by K E Osborn
Nate, however, he’s smiling from ear to ear, absorbing everything but standing back at my side.
I lean into his ear. “Go! I’m fine. Be with your fans,” I whisper.
He looks to me and shakes his head. “I don’t wanna leave you.”
“It’ll look suspicious if you never leave my side, Nate.”
He nods as I squeeze his hand and gesture over to a girl who’s holding a pair of drum sticks. “Go.”
Nate winks at me and then turns heading for the girl with the sticks. She hands them to him and he leans in to give her a hug and have a selfie. The look on her face is pure jubilation and I stand back in awe. I love how much the crowd adores these guys. I never realized just how popular they are. I guess I thought me being in their video was me helping them. Maybe they will be the ones helping me?
“Zaria, can I get a picture?” someone calls out.
I nod feeling like finally someone knows who I am. I walk over and she smiles so brightly.
“Hi honey, what’s your name?” I ask.
“Hazel.”
“Well Hazel, it’s lovely to meet you. Thanks for coming out to support the guys.”
She smiles. “Well, I do love them, but you’re my favorite actress, too. So having you both here together is like all my dreams come true.”
“Aww, you’re sweet. I hope you enjoy our video when it comes out, be sure to keep an eye out for it.”
“Oh… I will. I’ll be watching it on repeat over and over again, sooo many times. Don’t you worry about that.”
I laugh. “Well, thank you for your support, Hazel. It means so much to us all. In fact, Danger…” I call out grabbing his attention. He looks at me and smiles as I wave him over.
Hazel tenses up as he walks up to us.
“Hey,” he says smiling wide.
“Can we have a pic with me and our biggest fan, Hazel, here?”
Danger smiles. “Biggest fan, hey? Of course.” He moves in behind Hazel as I shift to her side. She freezes with the biggest smile on her face and pulls her cell up snapping some selfies of the three of us together.
“Okay, got it, I think. Thank you guys, so much. You’ve made me so happy.”
“Anything for our biggest fan, right Zaria?” Danger says wrapping his arm around my shoulders like we’re the best of friends, and believe it or not it’s actually comforting.
“Exactly, have a good day, Hazel.”
“Thanks again, guys.”
“You’re welcome, honey,” I reply as Danger drags me off down toward the great big double doors of the radio station. The security guards are trying to usher us inside, and we’re laughing at their bossy tones.
“Thanks for coming over to have a pic with Hazel and me, I think we might have made her day.”
He smiles. “It was worth it to see her smile. Plus, you’re damn easy to work with, Zaria. You’re not such the hard-ass you portray.”
“I’m not a hard-ass at all, really.” I giggle. “I’m actually quite different to that movie star I portray once you get to know me.”
Danger smirks. “We have two months to get to know each other, and I have a feeling we’ll be having a lot more Hazels in that time. So we better get along… right?”
I nod. We walk into the radio station where we are introduced to the producer. He tells us the interview will go for around ten minutes and they will talk primarily to me and Danger about how we liked working together, the chemistry, and then they will play a couple of the band’s songs in between. The other guys will be there, but won’t get to talk as the focus will be on Danger and me as the headliners.
I glance over to Nate to check if this is something the band knew about, but the look on Ryan’s face makes is clear they did not. Chewing on my bottom lip we slip into place as the others sit in the back of the room away from the soundboards and mics. I feel terrible for them like I’m stepping on their toes. But I was brought in to promote them so that’s what I’ll do, to the best of my ability anyway.
The interview goes without a hitch. Danger and I got along swimmingly bouncing off each other like we’ve been friends for eons. It was a natural conversation and nothing felt forced or fake. I actually felt genuine when I was talking about how much I’m enjoying my time with Danger and Recoil, and I think that came across perfectly during the interview.
We all head out of the studio, Olly thanks the host and the producer as Nate comes to my side.
“You were great,” he whispers in my ear.
