by Zoey Derrick
“Perfect, we have event staff set up to funnel the line and provide additional crowd control. I have to tell you, this is the largest turn out that we’ve ever had here.”
“You’re kidding?” Kyle says as he takes another look around. The sound doesn’t quite match the number of people I’m seeing.
“Nope, and we’re still funneling people this way. Though we’re about to cut them off.”
“About to?” I interject.
“Come, you’ll see,” she says as we walk toward the stage. I notice how the guards surround us in a circle formation, scanning the crowd. I don’t know why but it makes me nervous.
We get closer to the elevator and from the path that we just walked, going left and right is a narrower pathway and on either side of the shrunken path is a sea of people.
“Look up,” Annie tells us. I do, and I nearly fall over. Stretching four floors high are people, leaning over the railing, looking down. I side step just a little, my hoard moving with me, and I can see out in front of the stage, leading into the amusement park area, are more people.
“Do we have a count for this?” I ask.
Annie looks down at her paperwork then picks up her radio. She calls to someone and they answer back, though I can’t hear the response. She looks at me. “Over seven thousand total.”
“Jesus Christ,” Kyle spouts.
When Kyle and I get back on the bus we’re completely pumped up and excited. “What’s up with you two?” Talon asks with a smile.
“Oh my god, just wait until you see. There are over seven thousand people in there.”
“Whoa, what?” he says as he sways backwards.
“Easy, big man,” I tell him. “It’s insane, but the mall has cut off your autograph line at five hundred, and only two hundred are guaranteed. We’re also eliminating pictures. We don’t have the time. They can take pictures as you’re signing the photographs, which look amazing by the way.” The band has publicity photos to hand out at these events.
“I didn’t expect this many people,” he says dumbstruck.
“What I think he means is that the gravity of how popular they are is just now setting in.” Kyle bumps his shoulder in to Talon and smiles widely at him. “You’ve hit super star status. Get used to it.”
“I don’t think I can ever get used to it.”
“Good, because this way it won’t become an expectation,” I say with a sweet smile. “Don’t need it going to your head,” I tease.
He and Kyle both laugh. “Too late for that,” Kyle adds in.
“You two are too much sometimes,” Talon says and I laugh.
Talon kisses my forehead as he goes to walk away. “I need to go prepare the guys.”
I smile at him. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”
“Do good luck rituals apply for personal appearances?” He wiggles his eyebrows.
“No, now go.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” I announce into the microphone and the crowd slowly dies down. “How’s everyone doing tonight?” I ask and they get all excited again. The acoustics suck and the noise just bounces all over the place. I put my hand out, pushing them up and down to encourage them to quiet. They settle back to a dull roar. “In case you don’t know, I am Addison Beltrand and-” the loud roar of the crowd cuts me off once again. I do believe I blush. “You’re all too much, but I am not the reason you’re all here at the Mall of America tonight.” They roar again with excitement. “It is my proud honor and privilege to introduce to you 69 Bottles.”
The crowd gets wilder than before, but they settle quickly. “Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to Mr. Dex Harris on drums.” I turn, clapping as Dex takes the stage behind me. “Mr. Eric ‘Peacock’ Caldwell on the bass.” Peacock steps up onto the stage, I notice now that his peacock mohawk has a fresh coat of color in it. “Mr. Calvin ‘Mouse’ Richardson on lead guitar.” With each introduction the crowd gets louder and louder. “And last, but certainly not least, front man Talon Carver.”
I immediately wish I’d put earplugs in. Talon comes out on stage, comes up behind me, kisses me and goes to stand behind his assigned spot. I quiet the crowd again. “Just a few short announcements before we get started. The guys have agreed to sign as long as their pictures hold out, however, in order to accommodate as many fans as humanly possible, the following rules must be obeyed. Stay in line, if you leave, you lose your spot. It doesn’t matter if you have friends that are holding your spot or not. Number two, because 69 Bottles wants to honor as many fans as possible with autographs, we will not be allowing photos with the band or individuals. You are allowed to take pictures of them while they are signing for you. And lastly, be respectful, not only of the band, but of the people around you.” I turn to face the guys. “Gentlemen, are you ready to meet your fans?”
“Hell yeah!” They all shout in unison and the crowd goes nuts.
The guys step down off of the stage and take their seats behind the tables that have been set up for them. I watch as Mills, Rusty, Beck, Leroy, Casey, Troy, and Bruce surround them. I turn back to the front of the line and nod to the security guard. Kyle is handing out the pictures as they come through in groups of five and the band begins signing their lives away.
About ten minutes later Talon shouts in my direction. “Yeah?” I shout back.
“Come here.”
I want to roll my eyes, but I don’t. I go stand next to him and lean into his ear. “What, lover?” I watch his smile widen.
“Have you worked out your autograph hand?”
“No, why?” I ask as I look up in to the face of a girl, who reminds me a lot of me when I was a teenager.
“Addison, can I have your autograph?” the girl asks me.
I smile. “Absolutely.”
