Forever Red

by Carina Adams

  The second I was through the security checkpoint, Noah was rushing forward and two arms wrapped around me, lifting me off the ground, twirling me. I laughed, smacking him on the back. “People are looking at us!”

  “Of course they are!” he exclaimed as he lowered my feet to the ground, holding me until I felt steady. I rolled my eyes, thinking he was going to spew some of his brother’s cocky bullshit, but he surprised me. “You are the prettiest thing in this place and they’re all fucking jealous.”

  Bonus points to the kid. Mike hugged me next as Noah somehow removed my laptop bag off my shoulder. “I checked my luggage because I didn’t want to deal with it,” I told them when Mike glanced at the small bag.

  “Are you gonna fill our bus with girlie shit?” Noah asked as we headed toward baggage check.

  I had no idea what he classified as “girlie shit,” but thinking of my lotions and my books, I nodded. Neil had explained that we weren’t the only ones on the bus, and in fact, we were sharing the space with his brother, lead guitarist, drummer, fiddler, and Mike. He also apologized because it could get very cramped, very quickly. But he said I could join Molly on the other bus whenever I wanted.

  “Cool.” Noah smiled. “I’m so fucking sick of smelling these assholes you have no idea. I have a Scentsy warmer, but it can’t keep up.”

  I started to giggle. “You have a Scentsy warmer?”

  Noah looked offended. “I do. They make a line of products just for men. Vanilla Suede is fucking awesome. I’m not burning flowery shit or that nasty stuff that’s supposed to smell like food. But I don’t want to bring a chick back to the bus and have it reeking like Billy’s shit stained boxers. Which reminds me, if anyone asks you to sniff something to see if it smells bad, just say no.”

  “Jesus. Just shut up, kid.” Mike shook his head, glancing back at me. “You sure you wanna spend the next two months with him?”

  “Oh, whatever, asshole. You’re no better. Everyone has to avoid the bathroom after you’ve been in it. Remember that, Lia. At all costs,” he warned me sincerely. “And if I have to hear one more chick fake an orgasm with you, I’ll die of embarrassment for you.”

  “Fuck off,” Mike ground out.

  “Dude, being hung like a field mouse is nothin’ to be ashamed of. I’ve heard it’s not what you have, it’s how you use it. We all can’t be blessed with Kelly cock,” Noah joked, and Mike’s face turned murderous. “But it gets a little awkward when you hear him in the bathroom saying shit like, ‘it’s okay, little buddy; you can do it. Go on and grow.’ The rest of the time we all ignore it.”

  “Seriously, Noah. Stop fucking talking.”

  I couldn’t handle it. I had to sit down. Finding the first empty seat I could, I fell into it before tears started streaming down my cheeks and my body started shaking with laughter. They were too much. Good Lord. I’d composed myself – mostly – by the time they realized they’d lost me.

  “For fucks sake, you made her cry, Carson!” Noah chided. “And she hasn’t even see—”

  “Not another word,” Mike growled, smacking him across the back of his head.

  Noah only grinned, shrugging as he mouthed the words, “You’ll see.” He offered a hand and I let him pull to my feet. Mike gave us an annoyed look and started toward the luggage carousel. Still chuckling, I followed.

  *****

  I hadn’t done more than step into the trailer when Neil grabbed me and his lips crashed into mine. Then, holding my shoulders, he pushed me back slightly so he could see my face. “I missed you, Red,” he confessed and I smiled, ready to tell him I missed him, too, but he kept talking. “Now, go get dressed.”

  “I am dressed.”

  His eyes moved down over my body, taking in my tank top and ratty jean cutoffs, and then back up to my bare face and frizzy hair. He smirked and jerked his head toward the bedroom where Noah had just dropped my bags. “Anything in there to wear out to a club?”

  “A club?” It was barely past six, but because of the time change, my body was ready for pajamas and relaxing. Or sex. Sex was a good option. Plus, there was the other issue. “You couldn’t even come meet me at the airport. How are we going to go out?”

  “I’ve got it covered. Did you bring something you could wear?”

