“Look, sometimes my brother can be an idiot just like me. It's a family trait, sadly. He cares about you, too, you know. A lot. He really does, believe me. He just got caught up in joking around with the fans.”
“By trying to lick their tits?! That's what you call 'just joking around?!’” I looked at Talon like he was nuts.
“I’m not excusing him! Fans get crazy, and, to be honest, it’s easy to get caught up in it, but I know he wasn’t going to do anything more than just humor them by playing along. Yes, I know they pulled their tits out — they want attention from us. And yeah, a lot of them want, you know, the whole package. But most are satisfied with a smile, an autograph, and maybe a flirty touch. But trust me, he's not going to go any further than that with them because of how much he likes you.”
“I shouldn’t even be here right now. Everything is organized, and you guys don’t need me to get back to the hotel. I should just go back to my room,” I sighed.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to stay and watch him with….” I shrugged.
Talon gave me one more strong squeeze. “It'll be all right, I promise. I know him better than anyone. He is my brother. And, he's not going to do anything stupid. Don't worry; he's not like me in that respect,” Talon gave me a playful wink intended to reassure me. I wasn’t feeling too reassured. “Anyways, we’ll meet you back at the hotel, no worries, okay?” he added.
I nodded, feeling a little sad, disappointed, numb, and angry all rolled into one. Without another word, I headed around the building to the front to hail a cab. I finally caught one and simply headed straight up to my room when I arrived back at the hotel.
I wanted to go to sleep, but I was too agitated and upset over the situation and over the fact that I cared so much. Maybe Talon was right. Maybe Owen didn’t mean anything by it. Maybe he was just posing for a picture and didn’t think something like that might hurt me. Maybe, since I lied on my resume, he assumed I’d been on tour with other bands before and knew those kinds of things happened and were simply par for the course. But if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t know what to think anymore. I felt like I was unraveling, and I needed something to calm me down.
I suddenly remembered that I had passed a piano in the lobby of the hotel earlier. Without a second thought, I slipped my shoes back on and headed downstairs.
I sat down at the pristine black bench and started playing. As I did, I started to forget everything and just focused on the music.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Owen
I felt great after the meet and greet had finished, invigorated even. The show had been a spectacular success, and we had been on fire from the very first song to the final encore. Having the fans pretty much refuse to let us go off stage until they'd heard a third encore really had felt amazing. My earlier thoughts were spot on – this was definitely turning out to be one of the best tours we'd done, if not the best ever.
Even though confidence had never been something I had an issue with, it was nice to know so many women were still attracted to me. Every man needs a little ego boost now and again.
Not to mention, I had to face the facts: I was getting older, and damn if I didn’t feel less attractive in recent years. Damn ego. I mean, I'd stayed in shape, and my genes had gifted me with a full head of hair that showed no signs of thinning, and good, smooth skin that remained pretty damn youthful, but even with all of that, I'd began to feel as if I wasn't as attractive as I had been in my twenties. So, the attention from these star-struck groupies, well, it was nice in that regard.
Not that I’d given a lot of thought to women in the last couple of years. Mostly, I’d been working so hard and been so extremely focused on the record label, I hadn’t had time to think much about relationships or even one-night stands. Actually, I hadn’t really much cared what women thought of me until recently. And when I say “women,” I actually mean one woman in particular.
Knowing Nalia thought highly of me was more than enough for me, even with all the attention from the young, hot groupies. Something about her was so much more captivating than any of them could ever be. Speaking of…
I stopped and looked around the tour bus as I got on with the others. Where the hell was Nalia?
I walked to the back of the tour bus in search of her, but she wasn’t there, so I climbed off and headed back toward the building.
“Oh, my God! Owen, I love you!” some girl shouted and before I knew what was happening, she flung herself at me and wrapped her arms around my neck, her lips connecting with mine before I could even protest. The click of several cameras sounded before I could push her away with as much gentleness and calm demeanor as I could manage, as annoying as she was.
I was a little irritated as I walked into the building, but was focused on my search for Nalia. I’m a rock star, and stupid shit like that happened all the time. I was pretty used to it by now, but it still had a tendency to catch me off guard sometimes and get under my skin.
I walked all around the backstage area, searching everywhere, but couldn’t find her anywhere. Finally, feeling both disappointed and a little worried, I headed back to the bus. When I got on, Talon was lounging up front swigging on a beer.
“Have you seen Nalia?” I asked him, thoroughly concerned. He stared at me for a moment, and there was a look on his face I wasn’t sure how to read.
“She went back to the hotel. Wasn’t feeling well,” he said flatly. I looked at him, now more than a little confused. If I hadn't known any better, I’d say he was mad at me, but what the hell for, I didn’t have a clue. I hadn't said anything even remotely out of the way to him for days now.
Whatever it was, though, I wasn’t going to let it get me down. I was in a good mood and still feeling pumped. I went to the kitchenette on the bus and grabbed a beer, then went to the back to hang out with the other guys while the bus driver drove us back to the hotel.
When the bus stopped, I followed the others off and headed into the hotel lobby. Talon stopped abruptly in front of me, making me almost run into him. I started to say something about him being a dumb shithead, but stopped when I saw, and heard, what had made the others stop in their tracks.
Nalia was sitting at the piano in the lobby, playing one of the most beautiful renditions of “Unchained Melody” I’ve heard. Other people had stopped to listen, even some of the hotel staff had stopped doing their jobs and were simply standing there, utterly mesmerized. In fact, the whole lobby was silent except for her playing.
I walked closer until I was right behind her, my heart feeling as if it were going to burst as I watched her. She was incredibly talented. I could listen to her play
for hours.