Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(79)
When the D-Bags were done, they each bowed and darted off the stage. Kellan scooped me into his arms right away, and I could tell he was flying high, energized from the performance. Nuzzling my neck, he murmured, “Let’s go back to the bus.”
My eyes fluttered closed as I considered it. Justin was up next, and a lot of the other band members were still mingling and celebrating backstage. We’d probably have a little bit of privacy if we left right now. After the final performance wrapped up, the boys would all filter back to the busses and we’d hit the road, so alone time would be out of the question.
I was grabbing the belt buckle loops of his jeans and pulling his hips into mine when I heard a warbled chant coming from the crowd. I opened my eyes and strained to understand what I was hearing. Kellan lifted his head and turned his face to the stage. He was sweaty from performing, and his hair was damp around the edges. It was a distracting sight, so I turned to face the stage as well. “What are they chanting? I can’t make it out.”
Kellan bunched his brows as he listened. It wasn’t the band’s name, it was too long. After another couple of seconds, the crowd’s chants lined up and the word they were saying finally made sense. Twisting back to me, Kellan said, “They’re saying ‘Regretfully.’ They want to hear the single.”
I nodded, since that’s what I was hearing too. Kellan frowned as his gaze returned to the stage. “We don’t have her vocal track. We can’t perform that song without Sienna . . . unless . . .” When he looked back at me, there was such a devilish gleam in his eye that I knew exactly what he was thinking. I shoved him away and tried to scramble out of his arms. Laughing, Kellan held me tight. “Sorry, babe. You know I don’t like disappointing the fans, and you’re the only one here that can fill in for Sienna.”
I had twisted in his arms and my back was to him; he had a viselike grip around my waist and I couldn’t break free. “No way in hell, Kyle! I am not going up there!”
Still laughing, Kellan started backing me up onto the stage. “I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to sing with me tonight.”
I started screaming and kicking like he was mugging me until he finally let me go. Tears of laughter in his eyes, he asked, “Don’t you want to live out your girl band fantasy? I’ll help you through it, and if you get sick, there’s usually a bucket in the corner.”
Killing him with my eyes, I very firmly informed him, “You’re sleeping in your own cubby tonight.”
His expression changed so fast I had to turn away to hide my smile. “I was joking, Kiera.” Pretending like I didn’t hear him, I stormed away. “Kiera? You know I was kidding, right?”
Not able to maintain my fake anger anymore, I tossed a smile over my shoulder. His corresponding grin was so delicious that I knew my bold statement wouldn’t end up happening. No matter where Kellan went, my body, my heart, my soul, would automatically follow him. Except onto that stage.
A week into the tour, all of the bands had fallen into a comfortable routine: travel, setup, play, takedown, travel. Sometimes band members shuffled from one bus to another, but generally the D-Bags shared a bus with the five members of Avoiding Redemption; the rest of the bands shared the other bus. Immediately after the first concert, Kellan had claimed the only bed on the bus. He’d stretched a couple lines of yellow Do Not Enter tape across the doorframe and taped a huge sign in the middle of the crisscrossing X that read: Reserved for Mr. and Mrs. Kyle. Stay Out. That means you, Griffin. I was so grateful that Kellan nabbed the bedroom before Griffin had a chance to sully it. He may be practicing monogamy right now, but I still didn’t want to share bedding with him.
Griffin pouted, but the rest of the band members thought it was funny and let us have the bed, since we were the only couple on the bus.
Aside from the fans asking Kellan about Sienna each night, and chanting for their single at the end of the show, the hype around the two was starting to taper off. I’m sure Nick just hated that. Sienna too for that matter. But she was off doing her thing, and Kellan was off doing his. With no more leaked photos and risqué videos, there just wasn’t anything interesting to keep the pseudo-couple at the top of the gossip news.
That didn’t stop the questions, though.
“So, Kellan, what’s really going on with you and Sienna Sexton?” A radio personality was leaning over her microphone, beady eyes intent on Kellan’s answer. I don’t know why she looked like she had just asked him a life or death question.
Kellan smiled, but I could see the sigh behind his eyes. He was really getting sick and tired of answering the same thing city after city. I thought he might go back to saying “No comment,” just because explaining his life was driving him crazy. “We’re colleagues. We worked together on a project, but that’s it.”
Kellan paused and waited for the question that always came next.
“So, you’re single?” By the look on the DJ’s face and the tone of her voice, it was obvious that she totally thought Kellan was blowing smoke up her ass.
An easy smile still on his lips, Kellan shook his head. “No. I don’t want to go into detail about it, but I’m in a relationship.” I was standing behind the DJ while Kellan was in front of her. His eyes shifted to just over the DJ’s shoulder, and locked onto mine. “And I love her very much.” He shifted his gaze back to the DJ before she noticed that he’d directed that statement to me.