From My Heart (11 page)

Cale groaned against my mouth. “Now that’s the spirit.” He kissed me again before taking off back towards the side of the stage to practice with Angels from Hell, or whatever he was going to do. “That’s why I love you!” He shouted, turning back to form a heart with his hands before facing the other way again.

Angels from Hell were in full swing by the time I got a water and grabbed some of the guys (Tyler stayed behind to relax a bit). I had to give this woman credit: she had a natural talent. Her voice oozed rock n’ roll and you could tell every time she opened her mouth that she meant every word that she sang. Plus the guys in the crowd were screaming her name every chance possible, to which I heard her say ‘Sorry, boys you’ll have to wait in line.’ I thought about shouting out “Tramp!” But I’d get my ass kicked not only by her but half the people in the crowd.

“Everybody still rockin’ out there?” Kallie yelled into the microphone, taking a swig of her open bottle of Whiskey and setting it down by the drum set. “Okay, right now I’d like to bring out a special guest. Being the first night on this tour with a couple of amazing groups and some wicked talent, it was a no brainer to bring this guy out to sing with us. Everyone please welcome mister Cale Pelton from Everlasting!”

Cale ran out from the other side of the stage, microphone in hand. The crowd erupted into unanimous cheers of excitement as he shook hands with the guitar players and bassist, shutting Kallie down besides a slight wave before speaking into his mic.

“Nice to see you guys again!” Cale bellowed, hands flying into the air as the band went straight into “Nice and Easy.” I watched Kallie approach Cale as she sang the sultry words to the song, which made me uneasy.

I don’t do nice and easy

I want you to go fast and hard

Show me how much you love me

Could she be any more obvious about what she was thinking? Cale seemed pretty into it as he sung the next chorus, getting up close and personal with the crowd. Towards the end of the song, they were singing directly facing each other as if they were singing the words to one another. When Kallie sang the last note, I knew something would happen. She turned to look past Cale in my direction, winked at me, and then kissed Cale dead on the fucking lips.

Are you kidding me?

My claws were ready to come out. Maybe Cale would push her away and walk off stage, but did he?

Hell no. He kissed her right back, wrapping his arms around her petite waist and going in for the kill.

My stomach was queasy, and my mouth dropped to the floor. I couldn’t move. In my head I kept saying ‘Go out there and drag him off the stage!’ but my body was unable to take another step. That whole act was on purpose, some sort of plot to get my boyfriend. I didn’t care anymore. He was stupid enough to kiss her, so he could go to hell too.

I managed to move, my feet picking up quickly as I ran past Vince, Raptor, and Luke, who were just as surprised as I was.

“Bryn…wait!” Raptor tried to keep me from running farther, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear any of the cheering crowd or their words of pity because I just witnessed my boyfriend make out with another girl on stage.

I tried so hard not to cry. I held back tears for as long as I could until I made it to the dressing room. The door was shut, but I didn’t bother to knock, so I slammed it open, only to find Tyler lying on the leather sofa with his headphones in his ears. It looked like he was sleeping, or at least lost in thought or whatever because his eyes were closed with his hands behind his head.

Once the door closed loudly again, he sat straight up to see me in my disheveled state and threw the headphones to the side.

“The hell, Bryn?” he snapped. Noticing that I was on the verge of waterworks, he changed his tone. “What happened…are you okay?”

Not knowing what to do, I slumped onto the couch next to him, face in my hands and rocking back and forth. “I…don’t even know…how to explain…”

“What do you mean, B? I thought you guys were out watching Angels?” “That was the problem,” I muttered, looking up at him. “I never realized other girls were such shallow bitch-faces that enjoyed making their enemies miserable.”

Tyler let out a laugh, draping an arm around me. “I completely agree.” When I glared at him, he shot me a bright smile. “Kidding, Bryn. What did Kallie do that has you hot and bothered?”

“She kissed Cale on stage,” I replied, not wanting to relive that moment any longer.

“He fucking did what?” Tyler asked, sounding completely irritated.

“Cale kissed Kallie Cooper on stage…” I repeated slower, and I watched Tyler’s mouth twitch and his free hand curl up into a tight fist.

“I’ll go kick his fucking ass, Bryn,” Tyler said. He started to get up from the couch, but my nails dug into his arm. “Let me go, Bryn. I need to take care of the mother—”

“Please don’t do anything,” I whispered. “I don’t want to cause a big scene, especially being the first night of a long tour. It’s not worth it.”

