Epilogue
Six Months Later
Airports had never been my favorite place, and I actually missed the familiarity of the tour bus—my comfy bunk, the camaraderie of my fellow dancers, even the gentle sway of the bus in movement. And that was saying something, since I often got motion sickness.
I just really hated airports.
All sense of personal space went out the window when people got impatient. I sighed, heavily, as another large group of people cut in front of me as I headed for the exit. Since I’d packed light—only my trusty backpack for this short trip—I got to skip the baggage claim chaos, at least.
But the ride share queue was a whole ‘nother chaos factor.
I was ready to pull my hair out by the time I found my driver.
I hadn’t been in the backseat for more than a minute when my phone rang. I grinned when I saw the name on the screen. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tease him a little.
“Hey Ben.”
“How long until I get to see you again?” He sounded frustrated and sad.
I tried to hide my grin when I spoke. “Two weeks. When we’ll both be in Vegas for a whole month. We’ll have four weeks together.”
“Say it one more time.” He sighed.
“We’ll be together in just a few weeks and get to spend a whole month together.”
“That’s the stuff. The only thing that’d make it better is if I got to see your face while you said it.”
My whole body seized up. My surprise would be spoiled if he caught a glimpse of my current surroundings. “Uh…”
A video request buzzed on my phone.
And I panicked. I needed an excuse. Something? Anything! But I came up blank. What could I say that wouldn’t sound suspicious? Gah.
I winced and hit accept, tilting the phone down so the back window wasn’t visible.
“Hey, baby.” Ben’s gorgeous face filled my phone’s screen. He looked so amazingly hot. And exhausted. “Wait, are you in a car?”
“I, uh, yeah. I had a bit of time off, so I decided to go sightseeing.”
“And no one went with you? That’s not exactly safe, beautiful. You’re in a strange city. And honestly, I don’t trust the guys in Boston to keep their hands off of what’s mine.”
His words were so chauvinistic. It should’ve made me mad. But it was Ben. I knew what he meant.
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be fine. I have my pepper spray—” I pulled it out of my bag and waved it in front of the camera. “And my driver, Johnathan, seems to be a standup guy. He’s said all of five words to me so far.”
Johnathan’s eyes met mine in his rearview mirror before turning back to the road. He didn’t even grunt in reply.
“I’ll be fine. How’s Bruno doing?”
“He misses you.” Ben panned down to where Bruno was sprawled out over the bottom half of his bed.
“Really? Because he looks so comfortable to me.” Even my voice wasn’t enough to rouse Bruno into waking up.
Ben turned the camera back to his pretty face. “He’s like you—he takes his half of the bed out of the middle.”
I grinned. “Two weeks, Ben. Two weeks.”
He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “Two weeks.”
The car slowed and turned toward the venue.
“When’s your soundcheck again?”
He tipped his head. “I got an hour or so. Why? You want to have a little phone sex?”
“Ben!” I screeched. “I’m in a car. With a driver. Not happening.”
“Thank you,” Johnathan said from the front seat.
“Oh my god.” I closed my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I try.”
“I know.” But still, I laughed. “We’re almost to our destination, so I should go.”
“Call me later? After your show?”
“Always.”
“Love you, baby.”
“I know.” I gave him a smug little look then ended the call. His aggravated expression froze on my screen for a second before the screen went dark.
I laughed to myself.
“Where do you want me to let you out?” Johnathan asked.
I directed him around to the side of the venue. Fencing and security guards blocked part of the parking lot from the general public.
“Thanks again. So sorry about that weird part of the call.” I gathered my things from the backseat.
Johnathan pulled the car to a stop then half turned in his seat. “Hey, it’s not every day I get to hear Rueben Bello tease his girlfriend. Nice to know he’s not the asshole he seems to be in his songs.”
I winced again. I still wasn’t used to getting recognized. It was such a weird thing. “Right. Ben is awesome. Um, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t sell the story. I could get you some tickets to the show tonight if you’d like.”
“That’s all right.” Johnathan waved a hand. “I’m not into his music. And I wouldn’t know how to sell a story even if I wanted to. Your secret is safe with me.”
I bit back the urge to agree with him about Ben’s music. I never really knew what would end up in a tabloid. It was impossible to know who to trust.
But I’d have to believe Johnathan, since apparently I couldn’t bribe him.
I waved, thanked him for the quiet-ish ride, and stepped out of his car.
Hoisting my backpack on, I brushed my braid off my shoulder.
I’d taken extra care today to braid the bandana that Ben had given me at the Music Festival through my hair.
It’d kinda become our talisman, a symbol of our relationship.
Every time I looked at it, I thought of him and that crazy weekend, how much he loved me, and how grateful I was that he’d fought for me.
As I walked across the parking lot, I pulled my phone out and sent Roscoe a text.
Me : I’m at the venue. Can you get me in?
And three minutes later, Roscoe met me at the gate.
“How have you been, kiddo? Long time, no see.”
I sighed. “I know. Busy. Monica’s schedule doesn’t cross with Ben’s very much.”
“Yeah, B’s been a little bit cranky here lately. I think it’s safe to say everyone’s going to love you this weekend.”
I smiled. “Good to know.”
We stopped outside his bus, and Roscoe pounded on the door.
And then we waited.
And waited.
Roscoe knocked again.
“Fuck! I’m coming. Hold your goddamn horses!” Ben yelled back.
Roscoe lifted his eyebrows at me then took three huge steps back.
He was still stepping away when the bus door opened and Ben suddenly was there, scowling and squinting against the sun. “What? I still have—holy shit!”
Then his arms came around me and held me so tight I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. He pulled back slightly and kissed me. His lips so soft. His tongue so very naughty. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Boston!”
I lifted a shoulder. “The venue’s stage didn’t pass inspection, so both concerts were canceled. I flew out as soon as we got the news.”
The next thing I knew, Ben was pulling me up the bus’s steps and inside. The door glided shut behind us, but Ben kept tugging me down the familiar hall, past the bunks, and into the bedroom beyond. The very same bedroom I’d been squicked out to play around in that first day. Little did I know.
Now it was almost as familiar as my own bunk on Monica’s bus. Okay, not that familiar, but still. I’d been here enough times that I knew the layout.
Snapping my fingers, I tried to wake up my lazy dog. “Bruno. Bruno! Hey boy. How’ve you been?”
Bruno lifted his head and thumped his tail against the bed when he saw me. I bent down and gave him some love, petting his head and shoulders.
“All right, cutie. You gotta go. Ben and I need the room to ourselves.” It took some urging, but eventually we got Bruno off the bed and out the door into the lounge area where he had his own dog bed set up.
Ben closed the door behind Bruno, then wagged his eyebrows at me.
But I lifted a hand. “Can I have three minutes to wash the airport off of me first?”
“How about we both wash up?” Ben tipped his head at the bathroom door. “Together?”
“Race you!”
The End