No Strings Attached (10 page)

The tension was very high with all of us until we could see for ourselves that she made it alright.  There hasn't been a second that’s gone by today that I haven't wished I had made more of an ass of myself to keep her at the hotel last night.  I really feel like it still would've drove her to him, and then she wouldn't have felt like she could turn to me when he dumped her.

She steps onto the bus and everyone starts in on her.  They all want to know the how, when, and where.  The only thing that seems to be understood is the who before she begins to tell us all to drop it.

"What the hell, guys?  It's all good.  Yes, he's an asshole, but this is what happens when you go to bed with an asshole."  I watch as the twins cringe from her words. 

"You fucked Riggins.  Shit, Lilly.  This is out of control."  Talon turns to walk toward the back of the bus.  I can tell this is more than he really wants to know.

"You need to be more careful with these guys, Lilly.  Unfortunately, most of them want only one thing."  Holden tries a softer approach.

"I know men are scum.  I'm not a young innocent thing myself.  I just refuse to be treated like that."  I can tell she's humiliated about everyone knowing her business.  Staying out of the conversation, I make myself as scarce as you can in a bus full of people. 

When it all calms down a bit, we begin to move again.  This time, I have something to handle the second the wheels stop moving.  Garrett will be there and I plan to deal with his ass directly.

We pull onto location and every one of us barrels off the bus to find that asshole.  Garrett's smug ass is laid back with his arm over the back of the couch when we bust through the door.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, dropping her off on the side of the road?"

"She wanted off the bus some forty-five miles back.  Calm the fuck down."  There are four men charging his ass at once—he doesn't stand a chance.  We all fight our way to him and Holden yanks him up with hardly any effort.  The other members of Beckoning choose not to fuck with us.

"You're fucking lucky that she isn't hurt.  I would gut your ass in a second.  Do you understand me?"  Holden's no nonsense demand mirrors my own thoughts.  The rage in his voice matches the craze in his eyes. 

"Let go of me or I'll be pressing assault charges on you."  Holden adds an extra shove when he uncurls his fingers from the grip he has on Garrett.  We all storm out of the room and begin to pace the floor. 

I've never seen Holden this mad.  We're all infuriated.

"She's safe.  We have to trust in that and let her have her space."  Eaven moves through the room, headed straight for Talon. 

"What's our plan for tonight's show?"  This time it's Aiden who speaks up, probably trying to calm everyone down.

"We go on as scheduled,” Talon says, looking in to Eaven's eyes.  I hate this.  I could've stopped all of this by tying her to the bed and holding her hostage.  All of that sounds better than what we're dealing with right now.

The show isn't our greatest to date.  The tension between us and the guys of 'Beckoning Reality' proves to be too much for us to get past in such a short amount of time.

We have to somehow learn to deal with those bastards because this tour is full of piggyback nights with them.  That asshole doesn't deserve to be near her, but we can't do a damn thing to stop it except threaten him. 

He's cocky and seems to thrive on pissing her off.  The way he's talking to her like she's a piece of trash one minute and then acting completely opposite the next has Lilly on edge.

Lilly

This is such a shitty day.  I need it to be over, like hours ago.  How embarrassing is this crap?  I don't need these guys to fight my battles.  I just wish they'd all stop with the damsel in distress shit.  I'm fine.

It would be nice to take a shower and go to bed.  That's all I need right now. 

We are the first to go on tonight, so we load up immediately following and get the hell out of there.  We check in to another hotel and I welcome the burn of the hot, hot water on my skin.  I love how hotel showers never seem to lose hot water.  You don't realize how important that is until nights like this. 

Stepping out of the shower, I hear a knock on the door.  I wrap up in my towel and check the peep hole.  Luke is standing there waiting for me to open the door.  I contemplate letting him in, but I really just need a night to myself. 
Will he be offended if I don't let him in?
 

His gorgeous smirk wins me over, so I open the door enough for me to just see him through the crack. 

"Hey.  What's up?"

