by Raine Thomas
Keith paused halfway into his climb up to his bunk and looked back at Lily with raised eyebrows. Xander, who was standing beside him, winced.
“Damn,” Xander rumbled. “The middle name call-out.”
“Guess she’s serious,” Keith replied, returning to the ground. “Where are we meeting, Your Highness?”
Sydney supposed the words would have seemed scornful or mocking if one didn’t know how much Keith and the other band members cared for Lily. They were like one big family, only more functional than most actual relatives.
Lily grinned at him. “The back of the bus.” As everyone headed that way, she looked again at Sydney. “We’re not leaving until Barney gets back with Aria. She texted and said they were about twenty minutes out. Why don’t you join us for lunch? Trey’s bringing sandwiches.”
Sydney kept her reluctance to herself. “Sure.”
Ten minutes later, they were gathered in the bus’s rear seating area. It wasn’t big enough for all of them even with Noelle and Sage sitting on the floor, so Sydney sat on the edge of Noelle’s bunk, which butted up to it. Nikki had returned to the bus when Archer’s bodyguard, Trey, climbed on with the band’s lunch. Sydney had been sure Nikki would insist on sitting with Keith, but after the couple exchanged a few words, Nikki had settled in the front of the bus watching TV. Sydney sensed her bitterness even from a distance.
“We’ve discussed the need for more compelling footage to make House of Archer successful,” Lily said from her position in the middle of the seating area. “And we all know that Elijah wants the footage sooner rather than later so he can get some episodes together quickly. So I’ve come up with some ideas.”
Sage glanced around. “Should we be talking about this with the cameras on?”
Lily waved the carrot stick she was holding. “They’re not on right now. I told Elijah he really wasn’t going to want this recorded.”
Sydney had wondered why there weren’t any House of Archer camera operators on the bus. Lily had told her the bus had cameras in the common areas, so Sydney had thought maybe the operators were taking a break. Apparently the show’s production manager had taken Lily at her word and decided against recording for the duration of this meeting.
“Anyway,” Lily continued, dipping her carrot into some ranch dressing, “I spent some time last night typing up some story ideas. I’d like all of you to read through them and let me know your thoughts. I want to tweak them so everyone is comfortable.”
Sydney’s gaze moved to Keith, who was sitting on the end of the curved seat almost directly diagonally from her. His expression darkened.
“How can it be reality TV if it’s planned out?” he asked.
“I’m not planning it out,” Lily explained. “I’m just throwing some ideas out there for future content. You saw how the editors manipulated the footage they gathered organically from the past couple weeks. Imagine what they could do if we introduced some genuinely interesting content of our own.”
“I’m not going to be scripted,” Keith argued, shoving his unfinished sandwich back into the bag next to him.
Sydney set her own sandwich down. His annoyance was obvious. She sensed a blow-up was coming.
“I think we need this, Keith,” Christopher said in his pragmatic way. “We don’t have to be scripted, but we need some direction. We all know things have been floundering. If the producers hadn’t gotten enough content featuring Lily to throw together a good teaser, House of Archer might well have been pulled already. It wouldn’t hurt for you to give Lily’s ideas a quick scan.”
Sydney sighed. She couldn’t understand how no one had realized what she had only days after joining the tour.
“Then let’s just hash them out now,” Keith said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lily gave Archer a look conveying her uncertainty over Keith’s abrasive response. “I haven’t printed them out. I don’t remember them all off the top of my head. Besides, we’d probably be here for another hour going over all of them, and I know you guys want to rest.”
“Yes,” Noelle said, raising a hand. “I vote for sleep over talking.”
“Me, too,” Sage echoed around a bite of his BLT.
“And we really need to discuss the L.A. leg of our trip,” Christopher added. “I’ve managed to schedule some studio time so we can lay down ‘Not Mine.’ Can we make more progress on the songs Archer wrote to cut the entire album while we’re in the city?”
Sydney saw that Keith was about to argue further about Lily’s story ideas. She just couldn’t sit there and watch him flounder anymore. She caught his eye with a quick wave of her hand. Since everyone else was now focused on discussing the songs, dates, and timing, she used ASL to communicate with Keith.
I’ll help you, she signed.
He frowned and shook his head as though he didn’t understand.
With reading, she clarified.
She wasn’t at all surprised by the flicker of shock that crossed his features, nor was she surprised to see the emotional wall that immediately slammed into place, leaving his gaze frosted and hostile.
She may have expected both reactions, but having them directed at her as he rose and stepped closer made her swallow hard. He stopped less than a foot from her, prompting her to rise. His broad shoulders filled the space, blocking her from view of anyone in the seating area.
What are you talking about? he signed.
You know, she replied, praying he couldn’t see her heart attempting to bash through her chest.
You think I can’t read?
She gave him a knowing look that had his glower deepening. I’m a teacher, she reminded him. I’m trained to notice.
God, could he look any more threatening? She felt her knees wobble and locked her stance.
Who have you told? he asked.
No one, she assured him. And no one needs to know. I can meet with you privately.
Just keep your mouth shut and mind your own business.