  I almost laughed. Did I bring something to wear clubbing? Please. Cort had helped me pack. One entire bag was full of clothes and shoes I’d never worn but she insisted I needed. “Yes. But I need a shower. And time to get ready.”

  Neil grinned like a little boy that just won a baseball tournament. “I’ll give you an hour. Then the six of us are going out.”

  “Six?” I asked cautiously, wondering which of the band was joining us and how in the hell we’d keep a low profile.

  “Me, you, Carson, Noah, Reb, and maybe Mols. We’re just keeping it small; a regular group of friends goin’ out to have a good time.”

  Yeah. That’s exactly what it was. Two country music superstars, a recognizable guitar player, a man that looked like he belonged in the secret service, a kid who didn’t look old enough to drink – I did the math in my head, he was, even though it was just barely – and me. Yeah. Just a few friends out for a couple of beers. No problem.

  I took a surprisingly relaxing shower in the tiny space in the small bathroom. Then I took my time on my hair and makeup. Pulling on tight black jeans, a blue anchor tank, and black platform heels that I would probably kick off before the night was over, I took one last glance in the mirror and headed out to join my crew.

  Everyone was in the area that I called the kitchen, although it was really an everything space. Since the bus was parked, the sides had been pushed out, giving us more room. There was a small table with a bench on each side next to a couch. Across from that was the sink, refrigerator, and stove. A second couch was wedged into the space between the door and the sink. Each couch had a television over it, so that no matter where you sat, you could see a screen comfortably.

  Conversation ground to a halt as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom. Five sets of eyes were suddenly glued to me. But, none of them belonged to the man I wanted to see.

  “Yeah.” Noah sat forward on one of the couches, elbows on his knees, a beer bottle in his hands. “You need to go change.”

  There were grunts of agreement from the peanut gallery, but I ignored them. “Where’s Neil?”

  “He’s out talking to Miss Molly, little girl. But I’d go back and change before he gets back if I was you.” This came from Billy, the drummer I hadn’t officially met yet. From the size of his arms and the scowl on his face, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted an introduction.

  I glanced down. Nothing was stained. No fat rolls were hanging out. And, for once, my legs looked fantastic, even if it was just because of the shoes. “I’m not changing. He said clubbing clothes, and that’s what these are.”

  “No. That’s an ‘I have a nice rack, check out my tits’ shirt, ‘my ass looks great, go ahead and grab it’ jeans, and ‘come here and fuck me hard’ shoes,” Rhett, the fiddler told me in what appeared to be all seriousness.

  I laughed at his absurdness. “Well, I do have nice tits, so you should be looking. My ass is actually flat, so if these jeans make it look grabbable, I’m never taking them off. And my shoes better give off the come fuck me hard message, because that’s the one I’m sending to Neil.”

  Rhett sat up. “I like her. Can we keep her?”

  “Absolutely. As soon as she changes,” Noah insisted.

  I rolled my eyes, turning to Mike. “Does it look that bad? Do I look stupid?”

  He shook his head, but Billy answered for him, “You look anything but stupid, babe. Maybe Rhett and I should come, too. Ya know, just in case you need us.”

  “I think you look fucking amazing.”

  I turned toward the low, husky voice at the front of the bus and couldn’t keep the smile off my face. As my eyes traveled over him, I understood exactly what his friends were talking about.

/>   Neil was wearing distressed jeans that sat low on his waist, clinging to him in all the right places and a tight long-sleeved black tee that covered all of his tattoos. Such a shame that was. But the black and silver baseball hat, worn low on his head so I could just barely see his eyes, was what pushed his look over the top. He was sex on a stick. Every single woman in a ten-mile radius was going to notice him. “Maybe we should stay here.”

  His face turned in his lopsided grin. The same one that used to be directed at me all the time. I wanted to kick everyone out and strip him bare. With my teeth. His eyes turned dark as if he could read my thoughts and took a step toward me, but a loud honk from outside broke the spell.

  “That’s our ride.” He turned to his friends. “You two sure you don’t wanna come?”

  Billy started to stand up, but Rhett backhanded him in his stomach, forcing him back down and then shook his head. “Naw, man. We got plans. If you need us, call.”

