Feverish (Bullet #3) (10 page)

She found, as the days passed, that she was
enjoying putting Clay’s figurative house in order. He seemed to
appreciate it, and it gave her a sense of accomplishment. And
already traveling? That just added another element of excitement to
the job. As far as the actual trip went, she was glad she didn’t
have to arrange the details. The band’s equipment was leaving ahead
of them, going by ground, but the band members and their personal
items were flying. Emily felt a little guilty, though, and asked,
“You really don’t need me there, do you?”

He laughed. “You kidding? I need you there to
make sure I get to where I need to be. Trust me. The guys will be
glad it’s you instead of them.”

She smiled. She hadn’t told Clay, but she had
never, ever been in a plane before. All the travel she’d ever done
previously had been by land. She was nervous but excited about that
too. It seemed that everything she was doing with Clay was new and
fun and…

She had to stop. What she needed to do was
connect with Bryce, somehow, some way. They were in completely
different time zones now, so she knew he was at least a good eight
hours ahead of her, and she’d need to keep that in mind, but she
was going to talk to him soon. She had to.

* * *

Emily’s enthusiasm was contagious, not that
Clay needed encouragement. She’d asked why they were going to be in
California for three days when the band was performing in a
one-hour-ish slot. The first day was only half a day, he explained,
and they were just settling in. The next day they performed late
afternoon, but he told her she’d want to catch some of the other
bands with him, and they had a hotel right on the beach, so they’d
have to go out there at least once. They flew back to Denver late
the next day.

He hadn’t once regretted hiring the woman.
She
was
a hell of an organizer. She’d made lists of what to
pack and what to do before they left, things Clay never once would
have thought of…until it was too late. She’d even opened the new
luggage she’d bought him and helped him pack. She’d said, “Don’t
forget to pack your underwear,” but had left the room before he
could say something entirely inappropriate.

Even though Clay had been born in California,
he hadn’t lived there since he was a little boy. He had only vague
memories of it, but he’d always enjoyed visiting. He didn’t like
the heat there (Colorado was hot enough), but he loved the beach,
and there was nothing like the smell of the ocean breeze. He was
looking forward to visiting, and part of him wished they’d made it
for a week instead of a few days. He figured Emily would want to
get back, though. She hadn’t said much, but she did indicate that
she’d been trying to reach her fiancé to no avail. He thought maybe
she was worried about the guy.

Clay hadn’t known Emily long, but he was
already convinced her boyfriend was an asshole. What kind of guy
would leave his girl behind for two-plus months and then never call
her?

And he knew this guy would never have left
her side if he’d known she would find a job with an available rock
star who just so happened to find her unbelievably tempting.

* * *

Emily definitely felt out of place. Sure,
she’d been smart enough to wear her less conservative clothing, but
she was surrounded by all the guys in Clay’s band, and one of them
was bringing his long-time girlfriend. So that meant five guys, two
girls, and—unlike Emily—the other woman fit in. She had tattoos and
piercings like the guys, but Emily looked exactly like the world
she’d come from—middle-class, conservative, God-fearing,
law-abiding, goodie-two-shoes.

Well, Emily wasn’t necessarily innocent or
pure as the driven snow, but she could admit this was a new world
to her. Still, she thought maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to be
the one professional-looking one. After all, she was Clay’s
assistant and was required to keep him on time and on task. She
didn’t have to look like a metalhead in that role.

Part of her wanted to, though, but she’d
never give that away.

Fortunately, being around them in the airport
terminal while waiting to board the plane took away her nervousness
about flying. Instead, she just tried to feel comfortable around
them. She knew who they were in face and name only, so it wasn’t so
bad once Clay introduced them.

But then the plane started to board, and she
got nervous again. She was glad that she and Clay would be sitting
together, along with another band member in their row. While they
were waiting in line, Clay asked, “You want to sit by the
window?”

It felt as though the blood had drained from
her face. “No way.”

