Chapter 17
17
brONSON
A nd suddenly, the usual Midwestern tour lull ain’t as lull-y anymore.
All of us go through our highs and dips at different times. Jonah’s dip usually hits about a month into the tour. Knox and Addison are fine until the last leg of it, while Katrina is her bright-eyed, bushy-tailed self at all times, apparently.
Me? I start to feel sluggish once we reach the flyover states. There’s nothing wrong with them, of course. I get giddy just thinking about Kansas City barbecue or Chicago style pizza. There’s just something about the place that makes me feel tired .
All the good food, now that I think about it.
And the women.
Midwestern girls are fun, man.
Hannah. Michelle. Clarissa. Just to name a few repeat groupies I’ve kept in my contact book for these long Midwestern lulls throughout the years.
It wasn’t until Jordan mentioned Hannah last night that I realized I hadn’t even thought about calling one yet.
I have Jordan now.
No one else knows that, though.
So, when I drag my ass onto the bus fifteen minutes late this morning, the others waste no time in giving me shit.
“Ooo-la-la,” Knox says, his arm slumped over Harmony’s shoulder near the back. “Long night in the Windy City there, buddy?”
I say nothing as the others laugh and swoon at my expense.
Even Jordan. “Yeah,” she says from her table, flanked on both sides by August and Chrissy. “How’s Hannah?”
“Hannah!” Katrina snaps her fingers. “That’s her name!”
“Who’s Hannah?” Harvey asks by her side.
“One of Bronson’s many conquests scattered across the country,” she explains.
“More like the world,” Knox quips.
“She keep you tied up this morning?” Jonah jokes.
I stay quiet, merely miming a key against my mouth before plopping onto a seat near the back next to Addison who... oddly, hasn’t cracked a joke yet.
She glances at me over the top of her tablet.
Not one damn word, I tell her with a look.
“All right, everybody!” Jordan says as she stands up. “Mac, take us to Detroit.”
“You got it, boss,” he says from the driver’s seat.
“Wait, wait,” Knox says. “You’re not gonna scold him for being late?”
“No,” Jordan says. “Why would I?”
“Wha—” Knox stutters, his head swiveling around. “But— I— huh?”
Jordan lowers her clipboard, her hands folded over it. “What’s wrong, Knox?”
“We get to the bus on time,” he says. “That’s the rule! Do we not have rules anymore?”
“Yes. We have rules, Knox. I also always ask you to be here an hour earlier than you actually need to be, so no harm done.”
Knox gasps while the others chuckle. Except Addison, whose gaze is still burning a hole in my cheek.
“I feel betrayed,” Knox says. “Outraged!”
“Drink some coffee, you’ll feel better.” Jordan looks at her clipboard again. “Anyway, as I was about to say, we’re heading to Michigan today...”
We all acknowledge it with a grunt or a clap.
“Should be at the hotel by noon,” Jordan continues. “You’re free to relax for a few hours and then meet in the ballroom at four for practice.”
“Four sharp?” Knox asks. “Or are we cool to just stroll in around four fifteen?”
Jordan doesn’t answer. She merely glares at him over the rims of her glasses, her eyes sharp as nails.
I smile. I love it when she does that.
Knox sinks into his seat. “I’ll be there at four,” he squeaks.
“Excellent,” Jordan says, returning to her to-do list.
The bus buzzes with light conversation. It’s a short drive to Detroit, so not much reason to sleep. Still, I tilt back and prop my feet up, resting my eyes while discreetly keeping an ear on the others.
Jonah makes some quiet phone calls. His mother, Fiona. His brother, Ira. And Marla, always.
Knox and Harmony whisper to each other, passing their notebooks back and forth, sharing lyrics and pitching ideas. Honestly, seems nice to have a muse. Won’t fault ‘em.
Harvey and Katrina gush over some new romance she’s reading, which he’s apparently read as well. Jordan chimes in now and then, her voice alone yanking my attention across the bus.
“Oh, god! And that scene,” Jordan says.
“Which scene?” Katrina asks.
“The scene. The one where he throws her over his shoulder and carries her across the house to the bedroom.”
“Oh, yes! So good.”
“I must have re-read that one a hundred times.”
“I wish I could do that,” Harvey says. “But I’m pretty sure Addison would punch me if I tried.”
They laugh. Sad but true.
Speaking of Addison...
That burning spot on my cheek is still tingly.
I open my eyes and look at her. We instantly make eye contact.
“You weren’t with Hannah last night,” she says, her voice low enough for only me to hear.
I close my eyes again. “Yes, I was.”
“No, you weren’t. I know you weren’t because I watched you go up in the elevator and you never came back down again.”
“You’re stalking me now?”
“Where were you really?” she teases.
“I was in my room. With Hannah.”
“No, you weren’t.”
“Addison.”
She looks at Jordan. “Honestly, whatever you’re doing at night that makes her smile like that all day, keep it up. I’d like to sleep in sometimes, too.”
“I wasn’t with her last night, either.”
Addison frowns. “You weren’t?”
“Nope.”
“Then where were you?”
“I went to bed.”
“Early?!”
Her voice rises, so I open one eye and glare at her in warning.
“Sorry,” she says, lowering her voice. Luckily, no one seems to notice her outburst. “I can’t even think of a time where you went right to bed after a show.”
“Well, I did last night.”
She goes quiet and I tilt my head back again, hoping that’s the end.
“She thinks you were with Hannah,” Addison says after a minute.
“What?”
“Jordan,” she whispers. “She thinks you were with Hannah?”
I open my eyes once again and nod. “Yeah, she does.”
Addison studies my expression. “You want her to think that?”
”I don’t care what she thinks.”
She snorts, not buying that one bit.
“Addison, stay out of it.” I look her in the eye. “Please.”
She presses her lips together and shifts back in her seat. “All right,” she says.
Jordan’s laughter draws my eyes forward again. I can’t help but stare, even with Addison watching me so closely.
Jordan’s arm lurches across the table, her elbow knocking against her planner. “Oops!” she says... as her pen clatters to the floor of the bus.
She bends down to retrieve it, looking up at me with blink-and-you’ll-miss it swiftness.
Meanwhile, the others have no idea what just happened.
I keep a stone faced expression while my chest jitters with anticipation.
Good system.