It was kind of a grind, spending an hour or so making small talk with strangers who we weren’t even likely to see again. We were all handed shots at one point that we all tossed back. From there, I felt myself go less rigid, and Mayzie seemed to relax a little too. Not ten minutes later, we were offered another, and conversation flowed a little easier. We were able to let go and have a little fun, especially when the guys from The Shock Wave showed up, taking the spotlight, and therefore the pressure off of us. I caught Mayzie hiding a yawn every so often. She’s the ‘early to bed, early to rise’ type to begin with, but keep her up late and get a little alcohol in her, and her minutes are numbered. But man, she’s hanging in there, smiling, talking to people, and getting excited with everyone else when George and the rest of The Wave showed up. We had switched to beer by then, and being that we were the first to go on, our endorphins had long since worn off. I was beat, and Mayzie was hanging on by a thread. However, since we were guests on The Shock’s tour, we had to keep up appearances.
George eventually made his way over to me while Mayzie was looking for a bathroom.
“Hey, great show tonight man!” I shouted over the crowd and the music being played by the sound system.
“Thank you! You know, I caught some of your set too and it was outstanding. Don’t think we could’ve gotten a better opener for us this tour.”
“That means a lot, thank you. Glad we didn’t disappoint.”
“It’s the truth,” he says, shrugging. “Where’s your lady?” he asks, taking a drink from what looks and smells like Johnny Walker.
“She went to find a bathroom.”
“Well, if she doesn’t return in five minutes, hunt her down. Make sure she didn’t get sucked into the vortex. These parties can get out of hand.”
“Shit, okay,” I say, immediately looking around for her. I’m about to worry when I hear a hiccup and she turns up by my side.
“Hic! I just saw some people – Hic! - screwing in the bathroom. I uh, -hiccup- didn’t want to interrupt.”
Sweet Jesus.
George tosses his head back and laughs. “You know Jack, it’s the first night and you guys have been real troopers. Why don’t you take your poor girl to bed? You’ve put in enough face time.”
“Are you sure?” I say reaching out to steady Mayzie. I think she’s only got a couple more minutes of consciousness left in her before she involuntarily shuts down.
“Yeah, I’m sure. This part takes some easing into. Go ahead, we’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thanks man,” I say, clapping him on the back, before putting my hands on Mayzie’s waist and steering her towards the exit.
We get to our room and clean up, with Mayzie half asleep during it all. When she walks over to the bed and strips down to absolutely nothing before climbing in, I decide I’m not that tired. I follow suit, climb in, and sweet talk her into making lazy love with me for a while before letting her pass out. She’s such a sweet and willing participant. It’s after three in the morning, and I have an arm draped over her when I finally drift off to the sound of her adorable snore.
22
Mayzie
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Ugggghhh… A happy wake-up, this is not. I hear a groan beside me as Jack’s hand slams down on the alarm clock. That’ll show it. My head is pounding and my mouth feels like cotton. He rolls over to me and kisses my shoulder.
“Morning,” he says, cuddling into my back.
“Uggghh,” I grunt in response.
“Hungover, baby?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Not really.”
“How dare you.”
“Tired as fuck, though.” Lucky him. He’s so much bigger than I am and can hold his drink.
We get in the shower, which makes me feel marginally better, and get dressed. We pack up our things and head down to the lobby, which has a coffee cart, thank the merciful heavens. Latte in hand, we pull our luggage to the back exit of the hotel, as we were instructed to do the day before. There’s an SUV waiting for us, and it drives us back to the concert venue.
When we are dropped off at the back parking lot, we are shell shocked to see the long line of buses and trucks that wrap all the way around its perimeter. There are managers and crew members milling about and loading luggage in various places. We find a manager and follow him to what will be Turn it Up’s bus. As our luggage is stored in the cargo area, we walk up the short steps and my mind is boggled at the sight before me. The interior of the bus is sleek, with plushy lounge chairs and couches built into the window seat, and that’s just the lounge area at the front. As we pass through, we find the bunk area that runs down the middle of the bus, each one the size of a twin bed with a curtain to draw for privacy. We throw our bags into one, and continue to the back of the bus where we find another lounge area similar to the one at the front, with a flat screen TV. There is also a bathroom with a shower at the very end.
After we plop down in the window seat, the rest of the guys straggle in, looking the way that I feel. I feel a serious solidarity with Matt when I see him amble into the lounge area with sunglasses shielding his eyes and a to-go coffee cup identical to mine in his hand. He fist bumps us both before flopping down next to me and resting his head back against the window.
We sit there over the next half hour as Chris and Josh get settled and crew members come on and off, still seemingly trying to get things in order. One of the assistant road managers comes on with what looks to be a novel in his hand, telling the guys he needs to go over the itinerary. Sweet Jesus. That takes over twenty minutes, and I think I hear the words ‘subject to change’ at least nine times. I rest my chin on my hand, looking out the window, only partially listening in my hungover haze. I hear more words like ‘meet and greet,’ ‘guest spot on morning radio show,’ ‘load in,’ ‘sound check,’ and ‘after party.’ That last one makes my head want to explode, and I let out a tiny groan as I clutch my latte closer to me like it will give me strength. Oh, sweet caffeinated mocha. You’re the only one who understands. I do feel a slight sweep of relief when he goes on to say that the next venue will only be a bus stop, meaning the bands will only do their performances, and then come back to the bus before driving through the night to the next location. It sounds like there will be a mix of those and hotel stops, the latter involving the after parties. Hopefully I can work out some kind of rhythm with those or I won’t survive.
