Page 20 of Bulletproof
CHAPTER SIX
When Derek woke up, Travis was gone. For a moment, he thought he dreamt the whole thing, but the empty water bottles on the coffee table confirmed the middle-of-the-night visit from Reckless’ lead singer, gone as quickly and unexpectedly as he had come. Derek reflected on the sad soul that hid beneath the wild, lighthearted exterior that Travis presented to the world.The man intrigued the hell out of him and opened a corner of his heart that had been sealed off to emotional attachment. He watched the back of the door, almost expecting Travis to walk through it. The man’s presence still lingered, or maybe it only felt that way because Derek couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Derek stood and stretched his arms up to the ceiling while letting outa loud yawn. He rolled his neck from side to side, trying to work out a cramp left by sleeping on the couch, and his gaze rested on the door to the suite again. He walked toward it, unsure what he was looking for. He knew Travis wouldn’t be on the other side, waiting in the hallway, but he needed to open the door anyway.
The bodyguards turned to look at him, but Derek looked downat the floor. There was a red rose on a short stem lying on a napkin, like the kind room service brought in a small vase with a meal delivery. Derek picked up the flower and napkin with curiosity. It could have been left by anyone – a fan, the hotel staff – but he knew it was from Travis even before he read the handwritten note on the napkin. He smiled at the neat cursive letters that spelled outone word: Thanks. It was signed with the letter “T”.
Derek found his phone and immediately texted Travis.
Derek:You are really fucking sweet. Thank you.
He brought the flower to his nose, just as his phone beeped.
Travis:Thank YOU.
Derek waited for Travis to elaborate on his text, but nothing else came through.
Derek:What are you up to today?
Travis:We’re on our way to shoot a music video.
Derek frowned, disappointed they couldn’t share another breakfast together.
Derek:See you in Vegas tonight?
Travis:Maybe.
Damn Travis and his elusive one-word answers. Either this dude was playing hard to get, or he was a total flake. Derek shoved his phoneback into his pocket, a smile filling his cheeks because he knew Travis was just teasing him.
A live acoustic set at a local radio station along with a short interview, followed by a record store signing, took up the rest of the day. Hours later, when Bulletproof’s tour bus pulled into the parking lot of the Mandarin Oriental, Reckless’ tour bus wasn’t there yet and that deflatedDerek’s spirits a little because he knew he’d probably miss Travis tonight. Tours were hectic, especially when both bands had different agendas, so catching each other took effort.
Derek, along with his bandmates, including Brandy, the black Lab, stepped into Bulletproof’s three-bedroom penthouse suite.
“This is fucking awesome!” Brandon wrapped his long arms around Derekand Jeremy, and motioned with his hands for Alan and Cam to join their group hug. “Together again with my buddies!”
“We’re the five musketeers!” Derek shouted, filled with a new energy at sharing a suite with Brandon again. He felt foolish for his childish behavior yesterday, sulking that he was the fifth wheel. This is where he belonged. These guys were his friends, his bandmates,his brothers. Cam included. They didn’t make him feel awkward just because they were paired off.
The dog barked, alerting them that she was left out of their group hug.
“And Brandy!” Jeremy added.
Not knowing what was going on but excited to be included, Brandy wove in and out of their legs as if she was competing in some kind of agility course.
Cam laughed. “She’s going to have so much fun, with so many people to keep her entertained all the time.”
“Aw, we love having you here, Brandy.” Jeremy bent over and gave the dog a hug.
For the next few hours, they sat around and bullshitted about how cool it was to have Brandon back in the suite with them, and rehashed some old stories. Then they moved on to playingwith the dog.
Forming a circle, they tossed Brandy’s tennis ball back and forth, while she tried to catch it. Derek laughed at her antics. As soon as she ran toward one of them, they threw the ball to someone else, and she was left running between them, unsure of where to go next. Derek caught the ball and tried to trick her by making believe he threw it to Jeremy, when he reallykept it in the palm of his hand. She didn’t fall for it though, and lunged at Derek, knocking him to the floor. With her big paws on his chest, she barked in his face and wagged her tail. “I don’t have it!” He hid the ball in his closed fist and pressed it against his side so she couldn’t see it. She barked again, and a splatter of slobber sprayed across Derek’s face. “Ew! Take it! Take the ball!”He threw it across the room, and she happily chased after it. The ball bounced under the dining room table and she pushed one of the chairs out of the way to capture her toy, then brought it to her fluffy dog bed, ending their game of Keep Away.
“I’m ready to call it a night.” Brandon took Cam’s hand and started for the bedrooms.
“Why are you going to sleep so early?”Derek complained. “It’s not even midnight.”
Brandon waggled his eyebrows. “Who says we’re going to sleep?”
“Oh, God.” Derek forgot that now, not only did he have to listen to Jeremy and Alan screwing around all night, but Brandon and Cam as well. He stuck his fingers in his ears, imagining the sounds from Brandon and Cam’s room. Maybe that wasn’t so bad after all. “Freeporn!”
