Relentless (Relentless Soul Book 1) (12 page)

Ava

"Brody wait!" Picking up the pace Brody storms through the back exit of the arena which leads out to the staff parking area and turns to look at me.

"What do you want, Ava?"

His voice is harsh and he seems angry. When Jeremy had opened the dressing room door and Brody saw me, he had a strange, almost painful expression on his face.

"Are you okay? Why did you walk off like that?"

Brody runs his hand through his hair and looks at the ground. Watching him closely I fold my arms across my chest, waiting for him to look up at me. Eventually, I realize that he isn't going to answer me.

"What's wrong? Have I done something to upset you?"

Brody sighs and his eyes eventually meet mine "It didn't take you two long, did it? Fucking in the dressing room? I thought you were better than that, Ava." His voice is slightly raised and his expression has turned sad.

"It isn't like I just met him Brody, and besides who are you to judge me."

"Ava you are better than that, you're not some groupie. And yeah you met him
four weeks ago
."

"Exactly, four weeks and two of those weeks I have spent nearly every hour of the day with him. Forget what you thought, I have had one night stands before. I'm not this innocent little virgin. I'm a woman who is living her life."

"But the dressing room Ava of all places do you not have any self-respect?"

"I respect myself Brody, and that's why I gave in to whatever this connection is between Jeremy and me. I'm giving us a chance. I'm not going to argue with you anymore. I don't have to justify myself to you." Suddenly, I notice we are not alone, there is a security guard standing about ten feet away from us trying to look like he isn't watching and listening to everything we say. Apart from our three buses parked at the far end, the fenced in car park is otherwise empty. Finally giving up on this pointless fight with Brody I stomp off to my bus and away from him.

Slamming the door to the bus I go to the fridge and pull out a juice, I have had a few drinks already tonight and don't want a hangover tomorrow morning. Sitting down on the lounge I turn the TV on and stare blankly at it. What is Brody's problem? It's none of his business who I have sex with and where. He seemed so angry but why? Stuff it! I'm not going to dwell on him. It's his issue not mine.

Jeremy is amazing though, the way he made my body feel. Letting go and finally giving in to him and this powerful connection between us felt so good. The sexual tension between us has been building from the moment we met, so it was kind of a release giving in to the feelings and being with him felt really good, but in a way, I kind of feel like maybe it wasn't the right moment to happen. Maybe I'm just feeling that way now because of Brody's reaction to the whole situation. Wait a minute. Why am I so worried about Brody's reaction? Okay, I need to stop letting Brody's opinion get to me. Turning back to the TV I watch the horror movie that's on.

The bus door opens and Jeremy is standing at the top of the step. Walking in he sits beside me putting his arm around my shoulders as he inches closer to me.

"Do you regret what happened between us just now?"

Shocked I turned to look at him, "No why would you think that?"

"You just ran off. Did you not enjoy it?"

"Sorry, Brody just seemed upset and left in a hurry. So I thought something may have been wrong and I wanted to make sure he was okay. After all, that's what friends are for."

"He has been a bit odd lately, I'm sure it's just the stress of the tour getting to him. He's a bit of a closed book sometimes and doesn't always share his feelings."

Grabbing my hand Jeremy stands and takes me down to the back bedroom. Opening the door he looks in and grumbles. Pulling out the stage clothes he places them on the bunk above mine. Then he wheels the clothing racks out into the hallway, making some space for us in the tiny bedroom.

Stepping into the bedroom he closes the door behind us as he pulls me in closer to him and looks into my eyes then down to my mouth. My eyes are drawn to his lip ring as he flicks it with his tongue. Tipping my face up to his I press my lips softly to his. Running my tongue along his bottom lip I grab it between my teeth and softly nip. His hand pushes my skirt up as he rubs his fingers against my center. Moaning, I run my hands through his hair and throw my head back in pleasure as he pulls down my thong and his fingers enter me.

"Baby you are so ready for me."

"Oh Jeremy." He picks the pace up as I moan his name; biting my lip I try and contain my moan. "Please, more." I move my hand down to his pants and fumble. The tremors are making it hard to think. Finally getting his zipper down I pull at his pants. I can feel my body tighten with the movement of Jeremy's fingers.