  Neil nodded as he grabbed my hand and lead me off the bus, the others falling into line behind us. The Chevy Suburban parked in the lot was not what I was expecting. Sam got out and handed Rebel the keys; then Neil put his hand on my lower back, opened the back door, and ushered me in before sliding in behind me. Noah and Mike went to the passenger side, the latter riding shotgun.

  All four doors slammed in unison. Looking around, all I could see was beautiful men. They all were dressed for a night out in jeans and tee shirts, and as hard as it was to believe, unless you knew who they were, they weren’t overly recognizable. Rebel had pulled back his blonde hair into a sexy as hell man bun. Mike wasn’t wearing his signature FBI shades and had on sneakers. Noah couldn’t hide his goofy, but even he looked adorable tonight. Appreciating the fact that I was wedged between the Kelly brothers, I started to giggle.

  “You think it’s funny, now,” Mike muttered, turning in his seat slightly, “but you just wait until you’ve seen him drive. By the time he stops this thing, you’ll be falling to your knees, kissing the ground, and praising Jesus that you made it out alive.”

  Rebel answered with a raised middle finger.

  I shook my head, smiling at their encounter. “I just realized I was surrounded by the blessed Kelly cock.”

  Someone snorted, someone grunted, and my boyfriend’s body tensed. “Uh, what?”

  “No. Don’t ask,” Mike told his best friend. “Just ignore it.”

  “Hey! Where is Molly?” I asked as we pulled out of the pavilion where their concert would be the following night.

  “She’s meeting us there,” Neil assured me, giving my hand a little squeeze. “What I want to know is how you went from Kelly cock to talking about Mols.”

  “No. No you don’t.” Mike argued from the front seat, shaking his head. “Just let it go.”

  “If you start singing that fucking song, I’m gonna pull this car over and—” Reb’s threat was cut off when the men next to me started screaming at the top of their lungs.

  “The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen.” I sat, amazed, while three grown men continued to belt out the song I recognized from Frozen. Yeah, it had been all over the radio recently, but that didn’t really explain how they knew it verbatim.

  When they finally finished singing the song, I looked at Neil. He shrugged, sheepishly. “We may have watched the movie a few times.”

  “A few? Jesus, we broke the DVD.” Mike gave me a shrug that mirrored his friend. “What? Elsa’s fucking hot.”

  “The chick can move,” Reb told me as if we were talking about someone real. The others nodded in agreement.

  “Elsa’s hot and all, but she can’t begin to compete with Betty,” Noah insisted.

  I turned to him. “As in Boop?”

  He looked horrified. “Christ, no. Rubble.” His face twisted in a smirk that made him look too much like his brother. “My girl Betty’s got some fucking curves. Mmm-hmm.”

  “Nah, man. Wilma was the one to watch. She made Flintstone’s awesome,” Reb pointed out. “Feisty, hot as fuck, and loyal. That’s my dream woman, right there.”

  Neil shook his head. “Wilma was okay, but she was no Jess.”

  I stared at him in amusement, not following.

  “Nothing sexier than Jessica Rabbit,” Mikey agreed wistfully.

  “Not true.” Neil leaned in close, breath hot on my ear. “I’m looking at something a helluva lot sexier. And she’s all mine.”

  I could only laugh. I was surrounded by little boys trapped in adult bodies. Boys who argued over which cartoon character was hotter.

  Reb slowed the car down, pulling into a parking garage. “We’re going to leave the truck here, have dinner, and then walk to the club,” Neil explained quietly. “Less likely to draw attention that way.”

  The boys kept me laughing as we walked to the restaurant, while we waited for a table, and then after we ordered. When our waitress brought our food, she flirted with the boys and I stopped paying attention to what she was saying. Reaching across the table, I pulled Mikey’s plate toward me and plucked half of his onion rings off, replacing them with half my fries. Then I lifted the top of his burger bun, moving my tomatoes onto it. Finally, I stole his pickle before sliding it back in front of him.

  It was something we’d done hundreds of times over the years and I didn’t even have to ask. Just like he asked the waitress to bring over mayonnaise for me. I shoved a fry into my mouth and looked up. Noah and Neil were both watching me. Neither said anything, but I knew they’d seen what I’d done.

