It’s night time and the bus is traveling to Dallas. We’re all tucked away in our beds, the curtains are drawn and I’m cuddled into Nate as he doodles on a notepad awkwardly above us attached to the top of the bunk.

“So today went well,” I whisper.

He smiles at me and nods. “Sure did. You and Danger were getting on quite well.”

“Yeah, seems like we’re actually going to be good friends I think.”

“Mmm…” An intoxicated moan echoes from the bed across from us and we both look over, even though our curtain is closed. Heavy breathing follows and then more deep moaning. I purse my lips looking up at Nate who’s trying to hold back his grin when the unmistakable sound of skin slapping against skin followed by the now two sets of moans echoes through the back of the bus. Clenching my eyes shut at the sexy sounds coming from Danger and Lunar’s bunk, I risk opening my eyes again to glance at Nate to see him chewing on his bottom lip as I swallow at the look of lust in his eyes.

I can tell he’s thinking about sex—sex with me.

But I can’t.

I can’t have others hearing me like that.

How embarrassing.

I run my hand up his chest and look into his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

He smiles grabbing my hand and squeezing it gently. “You have nothing to be sorry for, baby.”

“Oh God… yes,” Lunar calls out making me cringe.

Nate flares his nostrils as I tense completely. He leans in kissing my head then goes back to doodling on his notepad above the bed, drawing doves and clown fish. All the while I cuddle into his side as Danger and Lunar ride out their orgasms, and Ryan and Tillie giggle above us.

 

NATE

FOUR WEEKS LATER

 

We’ve been on the promo tour for four weeks. Not being able to touch Ria sexually is driving me insane, but I understand, she’s shy about having sex in front of others when not acting, and I’m okay with that.

Hey, I’ve gone half a year without sex before, what’s two months? I can do this especially if it’s going to help our ‘we’re not a couple’ façade for the public. So far we’ve done really well. No one suspects a thing, if anything they’re suspecting Danger and Ria are having a thing behind Lunar’s back.

That little tidbit of information has only come out twice in the media in the last four weeks, and Tillie’s been quite quick to squash that rumor of course.

We’ve traveled halfway around the US and we still have the other half to go. Depending on how we go, we might add another month on and go overseas. The thing is, with Ria and I not being intimate and her spending virtually all of her time with Danger during the days preparing interviews and then doing the interviews, it only leaves time for us at night together and she’s so exhausted by the end of it all she pretty much just falls asleep. I feel like our relationship is struggling and I can’t help but notice that Lunar seems to be distracted and down too. Maybe she’s feeling the strain on her relationship too? Or maybe I’m just reading too much into it? I dunno…

We pull up at a television studio where we’re supposed to be performing as well as Danger and Ria doing their usual interview. We all file into the back of the studio and the producer comes up to shake Tillie’s hand.

“Miss Marks, we are going to bump the live performance. We want to extend the interview with Danger and Zaria. We feel it will pull a higher rating… you understand?”

I huff out a long breath along with Matt and Ryan, as Tillie swallows hard and nods. “Umm… sure. I’ll let Zaria and Danger know.”

“We’ve been axed,” Ryan says.

“Yes, but at least they’re still promoting you in that timeslot,” Tillie says.

“True, I suppose,” Matt says sounding as depressed as I feel.

“Don’t worry guys, there’s always next time,” Tillie says with a weak smile and walks off toward Danger and Ria’s dressing rooms.

 

***

 

We’re in the wings watching as Danger and Ria are on stage for the interview. It’s going well and Danger and Ria are answering the questions thrown at them like pros—the chemistry between them is great… a little too damn great. They look so comfortable with each other. It’s bugging me. It’s almost bordering on flirting between them. Lunar walks up to me and leans into my side.

“Is it just me or does it seem like they’re not acting anymore?” she asks.

Raising my eyebrow as I watch Ria place her hand on Danger’s arm and laugh. It’s a small gesture, but it unsettles me nonetheless. “They’re just friends, Lunar, like us.”

“Yeah, but I don’t touch you like that…”

She’s right, she doesn’t.

Shit! Maybe she’s seeing something I don’t want to.

“You don’t think they’re—”

Quick to cut her off I reply, “No… he wouldn’t do that to you, Lunar.”

She nods. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right. He wouldn’t… would he?”

We both look back out to the stage where something funny was obviously said, and they look at each other in the eyes and chuckle like two people who are deeply connected.

I swallow hard and take a deep breath. “No. He loves you, Lunar,” I say while she chews on her bottom lip.

“And does she love you?”

I shake my head. “It’s too early for that. She cares about me… a lot, I’m sure. But love? No.”

“Hmmm…” Lunar murmurs.

“So we extended this interview because we have some breaking news. We wanted to get your opinion, Zaria… first hand,” the interviewer says gaining my attention along with Tillie and Oliver.

