Learn to Fly (6 page)

She passed out the
coffees to the thankful drivers and sidled up to Carl. He glanced
over at her, a bit surprised as she handed him his coffee.

“
Thanks,”
he muttered.

They stood side by
side without looking at each other for a few moments. Then Carl
spoke again, “Sorry about barging in last night.”

“
Not
a problem,” she answered quietly. “But try to keep in
mind, I’m on your side.” She looked at him with a wry
smile.

He chuckled softly
and took a sip of his coffee, “It’s new, I’ll have
to get used to it.”

The Chicago morning
was beautiful. Lenny admired the tall skyscrapers against the
periwinkle sky. She had missed traveling and the excitement of
waking up in a new place with the city just waiting to be explored.
Her heart beat faster in anticipation of the upcoming touring
schedule. She had no idea how much free time for her would even be
possible. It didn't matter. She'd find a way to make the most of
it.

“
I
was gonna have you ride with the crew for a couple of days but I
changed my mind.” Carl gave her a sideways glance, “I
want you on the Red Bus with Sway, Harrison and Blake.”

“
Any
particular reason why?” Lenny saw this as a good sign. It
meant Carl wasn't afraid of her being alone with the band members
during the long hours on the road. When he had laid out the rules
yesterday, one of them was: “No girls on the buses during
travel.” Family and committed girlfriends could be the
exception, but none of the guys were in a relationship. Lenny had
been concerned about the logistics of keeping an eye on them if she
wasn't going to be around them without supervision anyway. Carl's
directive just changed that.

“
You're
my eyes and ears,” Carl shrugged. “We'll try to switch
it up periodically, keep them on their toes.”

“
You
got it, boss,” Lenny nodded towards the hotel where the
musicians were making a slow and bleary-eyed exit, “Time to get
to work.” She slammed back the rest of her scalding hot
coffee, ignoring Carl's startled look. Tossing her empty cup into a
nearby trashcan, she headed for the approaching band members.

Lenny grabbed the
suitcases from out of their hands and pushed them onto their
respective buses.

“
C’mon,
ladies! We have a long way to go!” She directed with authority
while she loaded their few bags.

“
Damn,
new girl! Calm down!” Blake protested sleepily. Lenny only
laughed and shoved him up the steps of his bus.

“
Your
adoring public awaits.” Lenny dramatically ushered Mike and
Luke onto their bus. Even in the the early morning, Luke looked
completely rested and relaxed. Lenny held in a contented sigh as he
gave her a heart-stopping grin at the foot of his bus. He held her
eyes for a second like he wanted to say something, but he just shook
his head and climbed up the stairs.

Lenny gave Carl an
exaggerated salute before following Sway up the steps of the Red Bus.
He looked amused and impressed with her efforts and Lenny couldn't
help but smile. As far as new lives go, this one was shaping up
quite nicely.

***

Lenny settled into
her seat on the Red Bus. She was a hard worker and she knew it. Her
effort and quick success had already won her the respect of the road
crew within a day. Even Carl seemed a bit less tense. She was excited
and relieved to be on the road. This was new and different and she
knew she’d be good at it. Just like everything else she’d
put her mind to. And there was more than enough for her to do to
keep her from thinking about all the things she was running from. A
short seven hour drive, stage set up, show, stage tear down, back on
the bus, drive all night. She could totally do this.

“
Carl
actually trusted you with us?” Blake teased from his reclining
position on the couch.

“
Yeah,
what about the 'No Babes' rule?” Sway added from somewhere in
the kitchenette area.

“
I
don't count.” Lenny answered, not even looking up from her
notebook.

“
What?
Why don't you count?” Blake pushed himself up on one elbow to
look at her. “Are you a lesbian?”

Lenny smirked and
shook her head, “No, I just don't sleep with rock stars. It's
a rule I have.”

“
Screw
that!” Sway dropped on the sofa opening a can of soda, shoving
Blake out of the way. “We're not rock stars, we're
musicians.
”
He shook his head, obviously offended by her word choice.

“
Fine,
I don't sleep with
musicians
then.” Lenny corrected, rolling her eyes.

“
So
Carl thinks nothing will happen because you have this special rule?”
Sway asked, belligerence all over his face.

“
Is
that all you think of me as, Sway?” Lenny narrowed her eyes at
him. “Just another conquest?”

“
N-no,”
Sway stammered.

“
Then
why is it every conversation I have with you ends up being about
sex?”

“
It's
the only thing he thinks about.” Blake grinned at his friend
who elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“
That's
not true!” Sway protested. “I have layers, I ain't all
about sex.”

Lenny tapped her
pencil against her knee, contemplating his defensiveness.

“
Sway's
just having a hard time adjusting to the No Bob Tour.”
Harrison had settled onto the floor and was already rummaging through
the video game consoles. He found the setup he was looking for and
started plugging it all in. “He has to talk about it a lot
before he can let it go. It's his way.”

Sway 'humphed' and
settled deeper into the cushions of the couch. Blake took a
controller from Harrison and joined him on the floor and they began
an epic battle involving robots and zombies.

