Not talking to Miranda all day was excruciating. I knew she needed to rest, and not be distracted, so I let her be. She fell asleep almost immediately upon hitting the bed. Once she finally woke up, which felt like an eternity, I made her some tea, and walked her to the dressing rooms to meet up with Leo and her sister.

“There you are, sleepyhead,” Leo exclaimed as he turned to greet us with a big piece of Carmen’s hair still in his hands.

“Hey, you’re tugging on me!” Carmen yelped.

“Sorry, honey.” He went back to work, making Carmen’s hair bigger than I imagined possible.

“Going with the eighties vibe tonight?” Miranda teased.

“As a matter of fact, I am. I’m channeling my inner Poison tonight,” she laughed. “I want big wild hair. It’s Saturday night. We have a few days off – well, on the road and shit - before the next show, and I’m feeling sassy.”

“Well I, for one, am a fan,” Miranda replied with a smile, taking a sip of her tea.

“Me too. I love it when Carmen lets me go wild,” Leo practically sang as he teased Carmen’s mane. “So, what are we doing with you tonight, Miss Thing?” he asked Miranda.

“Hmmm, I’m thinking a rockabilly theme for me tonight. I’ll even wear a dress,” she replied with a sly grin.

Causing shock, Leo and Carmen’s jaws both dropped, and they looked back at Miranda.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Carmen said.

“Yea, why not?” Miranda replied.

“This is the greatest day everrrrrr!” Leo clapped his hands together. “I have just the thing too. Oh, this is wonderful!” He started humming to himself happily while finishing up Carmen’s hair and makeup.

About an hour later, Miranda pointed to the door. “Okay Ryan, we gotta change, so you’re now banished.”

“It’s also time for you to stop talking, isn’t it?” Carmen said, while playing on her phone, not looking up.

“Fair enough,” I replied, thinking of how I’d like to watch her change into the rock goddess that she was. Leo had done her hair and makeup like a fifties pinup girl, and it was doing things to me. Filthy thoughts raced through my mind while I observed, and once again, it took all my willpower not to kick everyone out and take her as mine on the vanity table.

I bid adieu and meandered in the hallway for the next forty-five minutes or so while the girls finished getting ready. It was quite a process these girls went through, and was interesting to be a part of. I loved seeing Miranda all glam rocked out, but my thoughts drifted to her the night before, in leggings and a sweatshirt, and I decided that I loved that even more. Not wanting to venture too far, I happened to be leaning up against the wall across from the door, when it swung open and my eyes landed on her.

I felt my jaw drop, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. She was standing in front of me, in a deep purple dress with a plunging neckline that accentuated her full breasts, and a flowy short skirt that practically twirled on its own as she moved. If it weren’t for the tattoos covering her arm, it would have looked like she stepped right off a pinup poster. “Wow,” I muttered.

“You like?” she whispered, reminding me she wasn’t talking right now.

Swallowing hard, I nodded my head. “Yeah. I mean, yes. You look amazing,” I replied.

She mouthed the words ‘thank you’, and walked out into the hallway. Carmen followed behind her, the mirror image of a girl straight out of a Poison video, just as she wanted, with big hair, dramatic makeup, and black leather pants to complete the look. They didn’t match eras at all, and yet they were perfect at the same time, completely fitting their personalities.

Moments later, the guys showed up, looking like they usually did, in jeans and t-shirts. Being a guy was definitely much easier than being a chick, that’s for sure. But fucking hell, if Miranda didn’t look good enough to eat. She was literally making my mouth water for a taste of her. It was about thirty minutes to show time by then, so they started to congregate closer to the stage, .As I did before, and planned to do for all the shows, I waited until they went on before finding a good place to watch with the audience.

She was particularly mesmerizing that night. I don’t know if it was the outfit, or the fact that I’d more or less accepted how I felt about her, and was going to tell her later that none of it was a mistake. Completely willing to suffer the consequences I’d thought long and hard about, I simply didn’t care. She did something to me. I’d still do my damn job, and I’d protect her from anything, but I wasn’t going to pretend that I didn’t want her. This charade had already gone on too long, and waiting to talk to her all day left a pit in my stomach that nothing but her touch would fix.

