He groaned again, and I tried not to think about all the fucking we weren’t going to have time for. At best, I could get him off, which was better than nothing.
“For this first time, I’d rather wait to have a proper night with you,” Rhett said, voice lower and more serious than it had been before. “I don’t want us to rush. No matter what Tom thinks, you’re not a groupie. You’re… so far from that.”
My heart almost pounded out of my chest; there was nothing but sincerity in his words. He kissed me hard, and I reluctantly released my hold on him, knowing that it would only make it worse to drag it out. We didn’t have time, so we’d have to take a rain check.
The next time, nothing would stop us.
He left me to shower first while he retrieved whatever Tom had left outside, and then it was a rush to get dressed and ready before the twenty-minute deadline was up. Rhett and I exited the hotel at the same time as Dora and Kristie, both of whom had a small suitcase dragging behind them. It made me wonder where Kristie had slept, but I was all kinds of glad it hadn’t been in our room.
I had nothing except the new clothes I was wearing—jeans, a black sweater, and the new underwear, along with my crappy old shoes. I mean, I did grab Rhett’s shirt because I wasn’t letting it go, but those suitcases were a stark reminder of my position here.
How little I had and how much I was relying on others to keep me safe, sheltered, and clothed.
It was humbling. Humbling and scary.
fifteen
BILLIE
“She’s on the damn third bus,” Jace snarled when we all stood in the garage, the huge vehicles already running and ready to go. The rest of the band had boarded bus one, their backup the second, and staff the third. Everyone was just waiting on the three of us, no doubt hoping we’d get our shit together soon.
Rhett crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine. Then I’m on thedamn third bustoo,you selfish asshole.”
That gave Jace a moment’s pause as his expression fell before anger flared in his eyes again. “Two fucking days, bro! It’s taken her two fucking days to lure you into her web like a goddamn black widow spider. If you’re not careful, she’ll eat you when she’s done draining you dry.”
Jesus. Dramatic much?
Rhett didn’t react as aggressively; instead, he shook his head sadly. “One day soon, you’re going to see that it wasn’t Billie who fucked shit up. Always easy to blame someone else when the one with the issue is you.”
Whoa. Does Rhett have a death wish?
Before Jace could lose his shit—and I knew him well enough to see the bubbling inferno just under the surface of his perfect face—Rhett grabbed my hand and started to move us toward the third bus. The one for staff.
Everyone on there was, no doubt, going to freak the hell out when the lead guitarist of Bellerose spent the next eight hours in close proximity to them. Poor Rhett was going to wish he’d made a different decision, but he seemed determined to stick it out, even after I told him I’d be fine on the third bus. “We will see each other tonight when we stop,” I reminded him.
“Not a chance, Thorn.”
Damn, that nickname did things to me that I didn’t want to admit out loud. Memories of this morning filled my head, and I wondered if we’d have a chance to finish what we’d started before we reached New York.
Before I would have to leave him.
Just as we reached the steps, there was a shout from behind us. “Wait! Just fucking wait.”
Rhett grew tenser beside me, but he did turn back to Jace.
“It’s safer if we’re all on one bus,” Jace bit out, coming closer to us, his expression neutral, even if his tone indicated that he’d rather be having surgery without anesthesia than be here having this conversation. “As long as she stays out of my way, we should all survive the next eight hours.”
Stay out of his way in sixty feet of space. Sure, easy as fuck. Part of me kind of wished I could just travel with the cleaning crew and avoid all the drama. But for some reason, Rhett had stepped into my corner and never left.
So I wouldn’t leave him either.
At that point, Tom poked his head out of bus one. “Can you three hurry the hell up? We have a schedule to keep, and time is money in this business.”
Both Jace’s and Rhett’s expressions hardened, and it was clear there was no love between any of the band members and their manager. Well, except for Florence, of course. She had to be the reason they kept him around. No one was good enough at their job to make it worth dealing with his woeful attitude.
“Billie, are you cool with traveling on the main bus?” Rhett checked in with me before making any decisions.
I nodded, not wanting to cause any more drama. At this point, having Jace and Rhett so close to me had my body, head, and heart a true mess. I’d be a wreck by the time we made it to New York City, but I didn’t want to cause more of a rift between the band members.
