Page 44 of Bulletproof
“Call him whatever you want. I can see that he means a great deal to you, and I’ve never seen you hung up on someone before. I only have your bestinterest at heart, personally as well as professionally.”
The deep conversation was too much too early in the morning, even if it was almost noon. “It’s alright. I get it. We’re cool. Let’s forget about it. OK?”
“We’re leaving in an hour to go to the in-store signing,” Felix said, dismissing the conversation. “Please be ready.” He eyed each of them harshly. “We’re ona tight schedule today. There’s no wiggle room.”
With that drama over, Derek returned to eating his breakfast in peace. Every mouthful reminded him of Travis, and he went back and forth in his head on whether or not to call his elusive lover. He let out a huff and put down his coffee cup. He was done playing games, and punched Travis’ speed dial number into the phone. He silentlycursed when the call went straight into voicemail, but didn’t let his voice give away his frustration. “Hey, Trav. I’m sitting in my suite with a table full of morning chow in front of me. I could use some company.” He paused, and his tone went from light and breezy to melancholy. “I haven’t heard from you. Just . . . send me a text to let me know everything’s OK.” He paused again. “I miss you.”
“Dude, you totally rock. I’ve been a fan since I heard your first album. I can’t believe I finally got to meet you!”
Derek signed a CD. “Thanks. We really appreciate our die-hard fans.” He took a quick selfie with the guy, even though they weren’t supposed to do individual photos. Normally,Felix would have stopped that shit in an instant, but this morning’s argument must have softened the hard-nose manager, because he usually never tolerated any deviation from the plan. Felix ran the signing like clockwork. The fans all formed a single line and had their CD autographed by everyone in the band, then took a group photo at the table. No exceptions.
The phone in Derek’spocket dinged and he rushed to retrieve it. He knew it was Travis before he looked at the screen.
Travis: Sorry. I know you’re at a meet & greet. I crashed hard last night. Got your msgs this a.m.
Derek: Everything OK?
Travis: Yeah. Took 2 sleeping pills.
Derek worried about Travis’ use of drugs, even though he knew Travis really needed them.Rock stars had a long history of drug abuse and some paid the consequences.
Derek: Next time call me.
“Let’s go, Derek!” Felix bellowed from the end of the long table. “Fans are waiting.”
Shit. He totally forgot they were supposed to be taking a photo right now. He quickly sent a text to Travis that he had to go, slipped his phone back into his pocket, andapologized to the fan that was standing behind him.
“No problem. This is awesome!” The fan smiled with a grin that practically cut his face in half.
Three long hours later, they were in a limo on their way back to the hotel, and Derek finally had a moment to call Travis. An elbow hit him in the side of the head, reminding him why he hated sitting next to Alan and Jeremy.“Knock it off, asshole.” He shoved Jeremy. “You got the whole inside of the car. Why do you two gotta roughhouse right next to me?”
“Because we like you.” Jeremy made kissy noises at Derek.
One of Alan’s muscled arms appeared behind Jeremy’s back and gave Derek a punch in the shoulder. “Quit shoving my guy, MacAlister.” Then he wrapped his arm around Jeremy and pulledhim close in a possessive embrace. “And keep those lips away from him.”
Derek rubbed his shoulder. “Damn, Alan. Your fist is like a fucking ball-peen hammer.” Still trapped between Jeremy and Alan and Brandon and Cam, he moved to the opposite side of the car before calling Travis.
This time, Travis answered on the first ring. “Hey. Sorry again about last night.”
The sound of Travis’ voice made Derek’s insides melt, and he wondered if everyone felt this way when they weren’t with the person they cared about. “It’s OK. I was just worried. Where are you now?”
“In my room getting ready. We’ve been shuffled around to two different radio stations today for on-air interviews. It was really cool.” He emitted an ironic laugh. “No live audience.No anxiety. Or maybe it was a decent night’s sleep.” He grunted, and a thud, which sounded like he was sorting through his suitcase, came through the phone. “I don’t know what to wear. This is a fancy event and we’re supposed to dress up.”
“That just means everyone else will be dressed. Rock stars wear ripped jeans.”
Travis laughed again. “Maybe you can explain that toour P.R. rep.”
Tonight was a big deal, for both of them. Not only was Bulletproof getting another platinum album at the awards ceremony, but they were presenting Reckless with their first gold record for their first hit single.
Someone in the background called Travis, much like Felix was always on Bulletproof’s ass.
“I’m sorry. I gotta run, Derek. I’m notdressed and we’re supposed to be leaving in ten minutes.”
“Don’t stress out about it, Trav. Just wear black jeans and a Reckless T-shirt. It’s free promo. Your P.R. rep will love it.”
“Like Brandon always wears a Bulletproof T-shirt?”
“Yeah. It’ll be cool.”