Tyler ignored me. “To hell it isn’t.”

“I’m serious.” I looked him dead in his eyes. For a split second I caught myself staring into them. He really did have nice eyes. The kind you could get lost in if you really wanted to. But damn, I couldn’t think about Tyler like that. I’d be using him for revenge and that wasn’t me. Or was it?

“And
I’m
dead serious, Bryn. He doesn’t deserve you,” Tyler spat. “You’re way too good for him. Just like you were way too good for my cousin—as much as I hate to admit that.” He was referring to my ex-boyfriend Ethan Donahue, who I had dumped over a cruel joke made against me right before I had left my parents’ house last year. Even though our parents set us up, we really did care about each other and dated for over 2 years.

Tyler stood up from the couch, loosening himself from my grasp. I pleaded with him one more time. “Please don’t, Ty. Just try and get me to laugh or something so I can forget about it all.” I put on a fake smile and he held out a hand to lift me up.

We stood facing each other and he cracked a small smile. “What?” he said. “I thought me punching your boyfriend in the face when he comes back would make you laugh!”

I sighed. That sounded awfully tempting at the moment, but I didn’t want Tyler and Cale to get into a fight over me. I took a couple steps towards Tyler and wrapped my arms around his torso, pulling him into a hug.

“Not today at least,” I murmured against his t-shirt; it was still wet from when Tyler poured water on himself after the set. “I appreciate you trying, though. You seem to have my back lately and I’m not sure why.”

“Why not? We’re bandmates, Bryn. We have a lot in common, unlike the other guys. I grew up with loads of money like you did. Except my parents weren’t like Mr. and Mrs. Schaefler by any means. I just…I care about you. Not like I’m in love with you or I’m trying to steal you from Cale, but I want to look out for you and have your back.”

Not like I’m in love with you.
I repeated the words in my mind over and over as I lifted my head off Tyler’s now soaked chest from the tears I had been crying. He didn’t seem bothered as he held me tighter, rubbing small circles along my spine. I wasn’t sure what to think of those words. Deep down, I had a tiny bit of feelings for Tyler, but I wasn’t going to let that jeopardize anything involving Cale or the band. It was impossible not to think Tyler was attractive. He started to grow out his black hair so it was almost down to his chin, and most of it was styled so it covered part of his face. It gave him the mysterious rock star persona, and it suited him well.

I had to let the jackass explain himself before I did anything too drastic though.

I sniffled, and then crept onto my tip toes, doing the unthinkable.

Kissing Tyler Donahue.

So much for letting Cale explain himself first, huh?

My lips grazed his for a split second, but then Tyler grabbed the back of my shirt and balled it together, pinning me against him as close as feasibly possible. He kissed me back, seeming hesitant at first, but his tongue slipped into my mouth and intertwined with mine. I don’t know how long we were kissing, but I heard a knock on the door and voices shouting, “LET US IN, DONAHUE!”

We immediately separated as soon as we heard the door knob jiggle. Both of us were breathing heavily and had panic written on our faces. What if we had been caught?

“Shit,” I mumbled to myself, covering up my mouth. My eyes drifted back to Tyler’s guilt stricken face and I said, “Don’t tell anyone what just happened. No one—especially Cale—can know about this.”

Tyler put his hands up. “I’m sorry, Bryn. I...I shouldn’t have kissed you back.” He shook his head and yelled towards the guys behind the door, “I’M COMING! RELAX!”

He opened the door and Vince, Luke, Raptor and Cale filed into the dressing room one by one. Of course, Pelton had to be the last one in. He had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.

But I did too. I kissed his best fucking friend out of spite. No one had to know, though. It was only one kiss…wouldn’t happen again…not ever. Hopefully.

“How’d it go, Cale?” Tyler asked casually, pouring a drink and handing it over to Cale.

“That crowd is wicked.” Cale grinned, taking a sip of the amber liquid. “If tonight is a sign of what’s to come, this is going to be a hell of a ride.”

I rolled my eyes at his response. Did he even care I was standing
right
there listening to him like there was nothing wrong?

I caught Raptor glancing over at me, offering me a sympathetic smile. The guys stood there awkwardly as I pushed past them, mumbling, “I’ll be on the bus with the girls.” Heading out the door, I could feel Cale’s eyes piercing a hole through my back, but I wasn’t going to confront him here, not in front of everyone. Less drama the better.

