Blessed Fate (18 page)

Realizing it was stupid early in Portland, I decided to text him instead.

Hey, need you to call. ASAP.

I walked down to the beach, hoping the sounds of the waves crashing against the beach would settle my nerves. I hated knowing that Rain was traveling alone. We were still unknown enough that she shouldn't have too many problems, but knowing that someone leaked pictures of us put me on edge.

When my phone buzzed against my hip, I pulled it out of my shorts, hoping it was Rain letting me know she had arrived safe. It wasn't, but it
was
the only other person I was hoping to hear from.

"Tony, what's goin' on?" I answered. I couldn't believe I was finally going to do this. For some sick and twisted reason, I had thought about getting a Prince Albert piercing for years but there was never anyone in my life I wanted to share something like that with. Sure, it might sound like a strange reason not to get a piercing, but I knew that if I was going to let someone stick a needle through my dick, there damn well better be a special woman to enjoy it.

"Not much, asshole. You're the one wakin' me up. What's going on with you?"

"Know anyone near Pensacola? I'm about an hour from there right now and need to get a piercing." Tattoo artists are kind of like hairdressers; they can be territorial when it comes to their regular clients' needs, so I hoped Tony wouldn't be upset that I was going to someone else for this. Then again, it was probably for the best because I didn't need to walk into his shop knowing that anyone there had seen my cock.

Tony grumbled and a door slammed in the background. "And you can't wait till you get home? What gives?" '

"Time to get a PA," I said, hoping he wouldn't pry. He and I had talked about it several times. Every time he reminded me that if I didn't get it done, I would wind up getting a hood piercing instead because I sounded like I was growing a vagina. Hell, I knew I sounded like a whiny woman sometimes, but growing up in a house full of women and a mother who was holding out for her Prince Charming, after marrying the frog that was my father, I had pretty clear ideas about what I wanted in my life.

"Okay, now I'm going to ask again... this can't wait until you get home?" I heard him light a cigarette, taking a long drag before continuing. "Seriously, bud. This isn't the type of thing you just go into any shop to get done."

"I know that. That's why I'm calling you. So, do you know anyone or not?"

"I can make some calls, but I'm not going to unless you tell me why this has to get done now. You do know there's down time, right?"

I knew exactly what he meant, and that's a big part of the reason I wanted to do this now. I figured by the time Rain got back to town, things should have healed and we could test out the new jewelry. If last night was any indication, this might be about the only time to get it done because the thought of keeping my hands off her when we were together was inconceivable; there was no way I would have my hands on her without also having my cock inside her.

"Look man, you have to keep your damn mouth shut. There's some sort of artist client confidentiality shit, right?" I knew there wasn't, but I also knew telling Tony to keep his mouth shut was like telling the Pope to keep his legs closed; it didn't really
need
to be said.

"Come on, fuck face, tell me what's so damn important, or I'm hanging up and diving back into bed. I have a piece getting cold back there." We were obviously at opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to women.

"Rain's out of town for a bit. I want to surprise her when she comes back." While there had been speculation, we confirmed nothing ; meaning no one outside of the band, crew and the other bands on tour with us knew we had gotten together. Well, other than Rain spouting off to some drunken groupies. Saying it to someone on the outside was a big deal to me.

"No shit. You finally bagged that sweet thing?"

I growled, balling my fists at my sides. I knew this is how he was, but hearing him talk about her that way pissed me right the hell off. "Tony, love ya like a brother, but you keep talking like that about her, and I might have to fly up just to knock your ass out," I warned. I meant it. She wasn't some sweet thing to be bagged, and I would be damned if I was going to let people think that about her.

"Dude, chill. Seriously, I'm happy for you." He sounded sincere, so I calmed a bit. "She's a good woman. A bit high strung, but good shit. So, you're going to
surprise
her when she comes home. What, you gonna tie a red bow around it and tell her to open her present?"

"Shut the fuck up. We've talked about this, and it's time to get it done. So, you gonna find me someone you'd trust or not?"

"Yeah, give me a bit... and Colt?"

"Yeah?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know what he was going to say knowing how crude he could be sometimes. Seriously, he made the worst of the roadies seem like altar boys.

"I meant it when I said I was happy for you two. Now, don't fuck it up, or I'll be the one knocking your ass out."

I started to wonder why everyone felt the need to remind me to keep things right with Rain, not to piss her off, and not to hurt her. I was the one who spent five fucking years trying to get her. Did they all think so little of me to think I would screw that up?

"Not planning on it, but thanks. Send me a number when you find someone."

