Daisy and the Front Man (Entangled Crush) (Backstage Pass)

by Purdy, Rebekah L.

  But even as these thoughts crossed his mind, he knew he wouldn’t walk away from this life—he loved making music and he loved his bandmates like brothers. If only they didn’t have to deal with LJ all the time. At the beginning he’d acted like more of a father figure, but lately he was getting on Trevin’s last nerve.

  He stomped up the bus stairs and went into the living room. Will and Nathan were already awake and dressed.

  Miles came down the hall, drying his hair with a towel. “You okay, mate?”

  He gave him a forced smile. “Sure.”

  “What did Lester say this time?” Ryder grabbed a bottle of Mountain Dew from the fridge then plopped down on the couch.

  “That we better behave and I should date Daisy because she’s like the help.”

  Ryder almost spit his soda out. “He said what?”

  “You heard me. He thinks it’ll be good for my image to date a regular girl—so our fans can get their hopes up about one of us falling for them.”

  “So this is all about your image?” Nathan glanced at him, eyes narrowed.

  “No.”

  “Then it’s about the bet?”

  “Hell no. I like her—I mean I want to win the bet, but I hate that he’s trying to interfere with everything. It’s like he thinks he can control every aspect of our lives.” Trevin kicked off his flip-flops and went to his closet to put on something more appropriate for the interview. Although, he expected their hair, makeup, and costume crew to come knocking any minute now. He tugged on a pair of jeans with tears in them, then grabbed a Star Wars T-shirt with Han Solo playing guitar imprinted on it and pulled it over his head.

  “You know, we could have some fun with this interview,” Ryder said.

  “Oh no, because if we dick it up, then guess who Lester is going to say something to.” Trevin chewed his thumbnail.

  “Actually, I think we should. I think people should get to see the real us,” Will said with a grin.

  Miles chuckled. “We could toss out a few cuss words, you know, roughen up our squeaky clean image some.”

  “I don’t know, guys—I think LJ would get really ticked.” Nathan fidgeted in a chair.

  “What’s he going to do? Fire us? He doesn’t have anything without us—besides, he can’t expect us to be perfect all the time. If he wants people to be able to relate to us, then that means they should see us as real.” Ryder peered around at everyone.

  “I’m in. I’m tired of his shit,” Trevin said. And it’d be nice for Daisy to see more of the real him.

  After changing into outfits approved by costume and LJ, Trevin hurried to the SUV to find Daisy already waiting inside.

  “Morning.” She smiled at him.

  “Morning. How did you sleep?”

  “The bunks are going to take some getting used to. I have no idea how you guys do it night after night. I swear, I feel like I’m closed into this tiny space and can’t move around.” Daisy smoothed her sundress.

  “You definitely get used to it. There isn’t always a lot of head room, but when you’re tired enough, you’ll sleep anywhere.” Trevin’s gaze met hers. He leaned closer to her. “By the way, you look beautiful today.”

  A blush crept up her neck, spreading over her cheeks. “Thanks. So what exactly are we doing up so early today?”

  “We have an interview—which will be a total disaster.”

  She laughed. “I doubt it’ll be a disaster. You guys always say just what everyone wants to hear.”

  “You’d be surprised what really goes on behind the scenes. Oh, and did I mention this interview is live?”

  “Don’t tell me the great Trevin Jacobs is nervous?” She nudged his leg with hers.

  Heat spread through him like a pot boiling over. God, he wanted to kiss her so badly. He stared at her lips as they turned up into a perfect smile, watched as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. He caught her hand in his and brought it to his mouth. He wondered if Ryder would consider this as the bet won? He would need to ask him how he was supposed to prove Daisy had fallen for him.

  “I’m not nervous, but let’s just say people might see a whole new side of us today.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” She pulled her hand free and put it in her lap.

  “It might be. But you’ve inspired me to be myself—just wait and see what I do in the interview.”

