25. Denton
DENTON
We’ve been on the road for three days. Sorrel is fitting in great with the guys, giving them just as much shit as they give her.
Johnny has actually met his match. He keeps asking her to FaceTime Charli, and every time she does, she ends up giving him her phone and they talk for hours.
I think there might be something there. They already talked about flying her out to a few shows.
Dash has settled into being a road dog and spends most of his time sleeping in the bed we put underneath the dinette booth.
We’re almost to the venue now and I’m feeling a little tense. We are about to perform in front of thousands of people and I haven’t been up in front of a crowd in a while. I was quiet today, and if Sorrel could tell, she didn't say so but hopefully she understands it’s just nerves.
“How are you feeling about tonight?” she asks me as I turn my attention away from staring out the window.
We’re sitting at the dinette booth and I don’t think I’ve said a word for almost an hour.
“He always gets off beat before a big show, Sorrel. Don’t take it personal,” Parker tells her.
She gives him a tight smile and looks back to me expectantly.
“He’s right. It’s just nerves. I’ll be fine once I’m up there.”
“No problem, I get it,” she says sincerely. “I always get nervous before a big rodeo. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll be here, but if you need time to yourself, that’s cool too.”
“Thanks, baby.”
She smiles back and opens one of the seven new books she bought at a local bookstore when we were driving through Kentucky. She’s excited to finally have time to read so I leave her to it. I stand up, then lean over and give her a kiss.
I walk to the front of the bus to go sit in the front seat by Ray. He isn’t much for words and I know I can just close my eyes and meditate while I’m up here.
. . .
We arrived at the Thompson-Boling Arena a few hours ago. Mentally I feel rested and much better now that we're here. We went through sound check and rehearsal. Now it’s time to get ready and hangout for a while before the show.
Sorrel comes out from the bathroom and my jaw drops to the floor.
She has a little more makeup on than usual and curled her hair.
Her short denim skirt shows off her long sleek legs and she has on a pair of boots I haven’t seen her wear before.
She bends over looking for her cowboy hat in one of the cabinets and I can see down her tank top.
I instantly feel turned on. Man, this is going to be more distracting than I thought.
She plops her cowboy hat on her head. “I’m ready. Bathroom’s free.” she calls out to all of us.
We all let her get ready first. Johnny lets out a whistle and I glare at him in return.
“You look awesome, babe.” I reach for her hips and pull her into me.
“No PDA on the bus,” Parker says, handing Sorrel the drink he poured for her.
She takes it and thanks him before taking a sip.
“Woo, that's strong!” She cringes down at the cup.
I chuckle. “I should have warned you. Don't let Parker make you a drink. He’s got a heavy pour.”
“Clearly,” she states. “You gonna go get ready?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you in a bit.” I kiss her on the cheek instead of the mouth not wanting to get anymore turned on than I already am. I can’t be up on stage with a hard-on all damn night.
When I come out from showering and getting dressed, there’s a new face on the bus. She looks me up and down like I’m a tasty sirloin steak she’s about to devour.
I look around at the guys with confusion like, Who the fuck is this and what did you do with my girlfriend?
The mystery woman gets up and strides over to me. She’s about average height with a short brown bob, dark brown eyes, and an alluring smile.
“I’m Emily, your tour manager,” she says, putting out her hand to shake mine. I shake hers back. She holds onto my hand for a beat too long as I try to pull it away.
“Denton,” is all I say to her. I look past her at the crew. “Where’s Sorrel?”
“Oh, I asked her to step out so we could go over some things. I know boys will be boys, but I suggest no groupies on the bus before showtime.”
I don’t even respond. Storming past her, I walk out of the bus to go find my girlfriend. The sun is setting now and Sorrel is nowhere to be found.
“SORREL!” I call out to her.
“I’m over here.”
I hear her small voice come out from behind the bus. It looks like she’s hanging up a call.
“Get back in here,” I insist.
“Miss Lady said you guys needed to go over things alone.”
“Yeah, well Miss Lady don’t know what the fuck she’s talking about.”
She follows me inside without arguing, Dash trotting along next to us.
“Emily, this is my girlfriend, Sorrel Saxxon.”
Dash is growling at her and Emily scowls looking down at him.
“We met,” she says flatly, turning back to Grady.
“So anyways, do you boys have everything you need? I have the set list here. Denton, let’s go over it.”
My fists clench and I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone.
