CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The following morning, Meg woke up early and managed to ease herself out of the bunk without waking Sky. She tip-toed towards the front of the bus and greeted Paul, before retreating to the back lounge, where she made herself a cup of coffee and settled into a seat to savor the quiet before everyone else woke up.
She thought back to the previous night, when she and Sky looked at the photos Jarrod took of them, and picked out one where they were holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes. Sky posted the photo to his Instagram and Twitter accounts, and tagged Meg with the caption “Thank God for my beautiful guardian angel”. I guess its official, now that it’s out on social media. I’m Sky Johnson’s girlfriend.
While she took another sip of her coffee, she noticed her phone begin to vibrate, and picked it up from the charging station where she had left it overnight. “Hey, Susan,” she whispered to her friend. “What’s up?”
“Did I wake you?”
“No, but I’m on the bus with the band. Everyone else is still asleep.”
“Listen, I don’t know how to tell you this…,” Susan’s voice trailed off. “Have you been online this morning?”
“No. I just picked up my phone when you called. Why?”
“Umm…Sky posted a photo of the two of you last night. It’s sort of gone viral.”
“Viral? What do you mean?”
“If you haven’t seen the comments on Instagram or Twitter, then don’t read them.”
Meg broke out in a sweat and thought she was going to vomit. “What do they say?”
“Basically, it’s a lot of jealous girls making mean comments because you’re with Sky,” Susan said. “I’m rallying a bunch of our friends to tell the haters to back off, but it’s gotten ugly already.”
“Thanks, Susan,” she said, as she looked up and saw Sky. He was grim-faced and holding his cell phone as he slid into the seat opposite her. “I’ve got to go.”
“I’d say good morning, but I’m not sure it is,” Sky said. “My phone has completely blown up.”
“That was my friend Susan. She said our photo went viral. I haven’t looked yet.”
“Don’t,” said Jack, as he and Becky entered the back lounge and joined them at the table. “It’s ugly.”
“That’s the same word my friend Susan just used,” Meg said. Ugly.”
Becky reached out and squeezed Meg’s hand. “I think we need to strategize and come up with a joint message. It should come from you, Sky,” she said, turning to look at him. “Then we should all post it on our own accounts.”
“What should it say?”
“Well, we should probably talk to the p.r. people at our record label first,” Jack said, staring at Sky.
“I don’t think so,” Becky interjected. “This isn’t a business matter, it’s a personal matter. Sky should speak from the heart, let the so-called fans know that Meg saved his life and that she matters a great deal to him, that she is a person with feelings, and hurting her is the same as hurting him.”
“I like that,” Sky said. “Let’s write that down, then work on getting the language just right.”
Meg sat listening in disbelief, as if the person and the life that Sky, Jack and Becky were discussing wasn’t hers. She silently sipped her coffee, but it did nothing to warm the chill she felt deep inside her body. What the hell have I gotten myself into? She tapped on her phone’s Instagram app, looked at her own profile page, and all color drained from her face. “Yesterday I had, give or take, around a hundred followers. This morning I have a little over three thousand.”
“The same thing happened to me when Jack and I first went public,” Becky said. “I have around 50,000 followers now.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” Sky said. “I shouldn’t have let us go public so soon.”
“It’s not your fault. I thought it would be a good idea after the way some of the fans reacted to me last night. I didn’t realize I’d make it worse, not better.”
Within the hour, Sky posted a new photo of him and Meg, with a caption that made it clear he was upset with the “haters”, and that Meg was responsible for saving his life. Becky and Jack shared the post, as did the other band members.
Beau popped his head into the back lounge of the bus, and spoke for the rest of the band. “We’ve got your back, Meg. You’re part of the family now.”
Just before they pulled into Birmingham, Mac came into the back lounge and announced that the television show Inside Access wanted to do an interview with Sky. “It’s probably about the social media shit storm earlier today,” he said. “Do you want to do it, or should I tell them you’re not doing interviews this weekend?”
“I’ll do it,” Sky replied. “But I want Jack to be there too.”
