Noel helps me out of the car and grabs my hand. I smile and glance over at him. His eyes watch me intently as he runs his thumb over the back of my hand. There’s something on his mind. I can tell. Years of being friends with a man do have some benefits.

My smile fades. “Are you alright?”

He runs a hand through his hair and then scrubs it over his face. “Yeah, just tired, I guess.”

I don’t buy his story, but I don’t want to rehash the same issue from the car ride over here, if that’s what’s still on his mind. Hopefully, he really does understand and respect my need to take things slow. I’ve found most of the things I’ve done in a rush never work out. Prime example: breaking up with him the first time.

We just need time.

Trip notices us and nods his head. “What’s up love birds?”

Noel smirks at the black haired drummer. “Did you guys hang out here all day?”

“Yeah, pretty much. This little town is boring as hell. They don’t even have a fucking Starbucks close. Can you believe that shit?” Trip rolls his eyes at the city’s lameness. “The only thing to do is hang out on Bertha and play Xbox. Did you go over to the hotel?”

“Lane and I did.”

Trip grins. “Damn, dude. You’re a machine.”

The skin on my face burns. I know it’s beet red. Did everyone on the bus hear everything we did yesterday?

Trip laughs and Noel shoves him back. The force of the playful shove sends Trip back against the shrubs behind him. That only causes him to laugh harder and his brother, Tyke to join in.

Noel pulls me by the hand toward the bus. “Ignore them. The more they see it gets to you, the more they’ll keep at it.”

I want to die.

I’ve never been one who is overly sexual or boisterous about my sex life, so to suddenly have everyone on the planet…okay, maybe not the planet, but definitely the band and most of the Black Flacon crew know Noel and I have been at it like rabbits since yesterday, bothers me. It’s totally embarrassing.

Noel opens the bus door and leads me inside. It’s surprisingly clean today and it smells like a cleaner of some sort and air freshener. This is most certainly a different, yet welcomed, sight to what we left this morning.

Noel notices the look on my face and grins. “Told you we’d get this cleaned up. We aren’t total animals, you know.”

The toilet flushes and my eyes scan the hallway, curious as to who is back there. Riff steps out, wearing yellow rubber gloves and holding a spray bottle. My eyebrows lift. Riff is the last person on earth I expected as the domestic type.

“You did all this?” I ask Riff.

He shrugs. “I didn’t want you to have to live in our filth. Plus…” He pauses and glances to Noel, then back to me. “It’s kind of a peace offering for teasing you in front of Aubrey. No hard feelings. Alright?”

I smile. “That’s very sweet of you, Riff. Consider it forgotten.”

He grins and nods, while Noel stiffens next to me. Clearly, the little act of kindness didn’t win him over as easily.

I don’t get why Noel is like this with Riff. I figured he’d chill out a little bit after I I reassured him Riff isn’t my type. I mean, Riff is kind of with Aubrey now. That alone should relieve his fear.

A ringing cell phone cuts through the tense air. Noel reaches into his pocket and twists his lips. “I have to take this.”

He answers the phone and tells the person on the other end to hold on a minute while he makes his way outside.

Riff pulls off the gloves and opens the cabinet beneath the sink. He tosses them in a blue tub along with the cleaner. “I’m going to find Trip. I’ll catch you later, Lanie.”

Riff pats my shoulder as he slides past me toward the door. I follow him out the door and spot Noel arguing with whoever it is on the phone. It looks heated and it reminds me of the last time I caught him in a heated conversation over business.

Riff stops in front of Noel, and they exchange a few words that I can’t make out. Riff shakes his head and walks away. Noel’s eyes don’t leave him until he’s out of sight.

I have the feeling there’s way more to their tense relationship than either of them are telling me. This is something I’m going to have to get to the bottom of sooner, rather than later if I’m going to make it on this bus for another week.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Noel really is amazing on stage. The way he belts out the lyrics sets me in a trance along with the other twenty thousand people here in attendance tonight. I sway to the beat and my head bobs in time to the music. It’s so easy to get lost in him.

I don’t notice the scantly clad woman in fish net stockings and five inch stiletto heels approach the stage until she’s directly beside me. Like me, the woman’s eyes fixate on the guys performing. The blonde is pretty much in a black bathing suit covered by a black—what I assume is suppose to be—dress. Only it doesn’t cover anything. It’s basically strings held together on each side of her body by a three inch piece of black fabric. She’s brave. I’ll give her that.

I give her a polite smile when she catches me staring at her revealing outfit, and then return my attention back to the stage. I don’t know if I’ll be able to ever get used to all the women that hang around at shows.

When the song ends, Noel thanks his screaming fans before he glances in my direction.

His smile immediately fades and my eye brows scrunch together. It’s the same evil look I catch him giving Riff sometimes.