Chapter 11
It was warm. It was heavenly warm. Like being in a fleece blanket during winter
with warm socks, sitting by the fire and a mug of hot cocoa sitting on the
table waiting for you. It was
comfortable, strangely comfortable for her normal sleeping conditions. She opened her eyes and it was unusually
dark. There was a little bit of light
coming out of the corners of the curtain and she realized she was in her bunk
on the guys’ bus. She yawned and started
to stretch, amazed by how refreshed she felt.
It was half way through her
stretch when she heard it: a deep, gravely male groan. It scared her to death and shocked the hell
out of her. She looked over her shoulder
but couldn’t see much so she made a move to turn a little so she could get a
better look. When her body moved she
felt something around her waist tighten and she felt a body, a hard male body
press up against her back. She looked
down and saw a bare arm draped over her side and stomach. Her eyes traveled up the arm, her body turned
a little. The male body sighed and
gripped her tighter.
Her eyes landed on a cross tattoo.
She turned back around like she
was and laid there stiff, unable to move in his arms and not really wanting
to. Her eyes were wide open and she
wondered how the hell they had gotten like that. Last thing she remembered they were
innocently playing Tetris, since she was kicking his ass in the Mario game they
had been playing before then. Now he was
cuddled up to her, protectively sleeping by her side, spooning her.
She could feel his breath on her
neck, hear him inhale and then quietly exhale.
She started to smile. She tried her damnest to stop, but her
attempt failed. She bit her lip and
tried not to giggle.
Get it together.
You’re just sleeping beside each other.
Damn. So this is what it feels
like. He he...Ok stop Kristen!
She cussed herself out a little
bit for being overly excited and started thinking about the night before, and
all that she had told him. She noticed
how quiet he was after that and how he was looking at her harder than he ever
had before, like he was trying to get inside her head. Now that she looked back, she realized that
they had started to nod off and she had turned off the game and joking said
‘night’ to Justin, pulling on his pillow until she had totally got it out from
under him and so that it was cushioning her head instead. She put her back to him and closed her eyes,
ready for him to make a smart ass comment, kick her out, or something like
that. She was just trying to flirt a little, pick at him, and get under his
skin.
But now that she thought about it,
once she closed her eyes, nothing else happened. And now she was in his bed, him sleeping
beside her, holding on to her. She
wondered if the light from outside the bunk was from the lights in the bus or
from daylight, so she raised her arm a tad and pushed the curtain back a little
to find out.
She strained to look out of it and
realized it was daylight, but she was also met with a reality that hit her
hard.
Chris was stumbling out of his
bunk.
She made a quick move to push the
curtain back so she was blocked from his view.
Great. Now Chris was going to think her and Justin
were fucking or something.
She smiled again. She cussed herself out again.
She heard the sound of a curtain
being slung back forcefully underneath her and the sound startled her. She heard Chris start to say “Wake up
Kristen” in a loud obnoxious voice but halfway through ‘Kristen’ his voice
caught.
“Uhh…”
She tried not to laugh as she
listened in on the conversation.
“James, where’s Kristen?”
“Son, I watch the road. I don’t pay
attention to wha yall do back there.”
“Well, she’s not in her bunk.”
The next thing that was said
scared the crap out of her. It came from
the person pressed against her. “Chris,
shut up! God!”
“Do you know-“ Chris halted his
words because he had slung back the curtain to Justin’s bunk. She smiled at him shyly.
He stared at her a long time. She saw his eyes dart from her to
Justin. He opened his mouth, closed it,
looked away, looked back and started to say, “What- I don’t want to know.” But he threw up his hands, shook his head and
walked towards the front of the bus.
Once he was out of sight, Justin
spoke from behind her. “Close the
curtain will you please. The light’s
blindin’ me.”
She did as he wished and laid
there quietly. His arm was still around
her. It was quiet for a while and then
she heard him say in a gravely voice, “mornin’”
She squeaked out a “mornin’”
back. Her mind was running a thousand
miles a minute trying to figure out if this all meant something. Were they more than just friends now? Even though everything she had said to Justin
the night before was true she didn’t tell him that she had never had a
boyfriend, never been on an actual date and had no experience with romantic feelings
and involvement with the opposite sex.
So now Justin probably thought she
was some easy slut. That was probably
the reason she was in his bed all intimately beside him. He probably thought he had an easy in now.
And he was probably right.
“Did you sleep ok?”
She tensed at his words and he
noticed. His hand was rubbing up and
down her side and when she tensed up his hand paused. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
“Yeah, fine.”
“What’s wrong?” He whispered.
