by Ema Bancroft
"Not that it's not bad,"Roland stepped in. " Just a little... dark"?
I shrugged my shoulders. "It's not just pop gum and ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, baby. " I knew I was being a bitch, but I couldn't stop.
"No,"Elijah said softly, as the boys returned to their game. "It's a good song. Maybe we could lighten it up a little? " I knew he was appeasing me, which was incredibly annoying.
This is the question. And I think most women would support me in this.
For the most part we know when our hormones make us act irrationally.
We don't give a shit.
"Lighten it up"? I repeated, doing nothing to hide my irritation. "Forget it. I'd rather sell it to someone who can appreciate poetic irony.
"Irony"? Elijah raised an eyebrow.
I had nothing. It wasn't ironic. It was a song about my period. Anything at all.
So I did the only thing I could.
I bluffed.
"If you can't see it, then I can't explain it to you,"I said sublime. "Maybe Alanis Morisette is interested."
His eyebrow rose impossibly high, and I sighed.
"I'm sorry,"I murmured, deflated and got cranky.
"Relax, boys,"Roland said, thumbs working savagely on command. He looked up as the cameraman and producer of MTV walked down the aisle, apparently finished shooting Ethan and Eddie watching The Hangover 2... again?
I was sure it would be a brilliant material. Yeah. I got sarcastic when I had cramps. Suing me?
The distraction killed Roland, and Ethan was thrilled with joy. Roland threw the controller on a small table. "Looks like we're stopping,"he said, looking out the window. "Where are we, anyway? " called the driver.
"Red Bluff,"he replied, making a stop. "We just stop for diesel, then we'll go to Eureka for the show tonight."
The night before, we had touched the Blue Lamp in Sacramento, and then headed north after a brief detour to Burlingame to visit the Fish Museum.
Raul had a thing with Pez. I don't understand, but he was like a kid in a candy store. Literally.
It was fun, though. They opened the place late for us, so we were the only ones there, and then we had all stocked up on sweets and rode on a candy filled with sugar. I think Raul might have been on some other kind of drugs, too. He ate more fish than the rest of us.
Tuesday night marked the pearl salon in Eureka. We will continue along the coast before heading inland to play at a small bar called Dorsia's in Eugene, Oregon... and then at the Thirsty Lion in Portland on Thursday night...
Or maybe the thirsty Lion was in Eugene and Dorsia in Portland.
I was having a hard time keeping up.
"Coming, B? " Roland asked, pausing beside the bus door.
"Yes. " I grabbed my purse, following him into the sweltering heat.
We swerved through the little convenience store - more to escape the more than a hundred temperatures than anything else. The bus was full of sandwiches and drinks. I decided it would be a good time to take care of business discreetly, although when no one was looking, I slipped out and around the corner to the bathroom.
I know it's gross, but trying to hide your period makes you paranoid. You fold and triple things and put them in the bottom of the wastebasket... and you look for any chance to get rid of the evidence.
Like the gas station toilets.
I quickly did what I came here to do, washed my hands and locked my backpack again, doing everything I could to keep my hands off the walls. Grabbing a paper towel, I opened the door...
just to be pushed quickly back inside.
"Elijah? I tried to catch my breath, grabbing my backpack against my chest as Elijah closed the door behind us. "You scared the hell out of me."
"We don't have much time,"he whispered, grabbing my face in his hands and bowing to kiss me. "God, I missed you."
I laughed. "We've been together every minute."
He kissed me again. "You know what I mean."
"Yes. " I tiptoed up, one hand automatically floating toward his hair.
Elijah wrapped my arms around my waist, then looked down, frowning at us. "Can you put that thing down? " he asked.
"On this floor? " I grimaced. "It's disgusting."
He took it from me, threw it over his shoulder and pulled me closer. "It's been driving me crazy,"he said with wet kisses,"knowing you sleep so close, but I can't touch you.
"It's only for a week... three more days, actually."?