At long last, the bus starts rolling, thus beginning this new adventure. As it makes its way onto the interstate, Erin’s cautious words from the night before come flooding back to me. I try to get lost in the scenery out the window and not get too worried about what awaits us over the next few weeks.
Jack
The next week and a half alternates between being a grind and being a blur. Tour life, it turns out, is a lot more than just driving to cities, performing at them, and then leaving for the next one. There are events, appearances, rehearsals, meetings… the list goes on. And times are always getting changed on us. According to George, that’s par for the course the first couple of weeks. Every tour, no matter if it’s your first or your tenth, has its kinks to work out. The band’s schedule and that of the people in the city you’re stopping in don’t always line up. Therefore, changes have to be made in accordance with the show.
Since Seattle, we’ve hit several cities down the west coast, with L.A. being our next stop. We typically do a show two nights in a row, and every third is a rest night at a hotel with a show planned the following night in that city. L.A. will be a hotel stop, (thank God), and promises to have the most intense of after parties (fuck me).
So far, Mayzie seems to be rolling with it okay. She keeps herself busy with work, and if she doesn’t have anything she has to do on her laptop, then she’s reading on her Kindle or looking out the window. She doesn’t seem stressed like I am, but I don’t like how quiet she is all the time. I know only too well that that means her true emotions are under
neath the surface, doing God knows what. I know part of it is that she’s hell bent on staying out of the way and letting us adapt to this new life. I don’t like it. It’s not just a new life for the band, it’s a new life for her and me and I feel like she’s navigating the latter on her own. I know that I should be doing more. Sometimes, when I have the down time to actually give our relationship some attention, I’m just so damn exhausted from the work that I don’t have anything left in me, which is not okay, and I know it. I do my best to maintain a physical relationship by being affectionate with her, trying to send the message that I’m thinking of her even though it seems downright impossible to spend a substantial amount of time with her. It’s not enough. She and I badly need to connect, I can feel it.
We’ve been told that we’ll be arriving in L.A. around nine this morning after traveling all night from the last stop, and that after load-in, we’ll have a few hours to ourselves before sound check. Road staff promised that we’d have at least three hours of down time, and I already know I want to make every minute count with Mayzie. I’m excited to find a beach and just take a walk or sit down and relax with her. I want to check in and see how she’s really doing, how she’s feeling and what she’s thinking.
After getting settled into a hotel room, we talk one of the drivers into taking us to the nearest beach. We take our shoes off and take a walk, Mayzie still so quiet, it’s driving me crazy.
“How are you doing?” I ask her, looking over at her as we walk. It’s hard to read her expression under her sunglasses, but I search her face anyway. She shrugs.
“It’s taking some getting used to, but I’m hanging in there. I’m more worried about you. You’re the one being run ragged.”
“The same. Takes some getting used to. The hardest part is not getting to spend a lot of time with you,” I say, giving her hand a squeeze.
“Yeah, it sucks,” she agrees, looking out over the ocean waves. The marine layer has lifted and the sun is blazing down on us, bouncing off the highlights in her hair that’s blowing in the salty breeze. I’m glad she’s being honest and not shrugging it off like it’s no big deal. “But,” she continues, “it’s how it has to be. We were warned. We knew what we were getting into; how busy you’d be. Our time will just have to come later.”
“Fuck that,” I say, stopping us and pulling her towards me. I wrap my arms around her in a hug. She wraps hers around my waist and leans her cheek against my chest. I take a deep breath in and exhale, letting the relief of this moment take over. Just holding her close to me, with no other sound but the waves is enough to relax me and help me reset. The only problem is, I don’t feel her do the same. I still feel a stiffness in her body, and I have to know what’s on her mind, even though I’m dreading the answer. “What’s going on Mayzie? Please don’t tell me you’re still thinking what I think you are.”
“You know I am,” she says shaking her head. I let out a frustrated sigh, my peaceful moment gone.
“Maze, don’t you dare tell me that you shouldn’t be here right now. You’re where you’re supposed to be. With me.”
“Yes, I should be with you, but you can’t deny that my being here is throwing things off with you and the guys. This is a huge learning curve that you guys should be navigating together, as a unit.”
“And you are not getting in the way of that,” I say, stepping back to look at her.
“I don’t mean to be, but I am. Just my being here is messing with the band’s dynamic. Josh and Chris are pissy because they have to cram into a room together with Matt so that we can have the other room for privacy. And do I even need to bring up San Francisco?”