Before I could get outside, I felt a hand softly grab my wrist. “Bryn,” Cale whispered, spinning me to face him. “Tell me you didn’t see it.”

I looked at him with disgust. “Tell you I didn’t see what, Cale? What exactly? You mean that
kiss
?”

His head bent down so I couldn’t see his reaction. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I didn’t want you to see. Shit…”

“Seriously…all you have to say is ‘shit’? You knew I was going to be on the side watching you, Cale! So of course I fucking watched you kiss her right on back in front of all of those people.”

“I didn’t want to do that, Bryn. It just happened…” he pleaded. Part of me wanted to believe him, but the whole ‘It just happened’ excuse was too cliché for me to buy.

“Whatever. I saw how you kissed her back, Cale. It’d be different if it was like a kiss on the cheek, hand or forehead maybe, but SMACK DAB on the lips? That’s just shitty and you know it…” I laid into him. “Is this going to be some kind of nightly thing? Are you two going to suck face every night on stage for the whole audience to see?”

I moved away from his grip, distancing myself a few feet.

“Bryn, it was just a one-time thing. She thought it’d be a good way to start things off…”

“Oh yeah, of course. She’s out to get me for whatever reason and so she does it by kissing my boyfriend on stage,” I retorted. “Yup, that’s a perfect way to start the tour off, Cale. Great job.” I patted him on the shoulder hard and walked away, leaving him speechless. I had nothing else to say to him. All I wanted to do was get back to my best friends, maybe cry on one of their shoulders, and go to sleep.

Sounded like a great night to me.

I had to make it up to her.

I should’ve told Kallie to go fuck herself when she suggested we kiss during the song. She thought it would “rile things up a little bit.” Yeah, they sure did. I had one pissed off girlfriend who hasn’t spoken to me for two nights except when we sang together on stage.

Gina and Bethany got me pretty good too. Bryn had slept in later the next morning, but as soon as we stopped at a rest area, they pulled me aside and assured me if that happened again to their best friend they’d stick one of their stilettos up my ass.

That was definitely not going to happen, so I had to think of a way to get Bryn to realize how sorry I was. And I’d never had to do that before in my life. With Lucy, I surprisingly never did anything like kiss another girl we toured with—or any other girl besides her for that matter.

“She still not talking to you?” Raptor sat down beside me just as we started up Call of Duty: Black Ops on our XBOX 360. I had only seen Bryn once that morning and that was when she got up to go to the bathroom before she retreated back to her bunk.

“No. I’ve tried to apologize over and over but she’s not hearing it,” I replied. “Why are girls so complicated?”

“That’s how they’re frickin’ made, dude. Hate to tell you.” Raptor wrapped an arm around me and chuckled. “Maybe you shouldn’t have kissed another girl when your girlfriend was watching feet away.”

“Thanks for rubbing it in,” I said sarcastically. “That just makes me a big jackass in her eyes.”

“You think?” Luke butted in, grabbing a controller as the game started. “We watched her practically stand there motionless while you kissed Kallie. She ran right back to the dressing room after because she couldn’t stomach the rest of the set.” I’d already felt guilty about that single kiss, but the guys continued to rub it in.

“Well what am I supposed to do? It happened days ago. She should be over it by now.” Or so I thought. But I could never see into the minds of girls. With three sisters and my mom, I’d tried to do that many times with no success. 

“Maybe kidnap her and take her out to dinner? I don’t know,” Tyler suggested as he walked out from the mini kitchen area. “Or roses. Something girly.”

“Yeah, coming from the guy with the perfect track record of winning girls over,” I replied. Ever since I had known Tyler, he hadn’t been with a girl for more than a few months at the max.

“Shut the hell up, dick,” Tyler snapped. “Shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

“Whatever, I’ll figure this shit out by myself,” I muttered.

We continued to play Call of Duty for the next couple of hours until Hal stopped to get gas. Gina and Bethany walked past us, saying good morning to everyone but me, then Bryn soon followed. She was thumbing through something on her phone so she didn’t take the time to look my way, but she looked like her beautiful self today. Her black hair in a low side ponytail, and a Pink zip up hoodie and matching sweat pants with black sketchers.

“Go talk to her,” Vince said, just as he set his controller down.

