“How many tickets are they going to ask for?” Amanda asks between a laugh and drink.
“Oh, who knows,” Raleigh says with a shrug. “To be honest, I have more tickets to giveaway than I know what to do with. Maedoesn’t really have any family so most of the perks go to her fans.”
“To the fans,” Amanda calls, raising up her drink as another notification rings out from Raleigh’s phone.
“To the tour!” I call as a disgruntled Raleigh refuses to toast.
“To Nashville!” Dustin says, joining in. This piques Raleigh’s interest.
“Now that, I can drink to.” The four of us clink glasses before taking a drink.
***
“You really don’t have to walk me home,” Raleigh reiterates for the fifth time. We’re just a block away now but I wouldn’t even think about leaving her this late at night. Amanda and Dustin will be by to get me soon anyway; Dustin wanted one more drink. I’d rather spend that in between time with her.
“Ireallydon’t mind.” Having her so close all night was a blessing. It let the two of us get used to each other again, the awkwardness from the previous weeks melted away thanks to the atmosphere and my friends. Without Amanda mentioning inviting her we never wouldn’t have had a chance to knock off the dust before the tour. I’ll need to thank her for it.
“All things considered, tonight was nice,” Raleigh confesses, taking one sidestep closer to me.
“I’m sorry it’s been so hard the past few days.”
“So am I,” she says sincerely. “I know I’ve left you to kind of fend for yourself with Trenton and Mae, and I don’t want that to be the case.” She fidgets with the strap of her bag before continuing, “Mae hasn’t really been listening to anyone but Trenton and that has been really frustrating. It’s not like she’s some subject I need to control for my own gain, I just wantwhat’s best for her…” I can hear the strain in her voice as she bears her soul so I try to continue for her.
“And she’s not making the choices that you think will get her where she needs to go?”
Her answer is basically a whisper. “No.” We take a few more steps forward, her building now in plain view. “At the end of the day, Mae will do what Mae wants to do, but it hurts to see her learn lessons inthisway. I mean she is going to wake up tomorrow and be crushed.”
“Maybe it will be eye opening for her?”
“We can hope.” As she pops thePat the end of her sentence, we reach the lobby door of her building. “Do you want to come up? Dustin seemed pretty entertained when we walked out.”
“We both know that would be a bad idea.” I say it with a knowing smile, teasing about past situations.
An equally sly smile plays on her lips. “Maybe, but it’d be fun.” The teasing I can handle, it’s the way she moves in for a hug that has me at the end of my rope. Her dancing in my arms at New Year’s comes racing, and I actually take a step back without meaning to. She just holds on tighter. I’m sure the rush of the alcohol combined with the overall dread of tomorrow have finally caught up with her.
Muffled but audible, she asks a question. “Hey, do you think we could do this whole tour thing together? I’ve got your back, you've got mine kinda thing?”
“Sure thing, Raleigh,” I say, squeezing her tightly. “Sure thing.”
I’m not sure how long we stay locked in our embrace, but we’re eventually brought apart by the headlights of Amanda’s SUV and the realization that our work day starts in mere hours. When Raleigh realizes we’ve been undone, she tucks out of my reach and struts toward the lobby. Keying in, she turns back just briefly to raise a finger in goodbye.
Chapter 25
Raleigh
THE CONTINUOUS droning of wheels on the blacktop provides the background noise for me to get a little work done. It’s finally leg one of the tour. Tonight, everything the crew has been working for will pay off. Glancing up from my laptop, I look over the space once more.
Mae has her hair in curlers, doing a live stream Q&A with fans while she does her makeup. Her frilly outfit for the night is hung up neatly to the side, sparkly boots set beneath it. Theresa sits across from me, earbuds in, watching a movie.
It’s quaint and quiet without the men around, a setting the three of us thrive in pre-show. The energy brought on by the calm has me smiling as Mae’s voice breaks through the relaxing haze. “I should give my voice a break before the show, but I’m so glad you all joined me for this pre-show bus tour. Stay golden, lovelies!” She waves and then reaches forward to end the stream.
“How was that?” I ask, turning to face her.
“Good.” She shrugs. “Not as many comments about the song.”
Since the days following the release of the newest single, we’ve had to pivot hard. The label released the original as the “pop version” and the stripped back “country version” followed suit soon after. The versions have battled each other on streaming services, but the pop version is dominating the radio.
Mae picks up her phone and starts tapping away. The band and I had encouraged Mae to ride separately from Trenton so she could focus and do her pre-show routine. While it has worked for the first few shows, she’s been slowly reaching back for his companionship. With the way she’s been sulking and texting her fiancé so often on this long stretch of road, I think it’s going to be very hard to keep them apart much longer. He is, after all, in the bus behind us. It doesn’t make sense in any other capacity than just for the band’s peace of mind. Keeping the couple calm and not at war with each other for as long as possible is the goal.
