Chapter 34
Paul “Rock Giant” Reed
Paul roused to the sensation of the air slapping his cheeks, and a thumping bass competing with the percussive force of the wind.
He was folded into the passenger seat of the Danger Car.
Ash occupied the driver’s seat. Around them lay nothing but empty roads and snow-capped mountain peaks. “Where are we?”
“Heading north towards Stryn, where I’ve a room booked for tonight.”
Stryn. It wasn’t a place he’d heard of, and definitely wasn’t on the band’s itinerary, even as a stopover point. They were booked into an Airbnb in Fl?m for tonight, then a lodge in Domb?s.
“It’s on the banks of Nordfjorden, on the edge of the Briksdalsbreen glacier.”
That was a polite way of Ash telling him he’d booked a room for him and his missus to enjoy a bit of sightseeing getaway away from the rest of them for a night or two, which Paul had now cocked up.
He therefore tactfully held his tongue rather than doing any grumbling about the prospect of sharing a bed.
At least his head didn’t have an axe embedded in it any more.
“On a scale of one to ten, how pissed off at me is Ginny?”
Ash gave him a fleeting glance. “This was her call. She’s concerned about you, mate. We all are. Figured some time away from the bus might help.”
Time away from anyone he might recently have punched is what he meant, and maybe time away from Jodi and the Ghost Boys, too.
That hurt, but maybe it was a good thing.
It wasn’t like he needed to see her and Nash being all couple-y.
And he could definitely live without Nash flaunting his win in Paul’s face.
He just wished he understood what she saw in him.
Her loyalty to the guy didn’t make sense.
If it’d been Lee she was engaged to, then he’d get it.
Hell, even Jez. Balin maybe, at a push, but Nash?
He didn’t love her, and deep down she had to know that, right?
Paul chewed over that fact for a mile or two more as the scenery rolled on past. Green upon green.
Fields and forest. Norway was fucking breathtaking.
He just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to appreciate it.
Still, being here did mean he could avoid the inevitable face to face with reality that kept trying to squeeze its way onto his agenda.
No thankee, he did not need another major downer fucking up his equilibrium.
Know what else he didn’t need occupying space in his skull? The possibility that last night’s shit might have prompted bollockbrain to slide a gold band onto Jodi’s finger alongside the ugly engagement rock.
Did Norway have quickie marriages?
A quick google confirmed not. All praise the Goddess. They required paperwork with a processing time of four to six weeks, so even if butt trumpet had applied the moment they crossed the border, he still wouldn’t have the necessary document to get them as far as I dos.
“You owe both Xane and Ronnie apologies.”
Did he, now?
“You remember what happened, right?”
More or less. Some of the details were a little fuzzy, like who had put him out and how.
“Spook,” Ash informed him after he’d stewed for a bit longer. “You clocked Alle, albeit by mistake, and earned yourself a knuckle sandwich.”
“Fuck, I never meant—”
“He knows. So does she. There are no ill feelings there.”
“Didn’t realise Spook had such a mighty right hook.” Now that he thought about it, he did have a sore spot on his temple that was surface level, and not down to the knots in his grey matter.
“Yeah, well, Spook’s nothing if not full of surprises.”
“I figured Cave Troll, or maybe a Xane and Luthor combo.”
“Not sure throwing punches is really Luthor. He’s way too laidback.” And thus, perfectly countered their vocalist’s more highly strung nature. “Cave Troll scooped you up and moved your gargantuan bod into this here vessel.”
That’d explain the other bruises he could feel. Troels wasn’t exactly known for gentleness.
“Xane has a bust lip that he’s probably not going to forgive you for before the century ends, and even if he does, Dani won’t.”
Yeah, and he was honestly more worried about that lil’ hellcat than he was Xane.
“I know you all think that I’m fucking nuts.”
Ash slid him another sidelong glance, before returning his attention to the windy road.
“I don’t, actually. Leastways, no more than normal.
You’ve always been a bit unhinged. Tying the knot with some lass on a whim’s hardly the wackiest thing you’ve ever done, and a deal less life-threatening than most of them.
To be honest, I kinda anticipated the current situ at least a week ago.
