Standing backstage after the show, Keira took a few pictures before tucking her camera in her bag. She enjoyed watching the shows. It felt like she had the best seat in the house from her stage-side perches. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Eric wander close to the stage’s edge. The past week had been a testament to her restraint. Even though someone got sheets for the bunks outside and put all the equipment under the bus, somehow they still ended up in the same bed every night. She’d lay awake for what seemed like hours, willing herself not to touch him night after night, but in the morning, she always woke up in his arms.

She lifted her hand to wave him over when she saw he wasn’t alone. There was a girl right behind him. The girl flung her hair over her bare shoulder and Keira saw red. She had on a black sequin tube top, if it could even be called that. It was pretty much the size of an Ace bandage and wrapped around her boobs, but at least those were completely covered. Her leather skirt barely covered her ass cheeks. A vein in her neck throbbed as the girl ran her finger down the center of Eric’s chest and he just let her. Without a second thought, she stormed over to the pair and stood next to Eric, pushing his shoulder back gently and angling herself a bit in front of him.

“Eric, I need you back on the bus,” she said, keeping her eyes laser focused on the black clad woman in front of her. Up close, her pancaked makeup made Keira want to barf. Could it be any thicker? She swore that if she raked a nail down her face there would be an inch-deep trail.

“Hey, Keira. Why?”

“I just do,” she said, adamant.

“Why Keira?” the woman said, sweetly. “What’s the matter? Can’t handle a little friendly competition?” she said smirking and Keira wanted to claw her eyes out.

“Competition?” Eric said, sounding completely lost. How could he be so dense and what was with him letting some random woman touch him?

“There is no competition, so don’t you worry,” she said, keeping her eyes on Keira.

“Honey, come on let’s go,” shouted Lyx from behind them. The guys from Uncharted came pouring out of their dressing room. A cloud of smoke broke free of the room and beer bottles clanked and crashed as all the guys and some additional ladies made their way down the hallway toward the tour buses.

“Exactly, there isn’t, sweetheart. I wasn’t after your man, but if I were, trust me, he’d be mine,” she said, sauntering off.

“Honey, let’s go or you lose your spot on the bus,” he called.

“Coming, Lyx!” she said, before scampering off to join the rest of Uncharted. Now the red flush that filled her face wasn’t out of anger.

“You were jealous,” Eric said, finally catching on. Why did he have to catch on now?

“No, I wasn’t,” she said, shaking her head. Nope. Nope. Nope. Totally not jealous. The hallway was completely deserted and the quiet that followed the crashing of Uncharted’s departure made each word ring in her ears.

“You totally were. You thought she was hitting on me and you came to stake your claim.”

“No,” she said, attempting to walk away. Eric caught her around the waist, pulling her close to him.

“If I had known that was all I needed to do to get your attention I would have done it ages ago,” he breathed against her neck. A shiver traveled down her spine and her heart raced as his hot breath caressed her skin.

“I wasn’t jealous, I was just trying to stop you from falling into bed with a diseased groupie. A bed I happen to sleep in,” she said, unable to move, frozen by what his touch and voice did to her.

“It’s okay, Keira. It’s okay to be jealous.” His hand rubbing along the inside of her wrist. She shuddered against him.

“I’m not,” even to herself it sounded completely insincere.

“Just say the word and you can have anything you want,” he said, his lips brushing against her neck as he trailed kisses from her shoulder to her jaw, making her break out in goosebumps. Her pulse pounded and she felt her pussy throb in anticipation of just what she wanted. Wanted with him. He stopped his kisses and she closed her eyes ready for more. After a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes and stood in the hallway completely alone with Eric’s back to her as he strode to catch up with the rest of the guys from Uncharted.

A combination of embarrassment and anger bubbled up at the fact that he’d completely set her up. Get her worked up and then run off to do who knows what with those women who’d been with the band. Gathering up her stuff, she shoved her laminate into her bag and stormed out of the venue. Security moved out of her way as she blew through the restricted area and wrenched the door to their bus open and stomped into the living area.

