Sweetness (27 page)

Tonight is our last night
in Texas before we head out to
San Diego for the biggest part of the promo tour. The
guys have interviews, small private concerts, and
morning talk show appearances, for the remainder of the
tour. We will be on the road bright and early so I have to
make sure they’re not out too late. That is going to go
over like a ton of bricks. Dom I can handle. Rocco is
reasonable if I ask nicely, but Justin and Chris like the
nightlife. Saturday night shows usually draw the biggest
crowd which gets the guys all pumped up for one hell of
an after party. Unfortunately, I have to remember why I
am here and be the mother hen of this group. All in all,
for rock stars they are not too bad. Some of the other
bands that have opened for them have been barely able
to perform by the time show time came.

The after party tonight is hosted by, HMA, so
while the boys are living it up I will be working on fan
meetings and venue arrangements. I had to arrive a few
hours before they did to make sure everything was
running smoothly, and assure the fans that won private
VIP access from a local radio station are accounted for
before I pull Lost into the private room. After casing the
room I am relieved. This group seems harmless enough.
There are four college age guys, two women in their
early thirties, and two barely legal blonds who looked
like they raided a hooker’s closet and stole their mother’s
high heels. Noting, they have not yet mastered the task of
walking in heals and silently hoping they fall on their
asses for my own entertainment.

The college guys are giving the two younger girls
their best pickup lines, while the thirtysomethings eye up
the college guys; fixing their pushup bras to reveal a little
more cleavage.

Jesus. This should be interesting.
These guys don’t stand a chance once Justin lays
on his Aussie charm. His accent really is pretty spot on.
He explained to me that his parents are from Australia
and the whole family moved here when he was seven.
That’s how he is able to turn it on and off like that. Just
seems like a lot of trouble to go through to bed a sure
thing if you ask me, but whatever floats his boat.
Security alerts me that the band has just arrived.
As I fight my way through the crowd toward the front
door, I can hear the DJ announce the band. The guys step
out of the limo that the record label sent and my heart
beats a mile per minute. This is the first time I am
running a job like this solo, without Gabe’s help. He is
confident that I can do this so I have to show him I can. I
stand at the top of the red carpet and I watch as the guys
shake hands, sign autographs, and wave to adoring fans.
Ryan, the bands security, holds back most of the fans as
they reach over the red ropes in the off chance they will
be able to make physical contact. Justin and Chris throw
girls sexy smiles and pose for pictures while Rocco
scours the crowd for his flavor of the night. He spots one
quickly, a tall redhead with a short green dress, or long
green shirt, whichever you prefer to call it. The girl walks
to the front of the group and is lifted by Rocco over the
red ropes, causing a commotion. Security quickly leads
the guys into the building before a riot ensues and Ryan
visually scolds him.
As Dominic enters the building his eyes scan the
room for me. With all the commotion he didn’t see me off
to the side, standing next to the security guards posted at
the building entrance. I take a second to admire the sight
before me. He has on dark fitted jeans, heavy black
motorcycle boots, a white v-neck t-shirt and a black fitted
leather vest. His red tipped, blond hair is covered by a
black leather fedora. He looks absolutely smoking hot if I
do say so myself.
Hot and all mine.
I walk up behind him and wrap my bare arms
around his waist; he flinches slightly at the intimate
contact before twisting around to see it’s me groping him
and not some random girl trying to cop a feel.
“Hi’ya’ handsome.” I wink.
“Hey, beautiful,” he replies before laying a kiss on
me that makes my knees weak. When I pull away I am
reminded that we are not alone when I thick finger taps
my shoulder.
Since the music is so loud I can’t hear Ryan try to
ask me something. I point to the direction of the VIP
room where the guys are expected to make an
appearance before mingling with the crowd, in hopes
that was what he needed. Ryan nods and steers Rocco
and his new date, Justin, and Chris to the back of the
club. When we get inside, I see that two of our guests
have disappeared; one of the college guys and one of the
older ladies are kissing and petting, heavily, in the
corner. Justin yells out a few words of encouragement
and the two of them pull apart. Blushing a very deep
shade of red, the two rejoin the crowd hand in hand.
I remove myself from Dominic’s arm and stand by
the door with Ryan so the contest winners can get a little
one on one time with the band. Once Dominic and Justin
take a seat on the long, white leather couch, the two
bimbo’s settle themselves on either side of Dominic.