  …

  Daisy tried to keep occupied by watching the scenery out the window. The problem was, every time Trevin shifted in his seat, some part of him touched some part of her. She could still feel his lips on her hand where he’d kissed it earlier. She ran her thumb absently over that spot.

  “So, tonight, I thought you could hang out and watch a movie with us on our bus ride to South Carolina after the show.” Trevin’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.

  She turned to look at him. “Sure, if it’s okay with my dad.”

  “Hopefully I’ll be able to stay awake for it.”

  “Yeah, you guys only got what, four hours of sleep last night?”

  “If that. I’ll probably take a nap before our show tonight.”

  “Is it always like this? I mean, the constant go-go-go?”

  “Most of the time. You get used to it after a while, but it’s nice to have a day off here and there.”

  Daisy watched him as he traced a pattern of crosses in his leather bracelet. “When was the last time you got to see your family?”

  “January, right around the holidays.”

  Without thinking, Daisy reached for his hand. “It must be hard to be away from them.”

  He shot her a surprised glance, his eyes widened as he stared at their hands. “It is. But this is what I want to do with the rest of my life—make music. We have to make sacrifices for it. Time away from the people we love, lack of sleep, fame—” He threaded his fingers through hers.

  “So you really don’t have time for a relationship,” she said, watching him.

  “I’d make time, for the right girl,” he said.

  Sure he would, just like he’d made time to bring her to homecoming. But maybe he didn’t do it to be vindictive, and maybe it was possible that he’d really been busy.

  The vehicle pulled into the TV studio parking lot. Her dad and the other bodyguards got out, followed by the guys. Trevin kept hold of her hand as they were ushered through a mass of screaming girls into the studio.

  All of a sudden, Mimi, one of S2J’s PR ladies, came rushing up to LJ. “I’ve been trying to call you. Didn’t you have your phone on?”

  “No, I didn’t want to be bothered,” LJ said. “I do get to have some downtime, you know.”

  “We need to talk before they go on,” she said.

  LJ frowned. “We don’t have time.”

  “Well, you might want to see what’s trending all over social media.” She handed him her phone.

  LJ’s face turned bright red. “Trevin. What the hell is this?” He held out the phone.

  Trevin’s eyes widened. “Wait, I didn’t say this.”

  “Really? Because these are your accounts… What would possess you to ask girls to bring their underwear to your concerts? You know how bad this will be for the band’s image?”

  Trevin turned on Ryder. “Did you do this? Was this some prank to get back at me for something?”

  Ryder took the phone from Trevin and all Daisy could do was watch it unfold. Apparently LJ was now aware of the whole panties thing. Crap, she hadn’t meant to get Trevin in trouble. She’d just been having some fun. And now the guys were fighting. She glanced at the ground—maybe she should lay off the revenge stuff for a while. But all was fair in love and war, right? At least, that’s what she told herself. So why was a giant pit forming in her gut?

  “I didn’t get into your damn phone.”

  “Then who else would’ve?”

  “Just calm down, mate. We can talk this out after the interview,” Miles said.

  “No, I think we should just cancel today alt
ogether,” LJ interrupted.

  But before any of them could move, one of the people from the TV channel came up to them. “Hope you boys are ready. We’ve got quite the crowd of fans today. They’ve been lining up since before daylight.”

  “Ah, just stick to the script.” LJ stared them down. “We can’t disappoint the fans.”

  A moment later, another person from the show walked over. “Hi, I’m Lauren, it’s nice to finally get you boys here,” the talk show host said. Her blond hair was curled to her shoulders. She wore a red dress and red heels. “We’ll attach a mike to each of your shirts. Do you want anything to drink before we get started?”

  “No, we’re good.” Miles gave her a quick smile.

  Daisy stood near the back of the studio, behind the cameras, to watch. Lauren grabbed a stack of cards and took a seat in one of the chairs, then gestured for the band to sit on the couches.

  Miles, Trevin, and Nathan were on one couch, while Ryder and Will took the other one. “Okay, we’re live in, three, two, one… Good morning, Orlando. Today we’re joined by Seconds to Juliet. I know fans have been waiting for this show all week.”

