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“Not in so many words.” She nodded to the chair next to me. “Can I sit there?”
I shrugged. “Sit wherever you’d like.”
Her eyes landed on my lap and I groaned. I was only so strong and despite her speech, the energy between us was strong enough to hurt. Staying away from her was torture.
Sitting in the chair next to me, she took the beer I handed her from the cooler between us and cracked it open using her teeth. She noticed my raised eyebrows and her cheeks darkened. She didn’t blush all that often, but when she did, it was stunning. “I know I shouldn’t use my teeth but I watched my dad do it and Jagger does it… I just wanted to be like them, I guess. I was barely seven or eight and Dad would let me open his beers for him so he could show me off to his friends. He loved it.”
My chest warmed for her and her loss. She spoke about her family in the most loving way. “Sounds like a good man. My dad raised me alone and he was helpless. He passed along many, many weird and embarrassing habits that Mack’s mom helped me unlearn when I was an older teenager. If I’d come to her house opening beers with my teeth, she probably would’ve thrown a party. Instead, it was like I was raised by a pack of wolves.”
She turned to face me and took a long pull from her bottle. “I’ll tell you my weirdest if you tell me yours.”
My own cheeks heated at the thought, but I shrugged and just spilled the beans. “I didn’t know that sitting back with your hand down your pants and letting one rip wasn’t the way you acted in front of other people. That was pretty embarrassing.”
She giggled and nodded. “Yeah, that’s rough. Your dad didn’t set you up for success with that one. Is he still around?”
“Yeah. He shows up on the tour with us every so often. He’s semi-retired and when he gets lonely, he comes out with us.” I thought it might be time for him to join us soon. He was predictable like that. “Even though he set me up for failure, he’s still one of my best friends.”
“That’s really special. I look forward to meeting him.”
“Okay, your turn. What’s your weirdest?”
She tipped her head back and finished her beer. “I spent the first ten years of my life falling asleep backstage with rock music blaring. After my parents died and I moved in with my grandma, I couldn’t sleep. She thought it was because I was upset at first and figured it would pass. She finally understood what it was when Jagger cranked his music up one night to tune out the sound of my crying and she found me passed out right outside of his door. It’s easier now, but I still would always prefer to fall asleep with music at a deafening volume.”
I wanted to hold her, but I knew she didn’t want that so I gripped my knees instead. “That must’ve been so hard for you and Jagger.”
“Yeah. Of course. Our parents were the best. They loved us so much that I sometimes wonder if the world just couldn’t let it exist. With just ten years of their love, Jagger and I were able to become exactly who we wanted. If we’d had a full life of it? We definitely would’ve taken over the world by now.” She grinned but it slowly faded. “Your mom?”
“Nothing like your parents. She left us when I was only a year old. She just didn’t want to be a mom. My dad wouldn’t give me up, so she didn’t want to be with him, either.” I looked out at the park we were staying at and sighed. “Mack’s mom was the first mother I ever knew, really. She saw the way I was living and took me in. She gave me and Dad lessons on taking care of ourselves and other things Dad didn’t know to teach me. She was also my first crush because of how sweet she was to me. Something the guys still fuck with me about.”
Layla rested her chin in her hand and watched me closely. “She sounds like an amazing woman.”
I nodded and then forced myself to redirect the conversation. She wanted professional and there we were, talking about our families and shit. Even though she seemed interested in the conversation, I wasn’t going to take more than she wanted to give. “So, the guys wouldn’t let you on the other bus?”
Sitting up and clearing her throat, she shook her head. “No. Apparently, they were told to never allow me on that bus or it would be their asses. They’re just doing what they were told. I came over here to find out why I’m not allowed to sleep on the bus meant for staff and where the hell I’m supposed to sleep.”
I reached back and knocked on the side of the bus. “I’ll let Jones explain it to you.”
She frowned. “So, it was his idea?”
“Nope.” I smiled. “It was a group decision.”
“Then why does Jones need to explain it?”
I glanced up when the bus door swung open and nodded at the scowl on Jones’ face. “That’s why. He’s ready for a good fight and I think this will be one. Go at it, you two.”
21
Layla
“Wheredoyouexpectme to sleep, Jones?” I finished my beer and stood up to put it in the recycling bin the park provided. “Why am I not allowed to stay with the other staff?”
“You want us to let you stay on a bus with ten to twelve men? Where you’d be the only woman?” Jones stomped down the small steps to the ground and walked closer. “No. We know and trust most of the guys, but no one ever really knows. It’s not happening. You’ll stay on the bus with us. You’ll be safe.”
I gasped. “What the hell? No. I’m not doing it. I told you, I’m not going to be the hole you land in at the end of the night.”
“Is that how you categorize what we did together?” He worked his jaw muscles and then ran his hand down his face. “You made it clear that you’re not interested in being with us, Layla. If you think we’re the kind of men who would push that on you, maybe you shouldn’t be here.”
“It’s not that I think that! Why make it harder?” I hurried after him when he walked away. “Jones! I’m just trying to do my job. Living in the same bus as y’all would be hard. I don’t want to see the women you bring home and I don’t want to be in your space, constantly being reminded of what we did.”