Hello! You are
touching me, holding me like we’re practically married, we SLEPT together last
night and you might share a bed with a different girl every night but it’s not
something I normally do. So what’s
wrong!? This is wrong mister
Timberlake? US!? What the hell are we anyway! You tell me what’s wrong with the picture
here?!
She sighed, “Nothing.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah.”
Not a second later she felt his
arm slide back around her fully and pull her against him. She felt his head nuzzle her shoulder and in
a pathetic baby voice that made her want to gag he mumbled, “Mmmmkay. You’re all warm and snuggly.”
“Ok, stop!” She wiggled free and
turned around so she was facing him, making the covers tangle around her and he
was left there with only half of a sheet covering him from the waist down, one
leg completely exposed, his whole top half bare and begging her to stare at it.
“What?”
He was wearing blue boxers with
white stripes on them. She shook her
head and moved her eyes up to his face. “Don’t pull that snuggle cute shit. I think I should get up and change.” She made a quick move to leave but both his
arms secured around her waist and pulled her back.
“Noooo.”
“Why not?”
She looked over her shoulder and
noticed how close he was to her. There
was about 3 inches separating their lips.
He smiled a cocky smile. “Because
I like you here.”
Her eyes were fixated on his lips
and the way he was smiling like he KNEW what he was doing. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“When?”
“Last night when I fell
asleep. You could have told me to go
back in my own bunk.”
She moved her eyes back up to his
eyes. They were smiling mischievously at
her. He was up to something. “Like I said before, I like you here.” He was leaning in. She would swear all her money, which wasn’t
much that he was leaning in, like he wanted to….
She had to put a stop to this
non-sense. So she tried to wiggle free
again, but she lost all the power in her muscles when his lips kissed the tip
of her nose.
What was he doing to her? She swallowed hard and said, “Well I don’t
like me here.” It was meant to be
forceful and bitchy but the way she said it sounded more like someone hiding
and afraid if they make any sound they would get caught.
“Oh, sorry. You can go.”
She felt his arms leave her and all body contact with him
disappeared. She was left there staring
at him with wide eyes.
He stared back, “You gonna go or
not?”
Her eyes narrowed. What a bastard! He cant go from being all touchy one minute
to distant as hell the next. That just
wasn’t FAIR! “Ugh, fine.”
She rolled out of the bunk and
stood up, looking in at him with her eyes still narrowed. He smiled at her, fixed the covers around him
and closed his eyes all in an arrogant manner that pissed her off more than she
thought possible.
Her fist clinched and she took the
curtain and slung it back in place as hard as she could. She wished they had doors so she could slam
one.
Her legs carried her over to where
Chris was eating a Pop tart and doing something with his cell phone. She plopped down on the couch across from him
and crossed her arms over her chest, huffing and puffing and letting him know,
and the world, that she was mad.
Oh, she was so mad.
Chris looked up and raised an
eyebrow at her. “So um…”
“Shut up!” She snapped at him and then turned her head
to stare outside at the road. She saw a
sign that said “
She made a mental note: Next time, ride on another bus, hell, walk
for all it mattered. Just get away from
Justin Timberlake.
-----
The shower felt good to her. It released some tension and made her muscles
feel better after helping Rick unload at the venue earlier. They were in
Her and Rick were going out to an
old punk club she use to go to all the time and she was so thankful. It would hopefully cure the shitty mood she
had been in since the morning fiasco.
One of Rick’s high school buddies was one of the managers of the
place. According to Rick an up and
coming hot band was playing. She
couldn’t wait to go and chill and get her mind off everything.
Once out of the shower, she got
ready to go. She did what Justin and
probably the other guys would shit a brick if they saw her: she tried on outfits and put on makeup. She dried her hair to make sure it was bone
straight. In a funky mood, she decided
to put on some blue mascara, and green lipstick. It wasn’t bright green but it gave her lips a
weird shine. Her legs adorned her normal
way too big black pants that barely hung to her hips and her top was in a tight
white tank with a black bra underneath.
She put on lots of silver rings and black bracelets. She put on a chocker, looked herself over the
in the mirror in the bathroom and smiled.
She was ready to party.
She opened the door to the
bathroom and rolled her eyes when she saw Marie on the bed with her
boyfriend. She didn’t mind rooming with
Marie, she was the nicest of all the PR girls, but her boyfriend had flown up
to see her and ever since she had walked in the door the two of them had been
on the bed “watching” a movie while making out.
She wanted to just tell them she’d
sleep in Rick’s room on the floor so they could have sex, but she figured she
wouldn’t be there at all that night.
