Page 28 of Strum Me

Chapter Twelve

Brad

Present Day

“All right lads, we’re late, so listen up.” Dennis stands at the front of the bus, business mode fully on, giving us our daily orders. “We’re here for an interview with the college radio station. You’re going to play the two songs. And then a quick meet and greet after. Let’s get in and out without too much fuss. Sell the record. Flirt, do whatever it is you do.”

Jez gets up from his recliner, does a little twerk, and bows to the sound of applause from the rest of us.

Dennis clears his throat and Jez sinks back into his chair smirking, satisfied with his disruption. “Hailey’s got your packs, and she’s going to try to get you all back here by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. Anyone not here by 9:05 a.m. can find his own sleeping arrangements for tomorrow night. Which, I realize, is not a threat to you man-whores.”

“Hey, I’m not a man-whore!” Sebastian argues.

“Sure you aren’t, sweetie,” his fiancée responds, patting him gently on the head.

“Fine, I’m a taken man-whore,” he pouts, before breaking into a blinding grin.

“There ya go,” Cadence giggles and they come together in a kiss that makes the rest of us groan.

The bus turns off the road and parks in the radio station parking lot and we file out, our crew already there, setting up our equipment inside. Hailey suddenly stops just as we reach the back entrance, causing Marius to bump up hard against her.

“Hey!” he complains and she just waves a hand in his face.

“Shush! Can someone grab Emily? I’ve gotta go make sure they’ve got the right audio setup.”

Everyone turns and looks at me.

“Wha?” I ask.

No one says anything and just continue to stare at me.

“Ugh, fine. No no…let me.” I roll my eyes as I walk back toward the girls’ tour bus.

“Okay, she might still be asleep, so you night need to knock a few times. See you guys inside in five minutes,” Hailey yells after me.

I knock on the door when I get there but there’s no answer. “Bu—, er, Emily? You up? We’ve arrived. We’re on air in ten minutes if you wanna come in and watch it live.”

There’s still no answer so I step inside. I can hear a rumbling in the back and make my way toward the bedroom quarters.

There’s a soft laugh and a murmur of a few words. God, that laugh. How could I have forgotten that laugh? Like she’s high on life and everything you say is the funniest thing she’s ever heard. I could bottle that laugh and sell it on street corners and make more money than I’d ever see with the band.

“I miss you too, baby. I wish you could be here, it’s amazing. You’d love it so much.”

Fuck.

She’s talking to a boyfriend, or a husband…or a lover.

I try not to, but my ears can’t help but strain to listen in on her conversation. There’s the sound of chatter from the other hand. Then she speaks again.

I can’t wait to hear all about it. I’ll call you tonight when everyone’s asleep. Anyway, I’ve gotta go. Love you, Ben. Bye.”

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

I didn’t even think that that’d be the reason she pulled away. Because of someone else, not just because of me. The prospect of our future falls dark. If it was because of me, at least I could maybe change her mind. If she belonged to someone else, maybe she’d never be open to giving me another chance.

“Ahem.” I clear my throat to alert her to my presence.

“Who’s there?!” she asks, her voice nervous.