All right, I’ll confess.
That bullshit Braxton was spitting had gone in one ear and out of the other.
It wasn’t until a week of getting the cold shoulder passed that she made a believer out of me. Tomorrow night was our show in New Orleans, and then we were finally getting some time off.
It’s been exactly three weeks since the tour started, and I was already beginning to feel the effects. The first leg of our tour wouldn’t even be over for another three months. It would have been less demanding had we used a private plane, but we always insisted on the open road because it kept us close to our roots.
A lot of good it did. Braxton claimed we had no humility.
New Orleans had the weirdest fucking food, but damn if wasn’t good as fuck. Doggy bag in tow, I rushed up the steps of our bus, hoping to catch a certain redhead before she could disappear.
After Dallas, she still went exploring when we touched down in Houston, but we hadn’t been invited. Braxton stayed gone most of the forty-eight hours we were there, and she always took security, leaving us no reason to object.
Even if I was a patient man, she’d be trying mine.
The sliding door separating our living quarters from the driver slid open, revealing Braxton dressed for the day and brushing her long hair. She was wearing shorts, a Bound & Bellicose tee cut to expose her navel, a plaid flannel three sizes too big, and combat boots.
“Good morning,” she said when she caught me staring. It was the most we could get out of her this past week if it weren’t about a show.
“Morning,” I returned, wanting to ask where the hell she was going. Obviously, I didn’t. Not only would she not tell me, but I’d ruin my plan to get her to talk to me. “I brought you something.”
Holding up the paper bag from Café Du Monde, I let her see the beignets I’d brought back. I remember her excitement over trying one when she learned a few months ago that New Orleans was one of our stops.
Looking at the bag and then at me, she smiled brightly. Just as I was about to celebrate, she turned away. “No, thanks.”
I didn’t even have time to ask her why not before she grabbed her bag and was gone.
The moment I was alone, Rich and Houston appeared, and I knew they’d been eavesdropping. They didn’t say anything, though, as they settled on the couch since absolutely nothing happened. Braxton was sticking to her guns.
Rich and Houston ended up eating the beignets while I spent the day becoming more and more pissed off.
“Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t,” Houston said to me as the sun started to set.
Braxton still wasn’t back yet. New Orleans was three feet long and our show tomorrow night was the only thing happening. What the hell could she be doing? Even though she had security, I didn’t like that she was alone. Someone was bound to recognize her.
“Don’t tell me how to deal with a decision that didn’t include me,” I snapped at my best friend. “This is your fucking fault.”
“When she wanted in, we didn’t give her that,” he shot back. “The least we could do now that she wants distance is to respect her wishes, Lo.”
“Nah.” I was slumped on the couch with my arms folded, head back, and staring at the bus ceiling.
“So what do you suggest we do?” Houston inquired. I was about to tell him he could go eat a dick when I realized that was curiosity in his tone and not him trying to make a point.
“We change her mind.”
“How?”
I don’t. Fucking. Know.
“We wear her down,” Rich piped in.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious. What do you think the beignets were for?” Without lifting my head, I cut my gaze toward Rich, who had his face screwed up in disgust.
“So you think her pride and self-worth can be bought with a three-dollar pastry?”
No.
God, I hated when he was right. It would be convenient as fuck for me if it could, but then, would I want her so desperately?
Nope.
Fuck no.
“If you have a plan, I’m waiting to hear it,” was all I said in return.
“We wear her down by giving her what she wants. That means leaving her alone, Lo.”
Feigning excitement, I quickly sat up. “Oh, I think I’m picking up what you’re putting down. Your genius plan is to act fifteen and ignore a girl in the hope that she notices us.”
“It will piss her off,” Rich said like that explained anything.
“Exactly why it’s dumb as fuck.”
“Loren,” Rich said while pinching the bridge of his nose. “When have you known Braxton not to react when she’s pissed the hell off?”
I paused to consider his words.
“So reverse psychology…that’s your play?” Houston asked skeptically. He shook his head. “It’s not like you.”
“Braxton has been forcing us to play by different rules since the day she walked into that conference room. I’ve never wanted anything this bad before, so the gloves never had to come off.”
“Not even your wife?” I taunted him. “That’s cold.”
“Shut the fuck up, Lo. You know she’s as much my wife as she is yours.”
“That would be incorrect. I didn’t give her my last name. You did.”
“No, you’re just the reason she’s gone.”
Staring at Jericho, I silently prayed that he wasn’t still pining for that bitch. “I’d do it again,” I told him.
Just so we’re all clear.
Shaking his head, Rich refused to look at me when he changed the subject back to Braxton. I didn’t give a fuck about Emily. “Are we doing this or not?” he questioned angrily.