I got up and followed a few feet behind her. Bethany and Gina were inside the gas station looking at snacks and I snuck up on Bryn

“Are you going to talk to me yet?” I whispered into her ear, my hands reaching around to settle on her stomach over her hoodie.

“Apologizing yet?” Bryn asked coldly, not turning around.

“I’ve tried to, Bryn. We can’t go on like this! Bandmates that can’t even communicate in a civil manner? How many times have I said I’m sorry?” I was ready to get down my knees in the dirty gas station parking lot and plead. Wow I was whipped.

Bryn spun to look at me. I knew the reason she had dark circles around her eyes was because of me. But I wanted to be an ass and just say ‘get over it already.’ Kallie already came up to her the next night and apologized and Bryn completely blew her off.

“Alright, I get it. You’re sorry. Now can I go get some snacks and something to drink?” she snapped.

I stepped closer to her, engulfing her into a hug. She squirmed at first, but her body relaxed and she gave in, even though her arms were at her sides. It was a start, and I’d take whatever I could get.

Kissing her on the forehead, I shooed her along. “Get me something too, pretty please?” I asked.

“Go your damn self, you lazy man. It’s only a couple more steps,” Bryn replied, the corners of her mouth tipped up in amusement. She ran into the gas station with Gina and Bethany. I shook my head at her and smiled to myself. After we all regrouped with our big 44oz. drinks, bags of chips and candy, Hal started up the bus again and we were off.

Right after we got back on the road, I walked back to the bedroom where I saw Bryn by herself reading a book underneath the covers of the bed.

I knocked on the inside of the wall and she looked up, startled to see me.

“Can I come in or are you going to bite my head off?” I joked.

“No, I wouldn’t do that.” Bryn giggled quietly. “Then who would take your place in the band?”

I cocked my head to the side and said, “You could.”

“Har har, very funny. Now come here.” She lifted a finger, insisting I sit down beside her. I plopped onto the bed and stretched out my arms, placing them behind my head.

“What are you reading?” I peeked over at the cover of the paperback and she showed it to me.

“
Lick
by Kylie Scott,” she replied, her eyes returning back to the pages. “I just started it, but I think I’m in love with the main character David.”

I chuckled. “Oh really, what about me?”

She shook her head. “I can have book boyfriends!” she defended herself. “I still love you, I suppose.”

“I don’t know how I feel about this long haired David guy…” I started ranting, and Bryn shut the book and threw it at me. “Hey, hey take it easy on me, will you? I thought you were starting to warm up to me again, am I right?”

Bryn rolled her eyes, retrieving the book from where it landed and setting it beside her. “I’ll just tell you one time and one time only, Cale: if I ever hear anything about how Kallie tries to kiss you, let alone anything else BESIDES anything music related, I will not only sock her and put her in her place, but I will also quit the band. And I’m being completely dead serious too so you can wipe the surprised look off your face.”

Yeah I was surprised. As much as that warning should’ve affected me, I loved hearing my girl getting mouthy and using threats. Her face scrunched up in the right spots as she tried her best to act serious.

I saluted her, attempting not to laugh at how she was trying not to smile. “Whatever you say, ma’am. I think I can handle that. But if you ever did try to quit, I’d just tie you to this bed with some of my t-shirts.”

Finally, a smile broke from her mouth. “If I just say I finally accept your apology, will you stop talking and just keep me company?” Her sharp green eyes pleaded with me. Looking into those eyes, it was hard to object to anything Bryn had to say.

“I think that would work,” I replied, leaving only to grab my cell phone and coming right back so we could listen to my favorite Pandora station. I lay back down beside Bryn and she curled up beside me, eyes still glued to the book, while I drifted off to sleep.

***

I wasn’t sure of how long I slept, but I woke up a happy man to say the least. Even if my girlfriend was pushing at me to get off of her so she could get up.

“Pelton, you’re snoring and you need to get your ass off of me because we’re here.” Bryn snickered, trying to move one of my muscular arms from around her waist. “Or else I’ll resort to asking for help from the boys and they can throw water on you instead.”

Opposed to the last idea, I decided to poke my head up and pretend I never heard what she said.

“What’d you say, babe? I was still dreaming…” I mumbled, my arms sliding off of her as I climbed out of bed.

“I saiiiiddd get up because we’re here,” she reiterated, following my lead as she wrapped me up into one of her amazing Bryn hugs that I could never get enough of. “I want to avoid that bitch as much as possible, so I’m trying to get a head start here.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about, B,” I reassured her, running a hand through her disheveled hair. “If Kallie gives you any hassles, I’ll gladly kick them off the tour and find some other band to replace them.”