Pacing, she didn’t know what to do. Every fiber in her being said to run over to Uncharted’s bus and show Eric just how little she cared about him and the other part of her wanted to curl up in the bedroom and cry. Why couldn’t she just go for it? What was the harm? How about being the ride along piece of ass everyone already thinks she is? Or not having anyone take anything she does seriously because she’s Eric Newcastle’s girlfriend or worse, groupie. Lights shined over the parking lot as the crew rushed to get everything broken down and packed away now that the show had finished. After an hour, she couldn’t take it anymore. Digging in her bag for her phone, she grabbed it and sent a text.

Keira: Sometimes you really just want to punch a guy in the dick.

Izzy: The totally platonic guy that you’re being completely professional with?

Keira: Shut up.

Izzy: Stop being a baby. If you want him, go for it. If you don’t, then shut up and get over it.

Keira: You’re supposed to be on my side, you know. That’s what sisters are for.

Izzy: And here I thought that sisters were made for calling you on your shit and telling you when to get your head out of your ass.

Keira: You’re not helping.

Izzy: That’s only because you don’t like my advice.

Keira: I don’t even know why I sent you a message.

Izzy: You sent me a message because you know I won’t let you blow smoke and I’ll tell it to you straight.

The phone vibrated in her hand. She begrudgingly accepted the call.

“Yes,” she huffed.

“Do you like him?”

“Yes,” she said, flinging herself back onto the couch, covering her eyes with her arm.

“Then you need to make a decision. I’m sure he’s wondering what the hell is going on in your head right now. If you’ve given him the ‘we’re professional’ talk, then you can’t be pissed off that he’s going along with your wishes. If you want him, you’re going to have to make the first move because maybe he’s not a pushy dick and will actually listen to the things you say.”

“How am I supposed to tell him that I like him when he’s probably over in the other bus getting a blow job from some groupie as we speak.”

“You’ll have to make that decision when the time comes. Maybe ask him when he gets back, or go over there and claim your man, if you’re so worried about it.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” she groaned.

“Then you have to live with the consequences.”

“I really hate you sometimes. You’re supposed to tell me that I’m awesome and I deserve someone better and he’s a dick and I should go kick him in the nuts.”

“Have you ever known me to give you that advice when you’re the one being stupid? Ever?”

“No,” she said, glumly.

“But you are awesome, you’re just terrible at confrontation and letting people know what you want. Which is probably why people love you and hate me,” she said, chuckling.

“Probably.”

“Hey,” Izzy griped.

“I can tell it like it is just like you can.”

“Only with me. So, when are you coming to visit?”

“Not sure yet, maybe in a few weeks. I don’t know how the whole tour thing is going to go.”

“Always looking for an excuse not to visit your dear old sister. Amy is going to get a complex thinking her only aunt doesn’t want to see her.”

“We can video chat soon. But I don’t want to tell her I can visit and then I can’t. I’ll let you know as soon as I know.” The bus door swung open and someone clomped up the steps. Eric’s head popped up at the top of the stairs. “Okay, Izzy, I’ve got to go,” she said, sitting up.

“Okay, talk to you later and don’t be afraid to let people know what it is you want or you’ll be waiting forever to actually get anything.”

“Bye,” she said, ending the call. She put the phone on the table in front of her and Eric tentatively sat in the chair across from the couch.

“How was the other bus?”

“Loud, messy and covered in alcohol as well as other things.”

“Did you manage to catch up to the chick I saw you with earlier?”

“Honey? No, why would I? Lyx had already disappeared with her somewhere once I got to the bus.”

“I didn’t think you’d be back so early.”

“Keira, just ask me what you want to ask me. It’s late and I’m tired,” he said, rubbing his hands over his face.

“I don’t have anything to ask you,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Nothing at all?” he said, his eyes boring into hers.

“No,” she said, standing firm. Letting him win at this would only set her up as the jealous girlfriend and she wasn’t even his girlfriend.

“Great, then I’m going to bed,” he said, pushing up from the table. “You coming?”

“No, I’ll sleep out here.”

“Fine, I’m too tired to play games with you, Keira.”

“I’m not the one playing games, Eric. I’m not the one that almost kissed me and then ran off to the whore master bus to do who knows what with who knows who.”

“What do you want to know?!”

“I not demanding any answers out of you Eric.”

“You’re just going to be pissed about what you think I did over there. Ever think that maybe I needed to blow off some steam because there is a stunning, talented woman that I sleep next to night after night that has told me repeatedly that she doesn’t want anything to do with me in anything other than a professional manner? Think maybe I needed to grab a beer and hang out with some guys and talk shit for a while to clear my head.”