Too long, he snarled, his hands sliding up my ass and pressing me firmly against him before he lifted a thigh on his hip. He attacked me slowly, kissing me deeply... seducing me with his touch... his taste... his smell. His other hand slipped under my shirt, caressing my skin, and my head fell off as I licked and sucked on my neck?
And of course, my abdomen chose that moment for cramps, reminding me what week it was - and making me worry if my tampon was staying in its place, and if it was really as "super" as the box proclaimed.
Ugh.
"Elijah..." Gimi. " We can't..."?
"Why not?"
"You know why."
he snarled, breathing heavily, his forehead over mine, before retreating. I felt guilty, for some reason. Guilty that my stupid uterus chose that moment to block my love life.
Because if it wasn't for my period... and the fact that the rest of the band would wait on the other side of that door... it would totally E. C. Lynch in a dirty gas station bathroom.
I'd sink so low.
I looked at the ground, half thinking about kneeling down to at least take care of Elijah's things.
But... what was that wet thing?
No. I couldn't do it. I sighed. Elijah�s shoulders bowed. Evidently, he knew what I was thinking. Guess the kids had a sixth sense or something when it came to blow jobs.
He bowed to kiss me one more time. "I'll go out first,"he said quietly. "See you on the bus."
I saw him leave, dismayed and horny, and I felt an explosion of sadness. Then, just like that, a cramp hit me and sadness became irritating.
Who knew why? It just happened.
So I took a couple of Midol out of my purse, swallowed them dry because there was no way I could get my mouth near the bathroom water tap, and I came out of the wet bathroom, squinting in the sunlight.
I came around the corner, only to be greeted by a familiar sound of a buzzing camera. My head rose to find a black SUV parked across the street, a large lens pointing in my direction.
I lowered my head, rushed to the bus, boarding ship breathlessly.
"Is that Twicher? " I asked, finding the others already waiting.
"Yes,"answered Raul, looking through the tinted stained glass window and beating a Fish in his mouth from an incredible Hulk dispenser. "Looks like he decided to stay with us for a while. I hope you weren't doing anything embarrassing, B. " He smiled, chewing his candy.
I forced a laugh, and I couldn't look at Elijah in panic. Twicher had seen Elijah coming out of the bathroom... just before I came out of the bathroom? From his point of view, he could only have seen us coming to the corner. So, there was no way I could know for sure we were both in the bathroom, was there? And even if he thought so, maybe we were just smoking... or sharing a urinal... or drinking coke?
Okay, I was grabbing the straws a little bit.
"Is that normal? "I asked casually. To keep you like this? It doesn't stay in L. A.?"
Ethan shrugged. "I've seen him in New York a few times,"he said, hooking up Raul's Fish dispenser and putting a few in his mouth. "But he doesn't usually travel with us. It's a little weird.
Weird.
Like him-suspicious-something weird? Or as if he has nothing better to do, because he's not interested in celebrities, is he getting out of rehab this week?
My phone was vibrating in my pocket, and I looked at it, trying to hide my surprise that the text came from Elijah. He was huddled up on his laptop, pretending to pay attention to it, but I realized he had his own phone hidden in his lap.
I need to be more careful.
I didn't return the message. I just nodded my head slightly and put the phone back in my pocket, grabbing a controller and challenging Ethan to a round of Call of Duty.
E. C.
Twicher showing up at Red fucking Bluff, California made me nervous. What made me even more nervous was the fact that he's apparently been following us since we left L. A. and none of us had noticed it."
More than twenty-four hours in which we believed no one saw us. I was wondering how much I'd seen through that big camera lens.
It had been a great underestimation when I wrote Daisy that we needed to be more careful. With Twicher watching, we couldn't afford to make mistakes.
Like coming out of a bathroom together.
What was I thinking about?
Obviously, he wasn't. It was all little Henry. The bastard took over at the most inconvenient moments, I swear.
But it wasn't just him. Seriously, I missed talking to Daisy - her and me - without the others around.
Did I miss touching her... holding her hand... kissing her?
I'm not gonna lie. I missed sex, too. A lot.
I missed everything. And every hour on the goddamn bus was like salt in the wound.
I was a faggot.
