I carried my laptop to the back of the bus. Violet was stretched out on the bed with her back resting against the wall of the bus.
“I’ve got first rotation,” she said with a wide grin. “You’ll rarely get special treatment with the guys, but every now and then you can guilt them into acting chivalrous. In this case, I acted sad about missing my partner, and Riot offered the bed to me first. You need anything?”
“The band artwork, actually. I need the band logo, preferably the core Photoshop file. And the font you use.”
“Come to mama.” She grabbed the laptop and began typing. “We do everything in Google Drive. I’m giving you access and creating a shortcut on your desktop so you’ll never have to bother me again. Not that you’re bothering me now, but… you get it.”
“Sure.” I stood around, not sure what to do while she worked. “That was your partner you were hugging before we left?”
“Dana. We just celebrated our one year anniversary.”
“She’s cool with you touring for months at a time?”
“Oh yeah, she doesn’t mind,” Violet explained while typing on my laptop. “She’s a charge nurse. If anything, my schedule is more stable than hers.”
“You two make a nice couple.”
Violet paused to look up at me. “You said it weird.”
I hesitated. “It’s just… I feel really dumb. I want to apologize for the way I acted after the concert the other night.”
“Apologize for what?” she demanded.
“For thinking…” Ugh. Was she really going to make me say it? “For thinking that you all wanted to have sex with me. That was my first time being invited backstage, so… I assumed the worst.”
Violet barked a laugh and resumed typing. “Oh, I do. You’re hot.”
I blinked. “Um…”
“But I’m in a happy,verymonogamous relationship,” she added. “These other fools, though? They’re single. Every one of them.”
She glanced up at me and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“I don’t want to be a groupie,” I said.
“I never said you did.” She paused to sigh. “But you’re like a juicy steak, and they’re a pack of hungry wolves.”
“Thanks… I think?”
“Just be aware of the effect you have on them while on tour.” Her tone shifted into something closer to a warning. “Don’t hurt any of them. You understand me? You’re a big girl, and can do whatever you want, but don’t toy with them. All right?”
I glanced back toward the front of the bus, where Milo and Riot were arguing about whether Las Vegas or Miami would have a better crowd.
“Honestly, I’m more worried about making sure I don’t get hurt myself.”
Violet gave me a sympathetic look. “I hear that. Font’s installed. I saved it to the list of favorites in Photoshop, and bookmarked the band logo as well. The poster for Houston looks dope!”
“Thanks!” I replied, taking my laptop from her.
Violet rose from the bed. She was an inch shorter than me, but somehow carried herself like she was seven feet tall. “I’m serious, though. I love those three idiots. They’re like brothers to me. Don’t hurt them.”
“I promise not to,” I said.
“Thanks, Muse.”
“Muse?”
“That’s your new nickname. Riot’s had writer’s block for the past month, but he’s written three new songs since meeting you.”
