The bus rode through the night, silently across the prairie. River and Gabe crashed out early. Buck hid in his cubicle with his guitar, playing soulful acoustic songs reminiscent of the band's earlier works. I would have approached him about it, but he seemed so remote that I kept my distance. Buck wanted me to stay away, which was fine with me.

Chuck and I sat in the living room for a few hours. He apologized once again and promised to be good all night. And he was.

We watched television and played some video games. He told me stories about rock and roll. We even snuggled together while watching a movie, his solid body next to mine. Thankfully, I didn't have to fend off a single sexual advance. Before I went to bed, we exchanged chaste kisses on the cheek and a light hug.

Chuck's behavior made me happy. Perhaps his failed attempt to be nice to me on stage had taught him something. In any case, we had made it to the friend zone, which was better than the love-em-and-leave-em zone those groupies all fell into. Chuck and I were good, and I curled up in my cubicle with a smile.

I awoke in the predawn and made my way to the front of the bus, past the living room. Big Tim was at the wheel, guiding us down the road. "Morning, Big Tim." I stood next to him as we stared at the scenery. "Don't you ever get tired?"

He shrugged. "I sleep when I can and drive when I must. We're roadies-the band's punching bags." He chuckled at his lowly status. "Anyway, congrats on lasting this long. You've eliminated half the bets. Most of the guys thought you'd bail after that first concert, and all of us thought you'd bail after last night."

"I can't bail, Big Tim. I'm a punching bag, too."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"So were the boys like this before I got here, or did they get worse in Chicago?"

"I'd say they're about the same. Although I haven't seen Buck and Chuck fight like that before. Still, it's been coming for a while-they really hate each other."

"I noticed." I gave him a pat on the shoulder and went back to the living room. For the next hour, while the Fiery Boys slept, I actually enjoyed riding on the tour bus, watching the road roll by.

The busses and trucks gathered outside of the Minneapolis arena and huddled together for safety. The first thing they did was to set up the fence, a secure encampment to protect them from overeager fans. After that, the roadies got seriously busy preparing for the show.




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