CHAPTER TEN
The two weeks flew by for me—like they always did before we left on tour. I went to rehearsals and hung out with the guys and specifically didn’t text Olivia; I knew better than to push my luck with her just then.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I strode up to the tour bus. It was eight in the morning.
“Have a hard night, Nicky?” I glared at Mark, who was practically swinging around a street lamp pole.
“Shut the fuck up. It’s too bright.”
“No wonder I was able to slip out on you.” I looked up and saw Olivia standing a few feet away, a Cafesito Express cup in her hand. I heard Jules and Dan snickering but I couldn’t make myself look at them; I was too busy taking in the sight of Olivia. She had either taken my advice or knew well enough to pack light on her own: I saw a backpack and a carry-on sized rolling bag at her feet. Her magenta hair was tousled, and I thought she might be wearing a little makeup, but not very much. She was wearing jeans and a Raggy Monster tee shirt, with a pair of beat-up Docs, reminding me of my first glimpse of her. She looked a little sleepy, but way more chipper than I felt.
“You’re way too awake for this time of the morning,” I informed her, rubbing at my face.
“Lucky for you that I am,” Olivia said. She bent over and picked something up from off the ground: a takeout tray with paper coffee cups. “The other tray’s in the bus already,” she told me with a shrug.
“Ah, sweet!” Mark lunged forward and claimed one of the cups, returning to his apelike swinging.
“I’m already really liking this ‘embedded journalist’ thing,” Dan said, plucking another one of the cups.
“Alex is on board saying goodbye to Mary,” Olivia said. She held out the tray to me.
“I thought you hated me,” I pointed out, grabbing for one of the last two coffees on the tray. “Black?” Olivia nodded. I took a careful sip from the hole in the plastic top; the coffee flowed into me like fucking manna from heaven.
“I have never said that I hate you,” Olivia countered. “Just that I’m not interested in trying for a relationship with someone who sleeps around.”
“Technically you sleep around too,” I said, pointing at her with the hand holding the coffee cup. “You had a one-night stand with me.” Olivia’s cheeks flushed pink-red. I saw her look at Mark and Dan and then scowl at me. “Oh please.” I gestured to Mark and Dan. “You didn’t think they’d know?”
“Naïve, I guess,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes. “Sleeping with you was a mistake.”
“Was Nicky that bad?” Mark smirked at me.
“Get on the fucking bus,” I told him. Mark shrugged and he and Dan gathered up their things and jogged around to the entrance of the tour bus. “Sleeping with me was a mistake? Are you sure about that?” Olivia shrugged.
“I don’t regret the actual sex itself,” she said slowly. “I regret the fact that I threw caution to the wind and had sex with you because I knew it would be great sex. I compromised on my principles.”
“And now you’ve got a juicy assignment following a band on tour, which will look great in your portfolio.” Olivia’s eyes glinted in the morning light as she glared at me.
“Yeah, and now also everyone is going to figure out that the reason I got this assignment was because I slept with you and you wanted to toy with me some more and probably get in my pants again. Really fantastic for my career there, Nicky.” I laughed.
“Did you really just call me Nicky?” Olivia’s cheeks lit up with an even deeper blush than before.
“Do you have a problem with me calling you that?” Olivia raised an eyebrow in challenge, and I grinned. Fuck she looks so cute like that. So goddamn cute trying not to smile, trying to look tough.
“Nope,” I said. I shifted my backpack straps on my shoulders. “I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t a mistake.” I saw the blood leave her face and then return in a flush that crept up all the way to the roots of her hair. I took another sip of my coffee and walked past her, heading towards the entrance of the tour bus. I grinned to myself as I climbed up the stairs, picturing the look on Olivia’s face. It probably wasn’t the best thing I could have said in the moment, but I couldn’t help myself. Oh yeah. Whether or not she ever has sex with me again, this is going to be a fun tour.
I threw my stuff onto one of the bunks and carried my coffee into the lounge. “Alex, the longer you take to say goodbye to her, the longer it is before you get back,” I said, throwing myself onto the couch carefully.
“How does that math work out?” I shrugged at Dan’s question. “You didn’t already scare Olivia off, did you? Dude—she brought coffee!”
“Yeah, and she’s never going to have sex with you again. It’ll be nice to watch Nicky actually have to try to get in a girl’s pants.” I rolled my eyes.
“I didn’t scare her off,” I said. “If she scares off that easy she wouldn’t last a week on tour no matter what I did.”
“Oh, are there wagers on how long I’ll last on tour?” Olivia appeared at the entrance to the lounge.
“Who told her?”
“I did,” Jules said, coming in behind her. “It only seemed fair, man.”
“Can I get in on the betting pool? It’d be a nice bonus.”
“Nicky isn’t in the pool,” Mark said. “Is it fair for you to be in it?”
“You didn’t bet?” Olivia looked at me sharply. I took my pack of cigarettes out of my pocket and lit one.
“Didn’t seem like the right thing to do,” I said. “Besides, if it ever got back to you, no matter what I bet it’d make me look bad.” Olivia continued to stare at me for a moment longer.
“What did everyone else bet?” she asked, looking around the lounge.
“One month for Mark, two weeks for Jules, the whole tour for Dan, and six months for Alex,” I told her. “Alex thinks that you’ll fall in love with me and we’ll last for two months after the end of the tour.”
“Dan’s going to get the money,” Olivia said. She glanced at everyone else in the lounge and then looked at me. “Which bunks are open?”