Although I couldn’t completely come clean with her - and I knew that would destroy anything we might have later - I couldn’t bear another day of her not talking to me. I couldn’t stand the thought of not getting to touch her again. I knew that she felt something for me. The way she’d responded to my kiss; she melted into me. Reminiscing about the sparks that flew in that fleeting moment had my rock-hard cock pressing up against my jeans, aching to be let out.

The show went off without a hitch, the crowd was wild for them, and there were no signs of the stalker. No notes delivered that day. Nothing unusual happened at all, which was good news for my report, and great news for her. The whole band exited the stage, and I was waiting in the wings, feeding on their enthusiasm.

“Let’s go out and celebrate!” Carmen exclaimed.

“I’m down,” Mike and Johnny said in unison.

“Sounds good to me,” Miranda agreed. “Let everyone know. We’ll just grab taxis from here and go downtown. We’ll meet the buses back at the hotel later.” I really didn’t want to go out; I had been waiting anxiously to get Miranda alone, but I knew it would have to wait now.

We piled into two cabs, practically sitting on top of each other. As luck would have it – well, my good planning - Miranda was pretty much on my lap as we rode downtown. My cock again took notice of her sexiness, and there was nothing I’d have been able to do to stop it at that point. Carmen and Mike were next to us, smooshed into the back seat of the taxi, making it perfectly acceptable to hold onto Miranda as we flew through the city streets, headed to some bar Carmen heard had great music.

Immediately upon entering, I was back in bodyguard mode as I watched the men in the room stare at Miranda. Jealousy is what I felt, plain and simple, and I was planning to do whatever it took to make it look like she was with me. We managed to grab a VIP table, and the drinks began flowing immediately. I pulled our waitress close and whispered I wanted club soda with a lime in a rocks glass. I wanted it to look like I was drinking, but needed to be on full alert at a place like this, where the girls were definitely targets. I still had my gun on me, and thankfully there was no search when we entered, because my cover definitely would have been blown. I thought about wearing my ankle holster on days we had shows, if we were going to be running all over town to party after them.

The whole band was getting tipsy, enjoying the night, and celebrating what was deemed a great show. Although all I wanted to do was get back to the hotel, it did bring me great pleasure to see Miranda laughing and smiling, and having a great time. She had a few drinks, which I’d not seen her do, and her flirtatious behavior toward me had returned. I’d managed to get the seat next to her in our horseshoe shaped booth, and every now and then, she’d run her hand gently along my leg, her touches sending signals straight to my cock, eliminating any doubt I had that she wanted me just as much. The more impatient I grew, the closer she seemed to get to me, driving me mad. It was no accident, and if I didn’t get her back to the hotel soon, I was going to explode.

Carmen had taken up with a guy who’d been performing on stage when we arrived, and was looking like she wouldn’t be coming back to the hotel alone, and Mike had found himself a pretty blonde at the bar. Johnny was on the other side of me, enjoying a drink and chilling out, much like myself. We’d chatted a bit that night, and it was nice to have another level head in the group.

“Ahh, to be young and stupid again,” he joked, nodding in Mike’s direction.

“For real, man,” I replied.

“So, you don’t drink?” he asked me.

“What do you mean?” I said, taking a sip of my club soda.

“Oh, I know a club soda with lime when I see one. It’s cool man, I’m not much of a boozer myself these days, what with kids and all.” He took a little sip of the beer he’d been nursing since we arrived.

“I’m just kind of observing everything, really,” I replied, smirking that he noticed.

“Yes, I’ve noticed what you’re observing,” Johnny said, raising an eyebrow and nodding in Miranda’s direction.

I tried to laugh it off. “I’m pretty sure she was assigned to me… you know, for the interviews and all.”

“You sure it’s not the other way around?” He asked. I looked over at Miranda; she was chatting away with Travis, who’d showed up out of nowhere and sat on the other side of her.

“Not sure what you mean,” I replied.

“Well, for a writer, you don’t write very much,” he started. “And, your tats. My dad was a Ranger. I don’t know too many Army Rangers who turn into writers for rock magazines.”

