Page 71 of Crimson Desires

As soon as Aster walked out through the hotel doors, I set off to hunt down Ava.

***

Thirty minutes into our four-hour journey to Charleston, our bus broke down.

Axel and I were in the main living area when it happened. I was half-listening to him as he droned on about the battle mechanics in Magic: The Gathering when the bus jerked to the left. Moments later, our driver pulled over to the side of the road.

Thankfully, we had gotten off the highway moments earlier.

The hood of the bus wheezed out a cloud of gray smoke. Not immediately dangerous, according to our driver, but something that had to get fixed before we could go anywhere.

Ava stormed onto our bus moments later. She nearly tripped up the stairs because she was staring at her tablet, and she had her phone pinned between her ear and shoulder. She stomped past Axel and me and headed to the semi-private lounge in the back of the bus.

Damien, Kane, and Zephyr slipped out of their bunks, joining Axel and me at the front of the bus.

“I’ve never seen Ava that worked up before,” Axel said, his breath hushed.

Kane snorted. “I have.”

Zephyr frowned before asking the question currently running through all our minds. “Think we’ll have to cancel Charleston?”

We didn’t have to wonder for long. Ava marched back out into the front of the bus. I opened my mouth to speak to her, but she held up a finger to signal one moment. Ava reached into the mini fridge, grabbed an energy drink, and withdrew her keys. Then, she stabbed the base of the can with her keys, cracked the tab at the top, and shot-gunned it.

As soon as she’d finished the drink, she said, “I just got off the phone with a local mechanic. We’re expecting a three-hour delay in Charleston, but the show is still going to go on as planned. I’ll be taking this bus to oversee repairs. Crew bus is driving separately so they’re not delayed in setting up.”

Before I could stop myself, I said, “Can I go with them?”

Ava narrowed her eyes at me. “Why?”

Isn’t it obvious?

I shrugged, trying my best to seem nonchalant. “I don’t know. Might be a good opportunity to get to know the crew better.”

“Might be a good opportunity to have some extra time with Aster,” Damien corrected. He broke out into a devilish grin. “You remember when we took that greyhound with my parents on vacation, and there was that couple in the back with the blanket? And underneath the blanket, the guy was fingering the girl?”

Ava shot me a murderous look.

“I’m not trying to fuck her, Ava. Do you really think Aster would even let me try something like that on a bus full of her coworkers?”

Ava looked as though she wanted to argue with me. Apparently, though, she thought better of it. She dismissed me with a wave. “Fine. Do whatever the hell you want, Jack. But no blankets.”

“Awesome! Thanks, Ava. You’re the best.”

“Thanks for noticing,” Ava said. “Also, if you wouldn’t mind, tell the crew what’s going on, and tell the driver to start back on the road to the Charleston venue.”

As Ava retreated to the back lounge to make her calls, I grabbed a bag, left our bus, and headed to the crew bus. As soon as I stepped on the bus, I felt the eyes of the crew on me. Their expressions ranged from confused to concerned—while the guys and I never snubbed crew, it wasn’t common for us to directly interact with them.

I relayed Ava’s message to the crew and the driver. Then, without further explanation, I headed back to Aster’s row of seats and flopped down on the seat next to her. Aster raised an eyebrow at me.

“What are you doing? Is the band riding with us?”

“Not the band. Just me,” I said. I stretched out on the seat. It was cramped, but not uncomfortable. “Hope you don’t mind.”

Aster yawned. “I was mostly hoping to sleep. You might get bored.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her.

“Cool.”

---