  Daisy rolled her eyes. The band pretty much gave the same type of interviews to everyone. She doubted the fans would learn anything new from this—well, the only thing they’d be thrilled about was getting to see them on TV. Once upon a time, she’d been intent on everything they had to say, too.

  One of the stagehands brought a stool over for her to sit on.

  “Thanks,” she whispered.

  Her dad stood beside her, arms crossed, watching the guys. Like he thought someone might try to take them out on TV.

  “So, how’s the tour been going? Anything fun or unusual happen?”

  “The tour’s been fab. We’ve had lots of great venues—and the fans have been amazing,” Miles said. “The only bad part has been the lack of sleep.”

  “Yeah, we definitely don’t sleep much on tour. We normally finish onstage and run out to the tour bus to get to the next show,” Trevin said, looking almost distracted.

  “So you don’t get to really experience the places you go?” Lauren asked.

  “To a point,” Ryder said. “The thing is, we’re not as perfect as people think we are. For example, Miles and I fight all the time. Most days we like one another, but we have a tendency to piss one another off.”

  “And we definitely cuss a lot,” Will said. “Which, I think a lot of fans don’t know. We really are regular guys, who do ‘guy’ things. And it’s hard to uphold this squeaky clean image that is nothing like us.”

  “Like in San Francisco, we actually went to a strip club with our manager,” Ryder said with a grin. “Well, at least some of us went—not the baby of the group.” He eyed Nathan.

  LJ pushed closer to them, but her dad held him back. “They’re doing an interview—you can’t storm on set when it’s live.”

  “First Trevin last night, now this. They’re going to ruin their image.”

  “By having some fun?” Her dad glanced at him.

  “Yes…”

  Daisy covered her mouth to keep from giggling. Ryder was totally playing it up. Well, they all were. Was this what Trevin had been talking about earlier? Okay, so maybe her whole panties thing helped them out today. At least until LJ got his hands on them later.

  If Lauren was disturbed by their answers, she didn’t show it. Instead, she moved on to the next question. “So what about girlfriends? I know some of you are in relationships, but what about the rest of you?”

  “Ryder and I are both taken,” Miles said. “Ryder, as you know, is dating Mia, who is our newest opening act. And I’m dating one of my best friend’s younger sisters.”

  “Trevin, what about you? I heard through the grapevine that you’re dating your bodyguard’s daughter?”

  Trevin ran a hand through his hair. “Well, all I’m gonna say on that is, I like to keep my relationships private—it’s hard enough to date someone as is, without throwing her into the limelight.”

  Daisy’s heart skittered. Oh God. Who the hell mentioned them as a couple? She turned to spy the frown on her dad’s face. Obviously this was news to him, too.

  “Your manager said your girlfriend plays the love interest in your new music video debuting next week,” Lauren said, pushing for more gossip. “We’ve actually got a couple stills of you two kissing on the set.”

  Her dad spun to face LJ. “Why the hell did you tell the TV station that?”

  LJ shrugged. “C’mon Beau, the media loves to get a scoop on something. This week it’s your daughter.”

  Her dad glared. “My daughter isn’t some story—you hear?”

  LJ turned away from him and stared back at the screen in the studio.

  All of a sudden, a picture of Daisy and Trevin kissing on the beach filled the screen. She sucked in a deep breath. Seeing herself with him, wrapped in his arms, gave her chills. It looked so right and she definitely remembered how it’d felt. Holy crap. Now everyone would assume they really were together.

  “So is it true?” Lauren asked.

  Trevin smiled. “Like I said, I tend to keep this part of my life on the down-low.”

  “So you’re not denying you have a girlfriend.”

  “Nope. Not denying, but not confirming, either.”

  “Then can you tell us about this message you posted to your website last night? You asked girls to bring their undergarments to your show and toss them onstage for you. Was this a publicity stunt, and have you read any of the comments angry parents are leaving?”

  “Actually, someone hacked him,” Nathan’s voice squeaked out. “You know how people are.”

