight you direct them to me.”
The man stepped closer, looking down at Scout with a sneer on his face.
That was where my patience ended.
“We got a problem here?” I asked, pushing my way between the man and Scout. The asshole stepped back, suddenly losing his sneer and bravado. I hated fucks like this. They thought they could scare women into getting their own way and once they did it once, they would always do it again. Nothing pissed me off more.
“I-uh-Mr Jackson?” he stammered, straightening his suit.
“There’s no problem. Mr Nesper was just about to ask me a question regarding tonight’s show. Thank you, Mr Jackson.”
Mr Jackson? What the fuck?
The fucker, Mr Nesper, cleared his throat before speaking through clenched teeth.
“I just needed the set times and if possible a set list for the songs.”
“Of course,” Scout grinned at him, pulling a sheet out of her handbag. She held it out to him, seemingly enjoying how Mr Nesper’s attitude had changed towards her. He took it from her grip, glancing at it before inclining his head and walking away without so much as a thank you. Scout watched him turn a corner before huffing out a breath and tucking her unruly hair behind her ears. It seemed more hair had escaped the confines of her messy bun attempt.
“I fucking hate that guy,” she scoffed, closing her purse and checking the time.
“Seemed like a real asshole,” I paused “Miss Tarrino.”
She rolled her eyes when I drawled her name.
“Oh shut up, I had to look professional.” She teased, moving in the direction of the stage “It looks better if I refer to you all by your last names.”
“Do you even know all our last names?” I followed behind her, grinning as she tried to quicken her pace. I looked down at her, enjoying the way her nose crinkled as she tried to think about our names.
“Of course I do,” she bluffed.
“Go on then,” I dared as Scout came to a stop beside a small alcove “I’ll make it interesting for you.”
Her nostrils flared as she looked up and down the long corridors. Her breathing deepened as I stepped closer to her, pressing her further into the alcove, away from prying eyes.
“You tell me everyone’s last name on this tour and I’ll be completely profess
ional for forty-eight hours. You forget even one though and I get to kiss you right here, right now.”
It was a big fucking risk on my behalf because there was no fucking way I could behave for four days! It was hard enough to keep my distance now but adding four days on top of that? I watched as she contemplated my offer. Her breathing was becoming more rapid as she shuffled her feet closer together, making me smile. She was pressing her thighs together. One mention of a kiss and she was getting wet. The caveman in me roared to life banging his chest in triumph.
“Fine.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Nico Tanner, Jo Yancy, Jace Benson, Rissa Benson, Asher Lewis, Lacey Michaels, Seth Davenport, Drake Jackson.” She paused and for a split second I thought she was going to pull it off. Then the doubt filtered through her confidence “Eh, Jez Grey and Travis,”
“Travis?” my lips tipped up at the corners as I moved closer to her “Need more than that, darlin.”
Her eyes drifted down to my hands that were wondering over her hips and around to her ass. Scouts eyes became heavy as she looked back up at me. She was turned on and there was no hiding it. I felt myself harden as I pressed my lips to her temple.
“Travis?” I asked again “no last name, darlin?”
“Travis Fenton?” she guessed as her eyelids fluttered closed. So groping her may have been playing dirty but hell, I wanted this fucking kiss.
“Wrong.” I pressed another kiss just above her ear as her long fingers wrapped around my forearms “Travis Farris.”
“Fuck.” She moaned biting her lip “I was so close to finishing.”
My hand travelled from her ass to her hip and then slid up her back and into her hair. I pulled the band from her hair. Letting the long, dark tresses fall around her face and over her shoulders. My fingers dove into her hair, tipping her head back.
“You’re about to get real close to finishing again,” I promised wickedly.
Scout’s eyes opened for a split second before I pressed my lips down to hers. Her lips parted easily, her tongue tangling with my own. The sexual tension that had been building since last night was nearing breaking point as we both fought for control of the other. Her arms moved up my chest and around my neck, pulling me closer. I pressed her further against the wall. Her lips tore from mine on a groan as she felt how hard I was. Scout’s fingers raked through my hair, pulling on the ends.