"Baby you're so close I can feel it."

"Please I need you."

"Not yet baby. Soon."

Feeling my climax approaching I roll my head. As I feel my body clench with my release Jeremy pulls out his fingers and thrust into me. He fills me up and I feel another orgasm approaching. Jeremy tenses as I moan in his ear; his thrusts get faster as he too reaches his climax.

"Ava, Oh God."

Jeremy trembles as he pulls out and then curses as he looks down at his cock.

"Fuck, Ava I forgot to use a condom. I never forget."

"I'm on contraception."

"Good."

Jeremy lays me down on the bed as he pulls up his jeans.

"Jer get in."

"Sure thing Dundee."

Brody

Fuck! I just feel like I want to hit something. I don't know why I reacted so strongly to seeing Ava in the dressing room with Jeremy. I knew they were getting closer and eventually it would lead to sex. But, it really felt like a punch in the gut to see her standing behind him, her face flushed and her hair a mess in the aftermath, but still so fucking sexy. What I wouldn't give to be the one dragging her into the dressing room to devour that hot body. But it's more than that. It's not just the sex I would want with her. I want to be the one, who makes her laugh; who she shares her secrets with. I want her; all of her.

As I lay in my bed staring at the bottom of the bunk above me, the frustration won't leave my body. I'd give anything to be at the gym right now to take it out on a punching bag, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Alcohol! That's what I need. Rising from the bed I make my way to the fridge and grab the large bottle of vodka out of the freezer, not bothering to mix it with anything. Taking a swig straight from the bottle, I feel it burn all the way down my throat and into my chest. Glancing around the bus, I wonder where the other guys are. Probably out at a bar or club. Probably a good thing too, I'm not sure if I could be around Jeremy at the moment. Even though Ava admitted feeling a connection to him, I still feel like he has taken advantage of her. She's a big girl and can take care of herself, but he needs to fucking treat her better. She's worth more than a quick fuck in a dressing room. She deserves to have her body worshipped and be treated with more respect than that. I would treat her better than that.

Two hours later I have consumed half the bottle of Vodka and I am now onto beer as I sit staring out the side window of the bus. I see a limo pull up and Hunter and Luke step out followed by three chicks. Taking a closer look I realize two of those chicks are Tori and Emma, but Ava isn't there. Neither is Jeremy. Rolling my eyes, I stand up and slowly make my way to the door. Hunter is holding Tori's hand as they head toward the bus with Emma following closely behind them. Luke is now standing up against the side of the limo making out with the third girl. Nodding toward them I slur at Hunter "Who the fuck's that?"

Shaking his head he mutters "Some chick he picked up at the bar. Geez, how many drinks have you had, man?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I murmur "Don't know. Where's Jeremy?" His name feels like acid on my tongue. I know that's stupid. He's my best friend and I would die for him, but at the moment I'm just so fucking angry.

Hunter looks as if he isn't going to answer me. "Hunter, where is he?"

Tori has been watching the exchange between me and Hunter and answers for him "He's on our bus with Ava." They both stare at me, waiting for my reaction.

"Ha, of course he is. What the fuck is she doing? She deserves to be treated so much better than that." Hunter grabs me by the elbow and leads me to the back room of the bus, closing the door behind him and sits me down on the bed.

Watching me closely he asks "Brody, what the fuck is going on with you? Why did you storm off before when we interrupted them? And why the fuck are you so wasted now?"

Chuckling, I let out a drunken snort "I am a little bit wasted, aren't I." Hunter smiles and sits down beside me.

"Brody, you can talk to me. Is something going on with you and Ava?"

"Nooooo, we're just good friends. She's such a cool chick. She's funny, and soooo pretty. She makes me laugh. She's really pretty. She is so caring, and smart and strong willed and stubborn, and so fucking beautiful." I look back at Hunter to see a frown on his face.

"Oh, fuck. Dude, you're in love with her."

Suddenly, it hits me. Shit, Hunter's right. "Holy fuck! I think I am."

