Chapter 20
Dmitri
The bus is bigger than I’d expected. It's a golden-tan monstrosity that looks like it has all the bells and whistles, and Dante stands beside it with his chin tinted in shades of green and yellow from Eric’s fist.
He notices me inspecting the bruise and rolls his eyes as he looks back at his clipboard. “Your boy got me good.”
I choke out a surprised cough. “He’s not my…” I trail off, unsure of how to finish that sentence. Eric and I agreed to be exclusive, but we haven’t defined our status. There are no labels.
Hell, he isn’t even sure of his sexuality at this point, and he certainly isn't out.
“Yeah, okay,” Dante mutters, dismissing me entirely with a shake of his head. “Is your equipment loaded?”
He glances up at me from the checklist as I nod, and he seems satisfied with my answer. Theo, thankfully, comes bounding over and steals the attention away from me and Eric. Dante's shoulders tense, subtle enough that no one else probably notices it, but I’ve always paid attention to body language.
“Yo, Sticks!” Theo says, bouncing on his toes with nervous energy. “Hey, I’m really sorry about abandoning you at the bar. If I’d realized how drunk you were, I wouldn’t have left.”
My smile softens as I watch him fidget, hands twisting together. “It’s already in the past, Theo. I’m not mad.”
Relief lights up his face, his usual grin snapping back into place. “Have you checked out the bus yet? Dante scored us an upgrade, so it’s bigger than we were expecting.”
A flash of golden hair catches my eye. Eric stands near the rear of the bus, sorting equipment. His gaze lands on mine, then flicks to Theo, and jealousy flashes across his face before he schools it.
“Nope,” I answer Theo, glancing back at him. “Haven’t had the chance yet.”
“Well, c’mon, let’s go.” Theo grabs my wrist and tugs me along.
I follow, stealing another look at Eric. His jaw is tight, but when our eyes meet again, I tilt my head and mouth, “Come here. Please?”
His jealousy melts into amusement before he jogs over with a smirk and falls in line behind me. “Hey, are we touring the bus? I haven’t been up here yet.”
Theo releases my arm, turning to flash Eric a nervous smile like he’s half-expecting a punch. I smirk at Eric, knowing we’re thinking the same thing. He reaches over and gives my hand a quick, secret squeeze that shouldn't feel so intimate.
We climb inside, and I glance around with a raised brow.
Two long, plush leather couches face each other across a narrow aisle, with a flat-screen TV mounted high on the wall for movie nights or game streams. Opposite, there's a compact kitchenette with a small island countertop and bolted-down stools, plus a booth-style dining table tucked against the other wall.
Cabinets line the upper spaces, already half-stocked.
“Damn, Dante did good,” I say with a low whistle.
“Driver cabin,” Theo says, pulling open a door to expose the two cushy leather bucket seats surrounded by enough lights and switches to rival an airplane.
“Do we hire a driver?” I ask.
“I have my CDL, asshole,” Dante yells from outside the bus.
“Okay, then,” I mumble.
Eric flashes me a grin. “You should’ve known he’s too much of a control freak to let anyone else drive,” he says, and his smile spreads further when Dante grumbles something else under his breath.
Theo waves us on, and as we pass back through the main space, Tai climbs aboard to join us. Despite my best efforts, a sharp twinge of jealousy stabs me as I give him a polite nod.
I’m not over the anger from seeing him with Eric. The memory of those long, elegant fingers sliding over Eric’s thicker, stronger ones burns fresh in my memory. The casual intimacy of it still stings.
Eric titters beside me, and when I glance at him, he nods toward Tai with a knowing, shit-eating grin. Bastard. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and the smug spark in his eyes only makes the jealousy twist harder.
“Bathroom is here,” Theo says, opening another door and stepping through. “It’s the only shower, but we lucked out and got a second bathroom in the sleeping area.”
“You guys only had a single toilet last time?” I ask.
“Yeah, it was a fucking disaster,” Eric says. “Started carrying plastic bottles around so I could take a piss without waiting for one of these drama queens to fix their hair.”
