“One of the shows in the south. Can’t remember which one. You and Riot came back from the roof or whatever, and Riot had a big-ass smile on his face. It’s the post-sex smile. When you’ve been friends with a guy a long time, you learn to recognize it.”
And when you’ve shared a woman before. I didn’t say that out loud, though.
“Great. So we’ve been sneaking around all this time for nothing?”
“It’s been entertaining!” Milo said with a laugh. “You two are real cute. We didn’t want to say anything and ruin all the fun you were having.”
I pinched my nose and groaned. “Great. I feel like the biggest idiot in the world.”
“Aww, don’t say that!” Milo moved his can of Pringles from one hand to the other, then gently rubbed my back. “Who gives a fuck? You’re both adults. You can do whatever you want. We aren’t going to judge you.”
“So Cash knows, too?”
“He was the one who figured it out first. But that’s Cash for you. He’s super perceptive. Doesn’t miss a thing.” Milo removed his hand from my back. “Shit. I got crumbs on you.”
I let him brush them off my back, then we got back on the bus. His comments helped soothe my embarrassment a lot, but not completely.
And I hadn’t asked him about the topic thatreallyinterested me.
“She knows we know,” Milo announced when everyone was back on the bus. “Can we all stop sneaking around, now?”
“Did you really have to say that to the entire bus?” Cash asked.
“My thoughts exactly,” Riot said.
“I hate secrets,” Milo complained. “Everything’s better now that it’s out in the open. We can give the two lovebirds some alone time.”
Riot gave me an apologetic look. I grimaced back at him.
“So,” Violet said to change the subject, “everyone got their passports ready? I don’t want a repeat of the last border crossing.”
“I told you: my passport fell between the seats,” Milo whined. “It didn’t delay us very long.”
“They almost took you into custody!” Cash said from the driver’s seat.
“But they didn’t! Everything was fine!”
I was grateful for the change in subject… but deep down, I was terrified that the band dynamic had now permanently changed for the worse.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
23
Roxie
We crossed back into the United States without any passport trouble, then sat in traffic for an hour before arriving at the concert venue in downtown Detroit. As soon as the bus was parked, Cash got up and said, “I’m meeting an old friend for lunch. I’ll be back in an hour.”
Milo hopped out of his seat and said, “I’ll come with you.”
“You weren’t invited.”
“Yeah, but I need to get out of the van.” He covered his mouth with the back of his hand so he could whisper, but his voice carried. “I want to give them somealone time. Onthe tour bus. So they can—”
“You’re over-explaining things,” Cash muttered. “I don’t care what you do, but you can’t join me for lunch.”
Violet sighed and gave Milo a little push toward the bus door. “I’ll find something to do with you. I don’t want to be the only one left on the bus to play cockblocker.”
“You’re all making this a much bigger deal than it actually is,” Riot said.