Geez. He could even freeze the blood with sign language.
Unwilling to let it go, she signed, Don’t you want to help the band succeed?
His eyebrows drew together. I don’t need scripts to do that.
She sensed the hesitation behind the words, though. Much as she had suspected, Keith’s biggest strength—loyalty to those he cared about—was also his weakness.
What about Lex? she persisted.
His gaze moved from her hands to her eyes. She immediately regretted bringing up his sister. He moved so close to her that she couldn’t move her hands without touching him.
“What about her?” he asked so softly that it raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
“Don’t you want to set a positive example for her?” she whispered back. Then, guessing he’d get more worked up over learning about her relationship with his sister, she added, “Lily has told me how much she looks up to you.”
Keith’s strong jaw flexed as he considered her words. Eventually, he nodded once, so subtly that Sydney wasn’t sure she saw it.
“Is everything all right?”
Sydney jumped when Nikki spoke from over her shoulder. Her hand brushed against Keith’s midsection, making contact with his taught ab muscles. She took a guilty step back, nearly colliding with Nikki.
“It’s fine,” Keith said, still looking at Sydney. “Just got up to wash my hands.”
“Then you can spare a moment for me,” Nikki responded, pushing past Sydney to pull Keith down for a kiss.
With nowhere else to go, Sydney stood there and watched them, wondering what in the world she had against her heart that she would sentence it to such a tortuous end.
Chapter Two
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay on the bus?” Dane asked.
Lily looked up from winding her laptop cord and smiled over the deliberate sad face he gave her. She knew he didn’t want her riding to San Diego in the chartered SUV with Aria and Sydney. He wanted her to stay with him. She hadn’t had
any time alone with her two roommates in days, though. They had a lot of catching up to do.
“I’m sure,” she said. “If I stay you’re just going to try to convince me to have sex with you in your bunk and neither of us will get any rest before your concert tonight.”
“Try?”
Her smile widened as she zipped up her laptop bag. “Yes, try. If you ever want to convince me to have sex with you on this bus, you’re going to have to hire a hazmat team to come through here and napalm everything.”
He looked around as though trying to figure out why she found the bus’s condition so objectionable. She shook her head and pulled her laptop bag onto her shoulder.
“I’m the one who dragged Aria and Sydney on this tour along with me,” she reminded him. “They’re here to support me and I’ve been too busy to spend much time with them.”
She didn’t add that she had been wondering what was bothering Sydney and intended to find out on the drive. Her friend hadn’t been her usual cheerful self ever since the private concert at Jenny Kingston’s birthday party. Actually, since Lily and Dane first decided to begin their relationship. Lily wanted to know what was up.
Heaving an overly dramatic sigh, Dane pulled her against him and brushed his lips over hers. “Fine. I guess I’ll relent in the face of such a compelling argument. But you need to try and get some rest, too. You’ve been keeping the same crazy hours I have.”
He didn’t need to remind her. She felt every bit of their punishing schedule right about then.
“I will,” she promised.
He gave her another kiss, this one more intimate. She felt it all the way to her toes. It had her questioning her resolve to leave. Judging by the gleam in his brown eyes when he parted from her, Dane knew that all too well.
“Nice try,” she said breathlessly, patting his chest. “Seriously, hazmat team.”
He rolled his eyes and gave her one last quick kiss. “All right. See you in San Diego.”
“Love you,” she said.
“Love you, too.”
As she turned to head to the door, Lily spotted Nikki sitting in the corner behind Dane, watching them with an unreadable expression. Lily gave her a hesitant smile and a wave as she started down the steps to exit the bus. When Nikki smiled back and waved in return, Lily figured the other female had just been lost in thought.
Lily laughed when she heard Dane call out to Christopher to ask how they could get the bus cleaned just before the doors closed behind her. The head of The Void’s security team, Barney Caldwell, was waiting at the base of the steps to escort her to the SUV where Aria, Sydney, and all of their recent purchases had already been loaded. Barney had been serving as Lily’s bodyguard during these early weeks of the tour. She had gotten to know him pretty well, especially considering he wasn’t the chatty sort.
“How’s it going, Barney?” she asked.
She deliberately ignored the brilliant pops and flashes from the lingering nearby cameras. This was going to be part of her life now, she reminded herself. Best get used to it.
Easier said than done, the snarkier part of her brain chided.
“Just fine, Miss Lily. Would you like me to load your bag in the back, or will you be working on this trip?”
She had planned on working, but seeing Sydney’s solemn face through the tinted window had her changing her mind and handing her laptop bag to Barney. “I think I’ll take a breather on this leg.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He opened the door for her and she climbed in, bypassing the front passenger seat next to Aria so she could sit beside Sydney in the back. Aria didn’t comment, probably knowing why Lily had made the seating choice. Sydney, however, raised an eyebrow.
“Miss me?” she asked as Lily buckled in beside her.
“I’ve missed both of you,” Lily answered. “This has been an insane couple of weeks.”
Aria turned to look at them as Barney climbed into the driver’s seat. “Tell us about the press conference.”