I hated myself for looking to Houston first. We all knew this wasn’t happening without him on board. He sat on the arm of the sectional, forearms braced on his thighs, and staring at the floor for too goddamn long. “I’m in,” he finally said with a slow nod.
“Sweet. Me too.” I snatched up my phone when Instagram notified me that someone I followed had posted. There was only one person I cared enough to use the setting. Tapping on the notification, it took me to Braxton’s profile and the new photo she’d posted ten minutes ago.
It was a goddamn selfie of her eating a beignet.
Unable to help myself, I left a comment.
[thebassistLo]: petty
There were already hundreds flooding her comment section since her follower count had reached over three million. Before coming out as our new guitarist, she’d garnered thirty thousand on her own. Not bad for someone who hadn’t wanted to be found.
Oni made sure to let us know how hard she worked to sell Braxton so that we didn’t fuck it up.
I snorted.
It’s like she didn’t know us.
After scrolling through some of the comments, I refreshed Braxton’s page to see if she’d replied.
She didn’t.
Instagram told me her account was not found, which meant I was blocked again.
Tapping my handle at the top of the page, I switched to the ghost profile I’d made the last time she blocked me, found her page, and typed another comment.
Yeah, I was supposed to leave her alone, but I couldn’t help it.
Braxton was addicting.
[brax_n_lo_4eva]: You look like your pussy tastes better
Done trolling since I knew she wouldn’t respond, I pocketed my phone and turned to my friends. “I just have one question.”
Rich still wasn’t talking to me, so Houston stepped to the plate with a sigh. “What, Lo?”
“Assuming we win her over, how do we decide who gets her?”
“We don’t,” Houston informed me. “It has to be her choice.”
I liked the sound of that since I had more charm and charisma than both of them put together. I also had a leg up. Braxton would never speak to Rich again once she found out he was married, and Houston would have to grovel more since he’d been the biggest dick to her.
Lacing my fingers behind my head, I grinned at my evil master plan.
“Sounds good to me,” I said excitedly.
“I have a better plan,” Rich said slowly. He looked to Houston and then to me, and I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever the fuck came out of his mouth. “We share her.”
It was late as fuck when Braxton finally returned to the bus. I was lying in my bunk, smoking, and forcing my eyes to stay on the movie playing as she got her shit together for a shower.
She was going to be mad as fuck when she realized I didn’t leave her any hot water again.
It was the first time I’d done the shit on purpose, hoping she yelled at me again. I was willing to take any scraps she gave me at this point. If I felt like this after only a week, I couldn’t imagine what I’d do when the year was up. She said she was just temporary, but maybe she didn’t have to be.
Drawing as much weed as I could into my lungs, I slowly exhaled.
One step at a time.
As soon as Braxton disappeared inside the bedroom, I rolled out of my bunk and snatched her bag from her bed.
“Lo!” Rich hissed so that Braxton wouldn’t hear. He’d been sulking in his bunk for the last hour too. “What are you doing?”
“Staying out of your business,” I tossed over my shoulder. “Return the favor?”
A joint in one hand and Braxton’s phone in the other, I typed in her passcode and then tapped the Instagram icon only to realize she’d logged out.
Fuck.
Not willing to give up, I tried a few combinations.
When I struck out on her full name, birthday, and all that simple shit, I switched tactics.
bambi
babyfawn
richisawimp
houstonisabadlay
I snorted when I struck gold on my final attempt before Instagram locked me out.
lorenisadick
I started to put her phone back once I unblocked myself until I realized there was no rush, unlike last time. Getting comfortable on the edge of Houston’s bunk since he was still out discussing shit with Xavier, I went to her photos. I thought her Instagram feed was good until I saw all the shit she didn’t post.
Damn.
I was praying for a nude as I scrolled through all her photos, and just when I thought I wasn’t that lucky…
There was an aerial shot of her without a stitch of clothing, lying in her bunk alone, thick lips pursed, and staring at the camera as if she knew someone would find these photos. Her hair was spread out like wings on her pillow and around her shoulders while the light from the TV illuminated her pale skin.
She looked like an angel cast from heaven, but she didn’t fall.
She dove.
I felt my mouth watering as I stared at her dusky nipples and the gentle swell of her breasts. Her stomach was taut, the skin there smooth, and I even felt the urge to dip my tongue inside her belly button.
Just as I was admiring what I knew were soft thighs and thinking about what I really wanted hidden between them, her phone was snatched from my hands.
I’d been so caught up in her photo that I failed to hear Rich climb out of his bunk. He stood over me, holding Braxton’s phone in his fist and staring down at me in disapproval.
