“Why do I get the impression you two were just talking about us?” Riot asked suspiciously.
“Because that’s exactly what we were doing,” Violet replied.
Everyone was in good spirits now that the Seattle rain had passed. The city that was known for its grunge music loved the show that night, so much so that Riot added an extra song to the encore.
The next day, we began driving home.
Not for good—just for Thanksgiving. There were no stops scheduled on the tour between November 16 and December 1, so we were heading back to Texas for a much needed rest.
But I felt vaguely sad that we were pausing the trip right as things were getting good.
The drive back to Texas was alongtwo days. Thirty-three hours total. I offered to alternate driving with Cash so we could drive through the night without stopping, but everyone else was emphatically against that. “Not because we don’t trust your driving,” Cash quickly said. “But because we have a strict no-driving-while-people-are-sleeping policy.”
“None of us want to become another Cliff Burton,” Riot added. “He was the original bassist for Metallica. He was sleeping in a bunk when the bus crashed.”
“And that’s why we’re parking for the night at a rest stop,” Cash said.
“You’re irreplaceable, buddy!” Milo threw an arm around Cash and gave him a squeeze. “I don’t care if it takes longer to get home. Just get us there safe.”
The drive through Utah and Colorado was absolutely beautiful, especially along the Million Dollar Highway from Ouray to Durango. I pressed my face against the window and stared at the jagged mountains. Even ignoring all the other amazing things about joining the band on their tour, it was worth it just because I’d been able to see so much of the country.
We dropped Violet off at her home in Round Rock, just north of Austin. Dana was waiting in a rocking chair on the front porch, but came running forward to hug Violet when she emerged from the van. We gave them some privacy (while watching intently from the bus windows) before climbing down the steps to say hi.
“Heard a lot about you,” Dana said when I introduced myself.
“Don’t believe a word of it,” I said with a nervous laugh.
“It was all good things. Don’t worry.” Dana came in close to hug me, but she didn’t pull away. She whispered, “Vi is the most precious thing in the world to me. If you ever threaten that, I will slice you open from cunt to collar.”
“Baby, you’re being extra again,” Violet said.
Dana pulled back and smiled like nothing was wrong. “I’m just telling the groupie to watch out for you.”
Violet rolled her eyes like this was something she was used to. “Dana is a jealous bitch, but that’s what I love about her.”
“One of many things you love,” Dana replied, giving her another kiss.
We rolled into Austin half an hour later. Cash parked the bus in a long-term parking lot, and we climbed down with bags of enough belongings to last us the two-week break. Milo was visiting one of his foster siblings in West Texas, while Cash was going to visit his pre-med sister at Florida State since she didn’t get any time off for the holiday.
We said our goodbyes, and then it was just Riot and me standing there.
“Well,” he said, hand sliding down to cup my ass. “Your place, or mine?”
“Mine’s closer,” I said.
He smiled. “I like the way you think.”
We took an Uber back there and headed straight for the bedroom. Meghan had stopped by a few times while I was gone to run the vacuum and make sure the place hadn’t burned down, so it was as clean as I had left it two months ago. Riot practically threw me onto the bed, then stripped his shirt to reveal his tattoo-covered form.
“Been waiting for this,” he said in a lust-filled voice. “Now I canreallytake my time with you.”
He then proceeded to slowly climb on top of me and kiss every inch of my body. We made love in my own bed, in my own apartment, for the next two hours. He came quickly during our first round, then used his mouth and fingers on me until he was ready to go again—and made the second time lastmuchlonger.
“I have strong opinions about your choice of decorations,” he said while we cuddled together after, covered in sweat and too exhausted to move.
“Such as?”
Riot pointed to the far wall. “Chappell Roan? Really?”