The whole keeping it in your pants and taking your lead from her thing was never going to last. You might be mostly chill, but you’re also fucking possessive over some shit. Mostly pint-sized lasses.”
“I’m not possessive.” And Jodi wasn’t pint-sized.
A smile crooked Ash’s lips. “Not over meaningless shit, no. You’re never gonna have a meltdown over a missing bit of kit, but when it comes to people you care about, that’s another matter.
Then you’re pure grizzly. And before you go denying it, I’ll remind you that I saw at least six seasons of the Paul and Elspeth show.
You still can’t shake the hold she has on you, even now, after all the shit she pulled. ”
“She’s a friend, and she lost—”
“I know. I know all the ins and outs of the story, Paul. Point I’m making is that considering you’re like that with her; it was always a given you were going to be a downright mean fucker regarding your missus.”
“She’s not my missus.” It made his stomach ache to assert that and brought an uprush of acrid bile to his mouth.
Ash chuckled. “Is. Even if she hasn’t realised it yet. And I’ll note you now have the ink to prove it.”
Paul’s gaze settled on the newly inked trinity knot encircling his wrist, as he recalled how intently Jodi watched him as the artist worked.
Then, the feel of her smaller hand in his as he kept her still while she had her own variation on the theme inked onto her virgin skin.
He thought that’d meant something to her.
Clearly, he’d read too bloody much into it.
Symbolism might be woven into the warp and weft of his being, but that evidently wasn’t the case for her.
“Dare I ask what happened?”
He shrugged. “What makes you think something did?”
“Mate, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
He chewed that over. After Spook, Ash was probably the least likely to blab.
“It doesn’t really matter what happened.
She’s his. She made that plain.” Had done so every time he’d presented her with a choice.
Every time, she chose Nash. Every fucking time.
And fuck if that nonsensical fact didn’t make his nose sting.
He wondered what had happened to his shades. They were no longer tucked into his top pocket.
“Tough break.”
“Yeah.” He sure as hell didn’t care for it, but it wasn’t like there was anything he could do about it.
He was wise enough in the ways of the world to get the message when a woman told him to naff off.
Sure, she might not have put it quite so bluntly, and her actions didn’t exactly pair up with what she’d said, but—.
“What did Ronnie say to set you off?”
Paul shook his head. “He was just being Ronnie.”
“You guys have seemed a bit... I dunno, not off exactly, but scratchy with one another since Equinox. He say something about your missus that’s got your hackles up?”
Paul let the missus reference go, seeing as she remained the mistress of his heart, even if she wasn’t on board with them getting all connubial. “I let him blow me, okay. And that stays between you and me, Ash. Don’t you even share it with Jeopardy Mouse, okay?”
Ash took his hand off the wheel to scratch at his jaw and then demand a sweetie from the dashboard tray. Paul obligingly unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth. Ash kept his counsel until he was done with chewing.
“At Equinox?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Paul shrugged. “It was on offer, and I’m not exactly getting balls deep every night like the rest of you.”
“There was a field full of lovely ladies a few hundred metres walk away.”
“Yeah, well at the time that was a few hundred metres further than I fancied wandering.”
“Right,” Ash drawled, clearly sceptical. “So, you did what multitudes of BushBabies dream of doing and popped the Bushie cherry.”
Paul irritably scratched his scalp. “I didn’t pop crap. Him being an innocent is a total myth. His sucking skills are almost on par with Xane’s, and blowjobs, regardless of what porn and the average romance would have us believe aren’t an innate talent you’re fucking born with.”
“Reckon having a big gob probably helps.”
“Well, there’s no denying Ronnie has that.”
They both shared a largely humourless laugh.
“Hey, we’re just about over the halfway mark, fancy a comfort break.”
“I’m not Ginny, you can say you need a piss.”
“Fine, piss break okay with you? And you know Gin would probably call it a piss break, too?”
“Yeah.” At least around Ash she probably would. Ginny was a bit of a ledge. “Sorry I’ve fucked your mini break.”
Ash hit the right indicator. “There’ll be other mini breaks.” See, that was where Ash’s future had a rosy glow his lacked. There were no couple-y mini-breaks awaiting him in his future, just an eternity of loneliness.
“Okay, let’s piss and see if we can find some scran before we head to the ferry.”