Page 22 of Stuck With My Rockstar Boss
We get under the covers and embrace one another. Lucas pulls me into his chest, my head right against his heart. A steady, beautiful cadence. He traces a line down my arm back and forth, back and forth. I put my hand against his taut stomach. I can’t fall asleep here. We have to get back to the buses. When everyone’s drunk, we won’t make anyone suspicious. In the morning, it’ll just be a mess.
But when Lucas kisses the top of my head, my entire body melts and I can’t avoid that sinking feeling of sleep.
Maybe I can sleep here in his arms, too. Just once.
9
Lucas
“Chicago!”
The crowd goes wild.
“How we feelin’ tonight?”
From the sounds of their cheers, the answer is “good.” I cast a look back at the band. Everyone’s getting ready for the next song in our set. Chase is patting himself down with a towel while Dylan and Jay hand off their instruments to their techs in exchange for new ones.
“We are too,” I say, leaning into the mic. “We’ve got a fucking show for you. A real fucking show. We wouldn’t do any less for twenty years of Soul Sounds!”
Twenty years. Most of these people have probably been fans for less than that, but it doesn’t matter. They’re here now.
I look over my other shoulder at the backup singers. The three of them look like a girl group from the sixties gone haywire in the best way, standing at the ready on their riser. My eyes meet Mika’s and I see a sly smile perk up on her lips.
This woman will be the death of me.
“Let’s do it,” I say to the audience and Chase knows that’s his cue to start ripping on the drums for “Visitor”.
I always love playing Chicago. It’s a music town to its core and Midwesterners are maniacs. And this show… it feels special.
As the song spirals like smoke from a cigarette, I feel like we sound the best we have all tour. My voice melds with the backup singers, but I can pick Mika’s out without hesitation. Hers soars above the rest.
Last night was… incredible. Not to sound like a player, but I’ve slept with a lot of women and that was most certainly one of the best. It was just so easy to get in sync with Mika. Maybe it has something to do with the music, with our rendition of “Vicky” at the concert last night. Or maybe it’s something deeper than that. If I think too hard about it, I’ll get sentimental and we can’t have that. It was a one-time thing.
I have to admit, though, I hope it’s not just a one-time thing. I mean, why not? We’ve kept our travels a secret this far. How hard would it be to keep a little action a secret too?
Mika left the hotel before I did early this morning when she could be sure Crystal and Lee would be too far gone to notice her get on her bus. And I followed. I wasn’t so lucky with being sneaky, though. Immediately upon getting on the bus, I was greeted by Ken, much to my surprise.
“Where the hell have you been?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed and grouchy.
“Hm? Early morning run,” I grumbled back. We had enough of a rapport where he knew not to question us and our habits. “What are you doing here?”
Ken was seated at the table, leg propped up on the booth. He had his laptop open before him and swiveled it around to face me. It was an article with a picture of Mika and me from the concert; the title read “Soul Sounds Surprise Slays Smashville.” “You’re adding ‘Vicky’ to the set,” Ken says.
I have always liked that Ken just cuts to the chase. He tells it like it is and says what he means. I tried to hide my excitement at the news. “With Mika on the Kesha part?”
“You got it,” Ken replied. He was drinking a green smoothie and had chia seeds stuck in his teeth. “I’ve watched the recording like five times. You guys sounded like–” He kissed his fingers.
“Sounds good,” I said with a soft smile.
“But let’s be clear, kid,” Ken went on, eyebrows raised. “I know the music can make things a little mushy gushy and get you revved up. Remember: the girls are off limits.”
I played it off and gave him a look like he was crazy. “As if I’d ever.”
“I know! I know. You’ve always been the goody two shoes. And that’s saying something considering the predicaments you’ve gotten yourself into,” Ken muttered to himself.
We were off to Chicago soon after that and now, here we are, for a two-night engagement at the Chicago Theatre. An old venue with the landmark sign right on State Street.
The guys and I decided earlier to poise “Vicky” toward the end of the set, right after “Snake in the Grass” so the crowd is hyped already. Mika’s been wringing her hands since I told her about it during soundcheck. I did my best not to reach out and touch her to give her some encouragement. After last night, it’s hard not to imagine the feeling of her up against my chest. Instead, I opted for, “You got this,” and nudged her arm with my knuckle.