I smile up at him and breathe a sigh of relief. I’m glad he approves. “Thank you, but I meant everything I said. I wasn’t playing a part in there.”
“You weren’t?”
Reaching out and touching his arm, I smile. “No. I really do enjoy being around you guys. Sure it hasn’t been smooth sailing with the girls, but the guys are easy. There’s no need to make up stories about liking you all ‘cause I do. One a little more than the others, though,” I say raising my eyebrows up and down insinuatingly.
He chuckles. “Only a little more?” He uses his fingers to measure the distance.
“Can’t play blatant favorites now, can I?” I tease.
“Personally, I think you should. No, I think you definitely should.” He steps in closer wrapping his arm around my waist. I go to lean in to kiss him, but someone clears their throat next to us.
“Sorry guys, technically you’re in public. So, ahh... PDA’s are a no, no,” Tillie says with a sympathetic frown.
Nate pulls back and sighs. “Fuck! Sorry, Tillie. This might be harder than we thought.”
She nods looking around obviously to see if any radio personnel saw our little encounter. “It will be hard, but you’ll get the hang of it. Just lucky no one saw but me.”
“Yeah. Sorry again, Till,” Nate says.
“It’s all good, let’s go back to the bus. Then you guys can kanoodle all you like.”
Nate chuckles. “Did you really just say kanoodle?”
“Yes, now let’s go!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We stride out of the studio, the fans are still here. I wave to Hazel and she smiles at me widely, but I rush past the crowd onto the bus. Nate follows me on, and once we’re safely behind the tinted windows he pulls me to him and kisses me passionately. I melt into his arms and kiss him back just as ardently. I’m not sure why we need each other right now, but I kiss him for all he’s worth. Until loud cheering forces us to break apart. We notice Ryan making a fuss over us with his usual slurping noises and what looks like he’s making love to his hand. I laugh shaking my head as Nate holds me to him.
“Am I gonna have to listen to you two banging below us all the time?” Ryan asks.
Nate rolls his eyes.
“Shut up, Ry, that’s what headphones are for,” Tillie chides.
I gasp as she winks at me. Sex with Nate in the next two months hadn’t crossed my mind, especially on a tour bus with seven other people.
Fuck!
“Hey relax. We don’t have to do that. Not if you’re uncomfortable, Ria,” Nate says seeming to know what I’m thinking.
I turn to face him and he smiles at me so warmly it melts my heart. “I just… faking it on a set is easy, but having an audience for the real thing scares the shit out of me, Nate.”
He grabs my hands and his thumbs trail along my skin. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with, Ria. I’m not the forcing type, okay babe? We can sit this out. I can wait as long as it takes.”
Nodding, I smile. “Thank you.”
The others climb up on the bus and the driver closes the doors.
“Everyone here?” Olly asks.
“Yep,” Tillie replies.
“Let’s roll then,” Olly says as everyone starts to take their seats.
Nate wraps his arm around my neck pulling my head onto his shoulder. “Don’t stress, Ria.”
I lean into his side feeling ease at his words. I know Nate won’t pressure me into a
nything I don’t want, and I think as long as I can ease tensions with Lunar, I’m sure this little tour is going to be quite comfortable indeed.
It’s night time and the bus is traveling to Dallas. We’re all tucked away in our beds, the curtains are drawn and I’m cuddled into Nate as he doodles on a notepad awkwardly above us attached to the top of the bunk.
“So today went well,” I whisper.
He smiles at me and nods. “Sure did. You and Danger were getting on quite well.”
“Yeah, seems like we’re actually going to be good friends I think.”
“Mmm…” An intoxicated moan echoes from the bed across from us and we both look over, even though our curtain is closed. Heavy breathing follows and then more deep moaning. I purse my lips looking up at Nate who’s trying to hold back his grin when the unmistakable sound of skin slapping against skin followed by the now two sets of moans echoes through the back of the bus. Clenching my eyes shut at the sexy sounds coming from Danger and Lunar’s bunk, I risk opening my eyes again to glance at Nate to see him chewing on his bottom lip as I swallow at the look of lust in his eyes.
