by Caisey Quinn
He stalked over to where they stood and whirled Steven around by his shoulder. “Do you even give a damn about her at all, man? I mean, just how many women are you screwing behind her back?”
“Back off, Corbin,” Steven warned, turning to face him. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Well, by my count, there’s the Tailgate Twin and now Mia. You planning on nailing her assistant next?”
“What’s he talking about, Steven? A Tailgate Twin?” Mia asked from behind him.
“Nothing, Mia. He’s just—”
Before Steven could finish, Trace’s fist shot out and struck him in the mouth.
Steven took a swing in return, but Trace ducked and wrapped him around the waist—driving his body back against the tree trunk.
Steven shoved him backwards. “Dammit, man. I warned you not to fucking hit me again.” He swung hard and connected with Trace’s right cheekbone. The two of them surged forward at the same time and wrestled in the dirt until two members of the security team broke it up.
Trace straightened and shrugged off the grip of dark-skinned guy yanking him backwards.
He threw his hands up in the air. “I’m good. I’m done.”
Through his one good eye, he saw her.
Kylie stood there among the crowd, looking utterly horrified.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she screamed at him. His mouth dropped open when she ran to play nurse on Steven’s busted lip.
“Me?” he shouted back. “Me? What the hell is wrong with me? Your boyfriend here screws everything that moves and you’re asking what’s wrong with me?”
He wiped his face and wasn’t surprised that this time, blood damn near covered his hand when it came into view. Trace clenched his fists at his sides as he watched Kylie wrap her arm around Steven’s waist while they both glared at him.
“You know, every time I start to think that you might’ve grown up, that you might actually keep your promise to behave like an adult on this tour, you go and remind me why I never should’ve trusted you in the first place.” She shook her head and turned towards the lot where the busses were parked.
The small crowd that had gathered around them dispersed as quickly as the security team could herd them out of there. Pauly and Claire Ann appeared at his side.
“Let’s go home now,” his sister said softly.
“No.” He began walking towards the bus. “I have to talk to her. She needs to know what’s going on. And she can be pissed at me all she wants, but I’m not going to watch that little shit do this to her.”
“I don’t think she cares what you have to say right this minute.” Pauly’s face twisted into a grimace. “Listen, give her some time. Tomorrow, after everyone’s had some time to sleep on it, you can talk to her about whatever you like.”
“I’m not leaving here until I talk to her, Pauly.” He turned to his sister with desperation in his pleading gaze.
“Oh no,” she said, taking a step back. “Do not drag me into this. You’re on your own.”
“Please? Just go knock on the bus door and ask her to give me five minutes. It’s five minutes, Claire Ann.”
She shook her head. “Trace, I told you I needed help with Rae. You promised to talk to her tonight.”
“And I will,” he promised. “Swear. But I can’t leave it like this. Don’t make me beg.”
“Fine. Five minutes and then we are out of here.” His sister led the way to his bus, mumbling about feeling like she was in seventh grade. She knocked roughly on the door. Kylie’s friend Lu opened it and stood with her pink-streaked head cocked to the side.
“He wants to talk to her for five minutes,” Claire Ann said evenly. “Then we’re heading to Macon.”
“Hang tight,” the girl said, shooting him an annoyed look.
Trace folded his arms. What the hell was wrong with everyone? Blythe had gotten what he’d deserved. Meanwhile, his right eye was ready to throb right out of his skull.
A moment later, Kylie appeared at the door to the bus.
“What in God’s name could you possibly have to say to me?” Her blue eyes blazed into his. “Wait, why don’t you just wait a few days and sing whatever it is to me in front of my entire hometown?”
She folded her arms, which only functioned to thrust the swells of her breasts visible above her dress even higher. He forced himself to focus on her face.
“I need a few minutes. I’ll meet y’all at the car,” he told his sister and manager.
Once they’d gone, shaking their heads and giving him disappointed glances as they went, he turned to Kylie and sighed.
“Look, I don’t know what I did to—”
“Are you kidding me?” She came down off the steps of the bus and forced him backward. “You don’t know what you did? I was all stressed about letting Steven stay in my room last night. Even though all we did was write. I was planning to apologize to you. Then you went and humiliated me in front of a huge crowd and attacked my guitar player.”
Trace stepped forward into her personal space. “Humiliated you? Kylie, it took every ounce of courage I had to sing that fucking song. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me? But I wrote it for you and I wanted you to know how I felt. I was throwing my hat in the ring, dammit.”
She eyed him warily and he swallowed hard. “What about Gretchen?”
“What about Gretchen? If you want to ask me something, anything, fucking ask already. But you should know I’ve got some questions of my own.” He waited a beat to give her a chance to say something but she just averted her eyes from his intense stare. “And what the hell is the deal with Blythe? Is he your boyfriend or your guitar player? Because I can’t figure it out and I don’t think he can either. One minute he’s crashing in your room and the next he’s got a Tailgate Twin or Mia Montgomery hanging off his dick.”
Her eyes filled with tears and Trace felt like a complete ass. Pauly was right. This was none of his business and he shouldn’t have made such a public display of her personal issues.
