Miles for Love Series Box Set, page 130
“Yeah? And what are you going to do about it?” I tease, as we hear the door to Ivan’s room open.
Ivan walks out, looking oh-so-Hugh-Heffner in his hotel robe and evidently nothing else. All he needs is a goddamn cigar hanging out of his mouth. “You two at it again?” he asks, chuckling. Neal and I pause for a second, just to see if any naked chicks follow him out the door. It wouldn’t be a first.
When we see that it’s just him, we continue, as I pin him down and mess the shit out of his hair, so it’s almost unrecognizable. “You fucking little prick!” he laughs, grabbing a handful of my hair, making me squeal like a girl in jest.
“Try combing that hive out, man!” I grunt, smiling at him, and he does something kind of faggy, but I let him do it. He tickles my side, making me scream. I’m so goddamn ticklish, and I won’t let anyone else tickle me except him. I know he’s as straight as an arrow, so it’s cool.
“With that range you should be the lead vocalist, you fag!” Neal teases, tickling me more.
“I grab your balls and you could probably hit even higher, faggot!” I laugh, feigning that I’m going to grab his balls, but hell if I ever would. That’s where I draw the line.
“Fuck you!” he laughs, tousling my hair again.
“Um…are you guys almost done?” Ivan asks. “Because I’d kinda like to get back to what I was doing in there?” he gestures with his head towards his room.
“What, are you guys playing poker or something, man?” Neal teases. “Because if I was bagging three girls at the same time, the last thing I’d be doing is paying attention to what’s going on in the hallway, man.”
“Fuck you. It’s distracting.” Ivan says.
“Then they can’t be that good. Either that or you suck.” I say.
“See if any of them fuck you later.” Ivan says, turning his back, closing the door behind him.
“Looks like you just ruined your chances of getting laid tonight, man.” Neal pokes, and then he literally pokes me in the ribs.
“I can if I want to, man.” I state, unfazed.
“What, are you going to go bang on Michelle’s door or something?” he laughs, teasing me.
“Right after you.” I laugh.
“I wouldn’t try anything with that chick if I were you.” Chris says. “That chick is weird.”
“She’s not weird, man.” I state breathlessly, while Neal and I lay on the floor, chests heaving. “She’s just…seen more than the average person. You know she like…got shot in the military?”
“I know she got discharged.” Chris says. “I just figured it was because she’s a chick or something.”
“Na, she was in combat for like a year, man. In peacekeeping missions for four years before that.”
“Todd was awful adamant for me and Jack to hire her. It was fucking odd. Never seen Todd so fucked up over a chick.”
“Maybe he bagged her.” Neal shrugs.
“Why is everything to you about fucking bagging chicks, man?” I elbow Neal in the ribs. “Her dad saved Todd’s ass and so he called him on an offer is all.”
Danny, overhearing from his room, decides that this is the time to appear. “So daddy got her the job here then.”
“Kind of. But she’s got chops, man. She knows what the hell she’s doing.” I state. Danny is standing at his door with damp hair and a pair of shorts, looking like he’s been standing behind the door this whole time, eavesdropping, choosing his moment wisely.
“Well, she knows how to sew herself up, that I can vouch for.” Danny states.
“She also knows some cool moves.” I explain. “When we were out earlier, this couple walked past us, and instead of hiding, she did this thing where she made it look like we were making out, so my head was hidden, and I wouldn’t be recognized. It was fucking cool, man.”
“Wait…so you made out with her?” Chris asks, grinning.
I wave. “No, no, we pretended to make out. I barely touched her. Just so the couple couldn’t see my face.”
“Did you want to make out with her?” Neal asks in a suggestive tone, teasing.
“No, man, like I said…I like her, but I don’t like her like her.” I clarify. “I did tease her and say that I had a hard-on, but she knew I was kidding. It was pretty funny.”
“You get a hard-on just thinking about it.” Neal says.
“Fuck you, so do you.” I growl, smiling.
“You all do, you bunch of horn bags.” Chris says. “All of you are just fucking hormones with legs.” He looks at his watch. “Where the fuck is Jenny. She should be here by now.”
“When’s her flight due in?” Neal asks.
“Should have been here a couple of hours ago.” Chris answers.
“How come you didn’t meet her at the airport?” I ask.
“Because you guys were in concert, stupid.” He answers, and once again, I want to punch him. He’s gone AWOL before, so it’s not like it’s something new for him to disappear to go to the airport to meet her.
“It’s never stopped you before.” I say before stopping myself.
“Yeah, well, Todd vetoed it this time.”
