We drove out of the small cemetery and headed back onto the highway. I was thankful it was a warm day since I had decided to wear a dress today. Still, the wind made it chilly as we left Eddington and all of our horrible experiences behind us. I had no idea where we were going, and I didn’t really care. I watched the cars around us go by in a blur as we made our way to Interstate 75. We rode for hours, only stopping to refuel and stretch our legs.
Traffic began to pick up, and we slowed to a crawl as we made our way to Atlanta. I had never been there before and couldn’t wrap my head around the sheer amount of people that populated the city. Everyone had their own destination, and they were oblivious to the hordes of people around them.
Tucker took an exit off the highway and wove his way through the city streets. Everything seemed bigger than life. We pulled up to a stoplight, and Tucker glanced back over his shoulder at me, rubbing my hands that still gripped his waist.
“Hungry?”
“Absolutely,” I yelled over the sound of the engine.
He nodded and took off as the light changed to green. After a few more lights and several turns we pulled up at a restaurant that was tucked away at the base of a larger building. It looked like a hole in the wall. I got off the bike, stretching my legs in the most ladylike fashion manageable. I held out my helmet for Tucker and ran my hands through my hair a few times.
“You look beautiful.” His grin melted my heart, and I looped my fingers in his as I let him pull me into the small eatery.
I had to do a double take as we entered. The restaurant stretched far back into the building and was much larger than it appeared from outside. The walls were painted a deep gold with patches of gold leaf brushed right onto the walls. The lighting was so low it was nearly dark, with candles lit at each table. Artwork lined the walls, and I would have thought we were at a gallery had it not been for the tables. A woman in a crisp white button-down shirt and black slacks greeted us as we entered. We followed her toward the back of the room and passed a bar that lined the left wall. There was a set of steps that led down below the main level and held a larger dining area. I suddenly felt extremely underdressed for such a place.
“This is beautiful,” I whispered as Tucker looped his arm over my shoulders and pulled me into his side. He gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head. The hostess had stopped at a table and waited for us to take our seats. Tucker pulled out my chair, and I slid into it and waited for him to join me. Instead of sitting across from me, he chose the chair to my left and held my hand as we waited for the waitress to bring us our menus.
“This is . . . more than what I expected.” I felt so out of place. Luckily, we had arrived just after the dinner crowd, and being that it was a weekday, we pretty much had the restaurant to ourselves. There was one other couple on the far side of the room. They were older and dressed to the nines. I wondered if they were celebrating an anniversary or something.
Our waitress arrived with glasses of ice water and handed us our menus. She was beautiful. Her hair was more blond than mine, her eyes a sparkling light blue. I watched as she smiled, blushing slightly in Tucker’s direction. He smiled back politely, but gave my hand a gentle squeeze under the table.
“I’ll have a beer. Whatever you have is fine.”
She turned her attention to me.
“I’ll have whatever he is having,” I said, clearing my throat. These were the girls who worried me. The ones I could see on Tucker’s arm, winking at the paparazzi and looking glamorous while his star continued to rise. As the waitress left to grab our drinks, I glanced down at my sundress, tugging at the hem. I wished I had changed into something a bit . . . classier before the trip.
“You look amazing.”
I felt my cheeks flush under his gaze. He made me feel like I truly did look amazing. There was an honesty in his voice that I had never heard from anyone else before. I reached for my glass of water and took a small sip.
“Thank you.”
His thumb brushed over the back of my hand as I flipped open my menu and tried to concentrate on finding something to eat. The confusion I felt as I was trying to decipher the Italian menu must have shown on my face because Tucker laughed at me and flipped my menu closed.
“I have no idea what any of it means either. Let’s just order a bunch of appetizers. One of them is bound to be good.”
I smiled back at him and nodded. I had a tendency to get overwhelmed. Tucker took everything in stride. I admired that about him.
“So . . . where are we headed?” I asked excitedly. This was the farthest away from home that I had been.
“We have a concert in a few hours at Philips Arena. It’s kind of a big show. We are headlining for a new band. Probably the biggest concert we have had yet.” He grinned and for once he looked nervous. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Shouldn’t you be rehearsing?” I felt guilty that once again his band was sitting around waiting for him because of me.
“They understand. Trust me. It was Terry’s idea for me to come find you.”
I thought back to the Twisted Twins. Neither gave off the “love conquers all” vibe. In fact, had they not defended my honor when I worked at the diner, I would have been frightened of them.
The waitress returned with two Budweiser bottles and glasses. Tucker waved the glasses away and picked up his bottle, taking a long swig.
“They may be okay with it now, but how much longer are they going to be okay having to change their schedules to accommodate me?” I grabbed my bottle and took a small sip.
“You’re not planning on leaving me again, are you?” He cocked his eyebrow up as his eyes scanned my face.
“Of course not.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about.” He shrugged and took another sip. The waitress returned from disposing of the unused glasses. She held a pen and pad in her hands, waiting to take our order.
“Have you decided?” she asked, her eyes flicking to me but then resting intently on Tucker.
“We’d like one of each of your apps.” He smiled, grabbing my menu and placing it on top of his and holding them out for her to take. I did not miss the fact that she went out of her way to touch his hand with her fingers as she grabbed the menus from his hand.
He gave me a small grin, noting my jealousy.
“So . . .” He cleared his throat and took another drink. “What have you been up to while I was on the first leg of the tour?”
I picked at the label of my beer.
“Working mostly. But hey, I saw that you will be doing an awards show soon? That’s actually really exciting!” I wanted to add that I had heard about the actress he had been linked to and was dying for him to tell me that there was no truth to the rumors, but I knew I couldn’t ask . . . and I knew he wouldn’t bring it up. After all, I had been the one who left him, and he had no obligation to be faithful to an absentee girlfriend. Although it’s not like he had any reason to worry about what I’d been up to. I couldn’t look at another man after being with Tucker. He had ruined me for anyone in the future.