Toking on my joint, I watched as Rich glanced at the screen and then as he sucked in a breath at what he saw. It took him a second longer to realize he shouldn’t be looking either before exiting the photo and stuffing the phone back in her bag.
“Enjoyed that, did you?” I teased.
“Seriously, Lo. Grow up.” Shaking his head, he slid back into his bunk, and I chuckled under my breath when he stared at the top like he couldn’t get Braxton’s nude out of his head.
Welcome to the party.
Hearing the shower cut off, I climbed back in my bunk to resume my nightly ritual of smoking. Before I gave it up, I could never seem to sleep without getting high as fuck first, but I managed. Now it seemed to be having the opposite effect. I was too wired.
Braxton was keeping me on edge.
Rubbing my eyes with the heel of my hands, I sighed. Fuck it. I climbed out of my bunk just as Braxton entered wearing a camisole and… Where the hell were her shorts? She usually wore them, or maybe it was the other way around. Perhaps she was tired of accommodating us by being decent, which was more than fine with me.
Panties covered her perky bottom—if you could even call them that. They went up her ass like a thong, but they had a little more material. I had no idea what chicks called those shits. It was sexy as fuck, and that’s all I needed to know.
Since I was just standing there in my boxers like a dope, Braxton eyed me warily as she finished towel drying her hair. More than once, her gaze strayed to my chest before catching herself and meeting my eyes. I could feel Rich silently warning me from his bunk to stick to the plan.
Fuck the plan.
“Enjoy your beignet?”
There was amusement in Braxton’s eyes as she regarded me. “Does the answer have anything to do with tomorrow night’s show?”
Cheeky bitch.
“It would if you got food poisoning.” I wasn’t quite sure if she could from eating fried dough and powdered sugar but…anything to keep her talking.
Tossing her towel at the foot of her bunk, she turned away from me. “I think I’ll be fine, Loren. Good night.” As Braxton climbed in her bunk, Houston showed up and got an eyeful of her nice, round ass.
He looked like he wanted to say something to her, but one glance at Rich, and he swallowed it. It was good to know he followed someone else’s rules better than he did his own.
Tucked inside her bunk and nestled under the covers now, Braxton met Houston’s gaze, and a moment later, she turned, giving him—us—her back.
“Ouch.”
Rich promptly threw his pillow at my head, a final warning before he lost his shit. Rolling my eyes, I decided to brush my teeth before Houston could finish getting ready for his shower. Once I was done, I borrowed a couple of things and was back in my bunk after hiding them under my pillow.
Eyes shut, left arm tucked underneath my head, I listened to Braxton’s nails click against her phone screen as she texted her friends. I knew it could be no one else. She didn’t seem to have a lot of people in her corner, and we were planning to change that the moment she let us in.
Houston returned from his shower, and by then, it was two in the morning. I wasn’t even a little bit sleepy, though, and apparently, neither was Braxton. Rich was already snoring loud as fuck, and Houston’s breathing had turned deep.
Perfect.
Keeping my eyes closed, I drew the items I’d hidden from under my pillow. The lube I’d taken from the bedroom. After squirting some into my palm, I pushed my boxers down enough to free my cock.
I didn’t bother drawing the curtains.
I wanted her to see.
Her back was still turned as she faced the wall, but I knew she wouldn’t be like that for long. My mind then conjured her photo as my muse, the memory as vivid as if I still held it in my hand. I kept my rhythm nice and easy, squeezing the head on every upstroke until I began to fantasize, drawing her nipples between my lips.
“Shit,” I let slip when I imagined their taste.
I heard the rustling of sheets and knew that it was her turning over to see. I stroked my dick faster, my hips rising off the bed now and then as I chased my orgasm. I imagined her legs wrapped around me as I slowly slipped inside of her. She’d coat my dick with her arousal, making it easy for me to have my way inside her tight, warm walls. I’d bury myself so deep I’d never be able to find my way out.
“Fuck, Braxton.”
I didn’t even care that she knew it was her I was imagining. It could never be anyone else ever again. No use pretending.
When my movements turned jerky, and I couldn’t control my grunts, I knew there was no turning back. Grabbing the second item I borrowed, I groaned long and hard as I used it to catch my cum.
I heard the growl Braxton tried to conceal when she recognized the purple panties she’d been wearing earlier.
I smiled to myself.
After cleaning my dick off with them and figuring she might want ’em back, I tossed them on the floor before rolling onto my stomach.
Now I could sleep.
