After that first night together, she popped up for a show, here and there, asking for a personal interview, which always ended with more sex than talking. Those times had been fun. Something to take my mind off of how fucking lonely and miserable I really was. Lori also helped me briefly forget how badly I missed Bristol. Six years had done nothing to take the edge off of that heartache.
Rumors flew all across the tabloids about me and my supposedly hot flings with most of the single women in country music. Not a single rumor was true. I did have one or two close female friends who were country artists that I had done duets with, but nothing romantic ever happened with them. Not one thing.
As I walked toward the back door, the two security guards, who were stationed there, jumped up.
“Mr. Meyer, we weren’t expecting you so soon.”
I smiled. “Trying to sneak out of here when they least expect me to. Gotta keep them on their toes when I can.”
The one smiled. “I understand. The crowds haven’t gathered yet—just the groupies who always show up early and wait.”
I slapped him on the upper arm and motioned for Zeus to follow me to the tour bus.
The security guard opened the back door. Sitting right in front of me was the tour bus. The area was roped off, and it didn’t sound like a lot of people were there, thankfully.
Quickly, I stepped out of the door and walked directly to the bus.
“Oh my God! There he is! Anson! Anson! Look this way! Please!”
When I turned to my left, I saw the crowd of fans and smiled. It wasn’t as small as I thought it would be but wasn’t as large as it has been in other cities. I lifted my hand and waved. Zeus barked, which was his attempt at saying hi, or maybe he was telling them to back off. It could have gone either way.
The crowd went wild, and the moment Charlie opened the bus door, Zeus bolted in with me on his heels.
“Lanny?” Charlie asked.
“She’ll ride with the band, let’s get out of here.”
He nodded, and we were underway by the time I got to the back and sat down on the bed. Zeus jumped up and promptly laid down. Bus life was a normal thing for my dog. He’d been on one pretty much since he was six weeks old.
I dropped back and stared up at the bus ceiling. It was moments like this, winding down from the energy of the concert, trying to settle my mind, all alone with my thoughts, that I closed my eyes and I couldn’t help but think of her.
Bristol.
It was no wonder I thought of her after every concert. Hell, most of the songs were about her. What was she doing? Who was she with? I knew she had broken up with Josh. Had she posted anything today?
Every single day when I woke up, I swore to myself I wouldn’t check her Instagram. And every single day I broke that promise, at least twice.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. Pulling up Instagram, I said the same prayer as always. “Please don’t be dating anyone.”
I typed her name into the search box.
Bristol Overmann.
Her profile came up and my chest tightened. I quickly scrolled the last few photos and let out a sigh of relief.
Three years ago, when I found out that Bristol was one of those social influencers, I had let my curiosity get the better of me and started to check her profile nearly every day. Then, six months later, I saw the photo of her and Josh Eckert standing together. My eyes landed on his arm around her as she laughed and held a baby goat. Then they went to the word boyfriend. That stuck out like a sore fucking thumb.
“The boyfriend bought me a goat. How sweet is that? Yes, I know…but I guess sometimes friends turn into boyfriends. How cute is he? The goat, but the boyfriend is too!”
Bristol, my first love, my only love, was dating one of my best friends from high school. She’d posted pictures of them together before but had always said they were friends. And Mindy, Bristol’s best friend, or Drake, Bristol’s brother, had always been in the pictures along with Josh.
The betrayal—or at least that was how I had seen it at the time—caused me to spiral into a two-day drunken spell. I wasn’t sure if it was the news of Bristol and Josh, or the fact that I had sex with Lori the day I found out about Bristol. Robert pulled me out of it and told me to get my shit together.
I’d known Bristol had moved on after me and dated some. I’d heard it from friends I had kept in touch with, at first, and my mother or Grams would let it slip about what was going on with her. I mean, I knew it wasn’t like she had been sitting around waiting for me to return to Comfort. But to see it right in front of me, to see that smile on her face and the way Josh looked at her, literally caused me to throw up. Then I grabbed a bottle of Jack, and it was all over from there.