***

Sitting up I look around as I try to work out where I am. Why the fuck am I in the back bedroom of the bus? I didn't get lucky last night did I? Rubbing my tired eyes, I stand up and slowly make my way to the bathroom. I push down the queasiness rising in my stomach as I splash some cold water on my face and stare at myself in the mirror. The worry lines across my forehead seem to be a permanent fixture recently and I don't even know why. Fuck! Ava. The memories of the night before come flooding back to me, including my conversation with Hunter. Shit! Did that conversation really happen? Did I actually admit to being in love with Ava? Damn, I think I did. Am I really in love with her or was it just drunken word vomit? I've never been in love before, so I don't know if what I'm feeling toward her is love. I do know that I struggle to get her face out of my mind and I just want to be around her all the time and for her to be safe and happy. Hopefully Hunter was blind drunk too and forgot all about the conversation.

As I make my way down to the front of the bus where Luke and Hunter are having breakfast and coffee, the look on Hunter's face tells me he remembers every detail of our little talk. I hope he keeps it to himself, the last thing I need is for that information to be common knowledge. They both turn to stare at me and Luke chuckles "Fuck, Dude. You look like shit."

"Thanks man, you're not so fucking pretty yourself." Dropping down onto the bench I pick up Hunter's coffee and take a few gulps, instantly feeling better.

Luke leans forward and watches me as I groan from the throbbing in my head, "Hey, man. Hunter said you were pretty wasted last night. Are you okay?"

Glancing up at him I mutter "Yeah, I'm fine. Head's a bit sore, but I'll live." We fall into an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes and I notice the other two sharing some weird looks.

"Well, I'm going for a run." Standing up I grab my shades from the small cupboard beside my bunk and make my way off the bus. Just as I round the front of our bus I see Jeremy walking toward me from the direction of the girls' bus.

Damn, this is a meeting I could've done without this morning. As he approaches me Jeremy runs his hand through his hair, his typical nervous move. What the hell does he have to feel nervous about? He's the one that's got the girl. He's also not the one trying to keep his true feelings secret from his best friend.

Jeremy

Running my hand through my hair I mutter a quick "Hey" to Brody as he walks past me. He's wearing dark shades so I can't tell if he's even looking at me. "Where are you off to, man?"

He shrugs his shoulders as he keeps walking but turns slightly and says "Just for a run, I'll see you later." I watch him with a slight frown on my face as he jogs off down the road, exiting the small parking area. I wonder what the hell has got into him lately. Some days he seems really happy and then other days he gets into this mood and I feel like he doesn't even want to talk to me. I can't tell for sure, but after his strange reaction last night I really think there is some jealousy over my relationship with Ava, and I don't know if it's because he wants her for himself, or if he just wants someone. A relationship with the right girl would be the best thing for my friend. I've tried to fix him up with several girls over the past few years. He just really seems to struggle to build a trusting relationship with anyone. Not that I can blame him after what he went through with his fucked up parents. I just hate seeing him lonely and depressed. I did feel a bit jealous about him forming a friendship with Ava, but deep down I think it's nice to see him happy and smiling when he's around her. They seem to have some kind of spiritual connection, I just wish he had that kind of connection with a girl that I'm not crazy about. Maybe someone like Emma? They seemed to hit it off at the club the other week and even though they both were quite adamant that it was just a one-time hookup, there could be something more there. It may be time to play matchmaker. I might run the idea past Ava later and see what she thinks.

***

After our second show in Bismarck we packed up all our stuff and headed off to Lincoln, Nebraska. We rocked out two shows and did a couple of interviews for local radio stations and got to meet some of our fans. After Lincoln we headed south to Wichita in Kansas. I've never been to Wichita before, so I had no idea it was such a big city. When we arrived we found out that Travis had lined up quite a few publicity opportunities for us in including some magazine interviews and photo shoots and even an interview on a local music television channel. We also played two fairly big shows and were told that our shows were a sellout, which is pretty cool as the arena that we played in holds thirty thousand people. Apparently, the people of Wichita love us.