After that I somehow find myself joining the band and signing autographs for the fans that ask. I start off sitting on Talon’s lap until someone finally brings me a chair and then I sit between Peacock and Talon. I’m technically not a member of the band so I don’t sign their publicity photo, but I spend the next two hours signing whatever else the fans have for me to sign. Occasionally I look over at Kyle and he smiles widely at me, giving me encouragement to keep going.
All one thousand of the publicity photos have been given out and the crowd still hasn’t died down. The band has signed every last one of them. I feel so bad that I started massaging Peacock’s hand at one point because it was cramping up. After two hours all of our signatures look like chicken scratch and our time is running out before we must leave for Chicago.
“Make an announcement,” Talon whispers to me between fans.
“About what?”
“We’ll walk the rails. Sign their books, pictures, whatever.”
“No, just do it. Don’t announce it. The sight will create a rush of people to the rails. Sign the ones in the hallway on the way out the door, nothing more. They’ll get another chance, someday.” I smile at him. He wants so badly to please them all. “Talon, we don’t have time to sign for everyone. Maybe someday we can do a longer signing here, but for today we have an hour to get out of this building and back on the bus.”
“Okay,” he says sadly.
‘Don’t be sad. Be proud. One day you will be running out the door the minute it’s over.” I wink and he nods.
He stands up and takes the microphone from its stand. “Ladies and gentlemen.” The crowd finds it in themselves to scream louder. “I just want to say what an honor it has been being here tonight. On behalf of myself, Dex, Peacock and Mouse, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I’d also like to thank Kyle Black and Addison Beltrand for being amazing at what they do.” The crowd cheers and is still cheering when we all leave the stage.
Talon starts signing autographs along the barriers; Peacock stays with him while Dex and Mouse go to the other side of the hallway. Amidst their signing, they’re calling for me. I oblige those that ask and sign a few on my way out the door too.
Troy picked up dinner for all o
f us from one of the restaurants in the mall and we spend the first hour or so on the road enjoying our dinner. It was nice to come back to food. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I started eating. I’d ordered a salad and then ended up eating Talon’s french fries too. He laughed when I kept taking them but then he and Kyle continued to hand feed them to me.
At least I was stuffed when I was done. I wished I’d ordered a burger, but a girl’s gotta watch her figure, right?
When we were done eating I hung back, waiting to see if Peacock wanted to talk, but he said that another night would be better, he’s tired and wants to crash. After dinner, Dex and Peacock headed to their bunks for the night. Mouse lowered the table and strummed his guitar while Talon, Kyle and I squeezed onto the couch behind the driver to watch Mouse play. Talon and Mouse talked quietly about the different songs that Mouse played for us. I didn’t recognize any of the songs, but the music was hypnotic and it wasn’t long before my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep with my head on Kyle’s lap and my feet in Talon’s.
Sometime later I wake up to the guys quietly arguing over who is going to carry me to bed. Kyle ends up escorting me toward the bedroom while Talon stays behind to hang with Mouse. I notice Tori’s curtain open as we pass and see that she’s sitting up on the bed reading. “Thanks for tonight,” I tell her as I lean against the wall of her bunk.
“You’re welcome. I’ve never seen a crowd like that, well, just this one time at Comic Con.” She smirks at the memory. “It was actually pretty fun.”
“Good, did you eat?”
She looks at me. “I did. Thanks.”
“You a heavy reader?”
She laughs, “Yeah, I read all the time. Especially in situations like this when I’m left to my own devices a lot.”
I laugh, “Ironically, I’ve read less since getting on this bus than I have in years. What are you reading?”
She laughs. “It’s a rock star romance.”
“Oh my god.” I burst out laughing.
“I’m a sucker for a happy ending, but I don’t like where this one is going. It seems the chick is going to end up with the bodyguard.”
“I think I’ve read that one. I was rooting for the lead singer.”
She snorts and I hear Kyle snicker. I forgot he was behind me. “You good, baby girl?” he asks and I nod. “Okay, don’t be too long.” He kisses my forehead and ducks into the bedroom, but he doesn’t close the door.
I turn back to Tori. “Everybody loves a bad boy,” I say with a smirk.
She laughs again. “You can say that again.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to it. I’m going to bed.”
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you about this morning.”
“Thank you by the way.”
She nods. “How’d it turn out?” she asks sheepishly, like she shouldn’t be asking.
I shrug. “Not sure yet. Going to wait until Friday and try again.”
“Keep me posted, okay?”
“Are you asking personally, or professionally?”
She gives me a half smile. “Both.”
“You’ll be one of the first I tell.” I wink and bid her good night.
Before I go into the bedroom, I hear Mouse and Talon both playing and Talon’s super sexy voice is wafting quietly through the bus. I know that Peacock and Dex sleep with ear buds in, usually watching a movie, so the playing won’t bother them. I love listening to Talon, and adding Mouse into the mix is quite awesome too. It takes everything I have not to go back to the kitchen just to watch and listen.
Exhaustion wins out and I go into the bedroom. Kyle is lying on his side of the bed; his iPad in his hand and lying on my pillow is my e-reader. I smile because he was listening. I strip out of my outfit, which is really comfortable. I ditched the shoes as soon as we were on the bus though. Nothing like heels and a moving vehicle. “You read my mind,” I say softly as I climb into bed. “Thank you.” I lean over, kissing him gently. A display of appreciation and it stays exactly that.
