Love's Back Pocket (4 page)

Chapter 7

Holly felt her whole body relax when she sat down on the edge of her twin-sized bed. Her hands folded together and were placed in her lap almost on their own accord, and her chin tilted downwards as her eyes stared at the ground beneath her. She was in a rather pensive mood, with a necessary emphasis on trying to let everything that had happened to her within the past twenty-four hours settle.

Meeting with Tommy, taking her last final, going on tour with Tommy, Mitch and Tanya hooking up … Her lips curled into a very tiny smile as her eyes hid underneath her long, dark lashes. Though she wasn’t exactly certain about where she was in her life now, she was happy for Tanya and Mitch. Was hooking up even the right phrase? She wasn’t exactly sure what the definition of hooking up was anymore. Was it making out? Having sex? Somewhere in between? Her mind started to swim with the possibilities when a knock came on the door. Immediately she stood, not quite sure why she was nervous. Her environment was unfamiliar, and her thought-process had yet to be thoroughly inspected. Maybe that was it.

The young woman went over to the door and opened it a crack, but felt her body relax when she saw her friend’s face. “Tanya,” Holly murmured warmly, and opened the door as wide as she could to allow her friend entrance.

“How are you settling in?” Tanya asked, genuinely curious about her friend’s reaction to the bus.

Holly crossed her arms over her chest, as she flitted her eyes around the enclosed room. She smiled, shrugging a bit before looking back at Tanya. “It’s cozy,” she responded. “If you don’t remember, I’m an adaptable person, so I should get used to this.”

“I do remember,” Tanya said with a teasing sparkle in her brown eyes. “Holly,” she continued after a moment’s pause, plopping ungracefully onto the bed and staring up at her friend, “I just … I don’t know how you do it. I mean, everyone knows Tommy Nye is ridiculously unpredictable and spontaneous, but who would have thought that we would be on his tour bus, going on tour with
The Futurists
.” She smiled up at the ceiling, almost as though she wasn’t quite sure it was her reality. “Thank you for taking me, Holl. I’m serious.”

“I don’t think I’d be able to go without you,” Holly admitted, leaning her back against the wall behind her. “It would just be … weird.” She shook her head at the thought of being alone with these men before shooting her friend an inquiring gaze. “So, Tanya, I’ve been meaning to ask—are you and Mitch together, or …”

Tanya happened to hate the fact that she was blushing that moment. “I … I don’t know,” she said, unable to keep a bright smile off of her face. “I just know he makes me …
so
happy, Holl. I wish you could feel it.” Here, Tanya rolled onto her side and propped her elbow on the bed before enveloping her face in her palm. “I mean, you know me. You know I really like members of the opposite sex, but I’ve never really felt this way before. It’s different. I’m not sure if it’s love, and then again, I’m not sure I want to label it. I just want to roll with it for as long as it will let me.”

Holly smiled at her friend. “I’m happy for you,” she told Tanya. “And I hope it lets you roll for a long time.”

Tanya started chuckling, clearly amused at Holly’s awkward phrasing. “Do you realize how hilarious it is when slang comes out of your mouth, Holl?” Tanya asked. “You are so white sometimes; I love it.” She paused, and then her expression turned wicked. “I saw you with Brendan before we left. What did he say?”

Now it was Holly who blushed, and she revealingly looked away and out the window. “Nothing,” she murmured, shrugging her shoulders as nonchalantly as possible. “We talked about finals, summer … He’s going to be at the New York concert. Hey,” she started, her face cooling as her eyes narrowed into Tanya’s, “do you think Tommy will be able to get Brendan backstage?”

Tanya looked at her friend blankly before grinning, shaking her head, and sitting up. “I doubt it,” she replied, making sure to keep chuckles out of her throat.

“Why not?” Holly asked, slightly offended.

