Chapter 11
11
I am practically skipping my way through the arena to deliver a new hat to Jack. Since Declan and Grayson don’t perform in any headwear, it is apparently up to Jack to showcase all the options for sale at the merch booths, one show at a time.
Unlike my first night, I am not dreading visiting him before the show. Butterflies fill my stomach as I get closer to the guys’ green room, and it isn’t because I’m that much closer to my favorite snack.
Jack and I had a moment yesterday when we chatted on the bus. He may come off as playful, but he validated my feelings while challenging my beliefs. And most importantly, didn’t tell me to suck it up and make a decision. As much as I didn’t enjoy his sentiments in the moment, I can see the truth in his words upon reflection. Also, upon reflection, I think the heat in his eyes might have been for me. That combined with the maybe almost kiss we had in Little Rock has a seed of hope sprouting in my chest.
Thinking that makes me want to smack myself. I’m not better than the girls in the crowd convinced that if they can make eye contact with him, he’ll fall in love with them. But maybe . . . there is something there?
Not that I want there to be anything there because I absolutely do not. There is no future for us, but tell that to the sixteen-year-old inside me. She’s already been crushed once. What’s the harm in giving her a little hope? And if I have to flirt with a sexy country music star, that is a cross I will bear. It’s not as if Jack would ever want anything serious, but maybe I could be down for some fun. Smoothing out the merch tee I style over a shirtdress, I knock on the dressing room door.
“Come in!” a muffled voice yells from the other side.
I come to a halt when I walk in. I knew the guys were sharing a room on this stop, but I didn’t expect it to be packed. Declan is in the corner arguing with Lainey over what appears to be a pair of ripped jeans, while Grayson sits closest to me scrolling on his phone.
“Hey, Ellie Bellie,” he greets.
“Hi.”
Scanning the room, I spot Jack on the opposite side of the room, getting his hair zhuzhed by the makeup artist.
“Do you want a comb to brush your mustache?” she asks, running her fingers through his collar length locks.
“Nah, I like it unruly. Keep people guessing if it was mussed by pulling on my shirt or a pair of tan thighs.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes at the line while she giggles like a schoolgirl. She doesn’t even fake blush to match her faux innocence act.
“Why can’t it be both?” she coyly replies.
“Naughty girl,” he chides playfully.
Watching them banter back and forth, something tightens in my chest. Something that feels all too familiar when it comes to Jack Ryder.
“Is that the hat?” Lainey yells across the room, causing everyone’s attention to come to me.
“Y-yeah,” I stammer out.
“Give it here so I can stop watching Julie fawn over Jack’s hair.”
“He’s got good flow,” the woman in question admits unashamedly checking Jack out. He winks at her in response.
Releasing the hat to Lainey, I cringe at the indentions from clutching it too tightly. In my defense, I didn’t expect to be surprised by not only a full dressing room, but also Jack flirting with someone else. So much for feeling special these past few days.
Things are made even worse when the guys’ publicist, Eliza, walks in the room. She barely spares a glance at Lainey and me before stomping over to Declan.
“Uh oh, Mommy is mad,” I hear Jack mutter.
“What are you doing here, Eliza? We usually don’t see you until after the show?” Declan asks, seemingly annoyed by her presence. Me too, Dec. Me too.
“Trust me, I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here,” she huffs. “This is my Zen time. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by potentially breaking news.”
“Jack, is there something you need to tell me?”
“No?” the man in question replies, face full of confusion.
“So you didn’t have a late night rendezvous with Kacey Klass when she opened for you in San Antonio last month.”
My heart seizes in my chest. Kacey is gorgeous. Her latest album is one of my favorites. I could understand why Jack would want to hook up with her, but my stomach still sours all the same. Everyone waits frozen in time for Jack’s answer.
“Jesus, no. Is she even eighteen?”
“She’s twenty,” Grayson supplies .
Jack cringes. “No, I one hundred percent did not have a rendezvous or a hookup or even a private conversation with the girl. She’s practically a baby. Is she saying we did?”
“Someone from her camp is telling anyone that will listen that the two of you are quietly dating and on the fast track for an engagement.”
Instead of a plain denial, Jack barks out a laugh. “You know that’s a lie. No one in their right mind would think I’m boyfriend material. Tell whoever asked you that question it’s a crock of shit and that I am very much single.”
“What about you, Mr. Knew Her Age?” Eliza asks as she turns her attention to Grayson. I tune out the chatter as I focus on what Jack said. I guess I was right about him not being interested in anything serious. Despite our moment, I always knew we could never be anything more than a fling. Though, after watching him flirt with Julie, I doubt the moment more and more.
“Are you listening to me?” Lainey asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“Um, yes . . . ”
The roll of her eyes tells me that she doesn’t believe that for a second. “Have you eaten today?”
“Ye—” I pause to consider the answer because no, I don’t think I have. The hesitation is enough to have Lainey reaching into Jack’s basket of snacks and throwing a bag of chips my way.
“Here. I need you to have energy later.”
“What’s happening later?”
“I knew you weren’t listening. Trent, Donny, and a few of the other guys are going two-stepping. I told them we’d join.”
“Won’t it be late by the time we all finish up?”
“Yeah, And? We haven’t gone out since we joined the tour. The point was to enjoy a last hurrah before entering the real world. The time to live is now El! You’re going. ”
“Fine,” I acquiesce. “You know I’m not the best two-stepper, though. I haven’t done it since the Delta Mu party junior year.”
“Don’t worry.” She beams at me. “It’s like riding a bike. Plus, the guy does most of the work, anyway.”