  Meeting Mike’s eyes, I saw the warning. We hadn’t told Neil that we’d kept in touch. If I didn’t pay attention, we wouldn’t have a chance to tell him before he figured it out. I didn’t want to ruin our good night, but we had to be honest with him soon. My stomach tightened in knots and I suddenly I wasn’t hungry anymore.

  Their playful banter, which they started as soon as our waitress disappeared, distracted me, almost instantly vanishing my worry. They were easy to laugh with and were a great distraction. Before I knew it, my worry had completely disappeared.

  The club was practically empty when we got there. Snagging a table in the back, away from the DJ, we talked and laughed through two rounds. When Noah declared it shot time, I sat back in my chair and looked around, surprised to see every table taken and the dance floor packed.

  Noah was grinning when he came back, carrying a tray with ten mini-glasses filled with red liquid. He set two in front of each of us before turning his chair around and straddling it.

  “Um…” I picked one up, sniffing it. “What is it?”

  “A redheaded slut,” he announced proudly.

  The others groaned and swore at him. “Dick.” “Ass.” “Fuckwad.”

  I only grinned back. It was perfect. “Do I want to know what’s in it?”

  “Don’t ask. Just drink.” He raised his glass at me and I tapped it with mine. Not waiting for the others, we tipped our heads back and swallowed. Then I coughed and gagged. Jager. Gross! I grabbed Mike’s beer, trying to wash the taste from my mouth while the other three took their first shot. Then, against my better judgment, we did the second. It didn’t taste any better.

  “I don’t know what ass tastes like firsthand, but I’m pretty sure that’s the closest I’ll ever get.”

  “Ass tastes better,” Reb, with a shrug and a smile, assured me. “And I do know firsthand.”

  I tossed a pretzel at him. “I can’t handle another one of those.”

  “I’ll go this time,” Mike told the table as he stood and walked to the bar. He’d been sitting directly across from me, blocking my view of the table behind him. With him gone, I could see the four women that were staring at our table and not even trying to hide their gawking. They talked amongst themselves, but never once took their eyes off us.

  “Neil?” I asked, leaning toward him and lowering my voice. “Those women aren’t reporters, are they?”

  He glanced over, eyes moving over them quick
ly, before turning back to me. “Nope.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Pretty sure they aren’t hidin’ camera equipment in those dresses.”

  I moved my eyes back to them, jolting in surprise when I realized one of them was staring at me. She held my gaze, giving me a look I couldn’t decipher. It was similar to the ones Ally had given me in high school – like she was judging me and found me lacking. I broke contact first.

  “Red?” The question was full of worry and his fingers brushed a few strands of hair behind my ear before putting his thumb under my chin and pulling my face toward him. “You feelin’ okay?”

  I nodded, eyes drifting back to their table, thankful she wasn’t looking at me anymore. I could see what Neil meant, though. Every single one of them was wearing an outfit that didn’t leave anything to the imagination. They barely fit in their clothes so there was no chance they’d be able to smuggle anything else in.

  “Babe?”

  “Maybe they’re not reporters, but I’m pretty sure you’ve been made.”

  Neil sighed, turning toward them once more, this time with a bored expression. “Nope.”

  “If they’re not reporters, and they don’t know who you are, why in the hell are they staring?”

  Neil answered by raising an eyebrow. Noah, eavesdropping, leaned over the table. “You’ll get used to it, Lia. It happens all the time. Even when they don’t know who we are, Nate and Reb tend to get attention.”

  Ah. Yeah. I looked at the guys again. They were definitely the kind of men I’d check out if I were here tonight. None of them looked like they were musicians, let alone a country music band. “Why don’t you wear hats and cowboy boots?”

  Neil shook his head. “I’m not that kinda country.”

  Mike showed up before I could respond, handing us each another shot, this one looking like chocolate milk. “I thought since Noah liked being a dick so much, blowjobs would be perfect.”

  Noah grinned. “I do love me a blowjob. But, Mike, I just don’t swing that way. The lips I liked wrapped around my cock have to be soft.”