Justin moves closer to the taller blond girl and lays his
arm on the back of the couch behind her. Chris takes a
seat near the college guys on the couch opposite Dom. A
perky waitress, who is desperately trying to grab Justin’s
attention, brings them all beers and stumbles a bit when
Justin winks at her in appreciation. Dom, clearly
uncomfortable being flanked by the bottle blond squad,
moves off the couch and settles in a club chair closer to
Chris. Rocco and his date take Dominic’s seat and
resume their provocative petting session, completely
ignoring the petite blond next to them. The shorter blond
looks deflated and crosses her arms across her chest
while the taller blond now only has eyes for Justin.
Noticing my eye roll as everyone stakes their
claim for the evening, Dom raises his beer bottle to me
and flashes a smile before taking a long pull from it. The
hour-long private party goes smoothly and without a
hitch. After a few more hours the guys party with
everyone else at the club.
They have a Monday morning talk show
appearance in San Diego so we have to head out tonight
if we are going to make it. I inform the group we have to
get on the road and they reluctantly leave their guests
high and dry.
Once we are back in the limo I see that Justin
makes an effort to sit next to me, which is odd. When
Ryan closes the door behind us the atmosphere in the car
takes a nosedive.
“Emma,” Justin slurs in a soft tone of voice. “my
sister, Julie, is going to come out a join us on tour for a
few weeks. I just wanted to let you know too.”
Dominic puts his arm around my shoulder and
squeezes it a little. Normally I wouldn’t think anything of
it but the way everyone is looking at me I can’t help but
think it is an odd gesture.
“Ok. That’s great, I guess. But why is everyone
being weird?” I toss questioning looks to everyone but
from the way they hang their heads I know what is
coming next can’t be good.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Justin’s jaw tic
under the dim interior lights of the limo. Again Dominic
squeezes my shoulder but instead of looking at me, he
looks past me, as if he needs approval for what is going
to be said next.
What the hell is going on? Do they think I have
exclusive I-am-the-only-girl-allowed rights or
something? My head is playing ping-pong as I look
between Justin and Dominic.
“Emm,” Dominic pauses when his eyes meet
Justin. “Julie was beat up pretty bad the other night. Her
parents want her to come out here with Justin to get
away from-“ Dominic stops speaking, as if he is having
trouble speaking the rest of his sentence. My eyes shoot
to Justin, praying to god the next words out of Dom’s
mouth aren’t what I suspect them to be. Justin’s face is
tight and his hands are balled up into fists. The guy looks
like he is ready to blow a gasket.
“Justin, I am so sorry. Whatever you need,
whatever she needs, please let me know and I’m on it.” I
place my hand on top of his, in hopes to comfort him as
we pull up to the arena gates.
The car is silent all the way to the bus. When we
exit the car Justin whispers in my ear that he wants to
talk to me in private once we’re on the road. Privacy is
tricky on this bus but the bedroom does have a door. At
least we can get partial privacy if we keep our voices low.
I give him a curt nod, indicating that I understand,
before moving up the metal stairs to our home on
wheels. Chris and Rocco attack the leftovers in the fridge
and Dominic and I head to our room with Justin a few
steps behind. Dominic closes the door and studies me
while I take my shoes off. He steps in front of me and lifts
my chin, forcing me look at him. When he leans down to
kiss me I can tell there is something wrong. There is
something wrong, I can feel it in my bones. I know their
worry is because they think Glen did this.
“What?” I ask.
“What? What?”
“What is going on? Why are you being weird?”
Dominic looks at the ceiling and lets out a deep
breath. I put my hands on his waist while I wait for him
to start talking. He knows more than what he is letting
on. He is obviously trying to protect me, or protect Glen.
Either way he needs to tell me what he knows. I don’t
know if I can help Julie, but I can try.
“Sit down,” he commands in a soft voice; I
comply. “Julies parents called Justin after the show
yesterday and told him that Julie was beat up pretty bad.
She went out with some friends and when she came
home she could barely make it through the door before
she collapsed. They took her to the hospital and the
police were called. They asked her questions but she kept
telling them that she was attacked and claims she doesn’t
know who did it. But, her parents think Glen did it.” His
voice trails off at the end as if for the first time ever he
may possibly believe it too.
I freeze instantly. If feels like someone turned the
heat up in the room. My hearts beats rapidly, my
breathing becomes labored, and I break out in a cold
sweat. I had my suspicion but for him to confirm my
fears, that’s something else all together. Dominic notices
the change immediately. I am sure my face paled as soon
as his words hit me. My hands start shaking as I careen
into a full-blown panic attack.
Damn it!
“Emma, are you okay?” Dominic looks scared as
he kneels down in front of me. I shake my head as the
beads of sweat start spilling down my forehead. “Jesus!
Breath, baby. Just breath.”
Dominic takes the hem of my shirt and pulls it
over my head then wipes my face with it before walking
out of the room. I sit here trying to process his words.