I tip my chin up, not caring how deep I dig. “How come? You piss him off or something?”
“Snake’s a huge band, man. Todd didn’t want anything getting fucked up.” He says and then he looks at me snidely. “But if it was any of your business, I would have told you.”
Rising, I walk towards my room, muttering. “Fuck you, you asshole.” Just loud enough that he can hear me.
He says nothing as I slam my door. When I look at the phone in my room, I see that the small red light on the phone is flashing, indicating that I have a message. The only person who ever leaves a message for me in my room is my mom, so I trot over and retrieve the message, and call her back immediately.
“Hi, mom, it’s Billy.” I say, when she answers on the second ring.
“Hi, sweetheart.” She sighs. “God, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Same here. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
“How did the show go tonight?” she asks, and she sounds tired. But to be fair, it is after eleven o’clock, and she’s not much of a night person.
“It went really well.” I tell her where we’re off to tomorrow. “When are you coming out to see me?”
“Oh, sweetie, you know that I’m not much for travelling.” It’s true. My mom is terrified of flying, and even more terrified of crowds. She has come out to see me play, but she stays backstage.
“What about if we open in Europe or something? I know you’ve always wanted to go to Europe?”
“Maybe…some day.” She says. “Have you met anyone special?” Mom asks, forever the hopeful. Greta Nestor was born a grandma. She’s a great mom, but she loves babies. When my older stepbrother had one, she was all over him. I think I’m the only kid in the world who would be praised for getting a girl pregnant.
“Your dad called.”
The smile on my face falls. “Yeah…” I trail off.
“He wants to come see you play.”
“Good for him. He can buy nosebleed tickets and sit in the back, like the rest of them.”
“Billy.” Mom warns.
It breaks my heart to hear the anguish in my mom’s voice, but just the mention of my deadbeat father makes my blood boil.
“He’s never shown any interest in me before, so I’m not sure what is prompting this now.” I say honestly, measuring my words carefully.
“He’s heard you play on television, Billy. He saw a couple of the interviews, too.”
“So now he thinks he owes me an apology or something, I suppose.”
“Maybe. But is that so bad?”
“I’ve heard it all before.”
“I know. But the past is in the past, Billy.”
My mom forever holds on to the past. I swear to God she keeps dad’s things in the bedroom just as they were when he left, in hopes that he’ll come back. He’s never coming back. The man has been married three times and can never hold onto any woman. He’s a drifter, a man whore, a terrible example of fatherhood, and an even worse example of a husband. Too bad he married a woman who swore she would love and admire one man for the rest of her life; she took her marital vows seriously. Unfortunately, that sentiment was not reciprocated. In a way, my mom is a fool. She feels that she impacted dad the most, why, I don’t know, but she believes that he’ll come back to her, foolishly. He’s already been married once again, and in my opinion, it’s only a matter of time before he splits on her, too.
“Exactly.” I say, agreeing with her. “So, leave the past in the past, mom. He doesn’t want anything to do with me, other than maybe to have some bragging rights.” I know he doesn’t want my money, because I don’t have any…yet.
“Billy, please make peace with him.” she begs.
“Why? Do you think that if we make up that he’ll come back to you, and we can then live like a big, happy family again?” I say carefully. I’d never do anything to hurt my mom. She means everything to me.
“Billy, that’s not it at all.” She lies. “It isn’t healthy to hold on to resentment. I hear it in your music, sweetheart. I hear it in your voice.”
“Mom….” I sigh.
“Billy, just call the man, please? He left me his number.” Oh, it changed again? Funny how that happens so conveniently.
“Mom, we’ve been through this before. More than once. We know where it leads.”
“Billy, he’s older, honey. He’s not the man he used to be.”
A leopard doesn’t change its spots, mom. “I’m not falling for it again, mom. I’m sorry. I can’t do it again.”
“Just…think about it, Billy.” Mom says.
“I won’t. I’m sorry. I…can’t, mom.” I change the subject. “How about you come out and see me? I’ll arrange the flight for you and everything. I’ll even get you front row tickets. We’ll go out for dinner and have some fun. What do you say?”
She may be sentimental, but my mom is shrewd. “Tell you what. If I come and see you, will you speak to your father?”
I exhale heavily. “Fine. I’ll call you when I make the arrangements.”
“Looking forward to it, sweetheart.”
She says it, but I can hear the trepidation in her voice.
My only hope is that she can’t hear the same in mine.
Smashwords
Author’s Note
Thanks so much for reading Miles for Love Series Box Set.
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~Sandra
Sandra Alex, Miles for Love Series Box Set