You might lose love
It might fade in the wind as if it had never been
You might mourn the good years left behind
You might curse the lonely ones that follow
And when you wake up, you realize
It’s only the beginning
Listening to Houston sing the words I’d written, I thought about my father’s offer for the first time since he made it. I didn’t count Colorado because I’d been bluffing as usual whenever Houston pissed me off.
The bitter truth is that my feet were firmly planted.
I couldn’t walk away from my friends as easily as I’d done my parents. It’s why I hated them so much. I loved them just as deeply.
No matter how much Houston and Rich hurt me, I’d keep coming back for more. The three of us were toxic as fuck, together and apart, but we were all we had. It hadn’t always been like this, and I think remembering all the good is why we stayed through the bad.
Seventy-thousand people were on their feet by the time we walked off the stage at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It was a rush I never got tired off. We had maybe twenty minutes to collect ourselves before the first round of meet-and-greets began. I was actually looking forward to it since it was the only time we got to see Braxton smile these days.
When she wasn’t cursing one of us in her head, that is.
She hadn’t remarked on the stunt I pulled last night, but I expected no less. I think she figured out that I thrived on attention, so she punished me by depriving me of it. Figures. It was like she’d flipped a switch and became the center of my universe. Everything I am revolved around her. I never even considered trying to undo what she’d done.
Two hours later, the meet-and-greets were over, and Braxton immediately headed back for the bus.
Houston, Rich, and I stayed behind to give her “space.”
We used that time to have a powwow with a few roadies as if they didn’t have an entire stage to tear down.
“Has it been enough time?” I snapped once we were done distracting our crew. They had enough shit on their plate without us adding in our melodrama. “Can we go back to the bus now?”
“Relax,” Houston responded dryly. “It’s only been ten minutes.”
“This is dumb as fuck if you ask me.” I cut my gaze at Rich, who noticed.
“There’s a reason no one asks you.”
Fuck this.
I walked off, and they shouted my name once they realized the direction I was headed. It didn’t take them long before they were hot on my heels. They didn’t try to stop me either—not that they could—when I climbed inside the back of the SUV.
The drive back to the bus was only fifteen minutes, but it felt like fifteen hours. I couldn’t understand why my palms were sweating, and my heart was racing. I only knew the stirring in my gut that told me Braxton was up to no good.
I screwed with her, and she’d been compliant.
I should have known better than to trust it.
She was a devious little thing.
Before the SUV fully rolled to a stop, I was out and taking off for our bus. I could hear a baffled Houston and Rich talking shit behind me, but I paid them no mind. They were unaware of what I’d done last night. If they knew, they’d be going crazy too.
Bounding up the bus’s stairs, I slammed my palm on the button to activate the sliding door. Stepping inside, I peered through the dark interior. It wasn’t until a low whimper drew my attention that I spotted Braxton on the couch, naked as the day she was born, red hair cascading down her back, and straddling my goddam pillow.
I knew it was mine because of the dark-green pillowcase.
“Holy shit,” I heard Rich whisper like a virgin. I don’t know why he bothered to conceal his presence.
Braxton knew we were here.
She planned this.
I watched her ass and tits jiggle every time she moved her hips. My pillow was providing the friction her clit needed as she rode it like a professional jockey. She was at the perfect angle for me to see everything while she performed like we weren’t even here. Hell yes.
“What the hell is she doing?” Houston asked no one in particular.
Without taking my eyes off Braxton, I answered my best friend. “She’s upping the ante.”
I was willing to give whatever at this point to make her mine.
Ours.
Whatever.
I wanted to move in closer, maybe touch her or join in. I knew the second I did that it would be over, so I stayed put.
Meanwhile, Braxton sped up her pace, her cries becoming more desperate as she humped my pillow with reckless abandon. Her small hands clutched the casing, her nails digging in as she held on for dear life.
The only thing that could make this moment more perfect was if she were sitting on my face and not my pillow. Swallowing when my mouth-watered, I admired the moonlight washing over her and the sweat glistening on her skin.
If this was her way of punishing me, she could count on more trouble.
The closer she drew to her orgasm, the more captivated I became. And when she finally reached her peak, I was hard enough to break a brick.
The three of us looked on as she slumped on the couch, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she fought to catch her breath. She wasn’t at all shy or bothered by her nakedness even though we stood fully clothed.
A minute or two must have passed, and no one said a goddamn word. I think Houston and Rich were as speechless as I was. Maybe even more so since they didn’t know the reason behind her stunt.
When she could trust her legs again, Braxton stood, grabbed my pillow, and tossed it at my feet. While she disappeared inside the bunks, I stared at my pillow, admiring the wet spot she’d left behind.
Touché.
