Page 14 of Animal Beats

“Here you are.” She places a cup in front of me and takes her seat. The barista made a cute heart out of the milk on top of both. Neither one of us comments on it.

I get lost in my head. I didn’t mean to cause a ruckus at the fountain and no one was hurt. Why do I need a babysitter? Coop and 007 have done much worse, but yet nothing bad ever happens to them. Why me?

Pop’s voice cuts through the noise: You need to stop acting up and lead by example, like I do at work.

Of course, his words were accompanied by the zing of his belt. I move in my seat.

I take another swallow of my coffee, savoring the unique flavor that’s only available here in Italy. Better savor it, since I won’t be back for a year. I tap a beat on the table with the coffee cup.

Hayden puts her mug onto the table. “That was delicious. Ready to head back?”

Seriously, this woman is on my last nerve. “Did you even enjoy your coffee?”

“What? Of course I did. But we need to go to the hotel so we don’t make Luke wait for us. He gave us three hours, and now it’s down to two. Are you done?”

“How much longer will you be on my tail?”

“Until you grow up.”

Damn. Guess I’m never getting rid of her.

Two hours later, the band is on our way to the landing strip where UC’s jet is waiting. Our guitarist elbows me in the ribs. “Thanks for getting us kicked out of Rome, dude. At least we’re headed to Barcelona.”

I shoot my best friend a dirty look. “Hey. How was I to know the cops don’t like gelato?”

“I don’t think they were objecting to the words you used,” Coop explains. “I think it was the naked swimming in the Trevi Fountain that did the trick.”

“Plus encouraging thirty people to follow you into the fountain,” 007 chimes in.

Gotta love my UC brothers. They never miss an opportunity to razz me. “At least I had people following me. What were you losers doing while I was out there? Playing guitar hero?”

“Hey,” our new keyboardist replies. “007 hit an all-time record.”

“Sounds like our boy Río did too,” Bennett adds. “Got kicked out of Italy for a year. None of us can beat that.”

“Well, he got the same time-out in South Africa, remember?” Coop reminds the band.

I give them all the finger. “Fine. My ban is basically up there now, so we can plan some gigs there again. What can I say? People follow me.”

Before anyone can respond, the vehicle stops. Next to Bennett, Luke says, “Alright. We’re heading over to Spain where no one is banned.” His coffee-colored eyes sear into me. “Let’s keep it that way. Go on, get on the jet. I’ll make sure your luggage joins us.”

I follow my bandmates onto the tarmac, then up the stairs of our jet. Damn. Having this available to us as a mode of transportation is amazing. The less time I have to spend in a bus, the better. It’s been fun traveling with these guys, but riding on a bus, even playing several tournaments of video games, gets old. However … maybe I can ship my watchdog on one? Or at least she could fly commercial over to Barcelona with the rest of the roadies and crew?

I’m mulling over this idea when Hayden exits another vehicle. Damn. I’m reminded that as a member of the UC entourage, she’s travelled with us on the plane before.

Once we’re all on board, I watch Luke talking with Hayden. Too bad I didn’t think to ask him to send her on commercial. Whatever, she can take a seat in the back.

To my dismay, my babysitter lowers her shoulders and joins us in the front part of the plane. More than that. She sits in the empty chair next to mine, where Coop usually sits.

“Excuse me,” I tell her. “This is Coop’s seat.” I glance around and find him a couple of rows back. He lifts his glass to me. Fucker.

“Luke told me to sit here.” Her seatbelt clicks. “Buckle up.”

The freaking flight attendant didn’t even tell us to do that yet. I refuse to comply in advance and get to my feet. Shit. All the other seats are taken. Luke points for me to sit down.

I reluctantly take my seat, then pop up again. “Guys, are you ready for Barcelona? I love the bars there. Who’s with me?” They all grumble about being tired and needing their sleep. “Come on, it’ll be like ten o’clock when we get there. Plenty of time to paint the town red!”

“I think you’ve done quite enough painting here in Rome,” Luke says. “How about the whole band stays in and gets a good night’s sleep. Novel idea, huh?”