He smiled. “Don’t you like flying?”

She looked in his eyes. She wasn’t sure why,
but she trusted him. “Um…I’ve never been on a plane before.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Seriously?” Then she
felt stupid. She thought he was going to tell all his band members
and make fun of her. Instead, he dropped his voice and said, “Then
you
have
to sit by the window.” She shook her head furiously
back and forth, her lips pursed closed. “Trust me. Once you get
over the fear, you’ll regret not seeing earth from above. It’s
fucking amazing. You
have
to, Emily.”

She looked in his eyes. Yes, she
did
trust him. “Okay. But don’t say anything.”

He grinned. “Not a word.” As they walked down
the aisle to their seats, he said, “Make sure you keep your phone
handy in case you want to take pictures.” She nodded. Once they got
to their seats, he lifted his luggage to fit in the compartment
over the seat. She noticed his bicep peeking out from under his
t-shirt sleeve and made sure to avert her gaze. Then he said,
“Here, give me yours.” He slid it in next to his and then moved out
of the way so she could move to what was going to be her seat next
to the window. He got out of the way so Brian could put his luggage
next to theirs and then both men sat with Clay in the middle.

The two men were discussing getting together
soon to start working on their next project. Clay was describing
the song he’d written the week before, and Emily tried to relax.
Clay was animated in that tight space, scatting out the sounds of
his song. Emily recognized it, even without the actual guitar. But
when they started talking about what kind of bassline Brian should
play, she was lost. She looked out the window and the wing was
right there. She didn’t imagine she’d get to see much with it in
the way.

Her mouth grew dry, especially once the
flight attendant started talking about emergency exits, life rafts,
and oxygen masks. She tried to keep her breathing steady, but she
could feel her heart beating against her chest. She buckled the
seatbelt as instructed. God, she wanted to close that window cover
but was told she had to leave it open.

She placed her hands in her lap and held them
together. She could do this. Millions of people had flown before,
and she knew that statistically flying was safer than driving. She
knew all of the reasons why it would be okay, but it didn’t change
the fact that she was still nervous. The plane started taxiing over
to where they would take off, and Emily hoped that feeling the
engines would help her get used to them; instead, she just felt
worse.

Their plane was next to go, it seemed, but
she saw other planes taking off. She had to quit looking, so she
just bent her head and closed her eyes.

As the plane got into position, she took
another deep breath, trying to calm herself. The plane started
speeding down the runway, and she gulped down more air, feeling
faint. Then she heard Clay’s voice. “Hey, it’s okay.” He took her
hand in his and that’s when, in spite of the plane tilting up at an
angle and leaving the ground, she felt calm.

Chapter Nine

NOT A BAD sign, really. Emily not only let
Clay take her hand, but she squeezed it back. That made Clay wonder
how important this supposed fiancé really was to her. Well, not
just her holding his hand when she was scared out of her mind. He
was starting to question the guy, seriously question him. And Jet?
Well, he had some very bad ideas…

After takeoff, she opened her eyes and looked
out the window, then closed them again. Brian was already talking
to Devil across the aisle, asking why they’d only practiced once
before the concert, so Clay knew it was okay to not engage his
friend in conversation for the moment. “You okay?”

She turned her head to him and unsqueezed her
eyes. “Yeah, until I start thinking about how there is
nothing
fucking underneath us
!”

He smiled. She still hadn’t let go. “I think
that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you drop an F-bomb.”

“Oh.” She covered her mouth with her other
hand. “Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? I thought it was funny.”
She really was scared out of her mind. “Would something to drink
help?”

“What—like alcohol?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded. He reached up and pushed the
button that would bring one of the flight attendants over when she
had time. After a bit, one of the ladies came over and asked what
she could get him. He leaned forward and pulled out his wallet and
had to at last let go of Emily’s hand. He pulled out his credit
card and handed it to the attendant. “How about two sangrias? Wait,
Brian, you want one?”

“No, I’m good for now, man.”

