Loving Dallas(27)

“Ah.”

“I’m kidding. But I’d break both of your legs before letting you near her.” Maybe I should’ve broken my best friend’s before he got anywhere near her. I try not to think about what Gavin and Dixie may or may not be doing back in Amarillo.

Wade nods. “Good man. I got a daughter, so believe me, I get it.”

Well, this is news. “I didn’t know that. That you had a kid.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t advertise it. No reason all this insanity should keep her from having a normal life, you know?”

“Makes sense.”

“You don’t like to talk much, do you?”

“Not particularly.”

He grins again and tosses his empty bottle in the trash before grabbing another one. “You know, I was you once.”

“Excuse me?”

“Young. Hungry for this. For the road and the fame and the music.”

I frown at him. “You’re not anymore?”

Jase Wade takes a deep breath and a long look around the bus. It’s a nice f*cking bus. His band is at a back table playing cards and drinking beer and joking around loudly.

“It’s hard to be hungry for something you get force-fed every day, you know?”

I don’t know, so I shrug and finish off my beer.

“You’ll see. One day. You’re a talented kid. Won’t be long until you’re sitting in my place watching some guy remind you of yourself and wishing you could give him the advice you wish someone had given you.”

“You’re not going to give me any advice?”

He smirks at me. The bus comes to a stop so he stands. “Would you take it?”

We both know the answer so I don’t bother saying no out loud.

“That’s what I thought. Let’s go get shitfaced.”

The bus is parked in a lot across the street from the bar and I catch sight of Mandy coming off my bus. I jog over to her.

“Hey. Sorry. I rode with Wade.”

She barely glances up from her phone. “I know. He told me he was going to talk to you. Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Everything’s fine. I had a question, though?”

Mandy stops walking. “About?”

“Women.”

She laughs. “Really? You seem like you understand women just fine.” She steps closer to me, letting the members of my band pass us. “But I’m happy to answer any questions you have, Dallas. Shoot.”

I clear my throat “Not what I meant, exactly. I mean, like, fans who . . . um . . .” I’m not comfortable saying this kind of thing to a woman—not one I have no plans to be intimate with, anyway.

“Offer to suck your dick?”

All right then. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t want to be an * to them. And some have met me before and I don’t remember if—”

“Oh, Dallas. Brace yourself, Superstar. All of your slutty skeletons are about to come out of the closet. The more attention you get, the more aggressive they’ll get. Everyone will know you somehow and they either want something or they want to give you something. Their demo. A song they wrote for you. A blow job. You just have to decide which favors you want to accept.”

“Um, okay. So if I don’t want their favors? How do you suggest I handle that?”

“We’ll meet with your new publicist after the tour to discuss this further. But for now, I’d say just be your polite, gentlemanly self.” She pauses to give me a salacious grin. “You’ve managed to keep out of my bed for this long. I’m sure you can handle a few groupies.”

She nudges me as if she’s just kidding, but the wicked glint in her dark eyes suggests she isn’t.

“Right. Okay. Thanks.” For making this as uncomfortable as possible. Oh how I wish Mandy Lantram would stop screwing with me and just be my manager.

Wade gives me a knowing look as I follow him into the bar. I don’t know his history with Mandy, but he certainly has one. Maybe I’ll ask him about it during our next Q&A session if there is one.

Kelly’s is a decent-sized pub-style bar and it’s packed. I check my phone once we’re inside.

Robyn hasn’t texted me back. It bothers me more than it should. Because I’m obviously a chick now.

I scroll through our previous messages while waiting in line to order a drink. I was just messing around earlier, texting her stupid lyrics about ditching me. But as I read back through them, I can almost hear the beat in my head.

“What can I get ya, handsome?” A woman with curly copper-colored hair is waiting for my order. I start to get a beer and a burger, but I remember what Robyn said about Papa and heart disease so I order a light beer and a buffalo chicken wrap instead.

“For someone who doesn’t have a girl, you sure are worried about that phone,” Wade says from beside me. I hadn’t noticed he was there.

“You really this interested in getting to know me? Or is there something specific you want to ask?”

Please do not ask me about Robyn Breeland.

He narrows his eyes, but before he can ask anything else, a body crashes into mine, nearly spilling my beer.

Thin arms wrap around me and a mouth fastens to the side of my face. What the f*ck?

I steady myself, pulling back far enough to see Chandra attaching herself to me like an octopus.