I hung up the phone and started walking back to the house. I needed to get some work done before Jon and Travis pulled in. Where Jon was a maverick when it came to arranging, he had always leaned heavily on me for the lyrics and riffs. Wrapped up in Rain since we hit the road, I only had a few things ready to go.

My phone buzzed again and I felt my stomach drop when I saw the caller ID. It was tempting to hit the ignore button, but I knew that would only work to set off a series of rapid-fire phone calls and texts.

"Hello, Tanya..."

"I hear congratulations are in order," Tanya sneered. God, I hated listening to her whiny voice, especially when I knew she didn't mean a word that passed through her lips. "Then again, rumor has it she's already run off on you, too. Seems like you're having a hell of a time down there."

I wasn't sure which pissed me off more: the fact that she had heard through the grapevine that we were together or that she'd heard Rain had to make a trip home. It was a reality check that no matter what we did, our relationship would never be between the two of us.

"Save it," I barked. "I know you're just fishing for information, so here it is. Yes, Rain and I are together. No, she didn't run off, as you put it. She's dealing with some family issues before we have to be in Memphis. Then again, if your information came from anyone credible, you would have known that."

I could hear Tanya huffing into the phone, obviously upset that I wasn't taking her bait. "Look Colton, you need to think long and hard about going down that road with her. You're going to lose a certain appeal with the fans if you're suddenly off the market, and your fans aren't going to like seeing that flaunted in front of them every night."

Listening to her bullshit wasn't how I wanted to spend even a minute of my day. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but you'd be well served to stick to dealing with band business and keep your nose out of my personal life."

"Do you not realize this is band business? Anything you do that affects the band is my business." She had a valid point, but that didn't mean I was going to sit by and listen, especially since I knew she wasn't speaking as our manager, but as a jilted lover.

"Tanya, if it really worries you that much, talk to Jon about it. You have no reason to call me. Now, if you don't mind, I have things to do with my day." I disconnected the call without waiting for a response. There was nothing left for us to say to each other. I needed to remember to talk to Jon, give him a heads up on her antics because I could see this becoming an issue for the band down the road.

True to his word, Jon walked through the doors of the beach house ready to get to work. They had loaded up the Silverado with our instruments and Rain's and my luggage, then locked the buses in a storage yard until it was time to hit the road again.

"Get your ass up, punk! It's time to get to work." Jon's booming voice echoed through the first floor of the house. While I had gotten quality sleep last night, or should I say this morning, it wasn't enough. On top of that, I was in some serious discomfort after going to the tattoo shop Tony referred me to. It was a good thing Rain wasn't going to be around for a while because I didn't even want to think about her looking at my newly pierced cock much less touching it.

"Damn dude, did she break you before she left?" Travis asked when he saw my tentative movements towards the front door.

"Something like that." No way in hell did they need to know what I had done. That was something I intended to be for our eyes only.

With the truck unloaded, we ordered pizza from a family owned restaurant on the beach and got to work. I tossed my lyric journals on top of the piano, so Jon could pull out what had potential for us to build on, and I flopped back on the couch, hoping to get some more lyrics down before he found the weakness in my recent writing.

I'd almost wanted to puke when I realized how many pages I'd filled with words better suited for an eighties power ballad than something hard-hitting enough to make our mark on the music industry.

He threw the first journal on the ground beside him, picking up the next in the stack. "Please tell me this shit gets better somewhere," he laughed, "or your books were stolen and some fifteen year old girl's journals were left in their place. Seriously, bud... you got it worse than I thought."

There were times I hated this part of the process. I loved writing poetry and lyrics, but they were a window to my soul, and I knew it. That's why Jon was the only person I allowed to open the cover to see what was inside.

"It's not that bad," I mumbled, knowing it was every bit as bad as he said. I blamed my mom and Emerson. If not for them, maybe I wouldn't have been quite so in touch with the touchy feely side as I was.

"It is." He dropped a second journal onto the floor and moved on. "Thank god, there might be something in this one." I looked at the cover trying to figure out which one he had. Not placing it in my mind, I returned to the blank page in front of me as Jon started tapping out a melody on the piano.

We stayed in the living room until the sun was rising over the water, completely lost in the process. If every day went as well as the first, I had a good feeling that we were on the right track to something edgy and new, exactly what we were looking to have.

There were some talks I liked having with Jon. Others, I would gladly put off if something as pleasant as, say, a root canal came my way. I knew as I pulled a round of beers out of the fridge that this was going to fall into the latter category.

I motioned for Jon to follow me out to the veranda. It was another gorgeous day for Florida in late May, and we had holed up in the house working on new music since they got here. It was time to relax.