Emily said, “A water too, if that’s
okay.”

“Yeah. Two waters too.”

The attendant smiled and swiped his card and
then handed it back to him with a receipt. Clay hoped a small drink
would help Emily to enjoy the flight. He had always loved flying
and wanted her too as well. She wasn’t talking, another sign that
she was scared, but he figured he’d leave her be. If she wanted to
talk, she knew he was there.

When the attendant brought the drinks, Emily
lowered her tray and poured the bottle of water in the cup of ice.
But then she pulled the straw out of the pouch of sangria and
sucked it down quickly. As soon as the pouch was flattened, she
took a drink of water. Clay laughed and then sipped some sangria
through his straw. “You want another one?”

She smiled at him. “Not sure yet.” She was
quiet and looked out the window. She seemed a little calmer, and
maybe it was just because she knew she had a little alcohol in her
system. He just watched her looking out the window and after a bit
she took her phone out of her purse and started taking pictures of
the mountains underneath them.

“Cool, huh?”

“Yeah.” She turned to look at him. “Thanks
for talking me into sitting by the window.”

He nodded. “I knew you’d like it.”

“It’s amazing.” Her voice sounded emotional.
“So cool…that we—us humans—we did this.”

He rested his head back. He could relax now,
knowing she was okay. He resisted the urge to grab her hand again.
He could smell her hair from where he sat. He wasn’t sure what the
scent of her shampoo was, but it smelled fresh and sweet. He could
see clouds through the window past her head, but he couldn’t take
his eyes off her. She turned around to say something—she was
excited and just a little buzzed, he thought—but then she saw him
staring at her and she just smiled. There was something unspoken
there—he wasn’t sure what—but he could have stayed there all day
saying nothing and been happy.

* * *

Holy shit!
Emily was excited. After
they’d gotten off the plane, they’d all walked together through LAX
to the cab area. Emily was surprised that it didn’t feel any hotter
and hardly any more humid than Denver when they’d left.

Brian rode in the same cab they did, and she
saw that the group took three cabs altogether. This time Emily sat
between the two. Brian was a nice enough guy with shorter hair than
Clay, ending about his shoulders, but he had more tattoos than
Clay. His tattoos went up his neck, down his hands, and onto his
fingers. The only piercings he could see that Emily caught were the
ones in his ears. He wasn’t as animated as Clay, either. He had a
quick smile and laughed a lot, but he was quieter. They were
telling Emily about some of their previous shows in California. At
one point, Brian said, “I’d considered moving out here, but then
Colorado made weed legal, and I’ll be a resident for life.”

After about half an hour, they arrived at
their hotel, and once again, Emily could barely catch her breath.
It was right on the ocean, and she could see the water from their
second-story room. She’d freaked out at first when she discovered
she and Clay were sharing a room, but then she found out it was a
large suite—one room had a king-size bed and the other room had two
queens. Emily ran to the window when they got inside and she looked
out at the water. “God, it’s beautiful. You should see it.”

“Hold your horses. I’ve seen it before. I
just wanna check out our digs.” After a minute, he asked, “Do you
want the king or the queens?”

“I don’t care. I don’t need a big bed or even
two beds. Really doesn’t matter to me.” In fact, she thought it was
kind of wasteful that she didn’t use the room with the king and two
of the guys share the room with two beds. But what did she know?
This was her first trip with the band. For all she knew, they’d
each have plenty of company, all except for Sam, the one who’d
brought his girlfriend.

“Then I’ll take the king.” He rolled his
luggage into that bedroom, and she heard him moving around in
there. She was thrilled.

After a while, all of them went out to eat.
As usual, when dining at “regular” restaurants, she had to
thoroughly examine the menu and wound up eating a salad with
vinaigrette. Clay smiled at her but didn’t say a word. She saw the
only other woman there rolling her eyes, but she wasn’t going to
worry about it. She couldn’t make everyone happy, and she certainly
wasn’t there to impress anyone.