“Eric, I—”

“No, Keira. You set your boundaries. You told me how this was going to be, but if you want this to go any further past professional, you’re going to have to tell me straight up. I’m not going to play games and I’m not going to try to force myself on you. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“So, do you have anything to say to me?” he said, standing there next to the booth with his arms crossed in front of him.

“No,” she squeaked. He threw up his hands and stormed off back into the bedroom slamming the door. She collapsed back onto the couch and covered her face with both hands. What had she done? Why couldn’t she just say it? Because then it would prove all the shit everyone had said about her? That she was only there because he wanted to screw her. That she would once again be riding on the coat tails of a man she was with to try to get ahead. She couldn’t be that person, but she couldn’t resist Eric for much longer and once she was finally ready to fess up, would he even want her anymore?

* * *

Keira was slowly driving him insane. Laying next to him night after night, but not being able to touch her beyond wrapping his arms around her when she inevitably snuggled up to him made him want to pull his hair out. The number of cold showers he’d taken on this tour had to singlehandedly be responsible for a drought in some small country somewhere.

She couldn’t just admit what was going on between them and let it happen. All these roadblocks she’d thrown up had him wondering if he wasn’t just a nice distraction to her. An ends to a means. The more time he spent with her the harder it was to not grab her and kiss her like his life and sanity depended on it. To complicate things even more, Talia’s text messages now that he was getting media coverage pissed him off. He deleted them all immediately, but the fact that she thought she could just weasel her way back in with him pissed him off. The woman he wanted slept inches from him at night and he couldn’t get her to admit what she felt. Add to that the thumbs up texts from the hoodies about the spin on things with Keira, it made him want to crush his phone.

Had he been tempted to go onto the Uncharted bus and maybe get a little attention from some hanger on? Yes, what man wouldn’t be when women were throwing themselves at him, but the minute he stepped onto the bus, he knew it wasn’t going to happen. None of those women held a candle to her. So, he hung back, had a few beers with Grayson and maybe played to the jealousy he saw her showing off earlier.

All he needed was for her to say the word. Completely befuddled by her, he decided to turn to the one woman who’d never let him down and he could count on one hundred percent. He tapped on her name and he couldn’t hold back his smile.

“Hey,” she said, completely out of breath.

“Hey mom, what’s up? Do you have some time?”

“You know I always do for you. I should ask you if you have time. You never seem to call too often. What’s going on?”

“There’s this girl—“ He heard her groan on the other line.

“Eric, what have I said about getting involved with these women on tour. I warned you about Talia,” she said, going off on her long tirade about how she’d tried to steer him in the right direction, but he didn’t listen. And he hadn’t. His mom wasn’t the kind of mom who hated a woman on sight because she was with him, but she couldn’t stand Talia from the moment he met her. That should have been the first red flag.

“It’s not like that. She’s not a musician. She’s a photographer and she’s working with me on this tour and my solo one if things work out.”

“What’s the problem?”

“She won’t let her guard down and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Maybe give her time, plus you musicians with your mercurial moods. I’m sure you’re also hard to handle sometimes.”

“Is that how it was with dad?” he said. She immediately clammed up like she always did anytime he brought up his dad. He had to imagine it was hard being run out on, which is why he always tried to be there for her “Sorry, mom.”

“No, it’s fine. It was like that a lot with your father. I never knew what kind of mood he was in. What kind of things he was up to and once I found out I wished I hadn’t known. But I know you’re nothing like that. All I can say honey is give her time if you really like her. If she doesn’t come to her senses then maybe you need to move onto greener pastures of someone who can appreciate you.” He didn’t like the sound of that and he knew whenever he touched Keira it set them off in a way he’d never experience with another woman, but he wasn’t going to tell his mom that. Smithy wouldn’t be any help, he’d just tell Eric to bang his way through as many women as he could because the party only lasted so long.

But after only a few months with this band he was over it. Over the craziness and the women. Spending the night with his arms around Keira, breathing her in and feeling her warmth had inspired him more than any number of groupies that paraded through the buses every night of the tour. He just didn’t know how much longer he’d wait, before he gave up on her ever coming to her senses.