The next few days were a living hell. Well, that might be a little exaggerated. We spent hours on the bus, sightseeing, playing concerts every night and watching the Pacific Ocean as we flew down the coast to Seattle. I wore the damn Ginger Spice dress again at the show in Portland - for Catherine with two faces no less. The boys thought I was hysterical. The crowd loved it. Daisy and I made up a story about us betting on a pun with friends. Of course, that meant we both had to get the application... and then everyone wanted to play it with us.
I hate that damn game.
But overall the tour was a little relaxing, for lack of a better word. It would have been great if I didn't have to walk away from Daisy. We couldn't risk more underground meetings. Twicher seemed to be at every corner - he was driving behind the bus, stopping when we stopped, hanging out in the premises during rehearsal and behind the stage during the shows. I slept in his car and was everywhere, and if I didn't see him, it made me more paranoid. I was afraid he'd be leaving the bathroom of the bus any minute.
I couldn't understand why.
Why was it so persistent? What did you hope to achieve?
I realized that Daisy was as restless as I was. Even Roland seemed to feel it, telling the two of us to "calm the fuckin' mouth" in a silent whisper when we were both jumpin' around like a couple of crazies when he walked into Portland's dressing room.
"It's almost over,"he said, watching Raul and Ethan's door. "It'll be better when we get to Seattle. Twicher will be bored and gone."
I was hoping you were right.
He wasn't.
We arrived in Seattle on Friday afternoon to meet a screaming crowd outside the W Hotel, as well as regular photographers and the local media. Twicher seemed irritated when the police prevented him from following us to the door, but relegated him to join the other sensational photos across the street.
I could have smiled at that.
Sure, we owed the guy after all that Roland and Eddie stuff, but he was starting to get on my nerves. I sighed when I saw Craig and Brick waiting on the sidewalk, realizing this wasn't going to be a discreet visit. I was hoping we could sweep up in Seattle without noticing, and maybe I could go check out the EMP - but as soon as we walked into the lobby, I knew what the fuss was all about.
"Hello, boys, welcome to the Emerald City,"Cecil said as he descended upon us, waving a hand over his smooth hair as his mustache trembled. "How was the tour?"
"Shit, Cecil," I growled, ignoring the question. "What about all the media? I thought we'd have a night off."
Cecil shrugged, but didn't see me in the eyes. "Don't look at me. Someone must have leaked it."
It was so full of shit. I knew Cecil alerted the press. I just didn't know if he did it to promote the band - "Media means moolah, E. C. "How many times have I heard that? about the whole Roland thing.
"Come on, boys, I'll show you your excavations and bring you up to date on tomorrow's schedule,"he said, leading us to the elevators.
And that's when everything became much brighter, as if the sun had finally risen from behind the clouds.
Metaphorically speaking, of course. After all, we were in Seattle.
As we were climbing the elevator, Cecil said,"The crew is 22 and 23. I'm on 24th and security team and... Ethan, Raul, Roland and Eddie... you're on 25th. Tim and E. C. You're in 26th. We rent the flats so that they do not disturb you, and you can only access both flats with one of them. "He gave each of us a golden key."
It took a moment for it to sink, the words spinning around my head like pieces of a puzzle I had to put together.
Cecil and security on 24.
Raul, Roland, Eddie and Ethan in the 25th.
Tim and E. C. on 26th.
Tim…Daisy.
And me.
26th.
Alone.
And when the pieces finally came into place, I had to resist the urge to break into a happy dance in the middle of the elevator.
Daisy and I would be alone. We had an entire floor of the hotel for us, protected by a magic key that no one else had.
Fucking fucking heaven.
It had been a long week, but finally a light at the end of the tunnel... a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow... a silver chink to the clouds hanging over the head...
I was gonna have sex.
Lots of sex.
Finally.
At least I was hoping so. I took a chance to take a look at Daisy, wondering if her monthly visitor had left the building. It had been five days. Five long days of ass. That was enough, wasn't it?
Unless she had some kind of medical condition that made her last longer.
Crap. What if it lasted about a week and a half?