Shit. I knew she’d bring that up as her ace in the hole. She’s referring to the time a few days ago when I ended up so late for sound check I almost missed it completely. There was yet another schedule change, and our time got moved up. I didn’t get the message because she and I were busy having sex in the hotel room. I thought we had at least another hour, but apparently my phone was exploding the whole time it was on silent. I got an earful from the guys, the crew and the head road manager. I got a none-too-happy call from Ron too, but I refused to see it as Mayzie being in the way. I just want her here, experiencing this with me so badly.
“Alright, fine. We hit a speed bump,” I say, tossing my hands up. “We can get past that,” I reason, stepping close to her again and placing my hands on either side of her neck. “Here’s what we’ll do,” I say as a plan formulates in my brain and makes its way out of my mouth. “Tonight, I know we have to be seen at that after party, but we’ll take it easy on the drinks, not get into anything too crazy, and then you and I will go back to the bus. We’ll give the guys a night to sleep comfortably in both rooms. That should chill them out a bit, and you and I will have the bus to ourselves and have some alone time. What do you say?” I lean down and try to gauge her reaction. She nods slowly, as a hopeful smile spreads across her lips and the feeling of relief settles back in my chest again.
“Yeah,” she responds. “Okay, that actually sounds really good,” she says, resting her fingers on the top edge of my belt and gazing back up at me, finally looking relaxed.
“Good,” I say with finality. “Now…come here.” I cup her face in both hands and bring my mouth down on hers. My lips move deliberately against hers, and after a few seconds, I tilt my head, signaling her to open her mouth and let me in deeper. I’ve been dying to be able to make out with her for the last few days, and it feels so fucking good. A familiar warmth spreads all through my upper body and tingles up my back. Her hands come up to squeeze my shoulders, like she’s feeling the same effect that I am. One of my hands goes into her hair as we press our lips together harder and the kiss reaches the next level of intensity. I don’t give a shit what any passerby might think. This moment is too meaningful to me to worry about that. Right when I feel a tiny moan from her on my lips, sending an electrical current through my bloodstream, my phone goes off. Unfortunately, the incident in San Francisco did teach me to keep the volume turned up.
“Fuck,” I say, holding on to her with one arm, while using my other hand to reach for the offensive device. It’s a text, stating that we have to get back to the hotel so a local news outlet can interview us. We have thirty minutes.
“We gotta go back don’t we?” she says, a disappointed half smile on her face.
“Yeah,” I say, trying to be as tender as possible. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“It’s okay,” she says, lifting a shoulder. “This was really nice… while it lasted.” She looks down.
“Hey, we’ve still got tonight.” Unfortunately, that only gets me half of her famous smile.
23
Mayzie
The next few days are just as much of a clusterfuck of schedule changes and glitches, and on day fourteen, it seems to culminate. From L.A., we’d traveled to San Diego, and then to Phoenix, where we are now, parked in the bus at the venue. I’m sitting at the dinette table with my laptop, working on some assignments for work while Jack and Matt tool around with their guitars and talk about the set list. Heavy and deliberate footfalls signal the arrival of Sean, one of the road managers.
“Guys, we just got a call from one of the local radio stations. The segment they were doing for their noon rush fell through. ‘See Her’ is one of their top played songs and they want an interview. I told them we’d be there in twenty. Get to the SUV’s, now.” This doesn’t faze me much; it’s just a prime example of how unpredictable the band’s new crazy schedule can be. Jack and Matt put their guitars down and stand. Jack leans over to kiss me.
“Back soon, baby,” he says, before heading to the front of the bus.
“Chris is already out there. Where’s Josh?” Sean asks.
“He went for a run,” Matt answers.
“Alright, I’ll get ahold of him,” Sean says, whipping out his phone as he follows them to exit at the front of the bus.
Finding myself on the bus with no men for a change,
I decide this would be prime time to take a shower. We spent the night on the road and between working and sleeping, I haven’t taken one yet, and I could seriously stand to freshen up. I grab my toiletries and towel out of the bunk, and come back to cram myself in the tiny bus shower. I get the water running, strip out of my clothes and step in, enjoying the peace and quiet and letting the steam envelope me. I have my body and hair completely sudsy when there is a bang on the door, so loud and harsh it startles me, making me slip. I grab onto the door to steady myself when I hear shouting.
“Who the fuck is in there?! Get out, I need to get in!” I hear Josh yelling through the door. He probably just heard about the radio interview on his run and hightailed it back here. Shit.
“It’s me!” I shout back, “Okay, hold on.” I start vigorously working the shampoo out of my hair, trying to rinse it out as fast as I can.
“For fuck’s sake!” I hear him shout, and I hear his footsteps moving away. I jump out of the shower and wrap my towel around me. Still completely dripping wet, I step out of the door to find Josh zipping up a pair of jeans.
“Sorry, go ahead,” I say, sweeping my arm to the side to gesture to the shower.
“Fucking forget it. I’ve probably missed the car by now.”
“Josh, I’m sorry. I thought you’d all left.” He’s digging through his bunk, probably for a clean shirt.
“Even if I do make it, I have to do this interview all sweaty and disgusting. Thanks a lot.” His voice is bitter and sarcastic. And he’s not lying. He’s just been on a run in the Phoenix heat, and he’s sweating like a whore in church.
See Her (Turn it Up Book 1) Page 21
