Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(80)
God, I really did have the best husband on earth. I schooled my features as best I could, but I just couldn’t remove the small smile on my lips. The DJ pursed hers. “Okay, well, how about you boys play us a song?”
Kellan seemed confused about why the DJ looked so apathetic over his answer. She’d asked him a direct question, he’d given her one. It may not have been what she wanted to hear, but, well, too bad.
Matt and Griffin strummed their guitars while Evan beat out a rhythm on a lone snare drum. Kellan’s voice filled the studio, pitch-perfect, and the mood instantly lightened. No one could deny that the D-Bags were good. No, not just good . . . amazing.
Afterwards, the group of us slipped into a couple of waiting cabs and headed back to the tour bus. The driver of the cab Kellan and I were in was listening to the radio station we’d just left; I recognized the DJ’s high-pitched voice. Evan was riding in the cab with us. Leaning forward, he said, “Think they’ll talk about us now that we’re gone?”
Kellan and I shrugged, then started paying closer attention to what she was saying. I instantly wished I hadn’t. “Kellan’s a liar, that’s all there is to it. Just colleagues. Right. I’m supposed to believe that that freaking hot music video was fake? Sorry, sweetheart, Sienna’s not that good of an actress. Those two are swapping a lot more than lyrics! In a relationship? Yeah, tell us something we don’t know, Kellan . . .”
Kellan groaned and dropped his head back on the seat. I completely understood the feeling. Guess I know why no one was really hearing what he was saying now.
The station started taking callers after that, and every single one of them were diehard Kell-Sex supporters who helped twist everything Kellan had just said into something else entirely: “He loves Sienna! And did you hear his voice when he said it? Sigh. Best boyfriend ever!”
Best boyfriend ever? God. Not only had the fans stolen Kellan and given him to Sienna with a big red bow around his middle, they’d even stolen my praise of his significant other skills.
While Evan shook his head in disbelief, Kellan looked over at me, “Remind me to never do another interview for that radio station.”
Duly noted.
Raising an eyebrow, he added, “Are you sure you still want me to be vague?” I bit my lip, but nodded. The hype would die off sooner or later. If I could keep my privacy, I wanted to.
The boys were playing at another House of Blues tonight, but in Dallas this time. I’d never been to Texas before. For some reason, I kept picturing Kellan in a cowboy hat everywhere we went. It gave me the giggles, which Kellan found adorable. When I told him why I was laughing so much, he shifted his weight to his hip, put his hand up to his hairline like he was wearing a Stetson, and drawled, “Well, hello, little lady.”
Griffin immediately beaned him in the back of the head with a Hacky Sack. “Dude, grow some balls. You’re an embarrassment to penises everywhere.”
A tight smile on his face, Kellan reached down, grabbed the sack, and tossed it across the bus. He nailed Griffin right in the junk. As Griffin’s face turned bright red and he doubled over in pain, every boy nearby cringed in sympathy and let out a long, “Oooooh.”
Justin shook his head as he patted Griffin’s shoulder. “Wow, ouch. Guess you won’t be having anymore kids there, huh, Hulk?”
Griffin weakly lifted his hand and flipped him off.
As everyone onboard chuckled, Justin’s bassist, Mark, rushed onto the bus. Looking around, he searched for his band mates. Spotting Justin first, he told him, “You are not going to believe who’s here.”
A really uncomfortable feeling started sizzling in my gut as I watched Justin’s cute face contort into confusion. “Ah, okay, who’s here?” I locked eyes with Kellan and I could see the same expression on his face that was in my heart. Please let it be anyone but her.
Filling me with dread, Mark’s gaze swung around to Kellan. “Sienna Sexton, man.”
Kellan and I both exhaled at the same time. Damn. It. Kellan twisted around to face Mark. “She’s here? Why?”
Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s got some uptight blond bitch with her who told me to find you, stat. Who the hell actually uses the word ‘stat’?”
Kellan sighed again. “That would be Tory.” He looked over at me. “I guess we should go see what Sienna wants.” Wishing I could do anything other than agree, I nodded.
Maybe for moral support, or maybe just out of morbid curiosity, Evan and Matt followed us to where Sienna was waiting. Griffin stayed behind. He still couldn’t sit up straight. Sienna was in a private office of the club that someone had hastily converted into a green room. Thing 1 and Thing 2 were guarding her door, keeping all the looky-loos away. Since no one was here yet besides the staff, I thought that was a tad unnecessary.
Both of the men looked at Kellan like they didn’t know who he was. When Kellan moved between them to grab the doorknob, they each put an arm in his way. Irritated, Kellan told them, “I’m Kellan Kyle, remember? You’ve seen me before?” No muscles in their faces moved, neither did their arms. Irritated, Kellan raised his hands. “Sienna asked for me.” One of them spoke into a headset, waited a few seconds, then opened the door for us.
“You can go in. Ms. Sexton is expecting you.” Kellan rolled his eyes as he reached back for my hand.