DENTON:
We need a new tour manager ASAP!
JAKE:
I’ll try but you’ll have to stick with her for the next few shows.
DENTON:
Fine.
I take Sorrel's hand and lead her to the open lounge seat gesturing for her to sit. She raises an eyebrow and I pull her down into the seat sitting next to her on the arm of the chair.
Emily glances up at her rolling her eyes just long enough for me to catch her. I swear if she tries to run Sorrel off, she’s going to see a side of me that doesn’t come out very often.
I let out a deep breath. I don’t need this bullshit right before the show. I’ll let it go for tonight. But there is no way this is going to work for the whole tour.
The tour manager’s job is to travel with us and make sure everything is going correctly. I’m not about to have some stuckup broad be our tour manager that won’t be respectful to my girl.
We go over the set list and there’s one hour until the show starts. Everything is ready to go.
I pour myself a drink. My choice of liquor tonight is vodka. Hopefully it will settle my nerves and numb me enough I don’t keep getting turned on every time I look at Sorrel in that damn skirt.
Emily is in the back lounge now and we're in the front. I’m glad she ain’t up here. Her and her bad attitude can hide in the back all she wants.
Sorrel is smiling and having fun with the guys and my chest starts to loosen up a bit.
They’re playing some card game she’s trying to teach them.
It’s called gin rummy. Johnny is getting all flustered, not able to figure it out.
I sit there watching them and a grin covers my mouth.
I hope this is how a majority of the tour goes.
. . .
It’s officially showtime. We huddle together backstage, each of us taking a shot and doing our pre-show routine. Sorrel stands back recording us with her phone, a beaming smile on her face. The crowd is electric tonight and the vibes are high.
“How y’all doin’ tonight?”
The crowd booms with cheers.
We go through the set singing each song.
“I want to sing a new song I wrote tonight for y’all.”
It’s Sorrel's song. It’s a slower paced song but I want to give it a try.
The crowd seems to enjoy it, and no one is booing.
It even looks like a few ladies have tears in their eyes.
We finish the show with the last song on the set list, a faster paced song.
We go over on time a little bit but no one is leaving.
It feels good to be back up here. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed it.
Really it never mattered to me the size of the stage or the amount of the people.
As long as I’m singing, I’m happy. But I still wrestle with the feeling of belonging in two different places.
Part of me feels at home on stage and under the bright lights but there’s something that pulls at me and makes me feel like I belong at the ranch too.
I don’t have time to figure out what it all means right now.
The show is finished, the lights go out, and we walk off the stage. Sorrel’s waiting in the wing, eyes twinkling as she watches me. I wrap my arms around her, lifting her into the air and give her a big sweaty hug.
“How did you like it?” I ask her.
“It was amazing—I mean you were amazing! All of it. I loved it really.”
“It felt really good to sing your song.”
She’s blushing and chewing on her bottom lip. Fuck, I can’t wait to get back on the bus with her. We really haven’t had any alone time and have been sharing a tiny bunk together. Her ass has been pushed up against me every night since we left and it’s starting to give me blue balls.
I booked us a hotel near a couple of the venues. If I don’t get her alone soon, I might lose my fucking mind.
All my post-show high flies out the window when Emily approaches us.
“Denton, we’re gonna need to talk about that extra song you threw in there tonight,” she retorts with a terse tone. “Boys, we have a few fans waiting for a meet and greet if you can all follow me.”
Fuck her, I think.
We do the meet and greet, and by the time it’s over, I’m exhausted. The boys are ready to party and I’m not sure if Sorrel wants to join them.
“Did you want to go out tonight?” I ask her.
“I’m actually pretty tired.”
I sigh with relief. Groaning, I lay my head on her shoulder. “I knew we were made for each other.”
She laughs and gives my head a little scratch.
When we get back to the bus, the guys get an Uber and take off to whatever country bar they can find in the city. Sorrel and I squeeze in the tiny shower together washing each other's backs, which eventually leads to me bending her over and finally the both of us get the release we’ve been craving.
By the time we’re done, I’m ready to collapse. We snuggle up in our bunk, closing the curtain.
“I’m so happy you’re here with me, baby,” I tell her, pulling her in closer to me.
Softly she says, “Me too.” And then she closes her eyes.
Within minutes, she's already drifted off to sleep and I’m not far behind her.
My mind is still thinking about the Emily problem, but I need to shut it off and get some rest. We’ll handle it soon enough.