Page 11 of Still Her

“Nothing. I think I’m just not feeling good from last night,” she whispers back.

“Bullshit,” I whisper. Her blinding smile was perfectly intact when we first got here. She feels fine. “Something’s wrong baby and I want you to tell me what it is.”

“Okay,” she agrees, very quietly. “Let’s get this done with first though.”

I give her a gentle nod, and that’s the moment the photographers stop clicking. Seemingly satisfied with the 200 snapshots they got of that pose, they start directing us to sit on the bike with Mayzie behind me, and tell me to put the aviators back on. I’m not sure what they’re going for here, some kind of rock rebel snatches up a badass cutie, maybe. Doesn’t matter. Could be worse, and I’m sure it will look great. They have Mayzie put her feet up on the pegs and lean into me, resting her face against my back. Her warm body feels good against me, but I swear, she feels stiff.

I glance around, and catch a glimpse of Eli inside the living area of his house. He’s talking to a tall blonde who’s wearing a skintight dress. She looks upset, a dejected look on her face as she talks to him, shaking her head. I can’t hear what they’re saying but Eli shakes his head and shrugs, before reaching in his pocket and handing her a card. He shrugs again and puts his hands in his pockets, seemingly dismissing her, as he turns back towards watching the shoot. That whole interaction was seriously gross to witness, and I think I’m beginning to see what Mayzie sees.

The voice of the photographer breaks through my thoughts, instructing me to turn around and face Mayzie on the bike. By now, she looks a little more relaxed, and gives me a pretty closed-mouth smile that I can’t help but return as the cameras continue to snap away. Without being told, I lean in and give her a little peck on the lips and when I lean back, I see a little bit of the glow has come back to her cheeks.

When the shooting wraps, we give a quick fifteen-minute interview where we answer some surface-level questions about how our respective careers fit in with each other, our dynamic on the road and whatnot. Mayzie and I keep it light and fun, and before we know it, it’s time for us to get going so that I can make it back in time for sound check.

Once we’ve changed back into our own clothes, we head out to the waiting SUV. We’re held up when Eli calls after us from the steps leading up to his front door. We stop and turn as he jogs up to us. “How did the club opening go last night?”

“It was good,” I say, nodding. “Not a hitch,” I tell him, wondering if that’s all he’s looking for.

“Great, great,” he replies. “I’ll let you know if there are any other opportunities in the other cities you’re going to hit.”

“Sounds good. Thanks Eli,” I say giving his hand one last shake.

“Bye Mayzie,” he calls after my wife as she opens the back door of the vehicle. She looks up and gives him a tight smile and a curt nod, before climbing in and slamming the door shut.

* * *

MAYZIE

“I feel so stupid,” I say, sitting cross legged on the bed in black track pants and a white tank top, watching Jack as he buttons up his black shirt.

“Baby, why?” he challenges, looking between me and the task, “It was inappropriate. He shouldn’t be talking to you like that. I’m his client, and you’re my wife.”

“You’re right, but looking back on it, was it really so malicious that I had to let it affect me like that? I’m wondering if maybe he was just joking around. He probably says things like that to every woman on the planet. He’s a pathological philanderer,” I hold my hands out as I try to make sense of my encounter with Eli. After the dust settled, I began to feel a little sheepish and wondered if I’d blown his words out of proportion, if maybe I’d overreacted. I mean, I endure comments like that all the time from our friend Tyler back home, who is the perviest flirt you could ever meet, but it’s all in good fun with him and I know that, so I can joke and laugh it off.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Jack surmises, as he combs his hair in a small mirror mounted on the wall. “But calling my wife akitten? And come out to play withwhomexactly?”

“Maybe he meant you,” I say, waving my hand at him. “And it’s like you said, Tyler’s the same way. He throws comments like that left and right.”

“Touché. But it’s also likeyousaid; Eli plays a different role in our lives than Tyler. Tyler’s our friend and we know he’s joking.”

“Well, maybe Eli was too,” I muse, shaking my head at myself. “I think I made a bigger deal of it than it was. More than anything it was that look I caught that got to me.” Jack sits on the bed, turning towards me.

“That bothers me too, and I want to talk to him about it. Make sure he understands some boundaries.”

“Jack, I don’t think you should hunt him down and confront him over something like this,” I say, laying a hand on his shoulder so that he gets my seriousness. “The more I think about it, the more it seems trivial, and I don’t want it to cause unnecessary friction between him and the band.”

He looks down, slightly nodding his head as he considers my words.

“I mean, I can’t throw a hissy fit and sic you on him, or ask you guys to get a new agent every time one says something or looks at me strange. I don’t want to bethatperson,” I continue to reason.

“Alright,” he says quietly, his face wearing a look of reluctant acceptance. “But if it comes up, I’m saying something,” he looks at me solemnly. “And if it keeps happening, you’re going to tell me about it.”

“Deal,” I nod at him. We typically don’t see Eli much anyway; only at high-profile events. Frankly, I’m surprised to have seen so much of him in the last couple days. The guys are only six months in to their two-year contract with him. It sounds like a long way away, but I can manage myself on the few occasions I’ll likely have to see him during that time frame.

“I mean it, Mayzie,” he says, getting back up to look for his shoes. “We’re supposed to have a business relationship with this person. It’s not okay for him to be scoping out my wife, looking at her like she’s some kind of snack.” He finally locates them and sits back down on the edge of the bed to put them on.

Okay, that comment makes me shudder a bit when I think back to Eli’s reflection with his eyelids at half-mast, homing in intently on my ass, an expression of entitlement on his face. I quickly shake it off. Jack stands and slings his duffle over his shoulder. Sandblast, the opening act for Turn it Up is due to take the stage about now, so Jack needs to get to the dressing room to change and do vocal warmups with the rest of the guys. Jack leans back down to kiss me.

“You going to come out to the show at all tonight?” Jack doesn’t expect me to watch and swoon from backstage every single night of a tour, but it’s only the second night and I want to.

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