“Ah… sure,” Zaria says looking a little concerned as I tense up.

Maybe they’ve found out about us?

Someone’s caught on about her being in a relationship.

This could sink the whole marketing pitch—right here, right now.

“Shit,” I say as Tillie puts her hand on my shoulder.

“Just wait and see, Nate,” Tillie whispers.

“So we have word that Bloomfield Productions is filing for bankruptcy. All staff have been made redundant and the company is closing doors as of today. What are your thoughts on this?”

I exhale half-relieved yet annoyed they would spring this on her.

“I… ahh… wow! Honestly, I had no idea. If this is the case I’m truly saddened and shocked by this revelation. I hope all employees are able to find other positions and are… wow… sorry. I’m just a little shocked here. You’ve kinda sprung this on me.”

“For those who don’t know, Bloomfield Productions is run by Zaria’s stepfather Patrick Bloomfield. The man who gave her… her break into film in the first place. Am I right?”

“Yes, without him I wouldn’t… well, a lot of actors wouldn’t be here. It truly is a sad day for this industry.”

Danger reaches out touching her arm in a show of support, and I curl my lip up in annoyance.

It should be me comforting her, I think while mentally slapping myself.

“Okay, well, we want to thank Danger and Zaria for coming on our show today. Now we’re heading off for a commercial break. We’ll be right back.”

The producer signals that they’ve stopped filming and Ria stands abruptly and rips off her microphone glaring at the two hosts. “Don’t ever invite me back on your show again. I will respectfully decline.” She throws the microphone pack on the desk and heads straight toward me, her face contorting with rage. I step over to intercept her and as she reaches me, she grabs my hand tightly and pulls me along as she continues walking down toward their dressing room. I’m quiet as she stomps along, but she’s panting furiously like she’s about to explode at any second. I’m not sure if I should talk first or let her speak when she’s ready. I’m not sure what to do.

Cool, calm, collected...

We walk into the dressing room and she slams the door shut behind me. The hard look in her eyes scares me a little. “Ria,” I murmur.

“I mean… what the actual fuck were they thinking landing that on me like that? And fucking hell… what if it is true? What if Patrick’s company has gone bust? Then does that mean Mom and him will be poor? I mean it’s not an issue… I can help them with money and stuff. But fuck, Nate, how could they not tell me? Warn me, that this could happen? God!” She pulls at her hair in frustration and I lunge toward her grabbing her hands and stopping her by pulling them to her sides.

“Hey! Stop! Just breathe. It’s gonna be okay.”

“Is it? That production company is the one that does most of my movie deals, Nate. I might be a has-been now.”

Bringing my hands up to her face, I force her to look at me. “Breathe, you look too pale.”

She nods and takes a deep breath relaxing in my grip. “Nate, I’m screwed.”

“Baby, you’re not screwed, we’ll sort this out. I promise, okay?”

She nods leaning in and presses her lips to mine. It’s so nice to be kissing her right now. After all my uncertainty today, knowing she still wants to kiss me, makes me feel better.

Geez, I’m a selfish bastard.

The door opens and we quickly break apart as Danger and Tillie rush in.

“Shit! Zaria… you okay?” Danger asks as they move over toward us and everyone filters in behind them.

Ria exhales and nods slowly taking in a deep breath, but she’s still as white as a ghost.

“Zaria, you don’t look too good. Maybe you should sit down?” Danger asks.

I reach out grabbing her around her waist as she starts to sway.

“I’ll get her some water,” Tillie says.

I look at Ria turning pasty and her eyes go glassy.

“Ria, babe, you okay?” I ask then her knees buckle, her eyes roll into the back of her head and she goes completely limp in my arms. I hold onto her as her entire body drops into my arms and I tense up completely looking down at her. “Ria, babe, wake up,” I call out as I shake her slightly.

Lunar rushes over along with Danger as I move her over to the sofa and gently lie her down.

“Jesus… she’s out cold,” Lunar says.

I pull her hair back from her sweaty face and stroke her cheeks. “Ria, baby… can you hear me?”

Her eyes flicker a little beneath her closed lids. “Mmm… Nate?” she murmurs.

“I’m right here. Stay still, keep taking in deep breaths.”

Her eyes slowly open as she swallows hard and I sigh a big breath of relief. I lean my forehead down and kiss her nose. “God, you scared me.”

“What happened?”

“You passed out… fell for me completely.”

She half-smiles and blinks lazily. “I fell for you completely a long time ago.”

“Help! We need a medic in here. She’s delirious,” Ryan calls out as he walks in making us all laugh.

As if on cue Tillie walks through the door with a glass of water and a medic.

“Ask and ye shall receive,” Ryan says.