“For a psychologist, Holl, you can be kind of dense. And I mean that in the most loving way. The thing about Tommy Nye is … well, anyone can see he exudes sex and charm, and paired with his good looks, it’s a deadly combination. Tommy loves women. I mean, he
loves
women. Sure, he’s had a few relationships here and there, but let’s face it; the guy loves to be single. For a guy like that to invite a beautiful young woman and her sexy best friend to ride along with his band on their summer tour, that’s saying a lot.”

“I don’t understand,” Holly said, furrowing her brow. “We’ve known each other for a few hours at the most.”

“Yeah, well,” Tanya mumbled, rolling her eyes. “It doesn’t really matter. I saw him with you backstage after his show; he was ignoring a whole group of girls to talk to you. Whatever you did, you’ve intrigued him to the point where he wants to live in close quarters with you for three months straight. He may not know it yet, but I think he likes you. Maybe it’s completely platonic as of right now, or platonic-but-I-wouldn’t-mind-fucking kind of feeling, but the whole ‘like’ is there.”

“And this is why he won’t let me get Brendan in?” her friend asked, somewhat skeptically.

“Honey, if Tommy knew who Brendan was to you then I highly doubt it,” Tanya said firmly.

“I still don’t get it,” Holly said, shaking her head. “We haven’t known each other for very long. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Tanya let a sly grin slip onto her pretty face. “Maybe at this moment it might not make sense,” she allowed, “but in the future, when you and Tommy get closer, when you start learning about him and he starts learning about you, and a friendship starts to blossom between the two of you, and then with that friendship, respect … Who knows where you’ll be at the end of the tour, Holly? Who knows how you’ll feel about him, and who knows how he’ll feel about you? Maybe it’ll stay the same from this point on, maybe it’ll only be friendship … or maybe, just maybe, it’ll develop into something more.” She smiled, seeing the stoic look on her friend’s face. “I see the way you look at him, Holl,” Tanya pointed out. “There’s definitely an attraction.”

“Well, I can admit that for someone of his age … Tommy is … well, he is very attractive.” Holly felt her face heat as her words became flustered. Her eyes also pointedly avoided Tanya’s.

“For is age?” Tanya asked skeptically. “Come on, Holly, fuck age. Age is just another number. And he’s only thirty-nine.
The Futurists
became huge in the late eighties when he was seventeen years old. Even you have to admit that’s pretty impressive.”

“Yes,” the redhead agreed demurely. “It’s impressive. The age thing—”

“Holly, can I ask you a serious question?” Tanya asked, cutting her friend off. “Do you think you’ll find someone your age who will match your maturity level?”

“You have,” Holly pointed out.

“Yes, well, that’s because I am rather amazing, if I do say so myself,” Tanya said with an arrogant smirk. “But that’s beside the point. First, let me state that I am a female, and females are naturally more mature than males.”

“Okay, what about Brendan?” Holly asked, shifting her arms across her chest.

“Brendan?” Tanya rolled her eyes. “Brendan doesn’t match up to your maturity level. That’s not to say he’s
not
mature, but come on, Holly! Be real. Women want a man to be protective and slightly jealous and … manly. That’s what I love about Mitch. Whenever I see him banging the drums—”

“Yes, we went over this,” Holly mumbled.

“Right,” Tanya said, ignoring her friend’s sarcasm. “Because you were studying, you didn’t get a chance to look at Tommy … to
really
look at him. If you had, I guarantee something primal, almost animalistic, would have taken over your basic rationale. That is what a man does. And that is what every woman deserves. Don’t get me wrong; Brendan’s incredibly handsome and he’s smart. But he’s shy and quiet, and … he’s not the man Tommy is.”

“How do you know, Tanya?” Holly asked, and she was surprised how defensive she sounded. “You don’t even know Tommy.”

“No,” her friend agreed, “but I do know Brendan, and I do know you. Trust me when I say Brendan won’t make you happy.”

“And Tommy will?” Holly asked, arching her brow.