I can tell he’s thinking about sex—sex with me.
But I can’t.
I can’t have others hearing me like that.
How embarrassing.
I run my hand up his chest and look into his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
He smiles grabbing my hand and squeezing it gently. “You have nothing to be sorry for, baby.”
“Oh God… yes,” Lunar calls out making me cringe.
Nate flares his nostrils as I tense completely. He leans in kissing my head then goes back to doodling on his notepad above the bed, drawing doves and clown fish. All the while I cuddle into his side as Danger and Lunar ride out their orgasms, and Ryan and Tillie giggle above us.
We’ve been on the promo tour for four weeks. Not being able to touch Ria sexually is driving me insane, but I understand, she’s shy about having sex in front of others when not acting, and I’m okay with that.
Hey, I’ve gone half a year without sex before, what’s two months? I can do this especially if it’s going to help our ‘we’re not a couple’ façade for the public. So far we’ve done really well. No one suspects a thing, if anything they’re suspecting Danger and Ria are having a thing behind Lunar’s back.
That little tidbit of information has only come out twice in the media in the last four weeks, and Tillie’s been quite quick to squash that rumor of course.
We’ve traveled halfway around the US and we still have the other half to go. Depending on how we go, we might add another month on and go overseas. The thing is, with Ria and I not being intimate and her spending virtually all of her time with Danger during the days preparing interviews and then doing the interviews, it only leaves time for us at night together and she’s so exhausted by the end of it all she pretty much just falls asleep. I feel like our relationship is struggling and I can’t help but notice that Lunar seems to be distracted and down too. Maybe she’s feeling the strain on her relationship too? Or maybe I’m just reading too much into it? I dunno…
We pull up at a television studio where we’re supposed to be performing as well as Danger and Ria doing their usual interview. We all file into the back of the studio and the producer comes up to shake Tillie’s hand.
“Miss Marks, we are going to bump the live performance. We want to extend the interview with Danger and Zaria. We feel it will pull a higher rating… you understand?”
I huff out a long breath along with Matt and Ryan, as Tillie swallows hard and nods. “Umm… sure. I’ll let Zaria and Danger know.”
“We’ve been axed,” Ryan says.
“Yes, but at least they’re still promoting you in that timeslot,” Tillie says.
“True, I suppose,” Matt says sounding as depressed as I feel.
“Don’t worry guys, there’s always next time,” Tillie says with a weak smile and walks off toward Danger and Ria’s dressing rooms.
We’re in the wings watching as Danger and Ria are on stage for the interview. It’s going well and Danger and Ria are answering the questions thrown at them like pros—the chemistry between them is great… a little too damn great. They look so comfortable with each other. It’s bugging me. It’s almost bordering on flirting between them. Lunar walks up to me and leans into my side.
“Is it just me or does it seem like they’re not acting anymore?” she asks.
Raising my eyebrow as I watch Ria place her hand on Danger’s arm and laugh. It’s a small gesture, but it unsettles me nonetheless. “They’re just friends, Lunar, like us.”
“Yeah, but I don’t touch you like that…”
She’s right, she doesn’t.
Shit! Maybe she’s seeing something I don’t want to.
“You don’t think they’re—”
Quick to cut her off I reply, “No… he wouldn’t do that to you, Lunar.”
She nods. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right. He wouldn’t… would he?”
We both look back out to the stage where something funny was obviously said, and they look at each other in the eyes and chuckle like two people who are deeply connected.
I swallow hard and take a deep breath. “No. He loves you, Lunar,” I say while she chews on her bottom lip.
“And does she love you?”
I shake my head. “It’s too early for that. She cares about me… a lot, I’m sure. But love? No.”
“Hmmm…” Lunar murmurs.