I didn't know if I could survive.
Of course, even if I wasn't completely... ready... that didn't mean we couldn't do anything, did it?
Immediately, my mind burst into a full-color version of what I had done with her tongue in my hotel room while Ethan was outside the door. I quickly changed my posture, using my purse to hide little Henry's reaction to the vivid memory.
Maybe I'd do it again. Would it be rude to ask?
I ran a hand through my hair, looking at the slowly changing numbers in the elevator and ignoring Cecil's quackery about rehearsals and sound tests and interviews before he got off on the 24th floor. Craig and Brick, apparently, were going to escort us to our rooms. However, I couldn't be bothered with them, as I planned my strategy.
Crap. Was he an asshole for thinking that?
I've never been in this situation before, where I was actually nervous about whether I was doing the right thing or not. I mean, God knows, I'd love it if Daisy went into my room and knelt down.
My own knees bent a little before the idea.
But - I shook my head to erase the vision - but... this was about more than just getting out. I mean, I didn't want to mess things up with Daisy because it was a stupid blowjob demanding Neanderthal. It meant more to me than that.
Still....
I really wanted that blowjob.
Maybe I could be subtle about it.
I'm sorry, how did that go? No... no, you don't have to... seriously, I'm okay... really?
Well, if you really want...
Hey, it could happen.
"What's that?" "Daisy asked, and I realized it wasn't the Daisy from my blowjob fantasy, but the one on the other side of the elevator. I blinked, noticing that everyone was looking at the ceiling grid... a small hole in a corner had Craig and Brick pushing us back as they turned the key on the elevator, stopping it...
"Who's up there? " Craig snarled, pulling a gun out of the shoulder holster and leveling it into the threatening hollow.
"Is that really n
ecessary? " I whispered. Craig stared at me, and I quickly took a step back.
Serious business, apparently.
Brick circled across the elevator, nodding once in Craig. Craig put his gun away, putting his fingers together to give Brick a push. He managed to climb up and swing on the handrails, bringing him close enough to look through the fence. Hooking a finger through the hole, he gave it a quick pull, leaping to the ground, and pointing his gun at the opening next to Craig as he opened.
"Shit! " Daisy gasped. We all looked at her and she shrugged.
We were all thinking about it.
The grid creaked slightly as it hung from the ceiling, and we all looked at the black hole opening and the thick wires behind it.
"Well, that was exciting,"Raul said with a snort.
"Shhhhh..." Craig lifted a finger, waving a hand gesture at Brick like they do in those army movies. They strategically placed themselves between us and the opening before Craig screamed out loud...
"We know you're up there! Show yourself before we start shooting! " I stared at them, wondering if they were really going to shoot themselves into an elevator shaft, but Craig just turned his eyes. If that meant yes or no, I wasn't exactly sure.
A soft creak came down from above us.
"I'm going to count to three,"Craig said, doing a gun-shooting show out loud. "One..."
You could have heard a pin drop.
"Two..."
"All right, all right! I'm on my way.
Don't shoot! " A voice squeaked nervously, and it only took me a moment to recognize it.
"No way,"Ethan growled.
"It can't be,"Roland added.
"What? " Daisy asked, confusion evident in her face. "What's going on?"
With a strong sigh, Craig and Brick held their weapons.
"Come down, Ruby,"said Craig tired.
Her face peered over the edge of the opening, and she glanced timidly around it.
"Cover your ears,"I said to Daisy.
"Why?"
"Trust me. " And before I knew the words, a high-pitched scream ran through the elevator.
OHMIGODO IS 5 POINTS I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH THAT YOU KNOW I' M YOUR BIGGEST FAN AND OHMIGODO IS TIME! "Daisy moaned as Ruby continued to breathe, stepping down over the edge of the opening and into Brick's arms. "YOU DON' T KNOW ME, BUT I' M A BIG FAN OF THE MORE SERIOUS STUFF. I HAVE ALL YOUR ALBUMS AND MY GOD, YOU' RE EVEN PRETTIER IN PERSON! "She began to breathe heavily, gasping for air."
