After hanging up with Cade, Jude left his room and headed down the elevator to the bus. Climbing aboard the bus in his jeans, a black fitted t-shirt, and his favorite boots, he listened to the heavy thud of his footsteps and wondered whereLuckywas.
Looking down the aisle, he didn't see Jordan either. They had to be running late. If they didn't get on the bus soon, they'd learn the hard way that Stan didn't wait for anyone. It was a fact Jude learned plenty of times on tour withSilverlight.
As he settled into his seat, he heard loud voices he didn't recognize boarding the bus. Ross and Mark threw their duffel bags on a couple of seats. The men were interchangeable with their college boy, clean-cut look. Both wore jeans and striped polos, the only difference being that Ross's was sky blue while Mark's was palegreen.
Jude saw guys like them around all the female musicians. He never liked it. To him, male and female fans were completely different. The women seemed to genuinely care about the band and musician they were following. The guy groupies were looking for somethingdifferent.
They wanted more than just a sexual relationship, they wanted a piece of the pie. He'd seen it too many times before. The male followers wanted a little bit of that stardom forthemselves.
He didn't trust Ross and Mark. Jude recognized weasels when he saw them. He only wished he could say something to protect Lucky without appearing jealous. Then again, why couldn't he? He was Jude Morrison. He could do whatever the hell hewanted.
"Get off the bus," he growled at them as heapproached.
"Hey Jude! Dude, I've been dying to meet you,"Rosssaid.
"Get. Off.The.Bus."
"Jude dude, relax. Lucky invited us. She wantsushere."
"I'll make this easy on you. Leave now and never bother her again, or I will personally throw you off the busmyself."
"Hey guys!" Kat said as she entered the bus. "So glad you couldmakeit."
Jude felt his anger burn even more. Grabbing Kat by the arm, he pulled her out of earshot from RossandMark.
"You should know better. I know Olivia wouldn't have invited those pricks along unless someone else pushedherto."
"Olivia? Oh, you mean Lucky. I think those loud drums have done something to your brain. She wants them here. It was her idea. I think she's into Ross. Can you blame her? He’s dreamy and he's always ready for agoodtime."
"Stay away from her," Jude said. "She's dealing with enough right now. She doesn't need a badinfluence."
"What are you talking about? I'm a great influence. She's a big girl, Jude. I didn't realize you were here tobabysither."
Kat walked away and sat near Ross and his friend before Jude could say anything else. Furious, Jude sat in his seat quietly growling as he wondered how he could protect Lucky from whatever those guys had in store for her. His only choice was to convince her to sendthemhome.
Once Lucky and Jordan arrived, he kept his eye on Lucky. Her long light brown hair was loose and wild except for two braids like a crown on her head. She spoke excitedly to Jordan and he wondered if it was about him. He hopeditwas.
He had to stop that. He had a bad habit of falling in love on tour. Sometimes every single night. He couldn't help it. He loved women. If he had to list his vices, women definitely topped the list. He simply couldn't resist them. There were a lot of reasons why he needed to stay away from Lucky, and not knowing whether he was falling into his old habits was oneofthem.
Dylan, alone with Jordan's attention being held by Lucky, sauntered towards the back of the bus. Jude remembered being that young and on tour. Dylan reminded him a lot ofhimself.
"Hey man, can I join you?" Dylanasked.
"Sure, I don't own these seats. Sit whereveryoulike."
"Thanks. Listen, I just wanted to say it’s amazing to play with you. Like dream come true amazing,"Dylansaid.
"Well, I have to admit I'm having a good time. I didn'texpectto."
"Why are you here? I mean it’s awesome for us, but what do you get outofit?"
"Freedom," Jude said. "Whatever you decide to do, either stay as a touring musician or join a band, make sure you always haveanout."
"Is that why you leftSilverlight?"
"Yes and no," Jude said with a shrug. "Silverlight was great. We were the biggest band in the world, who wouldn't love that? But the band didn't work right anymore. Was I to blame for their split? Yeah, in a way. But only because I didn't have the freedom to do what I wanted to. A lot of factors wereatplay."
Plenty of people called those factors many things--ego, stupidity, ambition. Jude called them Donna. Just thinking about her was enough for him to rebuild the wall around hisheart.
