Chapter Nine
Kit
After my run, I went to the beach, kicked off my shoes and socks, and peeled off the band that held my phone on my arm before running into the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean. The water was about seventy degrees Fahrenheit, and it felt damn good after the run I’d just taken.
I swam out a bit before swimming back to go to my room to shower. As I was walking through the lobby after drying off a bit, I saw River and his band members heading into the hotel’s buffet restaurant.
They all appeared to be getting along, which was good, especially since they had a show that night. They needed to be in top form. One more review like the one from LA and Nate would cancel the rest of the tour. I didn’t want to see that happen to them.
As I was about to walk over to say hello, Marshall strolled up to the entrance, pecking River on the shoulder.
There was a short exchange, and then the group was led into the restaurant and seated at a table near the buffet.
I was planning to keep my eye on Marshall Kensington.
There was something about the guy I didn’t trust.
After my shower, I went down to the coffee shop in the lobby, ordered a double espresso and a muffin, and sat at an outdoor table that gave me the perfect view of the restaurant where the band and Marshall were having breakfast. I pulled out my phone and sent Nate a text.
Show is tonight. I have a feeling the band’s going to be spectacular. You want me to video some of it for you? Wanna check the return on your investment?
A server brought my order, and I watched Marshall interacting with the various band members. It was the first time in my life that I wished I could read lips.
“Hey, want some company?” I turned to my right to see Clancy.
“Sure. How are ya? That reminds me. I gave River the keys to the van since we didn’t go out to the Cultural Center as planned. I’ll bring the truck out to the Center at one for the guys to unload. What did you do last night?” I asked Clancy.
He was in his late forties or early fifties. He didn’t wear a wedding ring, though that wasn’t really an indicator of someone’s relationship status. I hadn’t spent much time with him, but he seemed like a decent guy.
“I stayed in my room and finished up a book I’ve been reading. With driving, well, you know how it is. I’ve been looking forward to the downtime. How about you?” Clancy stood and waved to someone. A server came over and brought him a cup of coffee and a pastry.
“I went to the beach bar and drank too much.” No need to tell Clancy everything about what had happened the previous night. The kiss hadn’t left my thoughts since I’d woken up in bed with River. I still wasn’t sure what I thought about it.
Clancy laughed. “I remember those days. I’m too old to do that shit anymore. If you ever need company, I happen to be a fan of club soda with lime. I had the balcony door open and heard a decent band down there last night. I like good music.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks. This is going to be a long tour, and with the crazy shit that can happen, it would be nice to know someone would call my pop if I ended up dead or in jail.”
Clancy laughed. “I hear ya. I have a few friends back home who might care, but my dad’s passed. I grew up in Iowa on a crop farm. Wheat, corn, and soybeans. My mom lives in an assisted living facility in Des Moines. Happy Acres, in case you need to notify her of my backslide into my criminal past.”
“Criminal past? You were a criminal in a former life?”
He flinched slightly, so I knew I’d hit a nerve, but I chose to ignore it and plow ahead. “I’m a Cali boy, born and bred. Pop lives in El Segundo, and I’m not far away at the beach. You live in the area or back in Iowa?”
“I live in Iowa, so I can be around if Mom needs anything. I drive a school bus on an as-needed basis, and when Kensington calls, I get my old ass on a plane and here I am,” Clancy explained.
“Wow. How fun is it driving a school bus?” We both laughed.
“It’s as much hell as you could imagine, but exponentially worse. That’s why the shit these clowns do doesn’t bother me at all. I just zone out until I smell smoke.”
I laughed hard at that one. “Yeah, that’s probably a good approach.”
“So, you leave a pissed-off girlfriend back home?”
“Naw. I’m sort of a loser when it comes to dating. Before I took this job, I was a long-haul truck driver. Being gone three weeks out of four doesn’t really provide a lot of time for dating, so I gave up on it. It’s a damn hassle anyway.”
We both laughed. “How do you get laid?”
I held up my right hand. “What’s the old joke—Rosie Palmer? I get along better with my right hand than I ever have with a woman I’ve tried to date more than once. Lately, though, there might be someone. I’m just not sure how I feel about it.”
“Well, take your time and see what happens. If it’s right, it’ll work out. That’s what my mom tells me anyway. And don’t get jealous—I’ve dated Rosie several times myself. I did start seeing a female soldier before we started this tour.”
“Wow, that’s kind of shit timing, isn’t it? Do you think it could be something important?” I asked.
“Actually, I signed up for this tour because of Penny. She was being deployed to Belgium for a joint task force. She’ll be gone for six months.
She’s flying to Phoenix to see me before she leaves.
