Miles of Pleasure (29 page)

Back in the dressing room, Kaylee had just finished telling Noah what happened. She had finally calmed down enough to talk, but tears were still drizzling down her face. "This was supposed to be such a happy night, and look what happened. I can't keep feeling this way after every concert. Even if it wasn't his fault, how many times can I see some groupie kissing my boyfriend and be okay with it?"

Noah was trying to be gentle, but in this case, Ashton wasn't to blame. "We all have an obligation to the band and to our fans. Without them, we wouldn't be here. You'll understand eventually, we have to do whatever we can to keep the fans happy or else they won't come to our shows, or buy our albums or our merchandise. If we piss off all our fans, there'll be no more Miles of Pleasure," he told her, knowing that she didn't see that side of it yet.

"When situations come up, like what happened with Ashton, we need to handle them very carefully. We can't just shove the person away and make a big scene. We have to be very diplomatic about it."

Kaylee looked at him like he had grown three heads. "So, I'm just supposed to watch hot girls with my boyfriend all the time? I don't think so! And I can't believe you're taking his side." She stood up. "Thanks for being there for me, big brother," she said, and stormed out of the room.

She went to the bus waiting out back for them, and crawled into her bunk, closing the curtain behind her. She didn't want to talk to anyone for the rest of the night.

Ashton heard the bus door open and slam shut. He knew that it was her without even looking. Her high-heeled shoes pounded angrily onto the floor as she made her way to the bunk area. For a moment, Ashton was nervous with anticipation, just waiting for her to fling open his curtain so they could hash it out.

But the flinging never happened. He heard her jump into her bunk, then close her own curtain. It took everything in him not to go to her. Yes, it hurt that she didn't trust him, but he still loved her. He didn't want to lose her, especially not over some groupie. He desperately wanted to make it better, to get her back and stop her from hurting. But he just wasn't sure how. As his eyes drifted shut, he vowed that he would show her that she could trust him, and that he would get her back.

Kaylee lay in her bunk, fully aware that Ashton was in his. She was surprised that he hadn't come to talk to her, but at the same time, she was relieved. She knew that as soon as she looked into his eyes and saw him smile at her, her resolve would melt.

A part of her understood what Noah had told her, that they couldn't go around offending the fans, but it still didn't change the fact that she was worried one of those girls would catch Ashton's eye. It was better for them to be apart, to make a clean break now, before anyone got hurt. The only problem was, there were already two people hurt, along with the potential for the rest of the band to be hurt in all this.

She sighed and closed her eyes. She just hoped that over time, the hurt from losing Ashton wouldn't sting so much.

Tension filled the bus the next day, as Ashton and Kaylee kept to separate ends. Ashton was in the back with Noah, working on a new song, while Kaylee was up front, reading a book on the couch.

At least, Kaylee thought she was reading it, but after she realized she read the same page a hundred times and still had no clue what it said, she knew that she was too distracted to read.

Jayden and Colton sat at the table, playing an exciting game of 'Go Fish', trying to stay out of everyone's way. They had talked the night before, and while Colton was on Kaylee's side, Jayden decided it would be best if he was neutral and didn't take sides. He thought they were both right in their own ways, but wouldn't admit it to either one.

The tension was killing Kaylee. She felt like a caged lion on the bus for the first time since the band had started touring. So when they finally rolled to a stop outside the next concert venue, she was the first off the bus.

Kaylee threw herself into preparing for the concert. She had a lot of pent up energy to get rid of, and did so by running around the auditorium, making sure everything was in place for their set.

An hour before the show, it was all she could do to sit still for hair and makeup. The only thing helping her was that she wanted to look extra good for the concert. In her mind, she needed to show Ashton that she could be hot too, and maybe even show him that he threw away the best thing to have ever happened to him.

As she looked in the mirror, her confidence faded fast. She'd never look like some of those girls he had been attracted to before, like the ones who are always backstage for the after parties. She'd never be as skinny as them, even though she wasn't fat. And they were model-type women, whereas she was more the girl next door.

Kaylee realized that she just couldn't compete. Defeated, she left the dressing room to go and rehearse.

The concert went well that night. She and Ashton put on a show for the crowd with some light-hearted banter, but it wasn't the same as usual, and it wasn't real. Neither one had been overly happy to be on stage with the other, but the average concert-goer couldn't tell by their performance.

At the party after the show, they kept to opposite sides of the room. Ashton made sure that his female admirers were kept an arm's distance away from him, not wanting them to cause any more problems than they had already. Kaylee on the other hand, was flirting with every man in sight, as if she needed the reassurance that someone found her attractive.

There was one guy though, whom she realized she got in over her head with. He was staring at her with lecherous eyes that never went higher than her chest. As many times as she tried to excuse herself, he followed her wherever she went. She was beginning to understand what Noah meant when he said that they couldn't offend the fans. As much as she wanted to yell at the sleaze to get away from her, she knew that would only cause more problems.

Once he had her backed into a corner, Kaylee knew she was in trouble. He leaned in for a kiss, and just as his lips met hers, she felt them leave again. She looked up to see Ashton pull the man off her by the back of his shirt. The anger in his eyes was unmistakable.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, kissing my girlfriend?" he yelled at the man.

As much as Kaylee wanted to be away from the fan, she knew she had to step in.

"I'm not your girlfriend anymore, remember?" she bit at him. "And if you recall, you were in the opposite position last night, and couldn't understand why I was upset. It's fine when it happens to you, but not me, is that right?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

Ashton's face fell. He knew she was right. In that instance, he had seen red when he looked over at Kaylee and saw the guy trying to kiss her.

"Kaylee, I'm sorry!" he yelled to her, as she tore out of the room.

She stopped quickly and turned around, tears filling her eyes. "Don't. Just don't," she growled, with her hands up in resignation. The hurt in her eyes was unmistakable as everyone in the room watched her turn and leave. All was quiet for a minute because no one knew what to say.

Ashton broke the silence by throwing his glass at the closest wall, watching it smash into tiny pieces and rain onto the floor. Colton went over and put his hand on Ashton's shoulder. "Come on man, let's get out of here and cool off."

Colton led him to the exit and pushed him outside.

"Are you happy now?" Colton asked him, glaring.

Ashton looked up at Colton. "What do you think, man?" his voice wavered. "I understand that she was upset last night, and I understand why. That's not the problem. The problem is that she doesn't trust me, and without trust, there is no relationship. And I just made things worse."

He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts together. "But I will get her back. I'll show her that she can trust me, and that we can be together and happy, if it's the last thing I do," Ashton promised.

Colton looked at the determination in Ashton's eyes and knew that he was right. He would do everything he could to get her back, and eventually they'd be alright. How he was going to do it remained to be seen, but it was something Colton looked forward to sitting back and watching.

I
t had been five days, five very long days since Kaylee and Ashton had last spoken. One hundred and twenty hours had passed since their last exchange of words. In a normal world, it would have been undesirable, but alright. Living together in a house, it would have been annoying. But living together on a tour bus where the quarters were tight, five days of tension and silence was insufferable.

But with their next concert being played that night, Ashton had a plan. He was sure that it would make everything alright. His first course of action would be the hardest, but the most crucial. He needed to get Kaylee back on his side, even if it was just as friends, on the way to his final destination.

He saw her, sitting at the front of the bus, reading again. She was alone. He knew that because the rest of the guys were in the back playing a video game. It was the perfect opportunity for him, and he wasn't going to let it pass. He slowly approached her, like a man hunting his prey. He didn't want to make any sudden movements to send her scurrying back into the woods...or the back of the bus.