“I don’t know.” Standing up, Tanya shrugged her shoulders. “But I do know you should keep your mind open to the possibility. Come with me to watch the San Diego concert. At least see if your animal instincts are
turned on
.” She smirked at her play on words. “If anything, I can guarantee you it will be fun.” With that, Tanya slipped out of Holly’s bedroom, no doubt to reacquaint herself with Mitch.

Holly closed the door and sat back down on the bed. Now she had a whole lot more to think about.     

Chapter 8

There had to be somewhere Holly could unpack her clothing. She peered at the walls, wondering if maybe dresser drawers were attached to it or some other crazy technology, but after a quick skim of her room, she found that no, such a thing was not yet attributed to this bus. For some reason, something inside suggested that she give underneath her bed a try, and as she bent forward, she was surprised to find three transparent plastic boxes with green tops. So this was where her clothing and any other belongings she had would be kept.

It took Holly a long hour to unpack. Tanya hadn’t packed all that much, and if Holly knew Tanya, which she did, it was probably due to the fact that Tanya figured they would be buying things along the way. A small smile touched Holly’s lips as she folded a random white T-shirt because she knew that Tanya was right. Now that Holly thought about it, she really hadn’t been anywhere outside of Southern California and just realized what an amazing opportunity this was. Maybe she would join her best friend at the concert tonight. She had always been partial to classic rock, and figured if
The Futurists
were anything like other bands from the eighties, then she would have no problem finding Tommy’s music agreeable. The whole animalistic thing, however, was a different situation entirely.

A knock on the door caused Holly to glance up from the book she was currently reading. Quickly setting it down on her bed, she stood up and opened the door. Drew was there, a warm smile on his face, and those golden eyes of his still laughing. “Hi,” he greeted. “I hope I’m not disturbing you. I just thought that maybe you’d want something to eat. When I was at NYU, after any final I took, I treated myself to an astonishing amount of food to get my energy back up.”

“You were at NYU?” Holly asked, arching a brow. A blush tainted her cheeks when she realized how presumptuous that sounded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Oh trust me,” Drew said, giving her an assuring smile, “you are definitely not the first to underestimate me. I actually prefer it.”

“Why?” Holly asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded him with a perplexed gaze.

“Because I can always prove them wrong,” he explained, “and I always do.” He grinned and clapped his hands together. “So! Would you like some food? I assure you that I am an excellent cook.”

Before Holly could answer for herself, her stomach let out the loudest growl it possibly could. Holly’s already red cheeks darkened even more and Drew chuckled. “I guess I would,” she told him. “Thank you for your offer.” She shut her door before following the man across the room and over to a small pocket of the bus that was probably the kitchen.

A small, bench-like table took up the majority of the ‘dining room,’ and Tommy, Mitch, and Tanya were already there, eating what looked to be mini pizzas. Holly took a seat across from Tommy and next to Tanya, who was currently giggling at something Tommy had said about Mitch. Holly offered the three a polite smile, but had no idea what had transpired before she had taken a seat.

“How are you settling in?” Tommy asked, looking at Holly with sparkles still in his eyes.

“Well, thank you,” she replied, just as Drew placed a nice, hot mini-pizza in front of her. Up close, Holly could now see that it was made up of a toasted English muffin, tomato sauce, and cheese. It smelled even better than it looked, and Holly let out a content smile as her stomach growled in anticipation.

“And we have more,” Drew assured her, walking around and sitting in between Tommy and Mitch.

“Drew, here, is the best cook I’ve ever met,” Tommy said, clapping his friend on the back as Holly took a bite out of the pizza. She shut her mouth, reveling in the deliciousness of the simple snack. “You know, I probably would marry him if he wasn’t, you know, a guy.” He paused as everybody laughed, before asking, “Do you cook, Holly?”

At this, Tanya started laughing so hard she nearly lodged whatever she was chewing into her throat. “Holly?” she managed to get out as her face turned cherry-red, but not because she was embarrassed or anything like that. Far from it, actually. “Cook? That is probably the funniest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“Hey,” Holly said defensively, though an amused grin started to shape on her lips at Tanya’s antics. “I can make macaroni and cheese, thank you very much.”