“I’m glad you made me do this,” I say to Lainey as we saddle up to the bar. My feet are going to be sore tomorrow, but I can’t find it myself to care. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. After watching Jack flirt with Julie and then hearing him say he has no interest in a relationship, I needed this distraction. I may have overindulged on the tequila, but that’s future Ellie’s problem. It sucks to be that girl.
“I told you!” Lainey yells over the band.
“You and Trent are getting pretty cozy,” I tease.
“He’s sweet. Too much of a pushover for the long-term, but perfect for a fling.”
“Does he know that?”
“He is aware of the situation. He isn’t in a position for anything permanent either, considering he spends most of his time on tour with one band or another. After this ends, he’s heading out with another band for six months. And it’s not as if I’ll be around.”
That’s ominous. Lainey hasn’t talked to me about any post-tour plans. To my knowledge, we’ll both be going home and searching for full-time employment. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing,” she answers quickly. “Forget I said anything.”
I’m going to need more than that, but before I can pry, she lets out a deep groan. “What are they doing here? Did you tell them where we were?”
“Who?” Turning to face the dance floor, I see two figures walking toward us. They both have on cowboy hats that hide their faces but fit in perfectly to the setting. Since we don’t know anyone in Dallas, I have no idea who ‘they’ could be until they get closer and two pairs of identical brown eyes narrow in on us. They’re the same ones Lainey has.
“Look what we have here,” Declan says to Jack. “Two runaway coeds enjoying a night out on the town in a strange city without telling anyone where they went. Don’t they know how dangerous that is?”
“We weren’t keeping it a—” I start but am interrupted by Lainey.
“I don’t have to tell you where I go. I’m an adult.”
“An adult wouldn’t go traipsing around an unfamiliar city without letting anyone know.”
“As if you guys tell me everywhere we go,” she counters. “And I didn’t tell no one . I told Jeffrey.”
“The geriatric bus driver who goes to bed at 9 p.m. and sleeps like the dead? Not helping your case, Laines,” Jack scoffs.
“He’s sixty, not eighty-five. And if that’s true, then how did you find us?”
“Tim posted a story on social media and we spotted you two in the background.”
“Stupid, Tim,” she mumbles. “We aren’t leaving. We’re having fun. And I’d like to point out, we didn’t come here alone. We came with your team.”
“Lucky you did, or you’d be in even deeper shit,” Declan warns.
As the three siblings volley back and forth, I take the opportunity to examine Jack. Wearing the same faded jeans he performed in and a black tee that stretches deliciously across his chest, he appears a mix of relieved and annoyed. Does he care that much that Lainey and I went out? I’m used to Declan being overprotective, not Jack. His eyes lack their normal mischievous gleam and his shoulders are tense by his ears .
The raised voices of Lainey and Declan halt my perusal.
“Alright, I think that’s enough arguing.” I break in. “You two are here now, meaning we’re no longer ‘alone in a strange city.’ You are more than welcome to watch us dance, but we aren’t leaving.”
“Let’s get back out there and make the most of our night before the band calls it quits,” I direct to my best friend.
“We’ll be over there,” Dec says, pointing to a table by the dance floor where their security guy Martin and Bryce are already posted up.
“Great,” Lainey grits.
As they walk over to their table, we down a shot and head back to the group we came with, though some of them have moved to chat with the brothers.
“Everything okay?” Donny asks, arm slung over a woman he met earlier. Not that her presence has kept his eyes from lingering on me.
“Yes,” Lainey huffs. “Just my brothers being overprotective dill holes, but we aren’t going to let them ruin our night. It’s dancing time.”
Grabbing my hand, she pulls me with her as we join in on the current line dance. It takes me a minute to catch on, but when I do, I let the music flow through me. Dancing is one of the few times I feel free. Absorbed in the moment, I don’t realize the song changed until I bump into a hard chest.
“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry,” I rush out.
“Not a problem, darlin’. A man shouldn’t complain when a pretty lady gives him an excuse to talk to her.”
Holy shit. If his accent wasn’t sexy enough, the man attached to it is as hot as my cheeks feel right now. Letting my gaze drift up from his chest into his ocean blue eyes, I wonder if I am drooling. In a short sleeve button down, jeans, and boots that are clearly used for work and play, the man in front of me is a sight to behold .
“I’m Garrett. And who should I file my insurance claim against?”
“Insurance claim?”
“For the hit and run you’re about to perpetrate.”
Is this sexy as sin man flirting with me? Me? It wouldn’t surprise me to find out he’s a model hired to play a cowboy, and he’s spending his time flirting with me? Taking a quick glance around, Lainey gives me the universal look for ‘OMG he is so hot’ and ‘don’t mess this up.’ Right. Time to flirt back.
“It’s Ellie, and what makes you think I’m going to run for it?”
“Aside from the fact that women as beautiful as you are hard to catch? Must be the doe eyes that remind me of all the deer that scamper off at the first crunch of boots in the woods.”
“Hmm, you called me beautiful and compared me to an animal in the same sentence. I’m not sure if I should be flattered or offended.”
He lets out a deep laugh before replying, “I must be off my game if you’re anything but flattered.”
“We can blame it on your near death collision,” I tease.
“Very kind of you. How about I make it up to you with a dance?”
“Sure you can handle it? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” I know I didn’t. The man has a good fifty pounds and six inches on me. He has the kind of muscles earned working hard and not at the gym. Farm strong.
“I’m up for the challenge. How about I show you how much?”
Something in the back of my mind tells me I should say no. That I should be dancing with Jack. But he didn’t ask me and he isn’t interested. The hunk in front of me is.
“Lead the way.”