“So we extended this interview because we have some breaking news. We wanted to get your opinion, Zaria… first hand,” the interviewer says gaining my attention along with Tillie and Oliver.
“Ah… sure,” Zaria says looking a little concerned as I tense up.
Maybe they’ve found out about us?
Someone’s caught on about her being in a relationship.
This could sink the whole marketing pitch—right here, right now.
“Shit,” I say as Tillie puts her hand on my shoulder.
“Just wait and see, Nate,” Tillie whispers.
“So we have word that Bloomfield Productions is filing for bankruptcy. All staff have been made redundant and the company is closing doors as of today. What are your thoughts on this?”
I exhale half-relieved yet annoyed they would spring this on her.
“I… ahh… wow! Honestly, I had no idea. If this is the case I’m truly saddened and shocked by this revelation. I hope all employees are able to find other positions and are… wow… sorry. I’m just a little shocked here. You’ve kinda sprung this on me.”
“For those who don’t know, Bloomfield Productions is run by Zaria’s stepfather Patrick Bloomfield. The man who gave her… her break into film in the first place. Am I right?”
“Yes, without him I wouldn’t… well, a lot of actors wouldn’t be here. It truly is a sad day for this industry.”
Danger reaches out touching her arm in a show of support, and I curl my lip up in annoyance.
It should be me comforting her, I think while mentally slapping myself.
“Okay, well, we want to thank Danger and Zaria for coming on our show today. Now we’re heading off for a commercial break. We’ll be right back.”
The producer signals that they’ve stopped filming and Ria stands abruptly and rips off her microphone glaring at the two hosts. “Don’t ever invite me back on your show again. I will respectfully decline.” She throws the microphone pack on the desk and heads straight toward me, her face contorting with rage. I step over to intercept her and as she reaches me, she grabs my hand tightly and pulls me along as she continues walking down toward their dressing room. I’m quiet as she stomps along, but she’s panting furiously like she’s about to explode at any second. I’m not sure if I should talk first or let her speak when she’s ready. I’m not sure what to do.
Cool, calm, collected...
We walk into the dressing room and she slams the door shut behind me. The hard look in her eyes sc
ares me a little. “Ria,” I murmur.
“I mean… what the actual fuck were they thinking landing that on me like that? And fucking hell… what if it is true? What if Patrick’s company has gone bust? Then does that mean Mom and him will be poor? I mean it’s not an issue… I can help them with money and stuff. But fuck, Nate, how could they not tell me? Warn me, that this could happen? God!” She pulls at her hair in frustration and I lunge toward her grabbing her hands and stopping her by pulling them to her sides.
“Hey! Stop! Just breathe. It’s gonna be okay.”
“Is it? That production company is the one that does most of my movie deals, Nate. I might be a has-been now.”
Bringing my hands up to her face, I force her to look at me. “Breathe, you look too pale.”
She nods and takes a deep breath relaxing in my grip. “Nate, I’m screwed.”
“Baby, you’re not screwed, we’ll sort this out. I promise, okay?”
She nods leaning in and presses her lips to mine. It’s so nice to be kissing her right now. After all my uncertainty today, knowing she still wants to kiss me, makes me feel better.
Geez, I’m a selfish bastard.
The door opens and we quickly break apart as Danger and Tillie rush in.
“Shit! Zaria… you okay?” Danger asks as they move over toward us and everyone filters in behind them.
Ria exhales and nods slowly taking in a deep breath, but she’s still as white as a ghost.
“Zaria, you don’t look too good. Maybe you should sit down?” Danger asks.
I reach out grabbing her around her waist as she starts to sway.
“I’ll get her some water,” Tillie says.
I look at Ria turning pasty and her eyes go glassy.
“Ria, babe, you okay?” I ask then her knees buckle, her eyes roll into the back of her head and she goes completely limp in my arms. I hold onto her as her entire body drops into my arms and I tense up completely looking down at her. “Ria, babe, wake up,” I call out as I shake her slightly.