Theo turns and opens the door to the sleeping cabin, and I can’t resist leaning into Eric’s ear. “Need a pretty big bottle for that sledgehammer you’re packing,” I whisper, low enough that only he can hear.
A satisfied smirk crosses his face as he twists to meet my eyes, heat flaring in his gaze. Arousal ripples through me like a live wire, and I groan under my breath as his expression turns knowing. I shift my hips, trying to hide the sudden tightness in my shorts, but the damage is done.
“Got a handle on that situation?” he asks, lips twitching with barely-contained amusement.
This is going to be a long six weeks.
“Beds are in here,” Theo calls over his shoulder, completely oblivious to the heat storm raging just a few feet behind him. “Six total, so no one has to sleep on the couch this time.”
I glance down the row of narrow twin-sized bunks with privacy curtains that rustle faintly in the AC. They're long enough I won't have to curl into a ball.
Thank fuck for small mercies.
“Has anyone claimed spots yet?” Eric asks, pushing the curtain back on the first bottom bunk with a quick whoosh, and I toss my bag onto the mattress to claim it.
“Don’t think so,” Theo replies, turning to face us, his eyes flickering down my frame then to the spot above mine. “I'll take a top bunk since I’m the smallest.”
Eric moves faster. “Damn straight,” he says with a grin, shoving his stuff onto the mattress before Theo has the chance.
“Hold on,” I say, chuckling as I lean against the bunk frame. “Are you implying that you, Eric Woodard, are small?” My eyes rake deliberately over his broad chest and thick arms.
His smile stretches wider. “Sound carries down, and I’m not about to get stuck underneath one of these motherfuckers that tosses and turns all night.”
“I don’t think that’s scientifically accurate,” I mutter, but Eric just shrugs, unapologetic.
Theo’s shoulders sag a little as he pulls back the curtain on the next top bunk and slides his suitcase up, the zipper clinking against the metal frame.
Tai bursts in from behind us in his typical dramatic fashion. “Back bunk for me,” he claims as he dumps his stuff on the last bottom bed.
“Afraid you’ll keep us up with your snoring?” Eric asks.
Tai’s grin turns catty as he shakes his head. “There are things in life you shouldn’t know about your best friend, and something tells me I'll learn too many of those things if I’m any closer.”
Eric chokes on a cough as Theo glances between us, but Tai is unbothered as he straightens out his stuff. Only the bed above him and the one underneath Theo remain for Dante to choose between, and I suspect I know which one he’ll pick.
Theo shows us the half bath in the back of the bus, but at this point, we’re sardines crammed into this tight space. I backtrack to the living area where there’s more room.
“Alright, assholes, come here,” Dante yells from outside, then waits until we're lined up in front of him to continue. “Everyone should make sure their equipment is accounted for. We’re scheduled to hit the road in an hour, and it’s a four-hour drive.
That gives us three hours to park the bus, unload, and set up for our first show tonight in Charleston. ”
He lowers his sunglasses and stares at each of us one by one.
“We do not have time to forget things. Double check your shit, then ask someone else to triple check it. Since my stuff is already signed off on, I’m headed to the store to stock the kitchen.
If you have any special requests… fuck off.
” With that, he turns and climbs into his car.
“He loves this, doesn’t he?” I ask as he gets smaller in the distance.
“What, being an asshole?” Eric deadpans, and the four of us burst out laughing.
Precisely sixty minutes later, we roll out of the parking lot. Excitement churns under my skin, and every bump in the road sends a fresh jolt through me. Scenery blurs past the windows—trees, signs, highway lines melting together—and I can’t sit still.
Falling Absent may not be national yet, but they’ve built real heat in the past couple of years. My old bands never had this kind of exposure, and the nerves and expectations hit on a completely different scale.
My legs won’t stop moving. I pace the narrow aisle, shoes thumping softly on the carpet and hands flexing at my sides.
Tai’s out cold on the couch, cap pulled over his eyes and not a care in the world.
Theo sits opposite with a book open in his lap, though he frequently stops reading to chatter about random topics before falling back into the pages.
Eric’s at the dining table, scrolling his phone, but his eyes keep flicking up to track me.
