16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ANDI
We’ve playedone venue after another almost nonstop for the last month. The road seems to get longer every day, and living on a tour bus isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We’ve finished the East Coast, only a few more stops for the Midwest cities and then we’re heading to the last leg of the tour for the West Coast. Where Luke is.
It’s been two months since Luke and I split. Surviving one day to the next has gotten a little easier, but the full weight of letting go of us still hits me hard sometimes. He’s still on my mind and in my heart so much that I’m beginning to realize I’ll never fully be rid of him. It’s so hard to let go of the dream I once had for us. I honestly don’t know which is harder—if he were dead and I knew I’ll never be able to hold him again, or knowing that he’s still alive and I’ll never be able to hold him again.
The pictures that keep circulating of him and Syndi together help me to move on, though. Luke is becoming a big name in the boxing world. Syndi and Lindsey have made sure of that—his face, his muscular body, and his upcoming fight are plastered everywhere. The pictures of him and Syndi together all very clearly show that she’s got her claws hooked firmly into him. They look like the perfect, happy couple.
She’s so poised and put together. She doesn’t have pink streaks in her hair. Or a tattoo sleeve. Or scars all over her arm. She looks like the kind of woman Luke’s parents would immediately accept and expect him to marry. In other words, she looks nothing like me.
The headlines and taglines the celebrity magazines use with his pictures also make me cringe. He’s a professional athlete, but they act like he’s the newest gigolo on the block. That may possibly be my jealousy talking.
“Boxing’s new bad boy—or boxing’s new boy toy? You pick.”
“The Southern Stud-Muffin.”
“10 Reasons Why We Can’t Get Enough of Lucas Woods.”
The headlines are everywhere I look, so I finally just quit looking. It’s simply easier on me that way. Seeing them in a lip lock, an intimate embrace, or laughing like they don’t have a care in the world in every picture has been excruciating. I’d love to getheralone in a boxing ring. I can guarantee only one of us would walk out—me. They’d have to carry her out on a stretcher.
“All right, everyone, gather around,” Katelyn orders, pulling me out of my homicidal daydreams. “I have new orders from the label execs.”
We take a seat and wait as she builds the suspense and drama with her silence while she bounces up and down on her toes excitedly. “As you all know, one of the biggest fights in boxing is next week.”
Oh, hell no. She’s not about to say what I think she’s going to say.
“And we’re adding a special concert for the night before the event. It’s for a smaller audience than you’re accustomed to playing for, but it’s for Vegas royalty, along with all the fighters. This is a benefit concert, so only the really high rollers will be able to afford the tickets.
“It was requested by the nephew of the label’s president, so of course he said yes. When he says yes, we say yes,” Katelyn says in her annoying, singsong voice.
I’m convinced she’s arranged this on purpose. Probably because she still blames me for locking her in the bathroom on the bus. My menacing glare tells her as much when she summons the courage to finally meet my gaze. My eyes are throwing daggers at her and she knows it.
“Does anyone have a problem with this?” she asks.
“Yeah. I do,” Travis says as he stands. “Sound Bar and Fireflies will play, but Andi’s not performing.”
“She’s part of the package deal, Travis. All three acts were specifically requested. Andi has a large following of her own now and rightfully so. The rumors of your relationship with her have fueled sales for the last several weeks, and people want to see you two perform your songs together,” Katelyn counters.
“It’s fine, Travis. Thanks for looking out for me, but I can handle it,” I interject before a fight erupts.
“Only if you’re sure. I won’t back down from this, Andi,” Travis assures me.
“I’m sure.” I smile at him.
Over the past two months, Travis has been my rock and the reason why I keep going. He’s also been the reason why I haven’t had a complete breakdown and ended up rocking in the corner. I’ve always thought I was strong, but this has really shaken my foundation. Nothing has been overt or out of line, but everything Travis has done to help has shown that he has my best interests at heart. He genuinely cares about me.
I care about him, too. So very much. The feelings I’m developing for him scare me because I’m not ready for them. I’m not ready to move on, and I definitely don’t want a rebound relationship. Travis is not someone I’d use just to get over Luke. He’s very special to me and was my friend long before I ever thought there could be something more than friendship between us.
More and more every day, I get the sense that he feels it too. He’s always been flirty and fun, but now he’s added sensitive and caring to his arsenal. He’s breaking down my walls, but it hasn’t been long enough for me yet. It terrifies me to think of rushing into something and making a huge mistake.
After getting all the details from Katelyn, the group disperses. When the caravan makes the next rest stop, I return to my bus and my solitary respite.
“Andi?” Travis calls from the front of my bus.
“Back here,” I answer.
