Back-Up (18 page)

“Oh no, I’m a bit O
.C.D too. I guess I’ll have to learn to look the other way?”

“If it becomes too much for you, you are welcome to join me and the roadies. But we’d have to hide you because the band would not be happy if you bunked with us. How do you feel about sleeping in the overhead?”

“Sounds cozy.” I respond dryly, and he laughs again.

“I’ll be on the second bus with Will Sutter
. He is the equipment manager for Devil’s Lair, as well as our drivers, and five roadies that you will meet once we take off.” He frowns and pulls his phone out of his pocket.

He shakes his head and
stands. “Excuse me, Leila?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’ll be right back. Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m fine.” He nods and leaves the room.

Speaking to Dylan these last few minutes helped me forget that Jack is coming. Unfortunately, I now remember that Jack is coming.

We will be in a room full of people. I can handle it. I can handle it. I can handle it.

Dylan is back in less than a minute with Jennifer in tow. “Hello Leila, how are you?” she asks with a phony as hell smile.

“H
i Jennifer. I’m fine, thank you, how are you?” I reciprocate with my own phony as hell smile.

“I’m great. I’m looking very forward to getting started.” She looks at Dylan and
remarks, “Nice spread.”

“I aim to please.” H
e says with a tight smile. He stands between Jennifer and me and now looks uptight and tense. I guess Mr. Kressel and Ms. Baxter aren’t BFF’s? I like Dylan even more now.

“Hi Dyl.” I hear Jack say as he strolls into the room. Noticing me sitting behind Dylan he stops in his tracks. “Oh, hey Leila. I didn’t know you were here already.”

My heart pounds furiously in my chest, and my breathing becomes labored. I can handle it,
my ass
.

“I asked Leila to come a little earlier so we could chat.” Dylan says to Jack while extending his hand. Jack pauses before shaking it. Jack’s quite a bit taller than Dylan, enabling him to see over his shoulder and into my eyes. We exchange gazes; Jack’s lacking the smolder and heat I’m used to seeing. In its place, remorse and shame.

“Good to see you Leila.” I smile at him not trusting my voice to respond.

Dylan takes the chair beside me. Jack clenches his jaw and moves around the table to sit directly across from me. The tension between us can be cut with a knife. Dylan notic
es and tries to lighten the mood. “Did you lose the rest of the band, or did you finally fire their asses?”

“You know it
wouldn’t matter if I fired them, they would keep showing up anyway.” Jack responds tightly, while watching me. Jennifer takes the chair next to Jack and scoots closer to him.

Dylan turns to place
a hand on my arm. “Hungry?”

I pull
my eyes from Jack to look at Dylan.  “Yes, everything looks delicious.”

He
hands me a plate and says, “No need to wait. This is my party. Dig in.”

The way
Jack and Jennifer silently watching our exchange, makes me feel uncomfortable.  The rest of the band finally making it to the conference room lightens the mood. Hunter is the first one in. With a look at the catered trays, he smacks Dylan on the back and asks, “Who the hell ordered sissy wraps?”

“Just trying to please the ladies.” Dylan nods in my direction.

“I like wraps.” Scott touts as he grabs one without a plate and waves at me with his free hand.

“Of course you do.” Hunter responds dryly.

After a quick hello, Hunter and Trey also dive right into the platter of wraps, even though it’s sissy cuisine. Dylan spars with them like they have all been buddies for years. He knows how to handle them, and even goads Trey during the course of our lunch. His relationship with the guys is clearly more laid back and relaxed than his with Jack.

Dylan casually shares some details of the tour, specifically luggage requirements and bus constraints. Conversation flows between everyone except Jack. He
drinks a coke and only speaks when asked a question, and even then only in monosyllables. If the guys or Jen notice his attitude, they quietly keep comments to themselves and ignore him for the most part.

I ha
ven’t been in his company much and I can understand moody, but this goes beyond. I’m having trouble ignoring him, however. His presence across the table is still a major distraction, even in his dour disposition. Dare I say moody Jack is very sexy?

As we are finishing up with lunch, Dylan pulls some paperwork out of his brief case. “
I hate to get down to business but this is the reason I did ask you to come. Basically it’s the same contract the studio has in place for each of the guys. The contract details my services during the tour as well as the studio’s responsibilities.” He pushes the stack of papers towards me and offers me a pen.

I skim the pages and sign them where he added cute little flags. I pus
h the stack back towards him. “Well that was harmless. Little do you know you that just gave me all your worldly possessions.”

Narrowing my eyes I respond, “Well I hope you and Bessie are very happy together.”

“Bessie?” he asks smiling.

“My 2004 Honda Accord. The passenger door sticks a little, but just rub her a bit and she’ll open right up for you.” His eyes bulge and the guys snicker.
I realize what I said could definitely be misconstrued and burst out laughing alongside Dylan. When I finally catch my breath, I notice the room gawking at us. 

Dylan awkwardly clears his throat and says, “Ok, well I think we are done. Anyone have anything they want to discuss?”

“I do.” Jack voluntarily speaks for the first time. “Speaking of Bessie, I want car service sent for Leila every day. We will be working late hours on some nights, and I feel for her safety we should supply car service.”

“I’m
fine Jack. I can drive myself and I don’t need car service.” Who the hell does he think he is? My dad?

Jennifer glares at Jack like he has lost his mind.

Dylan nods considerately. “That’s a valid concern. I can most definitely offer car service to Leila on any nights you will be working late. She can also park her car in a lot at the studio’s expense.”

“Thank you.” Jack and I both say at the same time as I glare at him.

