Chapter Twelve
HAS ANYONE EVER LIVED A near-perfect life? Excluding Jesus of course, just a regular person, not born from God himself. How did they keep making the right decisions? How did they know everything would be all right?
Daisy would’ve loved to meet such a person or so she thought, as she paced her bedroom.
Today would either be a great day or one she’d hope to forget.
She planned to tell her parents her college decision and—harder still—her plans for the summer, which included crossing the country with her boyfriend and his band.
She could already picture their reaction.
Likely not well, considering she still had a curfew.
Jameson had offered to stick around, but Daisy didn’t want him witnessing the possible train wreck.
Twice she’d made it to the first landing, then chickened out and bolted back to her room.
She wasn’t frightened of their answer so much as the blowup itself.
She’d waited until after her eighteenth birthday to do this, specifically so she could pull the “I’m an adult” card if she had to.
The third time was the charm. She reached the kitchen. In unison, they greeted her, “Good morning, honey.” Daisy slid onto a stool at the bar.
“Morning,” she said and went quiet while her mother handed her a plate of eggs. She opened her mouth to speak… and nothing. Again… still nothing.
“Have you thought more about school?” her father asked. “You need to decide soon, Daisy.”
Of course he’d bring it up. She exhaled, bracing for the conversation she’d dreaded since New York.
A few days after she’d returned, she and Jameson had a heart-to-heart beneath “their” oak tree. Daisy had confessed how much she loved Parsons, which was her top choice, if a few crucial details lined up.
Jameson tightened the blanket around them. “What kind of details?”
“You,” she said.
“Me?”
“Yes. I want New York, but I don’t know where you’ll be. San Francisco? LA? Do you even know? I want to be close to you, but I happen to love a school that’s probably the farthest from you.”
Daisy was on the verge of tears when Jameson started to chuckle. It honestly made her a little angry. There she was, spilling her guts out, and he was… laughing?
“This isn’t funny,” she said, swatting his shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re being so cavalier.”
“And I can’t believe you’re being so thickheaded.”
She pouted.
“I don’t have a ‘home base’ because I’m waiting for you to decide on yours,” he said.
“My home will be wherever you are. Go to New York. Live your dream. When I’m done with the tour, I’ll buy a place there.
You’ll move in and I’ll build you a big studio.
We can even get a pet if you want. But, Daisy, just know my home is here.
” He pressed his palm to her racing heart. “I’ll follow it anywhere.”
It was settled. After the tour, he’d move to New York; she’d move in once he found a place. It was her idea of perfect. Now she just had to convince her parents of that.
“So?” her father prompted now.
“Yes. I’ve decided on school… and a lot of other things,” she said.
Both of her parents stopped and gaped at her. “And?”
“Umm… I’m going to New York.”
Her mother clapped and pulled her into a hug. Her father’s mouth tightened. “I’m so excited for you,” her mom gushed. “I can’t believe we have such a short time before you’re off to college.”
Daisy’s insides shivered. She laughed, thin and nervous. “Yeah… and it’s going to be a little shorter than we thought.”
“What do you mean, honey?” her mom asked, hands on Daisy’s shoulders.
Breathe.
“I won’t be here this summer.”
Her parents traded a quizzical look before focusing back on her. Dena sat down beside her husband and posed, “Are you considering a summer program?”
She shook her head. “No.”
Daisy looked intently at their curious faces and whispered, “The guys are going on tour with NYX 5… and I’m going with them.”
Her father’s palm slammed the table. “Absolutely not!”
“Philip—”
“Don’t, Dena! Do not defend this. I’ve conceded enough with her.
” He then turned his attention to his daughter and rose from his seat.
“Look, I’m fine with you settling for Parsons, despite getting into much better schools, but we have given you free rein for long enough, young lady.
First, we let you go to Santa Barbara to see your friends perform and then again to New York, alone I might add, but this…
Daisy, I will not allow you to shack up with those boys and whatever surrounds them. You must think I’m a fool.”
Daisy stood too, shaking but steadying her gaze. “I don’t think you’re a fool, Dad. I just wanted to inform you and Mom of my plans.”
“Did you not hear me? I said no. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you go on tour with that boy.”
That boy.