"Just checking on you."

"I'm good.  You guys need to stop worrying about me.  I'm not the fragile little bitch you all have me pegged as."

"I know you're not, but I have the right to check on you."

"Luke, I'm really not in the mood tonight."

"I get that.  Just call me if you need anything.  I'm in room 322, just down the hall."  I watch his face lower in defeat.  He's just trying to cheer me up and I'm being a closed off bitch, not even letting him in the door for a few minutes.  He begins to walk away, so I step out the door to address him face to face.

"Luke, wait.  Come in and keep me company for a little while."  As I'm saying this my towel begins to slip, so I hurry to keep it up, letting go of the door in the process.  The room keys are inside and here I am, standing naked in the hall, with only a towel to shield me from gawking eyes. 

Luke's eyes get wide and he starts to laugh.  How could you not laugh?  This is an insane way to end this hellacious day.  The room is in my name only, therefore I have to go to the front desk for a key to the room. 
Shit.
 
This is not happening to me right now.

"Come to my room.  We'll call downstairs to get you a key."

"Wait.  Isn't Aiden in your room?"

"Yes, but your other option is to stand out here in the hall to see which Walker comes out to see us talking while you're naked."  When he says it like that, I look forward to seeing Aiden in that hotel room.  I don't want any more drama tonight. 
Can't a girl just relax and get some rest?

I tuck my towel in tighter and start to walk down the hall with as much pride as one can in this situation.  He walks fast and I appreciate it.  I hear him begin to warn Aiden the second he opens the door.

"Hey, Lilly is locked out of her room.... and she's naked.  You need to turn the fuck around and give the girl some privacy,"

"What the hell?  I'm not naked.  I have a towel covering me."

"Naked enough."

Aiden moves quickly and never tries to show any disrespect as Luke picks up the phone and dials the front desk.  His explanation as to why he needs a key to a girl's room doesn't work and they demand that I come down for a new key.  He slams the phone down, aggravated, and starts digging in his bag.

"You can put some of my clothes on and go down."  He tosses a t-shirt and shorts over.  The shorts go past my knees and the t-shirt is big on me, which I'm thankful for since I have no bra on.  I go into the bathroom and pull his clothes on. 

He insists on escorting me downstairs and sends evil glares at anyone who even
tries
to look my way.  Crossing my arms over my chest, I manage to get a new room key and we make it back to the third floor.  The elevator opens up and we're faced with Talon and Eaven. 

Can this fucking night just end already?
  They both notice my attire instantly.  I'm sure conclusions are drawn and I have to let any cares about it go.  It is what it is.  Luke and I shouldn't have to answer to anyone.

I hold my head up and step off the elevator.  Turning to wave at them both, I say a thankful prayer that they didn't see me in the towel minutes before.  Holding on to the shorts as I walk quickly to my room, I get the key ready to enter the slot.  I'm going to lock myself in this room and not come out until it's time to pull out of the parking lot. 

His footsteps behind me let me know he still wants to come in to talk.  I hold the door open long enough for him to enter and then gladly close it for good.

"That did
not
just happen."  His laughter verifies his true feelings of the matter.

"Glad
you
think it's funny."

"It is.  Something like that would only happen to you."

"Yeah.  I know.  Fuck my life right now."

"Aww.  It's not that bad.  It could've been worse."

"How?"

"You could have answered the door completely naked."

"Do you honestly think I'd step into the hall butt-ass naked?"

"
I
would."  Slugging him in the arm, I walk over to the bed in the room."

"You totally would."

"Yeah, and I'd stroll my naked ass downstairs to get a new key when they wouldn't work with me over the phone, too."  I could see him doing that.  I'd die of embarrassment and he'd stand proud.  Our laughter and banter continue for hours.  It's so nice to have this back.  It's only been days since we crossed the line and messed things up, but it seems like a long time when you're used to spending almost every minute of the day with someone.

We both fall asleep in the bed and it's purely innocent the entire night.  We needed this and I wake up as happy as I can possibly be.