  When no one else said anything, Lauren turned to the guys. “I’ve also got it on good authority that you have a certain rule on your tour bus about the opposite sex?”

  Will chuckled. “Yeah, we’re not allowed to bring girls on board for any extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean.”

  Lauren blushed. “You mean kissing?”

  “Yeah, something like that…” Ryder winked. “But of course, some of us don’t abide by those rules. Do we, Miles?”

  “Nope. Once you go Brit, you don’t go back.” He laughed. “Ain’t that right, ladies?” He waved to the girls out the window watching the show on the big screen.

  The fans outside screamed louder.

  “When I get my hands on those boys,” LJ muttered.

  “Let it go. If this is the worst thing they do, then you’re lucky,” her dad said. Although Daisy was certain her dad was just glad to have the focus off her and Trevin.

  “Nathan, is it hard being the youngest in the group?”

  His gaze wandered over the studio audience until he saw Daisy. “No, not really. I mean, there are some things I can’t do with everyone, like some of the clubs they go to. But it’s not so bad. We mostly just dick around on the bus, get in trouble with our bodyguards for sneaking off or playing practical jokes on our crew.”

  “Did Nathan just say dick?” LJ grabbed her dad’s arm. “Please tell me I’m hearing things.”

  “He’s sixteen…” her dad jerked free of him and moved to stand against the nearby wall.

  “You should tell your boyfriend to watch what he says in these interviews,” LJ said to Daisy. “He’s gonna get them all in trouble.”

  “I don’t know, I think it’s kind of amusing. Besides, people want to be able to relate to celebrities.”

  “No they don’t. They want to read about their glamorous, perfect lives.”

  “And you’re obviously not a teenage girl.” Daisy climbed from her stool and joined her dad. LJ was kind of a weasel. He was probably the one who leaked information about her and Trevin. Not to mention, he’d shot her down when she’d suggested putting recycling bins on all the tour buses. Who did crap like that?

  She was glad the guys had done this. This interview was the first real picture the public was getting of Seconds to Juliet.

  Chap
ter Fourteen

  “What the hell possessed you guys to act like that on TV?” LJ said as soon as they stepped out of the studio and into the parking lot.

  “Relax, Lester, the fans loved it,” Ryder said.

  “Just get into the vehicle. Now.” LJ pointed to the SUV but grabbed Trevin before he could escape. “I thought you were keeping things in order. I count on you to make sure everyone behaves.”

  Trevin sighed. “Look, this isn’t the end of the world. And I have been babysitting them. It’s all I do half the time. But they’re old enough to make their own choices. I can’t be there every second of the day.”

  “Do you want this band to work?” LJ’s coffee breath fanned across Trevin’s face.

  “Of course I do—and it will.” Shit. Was he right? Did he let them all down by not discouraging their behavior for the interview?

  “Not if you pull another stunt like this. Parents aren’t going to want their daughters going to watch some punk kids perform. Your image is everything. I’m going to have our PR people spread the story that your account was hacked. I don’t know if it really was or not, but that’s what we’re going with. Got it?” He pulled a pack of gum from his pocket and shoved a couple sticks into his mouth, then chomped down on them like an angry wolf.

  Trevin watched as he stalked off to the other car. Fuck. Why did this have to happen now? If the panty thing hadn’t gone viral, then everyone acting out wouldn’t have been so bad.

  “Ignore him, you guys didn’t mess anything up,” Beau said, patting his back. “LJ’s just being a jerk.”

  Trevin climbed into the car and sat next to Daisy. “You okay?” she asked.

  “I’m fine.” But really, everything was a huge mess. A mess he could’ve stopped but didn’t.

  “You don’t look fine.” She stared at him.

  He gave her a forced smile. “Really, I’m good.”

  “Says the guy with a fake-ass smile,” Daisy said. “You’re a singer, not an actor.”

  He chuckled, this time for real. “How is it you’ve only known me for about a week and you can read me so well?”

  “I’m a good judge of character.”