The only thing about it was they
did look kind of cute, with his arms around her and Marie cuddled into his
chest while they watched the movie. She
noticed how Marie would look up and he’d instinctively lean down and kiss her.
She wanted that for once in her
life. And of COURSE she thought about
Justin. She was so relieved to have a
night without being near him. It would
do her body and mind some good.
Kristen grabbed her wallet and
slid it in her back pocket waving shyly at the couple. “Later guys. Have fun.
I probably wont be back till REAL late.”
Marie smiled genuinely. “Ok bye
girly have fun! You look cute.”
Her boyfriend gave her the rock
sign and said, “Rock out!!”
She giggled a little and turned to
walk out the door. “See ya”
She got to Rick’s room without a
problem, but was met with a big problem once she got there. Rick was out on the balcony smoking a
cigarette with someone else and there on the bed was her worst nightmare.
JC was laying back on one of the
beds on the cell phone dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and weird jacket, but on the
other bed was her worst enemy.
And dammit he looked fine.
He had on jeans as well and a
white t-shirt with red edges on the sleeves and around the neck. It had a picture of sloth from the Goonies
imprinted on the shirt. A trucker hat was
perched on his head. She hated his
outfit because she LOVED the Goonies and it was totally unfair that HE had to
have a cool shirt like that. She hated
the fact he was in the room because he had to see her dressed up and he would
probably make some smart ass comment.
“Hey Kris, Justin and C are gonna
go with us, is that cool?”
What? Oh, FUCK no!
And she HATED that he was barging
in on her night away. How the hell was
she supposed to clear her mind and start working on getting off her little
crush if he was at the same club she was?
The night was going down hill fast.
“Damn…”
She looked at him and narrowed her
eyes. He didn’t have any right to talk
to her. “What?!”
“You look hot.”
She stared at him until Rick came
in the room sliding the glass door half way behind him. She looked at him and started waving her arms
around pointing at Justin. “I don’t wanna go anymore. I’d rather sit and watch Marie and her
boyfriend fuck all night than go to OUR club with HIM!”
He stood up from where he was
sitting on the bed and put up an innocent front. “What’d I do to you!?”
She closed her eyes and stomped
her foot. “SHUT UP!”
JC chuckled and mumbled that he’d
be waiting outside and then left the room.
Rick pulled on her arms and looked down at her like she was a toddler.
“Ok, kids, chill. You’re coming whether
you like it or not!”
She pried from his grasp and sat
down on the bed and crossed her arms trying to be as defiant as possible and
trying not to let the fact that Justin was leaning up against the wall, staring
at her unbelievingly, effect her. “You cant make me. Yall have a fun night but I’m NOT going.”
Rick sat down beside her and put
his arm around her. “It’s Cake.”
She shrugged him off. “What’s
Cake? What the hell are you talking
about Rick!?”
His voice was very calm compared
to her snappy attitude. “The band. It’s not a new band. Well the one opening up is, but Cake is
playing. It was supposed to be a
surprise.”
She pushed him away and stood up
and went to the other bed. “That’s
bullshit! They just got off their
tour. They aren’t doing anymore shows
for a long ass time. I know this
stuff! I’m their biggest fuckin
fan. Don’t you try and bribe me with
them Rick! That’s shameless!”
“I’m not lying.”
“Yes you are.”
He put up his hands in defense and
sighed. “Fine, miss out on your favorite
band. We gotta go though because it’s
getting late and I don’t wanna miss them.”
“Fine.” Rick left and she didn’t even look up. She knew he
was still here staring at her.
His voice was very worried and
quiet. “What’d I do?”
“You stole MY night.”
“I did? I just wanted to go out and do something
different.”
She fell back on the bed and flipped him off. “Then go!
Have fun! Leave me alone!”
The next thing she heard was the
glass door sliding and the smell of smoke coming more into the room. She looked up and saw one of the roadies
walking through the room. He waved at
her and kept walking. Justin had
disappeared.
Brent was almost at the door when
she called out, “Hey Brent?”
He turned and looked at her, “What
sweetie?”
“Who’s playin tonight?”
“Uh, a local band called the Tree
Killers…”
She smiled knowingly and
sighed. “Thank you so mcuh.”
But then his eyes widened
excitedly. “And then CAKE’s
playing! Don’t you like them? Aren’t you coming?”
Her smile dropped and she stared
at him hard, trying to see if she could detect any hint of falsity in him. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.” He was telling the
truth. With a deep breath she pushed herself off the bed and followed him out
the room.
She couldn’t sacrifice Cake for a
night without Justin. She’d go, get lost
in the crowd and hopefully be able to forget him for a night.
So far it was looking hopeless.