“All right. I’ll set it up for right before meet and greet.”
That evening, Jack and Sky sat down on stools and exchanged glances and a nod as the camera began rolling. The interview began with the usual questions about the tour and the new album scheduled to drop later that year. Then the reporter, Hannah Winters, turned to Sky, and said, “So it looks like you’ve been bitten by the love bug, Sky. Is it true that you have a girlfriend, and she’s out here on tour with you?”
Sky grinned and nodded his head. “It’s true, Hannah. I’m lucky that I met a wonderful woman not too long ago who turned out to be my guardian angel. Her name is Meg, and she literally saved my life.”
“Literally? What do you mean by that?”
“Well,” Sky said with a sigh. “As you know, I had a bad motorcycle accident a couple of weeks ago, and she was one of the nurses who responded with the medevac unit. If it wasn’t for her taking care of me both on the flight to the hospital, and then afterwards, I might not be alive today.”
“You caused quite a stir on social media when you posted some photos last night and earlier today. Is she the mystery woman you’ve been seen with around Nashville?”
“Yes, she is. Meg’s the only woman in my life.” He looked directly in the camera, and said, “My ‘himbo’ days are over, Hannah. And I hope my fans are happy for me, and for us.”
As the interview concluded, Becky squeezed Meg’s hand. They had listened to Sky and Jack answer the reporter’s questions from behind a curtain backstage at the concert venue, and both breathed a sigh of relief when it was over.
“I think that went well,” Becky said to Jack and Sky when they slipped behind the curtain.
“Can you give us a minute,” Sky said to Jack and Becky, as he took Meg into his arms. When they were alone, he asked, “How do you think it went?”
Meg’s eyes grew wide. “I don’t know what to say, other than thank you. I can’t believe you did a national television interview to announce we’re a couple.”
“I meant every word, Meg. You’re the only woman in my life, and I care about you very much.” He leaned in to kiss her, and as his tongue began to explore her mouth, they were interrupted.
“Time for meet and greet,” Mac said.
Sky and Meg walked hand in hand to the area where the meet and greet session was about to take place. Sky kissed Meg before he took his place next to Jack, and Meg joined Becky next to Jarrod.
The line of fans began to move forward, and Meg’s stomach churned every time a woman came on to Sky. Each time, Sky rejected the advances, and pointed to Meg. Some of the women were angry, others were embarrassed, and a small number came over to Meg to apologize.
Following Becky’s lead, Meg was polite to the fans who approached her, even posing for a few selfies with some fans. She was surprised that a couple of the young fans asked her questions about Sky, like what his favorite food was, or did he ever sing to her at home.
“You’re doing great,” Becky said when they had a free moment. “Keep it up, and you’ll win them over in no time.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because every fan that takes a selfie with you or talks to you will post about it on social media. They’ll spread the word that you’re nice, and that will help win over the other fans. You’ll see.”
I hope you’re right, Meg thought as she accepted a hug from another fan. After the fan moved on, she caught Sky grinning at her. She felt butterflies in her stomach when he winked at her before posing for a photo with another fan.
When the last of the fans left the meet and greet area, Sky pulled Meg into a tight embrace. “You did great, baby,” he said. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Becky is a terrific teacher. I don’t know how I’d have managed to get through tonight without her.”
After the band’s pre-show ritual, Meg and Becky took their places at the side of the stage and watched as Sky, Jack and the rest of the band poured every ounce of their energy into the show. They played one hit after the other, and they were drenched with sweat by the time they finished their last encore.
Mac hustled everyone back to the bus, where the guys took turns showering while Meg and Becky hung out in the back lounge.
After he got out of the shower, Jack pulled Sky aside. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
Jack pulled two plastic cups out of a cabinet, and poured a measure of whiskey in each, before handing one to Sky. “How serious are you about Meg?”
“Why?”
Jack took a sip from his cup before answering. “Because I was thinking that it might be time for Becky and me to have our own bus. We’re thinking about…well, never mind what we’re thinking about. The point is that I don’t want to leave you on the bus with the band. We’re partners in this thing, and if I get my own bus, then you get yours. And I want to make sure that you and Meg are the real thing before we make that move.”