He said it like Jameson was a disease. That boy held her heart. She wouldn’t let anyone speak of him like that. Not even her father.
She swallowed the retort, backing toward the doorway. “I love you, Dad.” She looked at her mom. “Both of you. But I wasn’t asking.”
Tension settled over the Daniels home in the weeks after. Her father hardly spoke to her, only simple greetings and meaningless dinner table talk. He could barely look Jameson in the eye, let alone speak to him. Daisy avoided home when she could; the disappointment was too heavy to handle.
Graduation came and went and before she knew it, the day arrived.
Her bags were packed and her heart was wild.
The guys had flown to Atlanta two days ahead to meet their crew.
Her father refused to come to the airport.
Daisy rolled her eyes at her mother’s apologetic shrug; apparently, fifty-year-old men could sulk like teenagers.
But as she shouldered her bag, preparing to leave the only home she’d ever known, he stepped forward and wrapped her tight. “Please be safe. If you need anything—anything—”
“I know, Dad. Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“It smells.”
“I told you.”
“You didn’t say it would be this bad.”
“Daisy, what do you expect living with five guys?”
“Not this. We are all going to have to come to some sort of understanding because this”—she pointed to the filthy kitchen in the tour bus—“isn’t going to cut it.”
“Well, good luck telling them that.” He pointed outside the bus to Lenny, Kyler, the band’s keyboard player Reggie, and new guitarist, Brian.
“Oh no, I’m not being the bad guy. You tell them.”
“But I don’t care.”
“If you care about me, you will. Tell them to be mindful that there’s a woman on board. Also, it’s temporary. I’ll be out of here before anyone even notices.”
“I’ll notice.”
Daisy slinked her arms around his waist. “You only want me here so you can claim the big room, with the full-sized bed.”
The big room she was referring to was, in fact, a very tiny room, in comparison to any bedroom she’d ever seen.
The bus wasn’t at all terrible, minus the stench.
It was made up of six bunks, a small bathroom, and a private room in the back of the bus.
Apparently, this bus was much nicer than the one they’d lived in while touring with Ace Monroe, which was shocking considering the unpleasant odor that emitted from the walls.
“Well—yes, claiming the bed,” he murmured, nudging her back against the counter, “and what we do in it.” He brushed a kiss along her neck.
“Knock it off. Someone could walk in.”
“Let them,” he rasped.
“Wasn’t last night enough?”
They’d stayed up late, giddy in the newness of this place, this life, stopping only when they ran out of protection.
“It will never be enough with you,” he said, mouth at her shoulder.
Daisy was half tempted to pull him back into the bedroom when the bus door crashed open. Lenny popped his head inside. “You ready, lovebirds? Harley is going to lose it if we’re late.”
They sighed and followed him toward the amphitheater.
The outdoor Atlanta venue was brutal in the summer. Daisy’s clothes clung and the guys were soaked before they hit the stage.
And even drenched with sweat, Jameson kept reaching for her, touches and small caresses. Normally, she’d swat him away, but with Harley’s ever-watchful eye, Daisy didn’t mind playing it up.
She kept her distance from Harley, afraid she would spew her venom at any moment, prompting Daisy to rip into her. “Okay, you’re up! Jameson—enough with the horny teenage bullshit. You’ve got a show,” Harley snapped.
Everyone froze. Daisy’s cheeks flamed as heads, NYX 5 included, swiveled.
Jameson just grinned and kissed Daisy’s cheek. “Have you seen her, Harley? How am I supposed to keep my hands to myself?”
A ripple of laughter ensued as he untangled himself from Daisy and kissed her hair. “See you later, darlin’. Good luck backstage with the dictator.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Daisy stood beside Harley in the wings. Harley texted furiously until the guys were announced. The crowd roared, a wall of sound that made Daisy shiver.
This tour was different.
For starters, the accommodations were far superior.
Previously, they could barely get a decent fruit platter before shows.
Now, every show was catered with whatever the guys specially requested.
Lenny loved his cranberry juice and lightly salted pretzels, and Kyler only needed his baked, preferably blue, tortilla chips before a show.
Jameson was different. His requests always aligned with what Daisy would want. He had no taste for watermelon and could barely stomach the smell of seafood, but alas, that’s what they brought in. Suffice it to say, the boy was whipped.