Learn to Fly (7 page)

She made sure the
band got to sound check and then she took her first official break of
the day. She changed into athletic shorts, a sports bra, and running
shoes. She texted Carl, telling him she would be back in two hours,
and went for a run.

The fresh air helped
clear her head. The time went fast and she arrived back at the
venue. After a couple minutes of snooping around, she found a shower
in the stadium and took advantage of it. She dressed quickly in
jeans and a blue tank top and went backstage to make sure everything
was still on track.

Sam, head of
security, greeted her first and pointed her towards Carl, in the
sound booth with the technician. Carl looked up and smiled when he
saw her. She raised her eyebrows in silent question; his smiles had
been few and far between for the most part.

“
It’s
all good,” he said happily, “all according to plan.”

“
Good.”
Lenny shifted her gaze to the band warming up on stage. “They
sound tight,” she looked at the sound tech, “Would you
mind if I sat in here with you during the show? I won’t get in
the way.”

“
Fine
with me,” he replied.

Carl dismissed
himself leaving Lenny and Greg, the sound engineer, alone. Lenny
paid attention to all the little switches and knobs, memorizing as
much as she could without asking questions. She didn’t want to
be a distraction.

***

Mike could see
everything from his position behind the drums. He watched Lenny walk
back to the sound booth but, more importantly, he saw Luke staring at
her. His posture and playing changed just noticeably. It was like
he was trying to show off a little. Mike chuckled to himself,
realizing Luke’s crush. He made a mental note to ask him about
it later.

When sound check
wrapped up, Mike took a long pull from his water bottle and followed
the rest of the band back to the Blue Bus to chill before the show.

“
So,
I noticed that someone has eyes for the new hottie,” Mike
casually remarked as they relaxed in the main lounge.

“
Who
doesn’t?” Sway mumbled, rummaging through the fridge.

“
No
shit, that chick is smokin’.” Blake took a drink from his
water.

Mike kept his focus
on Luke who shifted uneasily on his feet, looking anywhere except at
Mike.

“
I
wasn’t talking about you horn dogs,” Mike replied.

They turned to Luke
who still hadn’t said anything.

“
You
like Lenny, Luke?” Leave it to Harrison to just be out with
it.

Luke looked up,
pretending to be confused, “What? No, of course not.”

“
So
you hate her?” Harrison was deliberately trapping him into a
confession of some kind.

“
No,
I don’t hate her, don’t be ridiculous. She’s
nice,” Luke stammered, looking uncomfortable.

“
So
you
do
like her.” Harrison wanted an absolution, his face the picture
of innocence.

“
What
do you want me to say?” Luke was growing more agitated. “You
want me to say I think she’s good looking, she is. You all
think so, too. Why does it matter if I say it?”

“
Whoa,
dude, relax,” Blake dramatically widened his eyes and motioned
with his hands for Luke to calm down, “We’re not the ones
in love with her.”

Luke rolled his eyes
and stormed towards the door. “You’re a bunch of dicks,
you know that?” He left in a huff as the others burst into
laughter.

“
What’s
wrong with him?” Sway asked Mike.

“
Ah,
he thinks his crush is a big secret.” Mike shrugged
nonchalantly.

“
Well,
if I’m not allowed to bag her, then I don’t think Luke
should be allowed to either.” Sway sat down on the floor.

“
You
know you’re a pig, right?” Mike asked him in disgust.

“
A
pig that gets more action than you.” Sway pointed out, not
even offended.

“
I
don’t think we should be talking about who does or does not get
to bag Lenny.” Blake interjected from the kitchenette. “I
have a feeling she could kick all our asses.”

“
How
was it having Lenny on your bus today?” Mike asked. He had
wondered what had possessed Carl to throw her into the dog pile like
that on her first day.

“
She
was cool. Helped me kill some zombies.” Harrison responded,
exchanging a look with Blake.

“
What
was that?” Mike asked pointing back and forth between them.
“Did something happen?”

“
Not
exactly.” Harrison said slowly.

Blake sighed and ran
his fingers through his short dark hair, “Sway put the
seduction on her.”

“
Dammit,
Sway!” Mike chastised.

“
I
handled it,” Blake reproved. “I don't think it's going to
be an issue.”

“
Can't
you ever let one go by?” Mike asked in frustration. He was so
sick of Sway never growing up. The endless parade of girls over the
years was making it really hard for Mike to respect his band mate.

And then Mike said
what he had said many times before, “You have no self-control.”

The remorse that
washed over Sway's face was sincere and Mike flinched inwardly. They
both had things they struggled to master that had hurt those closest
to them.

“
I
know,” Sway said softly. “I'm still sorry about-”

“
I
know. I shouldn't have said that.” The tension in the cabin was
thick and Mike regretted having such a strong reaction to Blake's
revelation. “We're both trying to be better.”