“I don’t understand. What does Meg’s and my relationship have to do with us getting our own buses?”
Jack sighed. “The truth is, Becky and I have wanted our own bus for a while, but we were afraid to leave you alone. We didn’t know what would happen, or what you might do. We wanted to protect you.”
Sky’s eyes grew wide. “Protect me? From who?”
“Yourself, mainly.”
Sky took a sip of whiskey, and nodded his head. “I’m not sure what to say about that, other than thanks. You’re right, I did need to be protected from myself. But that’s in the past. I’m crazy about Meg, but this is so new to me that I can’t answer where it’s going.”
“Do you plan on taking her out on the road with you each weekend?”
“As much as I can, depending on her schedule.”
Jack nodded his head. “So, are we doing this? ‘Cause if so, I want to get this in motion right away. Separate buses would make a great gift for the girls, don’t you think?”
“How and when are we going to do this?”
“There are plenty of buses we can lease, and the girls can add some personal touches to them. It will give them a fun project to work on. Let’s try to make time to take a look when we get back home.”
“So…we’re just going to surprise them?”
“That’s the plan.”
After the final show of the run, Meg was glad to get back home. “Bus life is fun, but I can’t wait to have a real shower and sleep in my own bed.” She leaned over and kissed Sky on the lips. “Thanks for taking me out on the road with you this weekend.”
“Anytime, darlin’,” he said. “How about next weekend?”
“I’d love to, but I have to check on my work schedule first.” She reached for the door handle, but Sky stopped her.
“I’m coming inside with you. I don’t want you walking in on some sort of ambush,” he said. “I don’t care whether your house is alarmed or not.”
“I’m sure it will be fine. And besides, you can’t protect me all the time.”
“But I can when I’m with you,” he said, hopping out of the Tahoe. He grabbed her suitcase and carried it to the front door. Using Meg’s spare key, he opened the door and quickly punched the alarm code into the keypad.
“You kept my spare key?”
“I didn’t want to leave it lying around the house. Never can tell when a crazy person might break in and take it.” He carried her bag inside and set it down in the hallway leading to the small laundry room.
Meg frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not sure I like that you have a key to my house.”
“What if we swapped keys?”
“What are you talking about?”
Sky reached into his pocket and handed Meg a key on a heart-shaped silver key chain. “Happy one-month anniversary.”
Meg was at a loss for words. “Anniversary?”
“Yeah, it’s a month since we met in Tampa. I thought giving you the key to my house was a good way to mark the occasion.”
Tears welled up in Meg’s eyes as she inspected the heart on the keychain, and noticed it had a series of four numbers engraved on it. “What do these numbers mean?”
Sky wrapped his arms around Meg. “That’s the code for my house alarm,” he whispered in her ear. “Only fair that you have mine, if I have yours.”
His tongue teased her earlobe, then made its way down to her neck, while his hands slipped inside her t-shirt and found the clasp for her bra. “You know, you’re welcome in my house anytime. That’s why I gave you my key.” He unclasped her bra, and released her breasts. “I want you to trust me, and know that you’re the only woman in my life. Tell me you trust me.”
Meg’s knees went weak when Sky began to fondle her breasts. I’ll tell you anything you want to hear, as long as you’re touching me. “I trust you, Sky,” she whispered. God help me, because I’m falling for you.
“I’ve loved having twenty four-seven access to you the last few days, and holding you tight each night as we fell asleep. I’m not ready to leave you yet. I need you, baby.”
“Oh, God,” Meg gasped as Sky’s hands roamed her body. “I need you too.” She took him by the hand and led him down the hall to her bedroom. “It’s luau time.”
Sky laughed out loud. “Only this time you don’t have to be quiet.” He removed his shirt and kicked off his boots as he entered the bedroom. “And I intend on making sure your neighbors know you’re home. I’m gonna make you scream and moan, baby.”