“No, don’t do that,” she replied quietly. “I’ll just have to put on my big girl pants and play nice for now. But I’m still watching her like a hawk because I don’t trust her one bit around you.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said. “Maybe if I just kiss
you
on stage everyone will forget about what happened?”

She slapped my arm and laughed. “Yeah right. I don’t need to kiss you in public to make people see we’re together.” Our lips met halfway and I kissed her for the first time in days. The way her lips felt as we continued our assault, it seemed as if she’d never been kissed.

We separated and Bryn had a goofy look on her face.

“What’s that look for?” I asked as we now stood outside the bedroom curtain.

Bryn shrugged, turning back to me. “I’m glad I forgave you. That’s all.” Then she licked her lips and ran up to meet the rest of the guys who were outside taking a smoke break. Damn the way she licked those lips. Slow and easy; she wanted to tease me bad and it worked because my dick was hard in my pants.

Not to mention my chest was throbbing like a bitch and I told myself not to go straight for the hidden pills. Maybe if I made it through the set and I was still moaning and groaning I’d go get them. But for now I would try to push the pain out of my head and focus on the show tonight. So far, even though it had only been a couple of nights, we’d all toned it down a bit, mostly after the first show. But tonight I wanted to reserve a couple of hotel rooms nearby and have a huge party and get trashed. That’d take my mind off of the pain and the urge for the remedy.

Inside the venue, we were getting everything unloaded back stage when the girl I had been trying to avoid showed up, gladiators in her hand.

“Make it up to her yet?” Kallie asked with a snarky attitude. I tried to ignore her and head in the opposite direction, but all five foot two of her stood in my way.

“Could you please move?” I asked as nicely as I could, but she wasn’t about to budge.

“I’m sorry, I think it’d be nice and gentlemanly of you if you’d actually answer my question, ass.” she snapped. “Because if I were that snooty little rich girl, I’d be running for the hills. She’s not cut out for this shit and especially after that kiss we shared, I’d even be a little jealous.”

So help me I would never want to hit a girl nor ever try, but this one was pushing my buttons all too quickly.

I got down into her face and made sure I was eye level with her. “Listen, shorty. I thought I told you that was never going to happen again on this tour. You need to keep my girlfriend slash band mate out of your fucking mouth or I’ll rip out your goddamn tongue and make your life a living hell.” When she didn’t respond, I got even more so into her face, practically bumping noses. “Is that clear, princess? If it wasn’t for the fact that your band has talent, you’d be off this tour so goddamn fast you’d never have a singing career again.”

“Oh when you’re all pissed off like this it is such a turn on.” Kallie smirked, letting out an evil laugh and spinning around. “We’ll talk later. It’s a matter of time,” She called over her shoulder, heading towards where her other band mates were.
Bryn was right
I muttered under my breath, going right back to the dressing room where my girl was waiting for me.

Inside, her, Gina and Bethany were singing along to old school Linkin Park and the guys were eye boggling them from the other side of the room. It was quite humorous to see how Raptor and Luke acted around Gina and Bethany. I teased them, saying that it was like they’d never seen a beautiful girl before, but in all actuality, since I had found the girl of my dreams, I thought it was about time they did too. Plus Gina and Bethany were half way decent girls and didn’t fit into the rich girl stereotype at all. They got more easy-going and talkative to all of us during the past couple of days and they loosened Bryn up too.

Bryn spotted me and ran over, putting her arms around me. “I’m happy to see you too,” I responded as she kissed me on my lips.

“I can go kiss someone else if you don’t want me to…” Bryn teased, and I immediately shook my head.

“That’s cruel revenge, my friend,” I scolded her and her lips curled up.

“I know.”

“Hey, you need a drink before the set?” Tyler asked, pouring a small cup of rum and handing it to me.

“Why the hell not?” I said. “But I’m saving the rest for afterwards.” We were planning on staying at one of the nicer hotels in town and renting a few suites.

“There you go…just keep it away from me,” Tyler replied, patting my back and whispering something to Bryn. I furrowed my eyebrows at the sight, wondering what was so important that he had to talk to her in secret. They weren’t the ones that were together, we were. Her and I. Dammit, there I went overreacting. I needed my fucking pills. But it was too close to show time for me to go back.