“Dammit, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. All I do is hurt you.” He reached out and she pulled back so fast she backed into the bus.
The girl he’d known couldn’t have kept quiet for this long. She would’ve chewed his ass out ten different ways by now.
It began to dawn on him that maybe she really had changed. Maybe the version of her that he’d fallen in love had disappeared somewhere along the way to her becoming a huge star.
“You,” she began, her tone dead even despite the fact that her lower lip trembled. “You have no idea what goes on in my personal life. And I plan to keep it that way. You don’t see me giving you hell about Gretchen. And that’s because I’m an adult and can behave like an adult.”
He wasn’t entirely sure why she kept bringing up Gretchen. He thought she of all people knew better than to believe any of that tabloid bullshit. He huffed out a breath. “Adult my ass. It’s because you’ve turned into a fucking zombie who shuts her feelings off like a damned water spout.”
“If anyone’s an ass, it’s you.” She looked at him as if she didn’t even recognize him. “I don’t know how I ever saw you as anything else.”
She wanted an ass? Well then, he’d give her one.
“Oh yeah? Well, let’s see. When I was buried deep inside you and making you come over and over again, you seemed to like me just fine.”
She reached a hand up to slap him and he caught her wrist.
“Easy, Kylie Lou,” he said low, with a warning in the depth of his voice. “Play nice.”
“Stop calling me that,” she practically growled at him through clenched teeth.
He pressed her up against the bus, letting his body rest against hers. “Stop calling you what, Kylie Lou?”
“That. Just...just stop.”
“And why would I do that?”
She huffed out a breath and glared at him. “Because I hate it.”
At that, his face broke in
to a knowing grin. “No you don’t.”
She tightened her jaw and her fists. “Yes. I do.”
He released her wrist and braced both his hands on either side of her head. His voice was a quiet and full with the promise of something dark and sinful when he spoke.
“See, here’s the thing. Maybe you’ve forgotten, but I’ve looked into those beautiful blues when you were coming hard and begging for more. So I know what they look like when you’re enjoying something.”
She sucked in a shocked breath, but he wasn’t done.
“And it’s the damnedest thing, but you get that exact same look every time I call you Kylie Lou. So you should know from previous experience that I won’t be stopping anytime soon.”
He saw sheer panic battling with ravenous need in her eyes when she responded. “I want you to leave. Now.”
“Oh, I am,” he told her, pausing to let his eyes trail appreciatively down her body. “I’m going home…to my house…to take a long, hot shower. You’ve spent some time in my shower, haven’t you?”
He almost winced at the pain that flashed in her eyes. But he couldn’t stop. He needed to push her until she broke. Until she admitted that she remembered, that she still cared. He couldn’t let go of the belief that his girl was still in there somewhere.
“And tomorrow morning I just might clean out the barn before I come back to the bus. You remember the barn, right?”
“Go to hell,” she said, practically hissing at him. Her entire body seemed to vibrate in his arms. Her sweet, savory scent surrounded him and he was pissed off and turned on all at once.
He’d tried the nice guy route. He really had. But he wasn’t that guy, and apparently that flowers and serenading bullshit wasn’t going to work on her anyway. He’d crashed and burned repeatedly using that method. It was time to change tactics. He’d always preferred a more direct approach anyhow.
“I’m already there, sweetheart. And I will be there until you stop playing whatever fucking game you’re playing and admit that there’s still something going on here.”
Her chest pressed against his in time with his own pounding heart as she struggled to breathe.
“Oh, there’s definitely something going on here. You’re being as ass. Why can’t you just let me be? What the hell do you want from me? I already gave you everything once and you walked away.”
Her words hit him straight in the heart. They were enough to back him up a step. “I know. I know I did. And I’m sorry for that, Kylie Lou. Truly I am. But I don’t regret it. It was for the best. It was what was best for you, for both of us, and if I had to, I’d do it again.”
Tears began to fall down her face, and he wanted nothing more than to wipe them away. He reached his hand up to do just that, but she smacked it away.
“You don’t get to decide anymore what’s best for me.”
“Please just talk to me. Be angry, hit me. Scream at me. Whatever you need to do. Just don’t shut me out. I can’t do this with you anymore. This isn’t you.”
“Has it occurred to you that maybe you don’t actually know me anymore, Trace Corbin? Stop acting like your some freaking expert. I was young and stupid and—”
“You’re right. I don’t know you anymore. Because the Kylie Ryans I knew made her own damn decisions. And since we’ve been on this tour, I don’t know that I’ve seen you make a single one without your fucking entourage.”
She glared at him so hard he was thankful that looks couldn’t actually kill.
“Well, watch real close. I’m about to make one right now.” With that, she turned her back to him and marched herself right back onto the bus.
Just before she disappeared from his sight, she glared at him once more over her shoulder and hit him with a parting shot.
“Enjoy the view.”
“THAT WENT well,” Lulu said when Kylie returned.
She didn’t even bother with a witty comeback. She was emotionally exhausted from the draining events of the entire damn day.