“Leila, I’ll have a copy of this contract mailed to you tomorrow for your records. If you have any questions, just let me know.”

“Thanks Dylan. I will.”

Trey chimes in at that moment. “Are we done here?”

“Yep all done. You can all take off.” Dylan says.

He stands and says to me, “Say hi to Lori.” Then he walks out the door.

Lori? Well that’s interesting.

Hunter and Scott stand next and wave to me on their way out. Neither Jack nor Jennifer move.

“Well I guess I’ll see you guys on Monday.”

Jennifer stands and says, “Leila, nine sharp. We have a lot to do Monday morning even before we start rehearsals.” The woman looks at me like I’m an idiot.

“No problem, I’ll be here.” 
I look at Jack before I walk out. “Bye Jack.”

“Bye.”

He remains sitting as Dylan stares at him for a few seconds and finally turns to me. “I’ll walk you out.”

So this is how he wants to play it? An ache settles in my chest. Why the hell is he upset with me? Maybe because I ruined his good time.

Monday is going to be very awkward unless I do something to break the tension between us. Maybe I’ll be the better person and call him later.

Once in the lobby, Dylan turns to face me when we are at the front door.

“Are you and Jack ok?” Anyone could have guessed there was tension between us today, but I’m a bit taken back that Dylan would mention it barely knowing me.

“Yea
h, we are fine. Why?” I ask looking away. If he can read people as well as I think, he just figured out I’m lying.

“Just seems like you two had a lot of tension between you. If there is anything I can do to help the situation, just let me know. I can talk to him, if nothing else.” He offers and I’m touched.

“Thanks Dylan, but I can handle it.” This is between Jack and me.

“Handle what?” Jack asks walking over to us. I turn towards him and sigh. How much has he heard?

Without missing a beat, Dylan says, “Just the stress of going on tour.” He turns to face me and winks.

Jack stands right next to us at the front door
and makes no motion to leave. It’s obvious he thinks Dylan is full of crap.

Dylan looks at
him indifferently and then turns back to me. “Leila, remember what I said. You can call me for any reason. It was an absolute pleasure meeting you. I look forward to getting to know you.” He puts out his hand, and as I shake it he then lays his other hand over both of ours. He walks towards the hallway without a word to Jack.

“You two BFF’s already?”
Pure annoyance flashes across his face. Is that why he is so pissy?

I ignore his comment and shoot him my own indifferent look before turning to leave.

“Wait, can I walk you to your car? I’d like to talk.”

Now he wants to talk?

“Nothing to talk about.” 

“Please?”

I sigh heavily and
turn towards the door.

“Bye Leila.” Ian calls out as I walk out the studio.

“Bye Ian.” I wave and smile.

Jack looks over at Ian then turns to me. “You are here like five minutes, and you already have two admirers?” He tries to sound amused, but he falls short.

What
is
his problem?

We walk towards the lot where my car is parked in total silence, as I quietly stew.

“Can I sit with you inside for a few minutes?” he asks.

My nonverbal response is to unlock the doors. Once inside the car, I barely shut my door before Jacks mutters, “I’m so sorry.”

Staring straight ahead, he looks completely distraught. “Leila, I am…I am so sorry.” He finally turns to look at me.

“Jack ...I…why are you angry at me?”

He turns to me and looks confused. “I’m not angry with you. I’m angry with myself. I’m sorry I’m not handling my feelings very well.”

“Oh…I…never mind.” I uncomfortably stumble over my own words. I don’t know what to say. Watching him, I fail to recall why I was even mad at him. My anger is slipping away, and I wish I could reach over and comfort him.

Why was I so upset with him? He has already apologized for his behavior, but I guess I wasn’t ready to forgive him. After the way he acted today, I assumed that he was annoyed with me.

It suddenly occurs to me
that the lack of contact from him for the last few weeks is what has me upset. What had me totally freaking out wasn’t the tour looming, or the kiss, or even Jack acting like a whore. It was the fact I wasn’t hearing from him.

“Jack, it’s ok.”

“I hate that we started off on the wrong foot. Can we start over?”  He pleads.

“I would like that.”

He smiles and grabs my hand. “I know you are working tonight, but can I take you out to dinner tomorrow? Sort of a peace offering?”

We do need to feel comfortable with each other. We
need to get to a better place, and besides, I enjoy being with him. I now crave it. I would do anything this man asks because, well just because.

Before I can stop myself I blurt out, “Why don’t you come to my place? We can bring in or I can cook. We can talk
and get to know each other better.”

Who am I kidding?

He looks at me with raised eyebrows. “Yeah? Are you sure you are ok with that?”

“Yes, I would like that.”

“Ok, I would like that too.” He says smiling.

As an afterthought I add, “Bring Hunter if you’d like.” I’m not sure I said that to help him feel more comfortable, or for me to.

***

Jack arrives alone, explaining Hunter had plans. The way he stands at my door bearing dinner, which consists of a pizza, a six-pack and a box of cheap white wine, makes him look absolutely adorable.

“You remembered the cheap wine.”

“Well I was going to get a bottle, but I thought the box would impress you more.”

Laughing, I open the door wide for him
, taking the wine from his hand.

As we sit eating our meal while making small talk, I can’t help but feel he seems a bit on edge with me. As he devours his fourth brownie, I shyly ask, “Are you ok?”

Looking up surprised he responds, “Yeah, why?”

“You just seem quiet tonight.”

Smiling warmly, he shrugs and admits, “I just want things to be ok between us.”

I reach over to cover his hand with my own, and as I’m doing it I’m aware it’s a bad idea.