“
I'm
sorry... No Bob tour?” Lenny questioned.

“
Yeah.
No Booze or Babes. Bob.” Harrison explained as his avatar
decapitated a zombie.

“
Right,”
Lenny hid a smile and reopened her notebook.

The cabin was quiet
save for the gory zombie deaths that were coming from the plasma TV.
Lenny went over her lists for what to do when they arrived at the
next venue. She knew she had it down, but she always double checked.
Being wrong was not her favorite thing.

“
I
still don't get why you're the exception to the babes rule.”
Sway broke into Lenny's thoughts.

Lenny looked up to
see him staring at her intently. His blue eyes were hooded and soft.
The blonde hair he usually kept pulled back hung forward and touched
the stubble on his well-defined jaw. Lenny understood a little more
how the girls were so easily taken with him. Five seconds of his
direct eye contact and she felt caught, examined. The seduction
thing made a lot more sense suddenly.

Sway wet his full,
perfect, bottom lip with his tongue as he waited for Lenny to give
him an explanation. She swallowed and he must've noticed her unease
because his mouth crooked up slightly on one side.

“
For
shit's sake, Sway!” Blake interrupted by punching Sway in the
thigh.

“
What?”
Sway exclaimed innocently. He rubbed the place where Blake had hit
him and winked at Lenny.

Lenny
let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and looked
back to her notebook. She felt the heat creep up her neck in
embarrassment. Even as she tried to fight it off, she felt her ears
go white-hot and she vaguely wondered if she was going to
spontaneously combust on the spot. That would only further Sway's
ego she was sure. She could see the headlines now:
Girl
explodes from seduction overload after extended eye contact with rock
star.

“
Lenny
is off limits!” Blake was actually yelling. He hadn't even
paused in his grizzly zombie killing spree. He would periodically
glance over his shoulder to look between Lenny and Sway.

“
I
know that,” Sway defended himself, “She was just turning
me down left and right I had to make sure I still had it.” He
leaned back on the couch and put his hands behind his head. “And
I do.” He smiled wickedly at Lenny.

“
Just
ignore him.” Blake directed at Lenny. “He really can't
help himself.”

“
I
really can't.” Sway shrugged, agreeing with the guitarist.
“And I also can't let you believe that you don't fall into the
babes category, because you totally do.”

Lenny still hadn't
spoken. She was certain her face was a lovely shade of maroon. She
was having an internal argument on how she would handle this.
Acknowledging it seemed to be the best option.

“
Yep.
You caught me,” she gave an embarrassed smile, “I'm a
just a dumb girl after all.”

Sway's face fell and
he leaned forward bracing his arms on his knees, “That's not
what I was saying at all.”

Harrison and Blake
had paused their game and turned around, concern evident on both
their faces.

“
I
was just having some fun, I didn't...”

“
He's
an idiot, Lenny,” Blake threw a glare at Sway. “No one
thinks you're a dumb girl. We're really glad to have you here.”

“
Seriously,”
Harrison's dark eyes were round and pleading, “You have to
ignore him. He just likes a challenge. He hits on me at least once
a day.”

Lenny smiled at
Harrison. He really was the most adorable guitar player she had ever
met.

“
That's
true, actually.” Sway added and Lenny laughed out loud then.
They seemed to relax a little.

“
Guys,
it's fine.” Lenny was touched by their concern for her
feelings but it wasn't necessary. “It's not like I've never
been flirted with before. It's just been...a long time is all. I
forgot what to do in that kind of a situation,” she attempted
to laugh it off even as the truth in her words burned her throat.

All three guys
exchanged frowns.

“
What
do you mean, 'it's been awhile?'” Harrison seemed confused.

Lenny bit the inside
of her cheek, unsure how much she felt comfortable revealing. She
liked these guys and all, but that didn't make them best friends by
any means. And this subject in particular made her feel more exposed
than she had anticipated.

“
Yeah...”
Blake showed disbelief. “You weren't in prison or something,
were you?”

“
No,”
Lenny said, forcing a wide smile. “No, nothing like that. I've
just been busy for a couple years. Haven't gotten out much.”
She grit her teeth at the twinge of hurt in her voice.

They eyed her
momentarily and decided not to push it. She was relieved when
Harrison and Blake went back to their violent game.

It was a strange
morning for her, that was for sure. After a couple of hours, Sway
went to take a nap, which then led to Blake and Harrison talking her
into playing their game with them. A few rounds of that and they
went to get some sleep too, leaving Lenny alone with her thoughts.

She stared out the
window, enjoying the peacefulness of the prairie as it passed
outside. What a weird first day.

***

During stage setup,
the band was sleeping and Lenny decided to learn as much as she could
about the equipment. She had never handled musical instruments
before; she came from a family of devoted athletes. She understood
gym equipment and sports gear; weight plates, dumbbells, sparring
helmets and gloves, various forms of physical protection and how to
utilize all of those items to the maximum benefit of the user.
Guitars, drum kits, amplifiers, mic stands and the like were
completely foreign to her. But she was a fast learner and applied
herself full force.