Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(113)
I sighed, but she was already pulling me up off the couch. “You’re too focused, too structured. You need to let loose every once and a while.
Besides, don’t you want to see Kellan?”
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Biting my lip, I stifled another sigh. I did want to see him, more than anything, but…there were conversations that we needed to have, conversations that I didn’t know if I was ready to have yet. I did miss him though…and I hadn’t found any playful notes in a while to help keep the loneliness at bay…
Maybe seeing me starting to get sold on the idea, Anna dragged me to my room and started packing a bag for me. I cringed when she found the lacey Christmas present that I’d gotten for Kellan and cringed even more when she shoved it in my bag. Like I’d wear that on a tour bus. Sitting on the bed while she zipped the bag closed, I murmured, “I don’t want him to think I’m checking up on him.”
She paused. Anna knew I still had questions about the video. “You could finally ask him about the girl?” I shook my head and she twisted her lips, then shrugged. “Well, he’ll be too busy screwing your brains out to care anyway.”
I scoffed and threw a pillow at her and she laughed. Then her face got serious. “I want to see Griffin, Kiera. I think I…I think I miss him.” She sneered as if the idea was odd to her. It was a little odd to me too, but then, so was their entire relationship.
Caving, I exaggerated an annoyed sigh. “Fine, when’s the flight?” Anna squealed and clapped her hands before running to her room.
“You won’t regret this, Kiera! We’re gonna have the best time!” Hoping she was right, I grabbed my bag.
While the drive across Washington to the bottom of Idaho was around eight hours, it turned out that a flight there was under an hour. We made an early evening plane and were touching down in Boise with time to spare. I’d hated handing over all of my hard-earned tip money for the ticket, but when I stepped out of the airport and smelled the air, air that I knew Kellan was breathing, it seemed worth every penny.
Wanting to surprise the boys, we didn’t call them on the way over.
Really, we hadn’t called anybody. It was the most impulsive thing I’d ever done, well, if you didn’t count having spur-of-the-moment sex in an 316
espresso stand impulsive. I tended to think of different adjectives when I thought about that night.
But rushing out to see Kellan when he didn’t know I was coming was exciting, and my heart was beating fast when we hailed a cab. Calling Rachel to verify where the boys were playing, I instantly felt bad that we hadn’t paused long enough to include Rachel and Jenny in our plans.
They probably wanted to see their boyfriends too. But really, we’d barely made the flight in time with just the two of us, not with how strict airport security was now. And the interesting collection of “toys” that Anna had packed in her carryon hadn’t helped either.
By the time we found the place and got settled, it was just about time for the show to start. I had no idea how we were going to get in, since a call to the venue had only resulted in us being told that the show was sold out, and had been for a while. While I was thrilled that the tour was going well, it sort of made everything that much harder. I’d never needed a ticket to watch him play before. I was used to just walking into work and having him there, singing, just for me. Or so it seemed sometimes.
Hoping we could find some scalpers, we got out of the cab at what looked like an old theater. It was massive though, and people milled about outside, smoking or chatting on their phones. Light boxes along the entrance displayed the tour’s posters, with our favorite band’s name the last on the list of hot groups performing tonight.
On the marquee though, the D-Bags were right under the main attraction. It was as close to top billing as a small, relatively unknown band could get. Shaking my head at the sign, my heart swelled with pride for him. He was actually doing it. He was actually becoming a rock star, right before my eyes. It blew my mind.
Just as I headed towards a group of meandering people, feeling like an idiot as I clutched my overnight bag, Anna grabbed my arm and jerked me towards the alley. I squeaked in surprise, then looked around the dark area she was leading us to. Not wanting to be mugged, I pulled back on her arm.
“Where are we going?”
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Tilting her head at me, her hair perfectly pulled into a loose ponytail, she nodded at the alley that I was sure Jack-the-Ripper was hiding in.
“The back entrance is probably down there. We’re going in.” I gave her a dry look. “They’re not just going to let us in the back, Anna. We’ll have to buy tickets just like everybody else.” Rolling her eyes at me, she adjusted the ridiculously tight t-shirt she’d changed into before leaving the house. “Kiera, I’ve never bought a concert ticket in my life, and I’m not about to start now.” Smiling in that seductive way that she and Kellan had down to a science, she smirked and headed towards the alley again. Her bag elegantly slung over her shoulder, looked more like an overlarge purse than the duffel bag that mine resembled.
Hoping we survived this, I exhaled a quick breath and hurried to catch up to her. If we were going to die, I wanted us to die together.
Confidently strutting down the dark street, Anna looked completely fine with the situation. Wishing I had her guts, I tried to at least act like I did. Like she expected, we ran into a door being blocked by what could have been Sam’s long lost brother. All muscle and rough demeanor, he narrowed his eyes at us as we approached.