He doesn't have his shirt on, so I can't help but admire his back when the light starts to shine through the window.  Every time I'm this close to him I see a new tattoo that has always been there, but is just now standing out.  You could seriously play a game of hidden objects on this man's back.  I try not to stir too much and wake him up.  Enjoying this moment for as long as I can, I just watch him in silent awe.

Luke

Spending the night with Lilly like this reminds me how much I enjoy her in my daily life.  We have a lot in common and she knows everything about me.  We don't have any secrets and she just gets me.  Our conversation covers everything from more about our sexual history to the fact that she didn't sleep with Garrett that first night.

Talk about regret.  I want to rewind time and stop her from leaving with him all over again.  I really thought she liked him and was trying to get to know him better.  Hearing her side of things is tough, but we make it through it. 

I apologize for flaunting my 'skank' in her face and she seems to accept it.  Our understanding that we aren't committed to anyone and this is just the beginning of many adventures for both of us seems to come with a sense of relief and concern all in one.  It's important that we understand each other; I just hope we can handle it better when it happens again.

I watch her sleep before I doze off.  Her crazy bed hair and the fact that she's wearing my hideous clothes should be a turn off, but it's not.  I'm not going there with her again anytime soon. 

I open my eyes to silence.  Rolling over, I catch her looking at me.  She tries to avert her eyes before I see her, but she fails.  It does something to me to know she was staring at me while I slept. 
What's with the two of us creepers?

"I should probably get back to my room."

"Yeah, probably so."  I crawl out of bed at the same time she does.  She meets me at the end of the bed and wraps her arms around my waist. 

"Thanks for cheering me up last night.  I had a great time."

"Anytime.  You know I'm here for you."

"So I get to keep the clothes?"

"Uh.  If you really want them."  Her smile when she pulls back from me is all that I wanted to see when I came here last night.  Her happiness means a lot to me and I never want to see her hurt like she has the last few days. 

We only have an hour before we need to leave.  I want to get some gym time in before we go and I'll need to shower as well.  A few of the guys are in the fitness area, so it turns into a pissing contest with the weights.  Holden isn't in here, so I kill it against all of those bastards.  Holden is the only one who can hang with me in the gym.  It goes back and forth with him as to which one of us can lift more.  These other guys have the proper form and one day will get there, but my hard work and dedication outweighs all of their efforts any day. 

I end up running myself late for a shower, but choose to take one anyway.  They should all be thankful that I don't skip the shower just to be on time.  We always leave in plenty of time, allowing for extra time for the girls or lil’ miss Heaven and any distractions that could happen on a long trip like this. 

Today is only a travel day.  Knowing that we don't have to go on stage immediately upon arriving is a relief.

I'm the last one on the bus, but it doesn't seem like I've pissed anyone off.  Most of them are around the table playing a game of 'Oh hell', and the competitive sounds of laughter blare through the confined space.  This game is fast-paced solitaire, and these people get downright nasty when it comes to this game.  I watch the girls run circles around Taron and Talon, and decline when they ask me to join.

This drive proves to be exactly like the good old days.  There doesn't seem to be stress and we all get to have fun like we usually do.  The guys seem to be over being mad at me about Lilly. 

Sitting by her most of the day, we encourage each other all day in back and forth teasing; never missing an opportunity to give the other one hell.  We don't restrict our aim to just each other, either.  There are multiple times we get to let loose on some of the others.

"So, how does it feel to be an old married couple?"  Lilly directs her question to Eaven and Talon.  They both exchange looks and smile at each other.  These two should be on a poster.

" The only real difference is he calls me Mrs. Walker all the time.  Everything else is really the same."  They've only been married a couple of months, but we all knew it was coming long before then.  Just like we know Ivy will eventually say yes to Taron. 

Those two girls fell for the twins so hard.  I really didn't see Ivy falling for Taron after some of the shit I witnessed between them, but now it's obvious that they are one of those forever stories.