She wants to talk about us. I’m not looking forward to the talk, but I am looking forward to seeing her… and getting laid.”
“Yeah, I bet.” I glanced at my phone to see I had a couple of hours to kill, but I really didn’t want to spend them with Clancy. “I better get going. I’ll see you later.”
I stood and collected my trash as Clancy pulled out a book and ordered another cup of coffee when the server came by to check on us. I glanced into the restaurant. River and the band were gone, so I sent a text to him.
You busy?
In a snap, River responded.
I’m sitting on a bench on the boat dock, writing nothing in particular. The others are sleeping—lame assholes.
I sent back a laughing emoji and headed toward the boat dock. There were several sets of benches, but at the far end of the dock was a guy with an acoustic guitar sitting cross-legged on an old gray bench.
My smile couldn’t be contained as I jogged down the dock, dodging fishermen and tourists along the way. My heart beat like a rabbit’s, but I was more than happy to see River. I wasn’t planning to give it too much thought. Like Clancy said, taking time to figure it out seemed the best idea.
A few people were standing nearby, watching River as he strummed a couple of chords before writing something in the notebook next to him. It was as if he were oblivious to the people listening to him.
As I started to approach him, River began playing a pretty great song I’d never heard.
I’m standing on the outside,
always looking in.
You’re standing on the inside,
holding on to him.
He treated you so bad,
I held you while you cried.
You told me I was perfect,
And now I know you lied.
Why did you leave me behind?
How could I have been so wrong?
I thought you were the one for me,
But you had to string me along!
You promised me forever,
And I took you at your word.
How could I have imagined,
You’d fly off just like a bird?
His voice was beautiful. The night in LA when I sat through their dreadful, incoherent concert, River hardly sang a note. He and the rest of the band were so out of it that they barely got out a song anyone recognized. Now, hearing him sing alone was truly beautiful.
He stopped singing and opened his eyes, jumping a little bit when the bystanders began clapping. I joined them, completely blown away by what I’d just heard.
River glanced around, and when he spotted me, he grinned. He put his guitar in the case beside the bench and closed the lid, so I walked over and sat down. “That was great, River. Is that going to be on the upcoming album?”
Heat rose up his neck and cheeks. “I don’t know. I just felt like trying to get something on paper. The muse comes and goes. How’s your day going?”
“It’s been unusual. I won’t make the mistake of drinking seven beers on an empty stomach again, but after I went for a run and then a swim, I felt good enough to eat. I’m doing okay. How about you?”
I glanced down at his bare feet. “Where are your shoes?” He started to get up, but I wrapped my hand around his wrist and pulled him back down.
“They blew off the dock. I’ll be fine. I’ll just get another pair at the gift shop.” He stood and pulled his guitar case on like a backpack, but as I looked at the uneven wooden dock leading back to the resort, all I saw was the possibility of splinters.
I stepped in front of him and bent my knees a little. “Hop on. No way am I letting the star of the show get an ouchy on his foot. You can’t prance your sexy ass around the stage if you’re limping.”
I smacked the back of his knees with my hands, so he gave up fighting it and jumped up.
I balanced him and the guitar and made my way down the dock to the sand.
Instead of putting him down, I carried him into the lobby and over to the elevator, pressing the up button.
“Duck,” I insisted as we got on, and I pressed the button for the penthouse.
I could feel his hard dick against my back, and I wasn’t sure what to think.
However, my dick got hard as if in solidarity with his.
The inside of the elevator was gold-toned with a reflective surface. It was easy to see the smile on both of our faces as the car climbed to the twenty-third floor. When the doors slid open on the top floor, I said, “Duck,” and hunched down a bit, taking us out of the car.
I let him off, and when he stepped in front of me, my gaze landed on those gorgeous blue eyes that were even with mine. “I like the song.” The urge to take his face into my hands and kiss him again was hard to fight.
“You think my ass is sexy?”
I leaned forward and smacked said sexy ass. “Yep. I’ll see you at the venue. Break a leg—well, not really. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to say to people in show business?”
River laughed. “That works. I’ll see you there.” The temptation to kiss him was nearly overwhelming, so I stepped back.
“Uh, good. See ya later.”
Instead of heading back to the elevator, I went to the stairwell and ran down to my floor, using the keycard to access it. I went into my room, seeing that the housekeeper had kept her promise not to come back.
The bed wasn’t made, so I did the creepiest thing I’d ever done.
I walked over to the side of the bed where he’d slept and sniffed the pillow.
It smelled faintly of his body wash and him.
Never in my life had I been so moved by anyone’s perfume, body lotion, shampoo, or natural scent. My mind went blank.