Glen beat up Julie. Why? I feel a rush of wet coldness hit
my face and chest. I am pulled from my thoughts
gasping for air as the icy water drips down my face onto
my chest.
“Dominic! What the fuck!”
“I’m sorry. You weren’t breathing. You looked like
you were going into shock. I didn’t know what to do. I
needed you to snap out of it,” he explains as he pulls me
into his chest and wraps his arms around my shoulders.
“I’m sorry. What happened? Why did you freak
out?” He repeats while kissing my temple, trying to
sooth me.
“I don’t know. I just…I don’t know.” I lie.
“Emma, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have told you if I
knew it would upset you this much.”
“You didn’t upset me. I just feel bad for Julie. Glen
is my family and he hurt Justin’s sister. I kind of feel
responsible.” He pulls back sharply and our eyes lock.
The pupil of his eyes can barely be seen as I watch anger
and confusion dance across his face.
“You’re not. Justin doesn’t think that and neither
do I. If Glen did this then he is the only one to blame and
he will pay for what he did. Julie is like a sister to me I
want to make sure she’s okay, just as much as Justin
does. It was either she came out here with us or her
parents were going to send her to Australia to stay with
her grandparents for a while.” He’s mad. He should be
mad. He is being manipulated by one of his best friends
while Julie takes the brunt of Glen’s anger. Anger that is
meant for me.
I snuggle into his chest needing the comfort he
always brings. This is a dangerous topic of conversation
and I can’t allow my own anger to cloud my head. It is
well known that I shoot off at the mouth. I can’t take the
chance of giving away too much with Dominic.
Goosebumps perk up on my body from the cold water
drying on my skin. I laugh into Dominic’s chest, to which
he breaks our chest-to-chest contact and holds me at
arms length. His face scrunches up in confusion;
watching me like I am crazy.
“What’s funny?”
“You are. I am almost naked and you threw ice
water on me. You are usually trying to heat me up, not
cool me off,” I continue to laugh, tugging on his shirt to
close gap between us.
“Christ, you scared the hell out of me. Don’t do
that shit again.” Dominic holds me tight to him and I
shiver, this time not because I am cold.
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you really okay?”
“Yea. I don’t know what happened. I just-“ I duck
out of his grasp leaving my statement hanging in the air.
I open my drawer, pulling out yoga pants and a t-shirt, I
remain silent as I dress. I can feel Dominic watching me
move around the room.
“Is that why Justin wants to talk to me? Because of
Glen?”
He leans against the bedroom door and tosses his
hat on the bed before rubbing his eyes. “Probably, but if
you don’t want to…“ he leaves his comment lingering.
“No, its fine. Can you send him in?”
“Emma.”
I turn to face him, plastering a fake smile on my
face. A smile I use to protect me from the ugly world that
surrounds me. A smile I have perfected over the years as
my own suit of armor. A smile that throws up another
row of bricks on the ever growing wall I tuck myself
behind.
“I’m fine baby. I just need to talk to him. I owe
him that. I mean... my stepbrother beat on his sister, the
least I can do is talk to him. Try to help with Julie if I
can,” I tell him while I pull my hair into a messy bun.
“Ok. I will be right outside if you need me.”
Dominic kisses my forehead before exiting the
room. I hear him tell Justin to not upset me as he passes
him in the kitchen. I glace toward the door and see Justin
clap him on his back before turning toward the bedroom,
putting his own mask on for the sake of his friend. If
there is one thing I have perfected over the years, it is
reading people. I have the ability to have, bullshit x-ray
vision, if you will, so I know his grin is not genuine.
When Justin walks into the room and closes the
door he loses the act and takes a deep breath before
slumping onto the bed. I can see how much this is
troubling him, it is written all over his face. Justin may be
a man whore but he is a decent guy. He loves his sister
and his family. He has always had Dominic’s back and
even though he jokes around with me to get a rise out of
Dominic, he has always been nothing less then a
gentleman to me. The more I am with these guys the
more I consider them my friends as well. It may actually
be a good thing that Julie is going to be joining us for the
ride. It would be nice to have some more estrogen on this
bus.
“Emma, I know you hate Glen as much as I do so I
need to know why Glen is doing this to my sister. Do you
know?”
I have an idea. But I can’t tell Justin. I have to talk
to Julie and find out what is going on first. I don’t know
what she knows and I am not about to tell Justin
anything if I don’t have to. If I do then Dominic will
know the truth about what Glen did and dump me like
yesterdays garbage. He will know how damaged I truly
am and want nothing more to do with me. If my secret
gets out it will ruin us. Ruin me.
“I am really sorry about Julie. Dominic told me
what happened.”