“Jesus! Did you actually pass out?” Tillie asks rushing up to us with the water, the medic not far behind her.

“Yeah, I don’t know what came over me. I was really upset and I got so hot that everything started spinning, then I woke up on a couch with Ryan cracking jokes.”

“Hi Miss Shafir, can I take your blood pressure?” the medic asks stepping in beside me. Ria nods and I move so he can check her over properly. He uses an automatic machine to pump up the sleeve while I notice the color returning to her previously pasty face.

“I’m sorry, guys, I didn’t mean to worry you,” Ria murmurs.

I reach out grabbing her hand and smile at her. “Hey, I’m supposed to worry about you. It’s what I’m here for.”

The medic looks at me sideways and I swallow hard remembering the public don’t know about us, but he’s a medical professional and he has confidentiality clauses so I think we’re safe. For now.

“Okay, blood pressure is quite high, but I think it’s stress induced, and that’s why you passed out. You need to keep up your fluids and try to keep your anxiety levels down… if you can.”

“Thanks, sorry for wasting your time,” Ria says to the medic.

“It’s never a waste of time to get checked out. If you can hang around for at least fifteen minutes to make sure you’re okay before you head off, just to make sure you don’t relapse, then I’d be happy to let you go.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Thanks, buddy,” I say to him and he nods to me and looks to Tillie as she hands Ria the water and she sits up slowly on the sofa.

“Thanks, Tillie, you even got me a straw,” Ria says with a giggle and Tillie nods.

“Yeah, straws make everything better, right?”

It’s good that Tillie and Ria seem to have bonded, and Ria smiles at Tillie sucking the water through her straw.

“Thanks everyone for being here. I’m sorry to cause such a fuss, it wasn’t my intention.”

I reach out squeezing her hand. “Hey stop. We’re all glad you’re okay. It can’t have been easy hearing that crap. This tour has been stressful on the body as it is… it’s no wonder you fainted.”

She nods and sips a little more from the straw as I caress her hand tenderly.

Oliver walks in and looks around “What the… what’s going on?”

“Zaria fainted,” Danger announces.

“Are you okay?”

“She’s fine,” Lunar snaps and stomps out.

We all look at her raising our eyebrows as Danger follows Lunar out of the room.

“Okay, so what happened on stage out there was not on, Zaria. I can only apologize and say that we didn’t see it coming. We should have known something was up and preempted this shit when they wanted to extend your interview time,” Oliver says.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry. I would’ve found out one way or another. Sure, live on national TV is not how I would’ve preferred, but I doubt it would have mattered much how I found out…” she gives him a smile, “… I’m pretty sure I would’ve reacted the same way regardless. I’m just sorry I couldn’t handle the stress and flaked it.”

“I’m just glad I was holding Zaria when she fell.”

“Me too. An Oscar-winner with a broken leg on tour is not a good look,” Oliver jokes. “Okay, rest up and we’ll get back to the bus as soon as I can arrange it so you can rest properly. Tillie and I will handle the influx of stuff coming our way for tonight. Then we can deal with the backlash tomorrow.”

“Thanks. I should probably call my mom, though.”

“Maybe wait till we’re on the bus. You can do it in a more private environment there,” I tell her.

“Yeah, good idea,” she agrees sipping down the rest of her cool water and looking much better than she did before.

The medic reaches in and checks her blood pressure again. “That’s better. It’s at a more normal level now, Zaria. I’m happy for you to head off. Keep up your fluids and rest for the rest of the evening. Nothing too strenuous.”

“Okay, thanks,” Ria says as the medic packs up to leave.

“Do you think you can walk?” Tillie asks

“I’ll carry her,” I suggest but Ria chuckles and shakes her head.

“I’m okay to walk. Plus, if there’s cameras out there, them snapping you carrying me to the bus would be more than a little suspicious.”

Damn, she’s right!

“Fine, but I’m walking right next to you. No arguments!”

“Okay…” She stands up and doesn’t wobble like I suspected she might which makes me happy. Ria takes a deep breath and nods.

“Okay to the Batmobile,” she quips and Ryan chuckles.

“I’m liking you more and more each day, Zaria,” Ryan says, and her eyes light up when she smiles like that small comment makes her insanely happy.

“Good, I’m glad. Now, let’s get out of here. These people don’t deserve any more of our time,” she says.

I’m in complete agreement as we all head out to the bus, and as suspected some paparazzi are hanging around waiting. We all smile and wave as we board, and then take our seats as the driver closes the door.

“Remind me to never book interviews with them again,” Tillie says.

Ria stands up pulling out her cell.

“You okay, babe?”

“Just gonna call my mom… be back in a bit,” she says heading down toward the bunks obviously for some privacy. Well, for whatever kind of privacy you can get on a tour bus anyway. The bus starts and we’re off traveling toward our next destination.