***

Luke decided to take
a walk to clear his head. He knew the guys were just giving him a
hard time. What he was really upset about was how much he had let it
get to him. Lenny was already a sensitive topic for him and he knew
that could get him into trouble.

Girls had always
been a weakness of his. He liked women and they liked him. He never
spent enough time with just one to really know what they were all
about. The longest relationship he had ever had, he was loaded for
the entirety of it. That’s probably why it had lasted as long
as it did.

Why
did Carl stick her on the bus with Sway today? It had pissed Luke
off more than it should have. Jealousy was a new feeling and he
didn't like it. It's not like she was
his
girl. She worked for the band. She was off limits. Off. Limits.

He shook his head,
trying to focus his thoughts. He couldn’t have a relationship
with Lenny. That would be unprofessional. And a disaster. Carl
would be pissed. Luke smirked at that. But, she was going to be
around them a lot and she was really fun.

Friends. They could
be friends. That would work, he had lots of friends, he knew what a
friendship looked like. He would just have to treat her like one of
the guys. And ignore the fact that she was his perfect height for
kissing. Shit. This was going nowhere fast.

It suddenly occurred
to Luke that he had no idea if Lenny even noticed him in that way.
She had remained cool and aloof towards him, and all the guys for
that matter. Maybe she wasn’t attracted to him. That was new.
Luke had never had to work for a girl to notice him. Chicks
constantly threw their bras and panties to him on stage, and once,
Carl had had to chase out two girls who'd tried to stow away on the
bus. Maybe Lenny was just exactly what she seemed: a hard worker who
wasn’t interested in getting tied down in a relationship. Why
did that make him want her more? Luke was starting to get mad at
himself.

The real kicker for
him wasn't his physical attraction towards her, though it didn't help
matters. Nope, that's not what had him confused and upside down. It
was the unpredicted avidity to crack open his chest cavity and show
her everything. Invite her to climb inside his mess of a life and
add some beauty to it.

He turned back
towards the bus; he knew the guys were going to continue giving him a
hard time until they got bored with it. He would just have to ride
it out until then. And hope he didn't screw everything up in the
process. They were depending on him.

“
Were
you with your girlfriend?” Blake lilted.

“
Go
to hell.” Luke tried to play it casual.

Carl stuck his head
in the bus, “Ten minutes.”

They started to the
stage area, all of them feeling the energy of the crowd beating in
their chests. It reminded them all of why they were really there, the
exhilaration of playing a live show. They loved the fans and the
excitement. They’d been playing together for so long it was
nearly effortless.

When they took the
stage the arena went wild. The time always seemed to pass too
quickly. From the first note to the last, they continuously gave it
everything they had, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to live
their dreams without the fans making it possible.

They constantly left
it all on the stage, returning to the buses completely exhausted.
All worry and speculation about any subject matter disappeared; they
just focused on rocking their fans' faces off. And they never
disappointed.

meet me in the
mountains

under a star
filled sky

build me a fire
out of ashes

teach me how to
fly

-
excerpt
from Lenny's journal

Lenny hadn't slept in almost two years. Not really.
She could lay down and stare at the dark and hope and pray to slip
into peaceful oblivion, but it wouldn't happen.

She would have little bouts of sleep,
but nothing solid to cling to, nothing that
felt
like the sleep she remembered from days long ago. It would usually
start with the muscle aches, followed by the vivid nightmare replay.
Some images never seemed to fade, especially with a photographic
memory, and they were in perfect, crystal clear reception when she
was alone in her bunk. The traumatic betrayal that left her empty,
the physical pain that ripped through her body as her dreams fell
apart around her, the gruesome incompetence to stop or change any of
the events as she watched them replay again and again. The end always
resulted with the perfunctory long-standing headache.

She was a pro at hiding the dark circles under her eyes
with special concealer and acting like being a morning person was
just who she was. She knew that Carl believed that she took coffee
intravenously, and she couldn't deny that it would make the
consumption of required caffeine that much easier.

Her inability to sleep came in quite handy for her new
job. Everyone thought she was the first one awake. Nope, she was
just up. All the time.

Lenny sighed as she paid for the hot, black beverage at
the counter in the roadside diner. Yep, another exhausting day. At
least Carl loved coffee as much as she did. She smirked as as she
grabbed his to-go cup. If only he knew what a pusher she felt like
every time she handed him his cup.

***

Trust. Trust was a big deal to Carl. It usually took
years of knowing him to earn it. Two weeks into the tour and Carl
knew he trusted Lenny beyond the reasonable.

She didn't just do what was expected, she rose above
expectation. She inexplicably knew everything about everyone's
station. She could fill in at a moment's notice. She was everywhere
at once, solving problems before Carl knew they ever existed. And
she did all of it with a smile.

Professional barely covered it. The entire tour ran on
her timetable, which happened to be more efficient than Carl's. He
got more than an assistant out of hiring Lenny. If Carl was the
ruthless sea captain, then Lenny was his devoted first officer. And
the crew was loyal to her. Probably to the death.