She dropped onto the couch and looked over at Steven, who was still holding a hand towel full of ice to his mouth.
Trace and Steven had been the ones to whale on each other, but she felt just as battered at they looked.
“Can we have a minute?” she said to Lulu and Mia and Lily.
“Yeah, um, we’re actually going to head on to our hotel. We’re driving back to Nashville early in the morning,” Mia said.
“Thanks for coming. I’m sorry it was such a crazy night.”
“I’m pretty sure my dad could get you a reality show,” Lily informed her with a grin. “Just sayin’.”
“Very funny.”
“I’d watch it,” Lulu added with a shrug. “I’m going to go see what Mike’s up to. And if the backstage brawl has made it on YouTube yet.”
“Keep your head up, Oklahoma. This tour will be over before you know it.” Mia gave her a gentle smile as they left. Kylie didn’t miss the lingering look she cast in Steven’s direction either.
Kylie sighed loudly once they were gone. “I think I owe you an apology,” she told Steven. “Pretty sure this is all my fault.”
“You think?” He tried to smile but winced in pain instead. Kylie nearly winced right along with him.
“For the record, I wasn’t trying to make him jealous or make him want to hurt you.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I was trying to protect myself. I thought maybe if he thought we were dating he would respect that enough to keep his distance.”
“That really what you want, Ryans? For him to keep his distance?”
She looked up at her friend’s already bruising face. “Truthfully, I have no idea what I want. And that’s part of the problem.” She lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “But I shouldn’t have used you like that. I agreed to this tour and I should’ve handled whatever he threw at me head-on instead of hiding behind you.”
Steven came closer and dropped down next to her. “Don’t beat yourself up. I came along for the ride knowing what I was getting into.” He lowered the ice pack from his face and aimed a pointed stare at it. “Well, maybe not exactly what I was getting into. But I’ve known since day one that you were just killing time with me. And I was cool with it.”
“That still doesn’t make it okay. And I really am sorry. I don’t know how I let it get so...messy.”
Steven shrugged. “Love is messy.”
Kylie’s eyebrows dipped in confusion. “Uh, who said anything about love?”
He chuckled softly beside her. “You did. And so did he. You both practically shout it from the top of your lungs every time you get with in five feet of each other. You just have really fucked-up ways of showing it.”
She shook her head and stared at her hands in her lap. “He doesn’t love me. Regardless of how I feel or felt about him, he never loved me.”
“Did you even listen to the lyrics to his song tonight? The whole damn thing was about how much he loves you. I’m starting to think you both need some fucking therapy. My parents saw a couple’s therapist for a while. I could get you the number.”
“Gee thanks.”
He laughed again and bumped her shoulder with his. “To tell you the truth, I was really just hoping to finally get to have sex with you. You know, strictly for bragging rights.”
“You better be joking or I’m going to bust your other lip.”
He laughed again. “You never know, Ryans. Maybe if we do it, I’ll blow your mind and you really will finally get completely over him.”
She tilted her head and tapped her lips with her forefinger, as if she were actually contemplating his offer.
“Just kidding,” he said, standing. “Pretty sure it’s just a dick in my pants and not a magic wand. But if I could wave it and help you get over him, I promise I would.”
“You’re such a good friend, Blythe.”
“I know, right? A regular humanitarian ready to donate my body to the cause. There should be an award.” He gave her a one-arm hug as she
walked him off the bus.
She felt the shift when his demeanor changed. “I have to ask you something. Something serious.”
Kylie contemplated making a joke about one of the Tailgate Twins, but his expression said he was actually serious this time so she didn’t. “Shoot.”
“Would it be okay if I got a ride home with Mia and Lily? I think this is my last stop, Ryans. I know a few guys who can be here tomorrow to replace me.”
It should have upset her for yet another guy to walk out on her. But it didn’t. She understood.
“Yeah. It’s probably a good idea. And no worries. I can call Aiden and see if he can meet up with us at the next stop.” She couldn’t even remember where that was off the top of her head. The whole damn tour was becoming one big fucked-up blur.
Steven breathed a visible sigh of relief. “For the record, whatever you decide to do or not do, I hope you and Corbin get your shit worked out.”
She smiled as he kissed her goodbye on the cheek. Me, too, she thought to herself. Me freaking too.
AFTER A long, hot shower, Kylie wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed and forget the entire disastrous day.
But that wasn’t the way her life worked.
Darla’s book stared at her from her nightstand. Mocking her. And she had to call her guitar player and let him know he was needed after all. Surprisingly, Aiden wasn’t upset. He told her that his mother-in-law had been staying with them to help with the twins and he was mostly in the way at home. She couldn’t tell if he was kidding or completely serious.
After calling Hannah and telling her to arrange his flight to the next tour stop, which Hannah informed her was in South Carolina, Kylie sat on her bed and began to read three hundred and fifty-odd pages of lies and bullshit. Twenty pages in, she seriously considered calling the publisher and suggesting they change the title.
By chapter six, she’d lost count of the twisted mistruths. Darla detailed screaming fights where Kylie called her terrible names. They’d happened, but it had been her wicked stepmother calling the names.