Lily spent the first fifteen minutes of the drive describing the event. It had been her first ever press conference. She thought she had handled it pretty well overall. The questions had largely centered on her relationship with Dane and the content from the first House of Archer trailer.
“Will the producers be upset that you and Archer have outed yourselves as a couple before the show has even aired?” Sydney asked.
“No,” Lily replied. “They knew we were going to do it. We just spun it so that the show got plenty of mention in the conference. The idea is to get viewers interested in seeing how things developed between us and what’s going to happen from here.”
“So it was another promotional tactic?” Aria said.
Lily met Barney’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Barney, is there some way you can cover up that camera?”
He simply reached over and flipped a switch. Lily smiled and thanked him as he raised the privacy divider between the front and back. She fiddled with the microphone strapped around her waist. She had learned how to power it on and off after having to wear it for a number of days. Once it was off, she sat back and looked at her friends.
“The answer to your question, Aria, is that the press conference was partly a promotional tactic. Most of the public relations things that we do from now on will be. We’ve got to do whatever we can to generate interest in the show in a short amount of time. It’s a lot of pressure.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Sydney asked.
Appreciating her, Lily reached over and briefly clasped her hand. “I’ll let you know. For now, I’d really prefer to keep the attention on me and Archer. The producers feel we’ll be the biggest draw to start.”
“I can help you look the part of a rock star’s girlfriend,” Aria offered.
Lily wanted to groan over the thought of having to be made-up and styled out every day. There would be cameras on her nearly all the time now, so she didn’t have much choice.
“Thanks. I’m sure I’ll take you up on that.”
“How’s the whole ‘girlfriend of a rock star’ thing going, by the way?” Sydney asked. “That trailer didn’t make Archer’s initial intentions towards you look all that honorable.”
“And that’s just how the producers wanted it to look,” Lily said. “You saw how falsely they portrayed me by airing things out of context. Archer admitted that Elijah suggested bringing me into the show once he knew I was joining the tour, but that isn’t why Archer asked me to come along.”
“He loves you,” Aria said with a smile. “You can see it every time he looks at you.”
Lily returned her smile. “Yeah. I can’t say that I ever expected this when I agreed to come along this summer. So many changes so quickly...it’s a little terrifying.”
“We’re very happy for you,” Sydney said.
“Thanks. Now I want to find out what else has been on your mind.”
Sydney looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“I mean spill it.”
“Yeah,” Aria seconded. “I’ve been trying to crack you for days. We both know something’s weighing on you. Get it out there.”
Sydney looked like she was about to argue and say there wasn’t anything bothering her. Lily just waited. Her friend wasn’t generally a liar.
Sure enough, Sydney sighed and looked out the window. “All right. If you want to know, I’ve got a crush on Keith.”
“Keith?” Lily repeated. “As in Keith Connors?”
Sydney nodded.
Lily barely contained her reaction. Sydney could have said she had decided to run off and join the circus and Lily wouldn’t have been as flabbergasted.
Sydney and Keith? No freaking way.
Sydney was from an ultra-conservative Southern Baptist family. They tipped the scales when it came to adhering to strict and—in Lily’s opinion--unbending beliefs. They were the kind of people who fostered stereotypes about religious fanaticism. She knew they’d hate Keith for
his tattoos alone. She could just imagine him dropping an F-bomb in the middle of a conversation with Sydney’s parents. Her mother would probably faint.
Then there was the fact that aside from her blonde hair, Sydney couldn’t be less Keith’s type. She was too shy, modest, and well-educated compared to Keith’s usual hookups.
Never mind he was with Nikki.
None of that would be news to Sydney. Lily knew it wouldn’t help to bring any of it up. Her friend needed her support rather than her judgment.
Exchanging a look with Aria, Lily said, “I’m sorry, Syd. I’m sure that must be really rough for you.”
“Yeah,” Aria said, reaching back and patting Sydney’s knee. “I’m sure it’s just a physical thing. He’s got that bad-boy vibe that a good girl like you would find irresistible. I’m sure it’ll pass.”
“I wish that was true,” Sydney replied. “I’ve been trying to convince myself that’s all it is. But it’s just gotten stronger over the past couple weeks.”
Lily wasn’t sure what it said about her that her mind immediately went to how this would possibly affect The Void if anything more came of it. It was a knee-jerk internal response now that she was handling the band’s social media. She shoved that from her mind and focused on her clearly miserable friend.
“I think it would be a good idea for you to keep your distance from him for now,” she said. “The less contact you have with him, the less chance your hormones will override your good sense.”
She saw an unreadable look pass briefly over Sydney’s face. It sent up alarm bells.
“You’re right,” Sydney said with a nod. “That would definitely be a good idea.”
Something about her agreement didn’t resonate with the look Lily had seen. She glanced again at Aria, who gave a little shrug as though she didn’t know what to make of it either.
“So you’ll let us know if your hormones beckon?” Lily persisted.
Sydney gave them a small smile. “You’ll be the first to know.”
She obviously wanted to drop the subject. Lily decided not to press her. She wasn’t Sydney’s mother or her keeper. She would just do whatever she could to keep her sweet friend from getting hurt.