“What about you?”
He took another long pull from the bottle, emptying it. He sat it on the edge of the table and nodded toward the waitress who quickly came and cleared it as she went off to fetch him another beer. I watched her leave, wondering if I could handle what he was going to say. Tucker had been nothing but kind to me, always honest and faithful and passionate when we were together, but I would be lying to myself if I said I knew him inside and out. Even today, I had seen new sides to him that I hadn’t known existed. I didn’t know if those sides had grown from what we had been through together, or if they had been there all along, bubbling under the surface.
“I spent most of my time writing, practicing with the guys. They would drag me out whenever they could, trying to get me to cheer up.”
Those words sat on my chest like a ton of bricks. As I watched the waitress return with Tucker’s drink, she smiled, and he returned it politely. I took a deep breath. I had to stop letting jealousy get the best of me. Tucker and I were together now, and that was what mattered. I needed to erase those months of separation from my mind and focus on our future—we both deserved, and clearly needed, a clean slate. And there was no place for jealousy in our future together. Easier said than done when you’re dating a rock star.
Chapter Three
AS WE MUNCHED on our appetizers, Tucker’s eyes lit up as he filled me in on what had been going on with the band. A lot had changed for them since they landed the music awards gig, and they were playing bigger venues and getting invited to join fairly established bands in concert. But the most exciting news, which he could hardly deliver without beaming, was that Damaged was going to be making their debut music video for Loved.
“That’s surreal.” I was incredibly proud of all that Damaged had accomplished in only a few months’ time.
“It’s a really big honor to have Jeff Jones direct. He’s done videos for all of my favorite bands. We only have a couple of months to come up with the concept and how we want the band portrayed.” Tucker was beaming, and his excitement was contagious.
“You’re going to do great.” I smiled, loving the way his eyes lit up as he spoke.
“You’ll be right by my side.” He winked, and the realization of how much everything was about to change hit me. A few months ago I was worried where my next meal would be coming from; now I had to find something to wear on a music video shoot.
We finished our food and made our way out to the motorcycle so we could meet up with the rest of the band. I could feel my nerves tying knots in my stomach as we approached the arena. I hoped the rest of Damaged didn’t harbor any bad feelings for me, but I wouldn’t blame them if they did.
As we pulled into the parking lot of the Philips Arena, it finally hit me how different things had really become. The parking lot overflowed with cars, and throngs of people lined the sidewalks . . . all waiting to see Tucker play. We rode around to the back of the oversized building and parked next to Damaged’s tour bus. The bus was dark, and I was thankful I wouldn’t have to come face-to-face with the other members just yet.
Tucker took my hand and led me up onto the bus.
“I just want to change my shirt. It will only take a second.”
I nodded at him and followed up the short set of steps. The bus couldn’t even be called a bus—it was practically a house on wheels. There was a large table with a bench seat that covered three sides. A mini kitchen sat directly across from the table. Next to that was a narrow hallway that appeared to be lined with bunk beds of sorts. I couldn’t see what was past that. It was more than obvious a bunch of young guys with no supervision lived here. My shoes stuck to the floor, and soda bottles overflowed from the tiny trash can by the table. The bus smelled like a mixture of cheap cologne and alcohol.
Tucker released my hand and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I’m going to go change.” He walked down the narrow hall and disappeared into a door at the back of the bus.
“Hand me a water,” a voice called from behind one of the curtained beds. I jumped at the sound, not knowing who it was or who they were talking to. He was silent for a minute, and I held my breath, trying not to make a sound. “Please?” He sounded sad, almost in pain. I turned behind me and scanned the kitchen area for a fridge. I located a mini fridge under one of the cabinets. I pulled it open and found a bottle of water. I slid my hand behind the curtain. Warm fingers circled mine as he took the drink.
“Thank you,” he said, still not revealing his identity.
“You’re welcome,” I replied, not wanting to be rude.
“You groupies are good for two things,” he said and laughed to himself. Suddenly, the curtain pushed open and I was face-to-face with a nearly naked man. His hair was cut short, not very rock star. His body was thick but muscular and I couldn’t see any tattoos.
“Excuse me?” I took a step back, suddenly feeling like the space was closing in on me.
“Cass?” He jumped down from the top bunk, filling the little space between us with his large, muscular body that was only covered by a pair of black boxer briefs. “Didn’t think I’d see you again.”
I shook my head as the drummer for Damaged held out his hand for me to shake.
“Eric.”
I took his hand and shook it as Tucker made his way out of the room in the back of the bus. He was wearing a vintage-wash, dark blue T-shirt that read #Damaged and a pair of dark, tattered jeans.
“Hey, E.” Tucker nodded his head toward Eric as he slipped behind me, resting his hands on my hips. “How’s the headache?”
“I’ll live. You coming to practice?” His eyes went from Tucker’s to mine as he ran his hand over his buzzed hair. I hoped he wasn’t worried that I would be responsible for Tucker missing any more practices or gigs.
“Yeah, I’m coming. Throw some clothes on. Let’s go find the twins.”
Tucker guided me toward the steps to leave. I glanced over my shoulder at Eric whose eyes were already on mine, and he had a smirk on his face. He certainly wasn’t shy.
We stepped down off the bus and Tucker spun me to face him, pushing my back against the bus, his body pressed hard against mine.
“I can’t wait to have you in my arms like this every night.” His lips pressed against mine. I let my arms loop around his neck and pulled him closer, not wanting any space between us. Eric stepped down out of the bus and cleared his throat. Tucker pulled back and playfully hit him on the arm, but it was more than apparent that these guys weren’t the best of friends.