Chapter Fourteen
Cynda…
Sweets stared daggers at me as she walked by, but at least she didn’t say anything.
I wondered how the sound check had gone, especially since there was a ton of tension in the air.
Candy didn’t look too happy to see me, but at least the guys smiled.
Joe told me they’d been looking for me, actually Chaos had, but he’d just told them I went for a walk.
Joe and I were in deep now, we knew each other’s secrets and we had a common problem—Rod Dixon.
While I was out, I’d called Michelle and gotten the scoop on her night with Flame.
Holy shit it was TMI. I was having trouble making eye contact with Flame now I knew everything, and according to Michelle, he was hung like a horse.
She said she was even walking funny. I couldn’t believe she’d slept with him.
All the time I’ve known her she’d never had sex on the first date, if you could even call it a date, it was a lot more like a hook up.
She said it was different. I hoped she was right, I didn’t know much about Flame and I didn’t know how to ask Chaos what type of a guy he was.
He just better not hurt her or I’d kick his ass.
I laughed when I said it to Michelle. It was the standard girlfriend saying anytime we started dating a new guy.
I’d bet every woman in the world said it to her BFF at least once.
I also told her about Joe, and the cocksucker Dixon.
I didn’t think it was possible but she was more pissed off than me.
She was going to find a lawyer who could look in to the band’s contract.
Then she’d asked about the sperm donor. Did I want to try to contact him?
Did I? After all of this time, if he hadn’t been paying the monthly checks, he probably didn’t even remember mom.
Just thinking about meeting him freaked me out.
He’d probably think I was after his money.
I didn’t need anything from him, especially not his money.
Mom worked hard and put all the money away we’d gotten from him, and now I had a huge bank account.
I never touched it not even for college.
Instead, I’d taken out student loans rather than use his money. Maybe I needed to rethink it now.
Michelle didn’t wast any time asking for details about me and Chaos either, but there was nothing to tell.
She didn’t believe me but it was the truth, although from the way we reacted toward each other I wondered how long I’d be able to keep saying that.
Did I want to give in and sleep with him?
He was so not the commitment type and I’d be a fling for as long as I was around.
Could I live with that? I wasn’t so sure.
When it was my turn in the bathroom, I fixed my make-up and brushed my hair. I wondered if we’d be able to eat without being swarmed by fans.
Coming out of the bathroom I just missed smacking into Chaos as he walked toward the front of the bus.
“You ready?”
“Yeah, but I was thinking, are you sure you want to eat in public? You’re famous you know, there’ll be fans bugging you wherever you go.”
He thought about it for maybe half a second and shook his head. “We’ll be okay. Terrance will be with us. You should have seen it at the signing. Holy fuck it was packed and we got through that okay.”
“Yeah but you weren’t trying to eat.”
“It shouldn’t be too bad.”
“If you say so.”
“Hey, guys, Cynda’s worried about us being mobbed. What do you think?”
“If they want to mob us let them try, they’ll never get past Terrance. He’s like a fuckin’ mountain,” Fury said and the other guys agreed.
The limo was waiting outside. I shouldn’t have been surprised Candy and Sweets were already inside, but I was. Hopefully we wouldn’t have a scene in public. I didn’t want to be the cause of any bad publicity.
Joe brought us to Jim’s on Fourth and South Streets.
During the drive he told us the proper way to order a cheesesteak—a wiz wit, and it’d come with cheese wiz and fried onions.
He also explained even though Geno’s and Pat’s were the most famous places, their cheesesteaks weren’t as good.
We passed by the historic district and I hoped to get a look at the Liberty Bell but no such luck.
It was my first time out of New York/New Jersey, and I was freakin’ excited.
Maybe this whole two week tour thing wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
Jim’s was packed with locals and we lined up with everyone else.
Our luck held through the line and when we got our food, but as soon as we sat down, it ran out.
I was just taking my first bite of the messy sandwich when a flash went off in my face.
Shit, really? I wasn’t even part of the band.
I couldn’t say a thing since my mouth was full of sliced steak, gooey cheese, fried onions and way too much bread.
I tried to swallow it fast and ended up choking, which drew even more attention my way.
Fighting the urge to run for the car, I was surprised no one else even noticed the flashes going off.
They ignored the cameras and talked to the fans, mostly girls, who came to the table to get stuff signed.
They signed napkins, hands, arms, and Fury even signed one girl’s boobs.
Someone took a picture of him doing it too.
The only person bothered by it all was me.
I guess Michelle was right. I needed to grow a pair.
We got back to the bus with a little over an hour until show time.
I stayed behind while they went to get ready in their “suite” in the arena.
Chaos wanted me to come but I didn’t want to be in their way.
I’d learned at the Garden they had a routine and I wasn’t part of it.
I promised him that I’d let Joe would walk me over in time for the start of the show.
We had backstage passes so we could watch from the wings.
I wanted some time to talk to Joe anyway.
Once they left I changed into my ‘rocker’ clothing, then went looking for Joe. I didn’t have far to go. He was sitting at the table watching the baseball game.
“Thanks for covering for me earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it. Did you find out anything else?”
“Not really. I have Michelle looking for a lawyer to see about their contract, but I’m not sure how Chaos is going to react when I tell him. He might think I’m trying to do something to hurt them.”
“Nah, I don’t believe that, but we don’t have to tell anyone until we have proof and find out if something can be done. If not, then why tell them at all, it’ll just cause more problems.”
“That’s true. I didn’t think of it way.”
“Because you’re thinking with your heart not your head.”
“What do you mean?”
“You found out this morning everything you believed about your father probably isn’t true, right?”
“Yeah.” I was still trying to wrap my brain around it. I didn’t know what to think.
“That’s all. Did you think I meant you and Chaos?”
I could feel the heat in my cheeks. There wasn’t a ‘me and Chaos’, nothing had happened between us except being turned on every time we were close to each other. Well that and I’ve never wanted to have sex as much as I wanted to with him. “There is no me and Chaos.”
“We’ll see. I’ve seen the way that boy looks at you. Sweets knows it too, that’s why she’s so upset.”
“How do you know all of this stuff?”
“From watching. How do you think I got to be so good at finding new acts? I’m always watching. I can’t help it. I did it for so many years. You have to remember I’ve been around them on and off for the last year as well.”
“Yeah I keep forgetting, I thought you were just a driver for hire on this tour.”
“It’s true, that’s all I am. I just try to make sure when they need a driver it’s me. I liked these guys from the first day I met them. They had it together. I’d hate to see them get screwed over by Dixon, it’s happened way too often.”
“I’m sure, it seems like it’d be so easy to do, especially when you’re a new band. It’s been in the news for years how bands had to sue their managers over rights and money stuff.”
Joe nodded. “See what the lawyer says, and next time I’m home I’ll go through my files and see if I have anything to help.”
I hugged him. It surprised him, but I surprised myself more.
I didn’t get comfortable with new people.
But he was different, I felt so comfortable around him, he was the kind of man I’d hoped my father would be, the one I’d dreamed of when I was little.
We hadn’t been on the road one whole day yet and already everything I believed about my life was changing.
God only knew what was going to happen over the next two weeks, and it scared the crap out of me.