“A penny for your thoughts?” I ask as I snuggle into him. He wraps his arm around me as I lay my head in the crook of his shoulder, slide my hand across his stomach and hitch my leg on his. I look up at his iPad and am surprised by what I see. He’s looking at pictures of Talon and me that are popping up from tonight.
“I’m just thinking about how lucky I am.”
“Then why do you look so sad?”
“Scared.”
I lift my head to look at him. He puts the iPad down and his blue eyes meet mine. “About what, cowboy?”
He doesn’t say anything to me. The hand that was holding his iPad moves between us and his fingers rub along my stomach. I want to cry. Not sure if it’s a happy or sad thing. “One minute, I want it to be, the next I start thinking about my mom and the way that she is, what happened with my dad, Dan. It scares me because of what happened in Dallas, Kansas City, how to protect you, how to…god, there’s just so much.”
“I wish I could take your worries away, and maybe I can, we just don’t know yet. Until we know one way or the other, all the worry is for nothing. I’m scared too, but in truth, I’m more scared about you and Talon, and how you’re both going to handle this.”
He brings his arms around me, rolling onto his side. I bury my head in his chest and he holds me, rubbing my back. “God, baby girl, I didn’t…god, I’m being selfish right now, I’m so sorry.”
“Stop, you’re not being selfish. I guess for me, I can’t freak out until I know for sure, which means my period shows up or a doctor tells me. A test, sure, that will help put me in the right mind frame, but with my issues, I am so worried about everything but what will happen in nine months.” I tell him into his chest.
“I guess I just don’t understand what your issues are, which was what I was actually reading when you came in. I changed it because I didn’t know how you’d handle it,” he whispers.
“Show me what you were looking at,” I tell him. “I’d like to help you understand.”
We spend the next twenty minutes or so looking at the website he’s on. He raises questions and I answer them as best as I can. I think by the time we’re done he understands because he asks me if it hurts me and I explain to him that I get occasional sharp pains, but they don’t last and that the primary issue is my hormone levels and it’s the reason for the birth control.
After that we snuggle into each other and I fall asleep wrapped in his arms.
Sometime later, I don’t know when, Talon comes crawling into bed. His waking me sends me to the bathroom. When I crawl back into bed I realize it’s after one in the morning.
Talon’s arms are waiting for me and I snuggle into him. Kyle quickly snuggles behind me. “Did you guys have fun?” I ask as I get comfortable.
“We had a great time. We finished out a couple of songs and started in on a couple more.”
“That’s awesome,” I tell him.
“Thanks, angel,” he says and before long I fall right back to sleep.
“Addie?”
“Hmm…”
“Are you coming with us to the station?” It’s Kyle.
“What?”
“The radio station, are you coming?” I groan. He chuckles. “Stay in bed, panda girl. It’s okay.”
“No, I have to, I need to work.”
“No, baby girl, you don’t. We got this, I promise. We do it all the time.”
“Alright,” I groan.
“Sleep, baby girl.” He kisses my forehead and before he even leaves the room, I’m right back to sleep.
Chicago’s concert goes perfectly. The crowd was unbelievable. The band went out after the show. I practically had to push Talon off of the bus. He wanted me to come with, but I told him that he needed to spend some time with his band, which is something he hasn’t done enough of.
By Thursday morning we’re on the road to Cincinnati and a hotel for a couple of days. The owner of the venue we’re playing added another show, Sun
day night, and provided us with hotel rooms. Which is great because I don’t want to be on the bus on Friday.
Fatigue seems to be a growing issue with me lately and I’m starting to mentally convince myself that I’m pregnant. Too many signs are starting to fit together.
I tried to talk to Peacock again and he said he wasn’t ready.
Sam finally called me Thursday. We talked for a few minutes, but I could tell she was itching to ask me about Dex and I let her go. I accepted her apology for the issue back in Phoenix but I don’t think she fully understands what she did wrong. She also told me that she wasn’t going to be moving in with me. That, apparently, she and bitch-face had a heart to heart and they’re better. She’s actually been staying at her apartment more and mine less, which is great because I don’t want to have to throw her out. I wonder idly if she really did work things out with her roommate or if she understands the gravity of what happened, and knows that I would still push her to stay with me if things are really bad there.
Talon spends a lot more time with Mouse and the guys. They’re putting themselves knee deep into writing for the new album, leaving a spot for ‘To Be Free’. I’m proud of him for stepping into his band role and out of our bed, though the bedroom activities haven’t faltered in the slightest.
Talon being with the band is giving Kyle and I a lot of time together just the two of us. During our time together I realize that we’re able to talk about anything, though we haven’t had any more baby talk since Tuesday night. But I can tell there is something going on with him and I don’t know if it has to do with tomorrow morning or if it’s something else.
We spend our days and evenings doing our thing, but when the sun goes down, I’m all theirs. Despite my growing fatigue, I can’t resist these two no matter how hard I try.