Not wanting to delve any further into it, and feeling like his tone held an underlying approval, I simply said, “I can neither confirm nor deny your suspicions. But I do plan to keep an eye on the lady, if that’s what you’re implying.”

Forming a grin, Johnny tapped his beer bottle to my glass and said, “Cheers, my friend. I’d say she’s lucky to have you writing about her.” He took a sip of his beer, and went back to listening to the band on stage.

It was looking like the undercover gig as a writer was a bit more difficult to get away with than I’d thought, but so long as no one speculating was telling the girls anything, it would be fine. We had a full summer to get through, and Mr. Royal - Mark - wasn’t going to be pleased if the girls, particularly Miranda, found me out and refused my protection. Shoving those thoughts to the side, I turned my focus back to Miranda, who was still completely engaged in conversation with Travis.

It was getting late, and Miranda was definitely getting drunk. Thank God the bar was closing, and it was time to go. Carmen indicated she wouldn’t be riding back with us, same as Mark; they’d found their companions for the evening. Miranda leaned over to me, whispering the words I’d waited all night to hear. “Are you ready to head back?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” I replied, grabbing her hand and rising from the table. Johnny had left about an hour prior; he wanted to get home to call his wife. He was a good family man, that’s for sure.

I caught Travis looking at our hands, and then stared at Miranda. “Are you guys leaving?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m tired. It’s time to go,” she replied, not letting go of my hand. Not that she could; I had quite a grip on it.

“Oh, well, I could ride back with you, if that’s okay?” he inquired.

“Of course, Travis, come on. Let’s get a taxi,” .She smiled at him kindly. Something about the way he looked at her was a red flag to me. I knew he had a bit of a crush on her, but he was staring a little harder than I thought was appropriate. Maybe it was my internal claim on her that was speaking, but he gave me a bad vibe I’d need to look into further, for sure.

The three of us grabbed a taxi, and while Miranda sat in the middle on the ride to the hotel, she leaned into me for the duration of the trip. She was definitely under the influence, but not hammered. I’d watched her drink through the night, and she seemed to be the kind of woman that would have a few, and then cut herself off. She didn’t like to lose control; that much was obvious.

Fortunately, it was a short trip to the hotel, not more than fifteen minutes. By the time we arrived, Miranda had taken her shoes off and was carrying them, along with her small purse.

“Can I walk you to your room?” Travis asked her.

“We’re actually right next to each other, so that won’t be necessary, Travis,” I replied for her.

“Oh, well okay then. I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow?”

“You sure will,” Miranda smiled, reaching out to him for a hug. While she embraced him briefly, I felt my temperature rise and my impatience grew as well.

“Alright, let’s go,” I prodded her.

“Okay, okay,” she replied. “Night, Travis,” .She waved as we walked to the elevators, leaving Travis in the lobby, which I thought was strange. If he was going back to his room, he should have ridden the elevators up with us. There was definitely something off about that guy, but I had other things to worry about, like finally talking to Miranda, which I thought would never happen.

She leaned into me on the elevator after I pushed the button, and instinctively I slid my arm around her, pulling her in a bit closer. “Did you have fun tonight?” I asked, my ears ringing from the music in the bar.

“I did. I don’t go out a whole lot, so it was nice. Did you have fun?” She turned her face up to mine, those gray eyes sparkling, a genuine smile forming.

“I did. But mostly because you looked like you were,” I replied, squeezing her lightly as the elevator stopped on our floor.

As I was pulling her out of the elevator by her hand, she resisted a little. “Oh come on, Ryan. What do you care, really?” Her question stopped me in my tracks.

“What do you mean, ‘what do I care’? Were you there last night, Miranda?” I growled at her.

“Yeah, I was there,” she said petulantly. “I was there when you stopped what you started before it even went anywhere.” She pulled her hand away and crossed her arms.

“Are you serious? Is that why you haven’t talked to me all day?” She was mad that I stopped kissing her last night? Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“Honestly, Ryan, I’m not really interested in having this conversation right now. I’m feeling good, I’m over being rejected last night, and I’d like to just be friends.” Her eyes got big while she pursed her lips, awaiting my reply.

My fucking reply was, “Let’s go,” as I grabbed her arm, walking past her room into mine.