Finally, he sighs heavily. “You’re making me nervous, Dmitri.”
“Sorry,” I mutter, but my feet don’t slow. “Too much energy.”
I make another loop past him, but he grabs my arm. “Sit,” he says, tugging me toward the booth.
I slide in across from him, but as soon as I’m seated, my legs bounce underneath me. He rolls his eyes then glances over his shoulder before leaning closer.
“Looks like someone needs to release some stress,” he mutters so only I hear him.
“Fuck, Eric,” I groan loudly, forgetting to control my volume.
His cheeks flush as Theo’s head whips in our direction, and I drop my head into my palms as I laugh under my breath. Eric's foot slides against mine under the table, and I part my hands to glance up at him, grinning widely.
Yep, this will be a very long six weeks.
The rest of the drive is uneventful and peacefully quiet.
Eric distracts me with a game of cards, and our low conversation is broken only by the occasional soft snores from Theo and Tai on the couch.
The hum of the engine and the gentle sway of the bus lulls everything into a calm rhythm, and we make excellent time.
As we approach our destination, Dante’s voice crackles through the intercom to say we’re ahead of schedule and parking soon.
“Bet he loves doing that, doesn’t he?” I ask as Eric shuffles the deck, having just beaten me at rummy for the third round. He has an obvious tell. Whenever he has a good hand, he tugs on his bottom lip, but it’s too endearing for me to exploit.
“Oh yeah, power trip central,” he agrees as he examines his hand. His fingers move to his lip and pinch.
Another winning hand, then.
Prepared to lose again, I hide my smile behind my cards.
Dante parks the bus and joins us, announcing there’s a little over an hour before we prep for the show. Tai leaps off the couch, stretching like a cat and looking instantly wide awake.
“I’ll make dinner,” he offers, making me raise my eyebrows. I’d assumed five guys on the road would live on burgers and pizza.
“Tai likes to cook,” Eric explains as we wander back to the sleeping cabin to stash our stuff in our bunks. “He does it more often than the rest of us, although Theo jumps in the kitchen sometimes.”
“He won’t poison me, will he?” I ask.
Eric raises an eyebrow, glancing over his shoulder to Tai digging through the refrigerator. “Who, Tai?”
I snort. “Well, I know Theo won’t.”
Jealousy flares in his eyes as his head whips back to mine. “What makes you think Tai would? Think he’s trying to get rid of you so he can have me to himself?”
I corner Eric against the bunks with a low growl. We’re barely hidden behind the half-open pocket door, and he glances at the opening before turning back to me with his pupils blown wide.
“What are you looking at, Peaches?” I murmur, leaning in until my lips are by his ear. “Afraid someone’s gonna see?”
“Peaches?” His voice turns breathy as he twists until we’re face to face.
“That’s right,” I whisper as I nuzzle my nose against his. “Your cock flushes such a pretty shade of peach when you're hard.”
“Shit,” he grunts, shooting another glance toward the living room before catching my lips in a brief, blazing kiss.
“Do you want me to back up?” I whisper, brushing his lips again. “If that’s what you want, I will. I'll keep my hands off you. But the second Tai gets too close to you, all these urges are going to come right back, and I can’t help the way I look at you.”
“And how do you look at me?” he asks.
I let out a contented hum as his cock twitches against my thigh. “Like I’m so intimately familiar with your body that I could count the number of ridges that surround that sweet, tight asshole.”
“Dmitri!” he whisper-shrieks, slapping his hand over my mouth.
“And like I can’t wait to taste you again,” I continue, the words muffled by his palm.
His eyes are full of fire as he releases me, and his hand drifts around my head to weave through my hair. “I want that, too,” he admits in a whisper as he tugs me into another kiss.
“God, I crave you,” I murmur. “How am I supposed to survive not having you when you're right here?”
“Food in ten!” Tai shouts from the kitchen.
Eric pulls back from me, licking his lips as his head thuds against the wall.
“C’mon,” I say, keeping my tone light as I separate myself from him. My eyes drop to his erection pressing against his shorts, and I toss him a wink. “Tuck that away and let’s eat.”