“Yes, you can,” Tanya allowed, though everyone could tell she was trying her very best not to laugh.

“I could always teach you,” Drew offered with a friendly smile. “We’ll be on the bus together nearly twenty-four hours, so whenever you’re free, I’d be happy to teach you.”

“Thank you,” Holly told him. “I would actually love that. These are delicious, by the way.”

“Hey, I have a question,” Tanya interrupted as Mitch placed his hand over hers and began to caress it lightly, almost absent-mindedly. “Actually, maybe it’s more of a favor and you can always say no. I know I’m a guest and everything—”

“Just ask, Tanya,” Holly told her friend, giving her an encouraging nudge. Tanya always rambled whenever she got nervous.

“Right, well, I’ve always wanted to walk down the beach in San Diego at night,” Tanya murmured, her face pink. “I mean, it doesn’t matter which beach per se, but I’ve never gotten to do it, and I thought if we had time, it might be something cool to look into.” Mitch squeezed her hand softly, causing Tanya to tear her eyes away from the plain surface of the table and to meet them with his.

“That does sound fun,” Drew agreed, and glanced at Tommy. “The biggest thing I regret about our last tours is we never actually got to enjoy the towns and cities we came to.”

“Yeah, but we never really had time,” Tommy stated. “Nor did we have any reasons to.” He glanced at Holly. “What about you? Would you like to walk along the beach tonight after the concert?”

Holly looked up from her food, surprised he had asked her opinion on something quite trivial. Surprised and yet pleased. “I’ve actually never done something like that,” she confessed.

“Then we shall do it,” Tommy concluded, and Holly gave him a smile. Tommy felt his lips curl up on their own accord, and he returned her smile with one of his own. “So, I know Tanya’s coming to our concert, but have you decided if you’re going to? I’d like to say, completely unbiased of course, that we are probably the best band you could see live in the entire world. Ever. It really makes me feel bad for these kids who consider themselves the new rock ‘n’ roll—the Jonas Brothers or whatever. If only they knew how great we are.”

“Yes, they really need our help,” Mitch said dryly, leaning forward to get a look at Tommy. “They’re selling out stadiums while we’re playing small clubs.”

“Right,” Tommy conceded, before sticking up his index finger, “but we’ve been around since the late eighties. That’s nearly twenty years, and we’ve had seven number one singles, and three platinum albums. We’ll see if the JoHoe’s or whatever they’re called can last as long as we do, or if they turn out to be another fad.” Having made his point, he shifted his attention back to Holly. “So? Are you coming?”

“I’m not sure,” she replied. “I have a bunch of things I need to look at if I’m supposed to be your psychologist, and I want to make sure everything’s in order.”

“You know what you need?” Tommy asked, interlocking his fingers before leaning forward. “You need to relax. Have fun. Be free. Whatever you want to call it. You know, people on their death beds don’t ever wish they spent more time working, studying, or anything boring and not fun.”

“They really are good,” Tanya put in, giving her friend a sincere glance. “Remember what we talked about in your room?” Tommy watched as Holly turned red once again, and a wicked smirk littered his face. “Prove me wrong.”

“Ooh,” Tommy teased, his green eyes darting between Holly and Tanya before resting on Holly once more. “What’d you guys talk about?”

“Nothing,” Holly said a tad too quickly, causing Tommy’s smirk to become more defined. No, they did not talk about ‘nothing,’ as she had put it.

“Girl talk,” Tanya elaborated.

“Okay, girl talk, whatever,” Tommy said, rolling his eyes. “The point is, are you coming?”

Holly opened her mouth but paused, looking at everyone’s face. Did it really make a difference if she showed up or not? When her eyes finally rested on Tommy, and she took in his eagerness, she knew she couldn’t say no. She sighed through her nose, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “All right,” she said in surrender. “I’ll go.”