Due to the fact that we've been so busy I haven't had a lot of alone time with Ava, but I still get to see her as she is documenting pretty much everything we do. Brody has still been pretty quiet around me and everyone else really. A couple of times he has snapped at me over the smallest thing and I really feel like our friendship is strained. I tried to ask Ava about it one night when we were watching a movie together on her bus, but she said she hasn't really noticed anything. I asked her if Brody's been any different when they go running in the mornings and she said they hadn't been running together for a while. I wonder why? I also brought up my idea about trying to set up Brody with Emma. Ava was quiet for a few minutes but then said she didn't think Emma was into him. There goes that idea.

It is now the first week in May and we are on our way to Dallas, Texas and I am pretty excited. Tomorrow, I'll be meeting up with Jo, an old friend of mine. She grew up with me and the boys in L.A, but her father was transferred out of state for work and they ended up in Dallas. She has recently completed some kind of business management degree to follow in her father's footsteps, but her heart has always been in fashion and to the horror of her father, she is trying to get into one of the big fashion design schools in LA. So, if she gets her way, we may be seeing a lot more of her. Jo is a couple years younger than us but went to the same high school as me, Luke and Hunter. She used to hang out with us in my parents basement every afternoon when we would rehearse and at one stage she had wanted to join our band as a back-up singer but, to put it nicely her singing sucks ass.

Apart from me and my parents she is the only other person who knows about what Brody went through at home with his family and she had been like a little sister to all of us. At one stage I thought her and Brody were going to end up together as they seemed to have some kind of a connection. I would often catch them sitting alone, whispering, or sharing weird little glances. Nothing ever developed between them though because she moved away when she was seventeen and we hadn't seen her since, only keeping in touch with her through emails and social networking. It will be interesting to see if their friendship will pick up where it left off. This may be the distraction that Brody needs at the moment.

We will also be having some down time in Dallas, we have four scheduled days off before leaving and Ava has asked me if I would like to go with her to Georgetown. She's going to rent a car and drive out there to visit her grandparents. She hasn't met them before, so she wanted me there for a bit of support, I think she's worried they won't like her or some shit. I know they will love her. She hasn't really shared a lot with me about her family. She told me about her parents dying when she was younger and how she was raised by her Grandma, but she never really went deep into details and I didn't want to seem insensitive by asking for more info.

***

It's three hours until our first show in Dallas and we are all hanging out on the band bus. Ava, Tori and Emma are with us and we are waiting on the arrival of Jo. She is going to come and have a drink with us all and then watch our show with the other girls. I'm sitting at the table beside Ava reading an article about us in some trash magazine with Luke across from us drinking a beer when there is a knock on the door. Hunter goes to open the door and Jo climbs up onto the bus. Looking at her now, she hasn't really changed that much. Her blond hair used to flow in soft waves to her lower back, but now sits just above her shoulders in a shaggy style bob. She also dresses very differently now, I notice as I take in her outfit of black loose capri pants, tight, white wrap top and high heeled black strappy sandals. She used to live in blue jeans and t-shirts, so it is very strange to see her actually dressed like a girl. My eyes meet her bright blue ones and she flashes me a huge grin as I stand up to greet her. I grip her in a tight hug lifting her up off the floor as she squeals at me to put her down. Brody gets up off the couch and makes his way to us pushing me to the side so he can give Jo a hug that's just as big as mine. The boys each take turns hugging her and I glance over at Ava who is still sitting at the table. I stroll over to her and grab her hand, not sure of what look I'm seeing on her pretty face. Her mouth is open like she is surprised and her eyebrows are drawn together in confusion.

"What's wrong, Baby?"

She glances over at Jo then back at me "Who's that?"

Looking back over my shoulder I tell her "That's our friend Jo."

Ava's eyes widen and she stares at me for a second "That's Jo? I um…I thought Jo was a boy."

Laughing I grab hold of her hand and kiss the back of it. "I'm sure I told you she was a girl."

Shaking her head, Ava whispers "No, you said you were meeting up with your friend Jo, from school, who wanted to join your band……"

I chuckle again "Yeah, she did. But she sings like a fucking screeching cat."

"Hey, I heard that, Stone." I turn to see Jo standing behind me looking at Ava with a strange smile on her face that doesn't quite meet her eyes. "Who's this?"

Pulling Ava to my side and wrapping my arm around her shoulder I say proudly "This is Ava Flores, my girlfriend."