Strung Tight (The Road To Rocktoberfest #1) - Ann Lister Page 0,75

and I are going to kick some ass on that stage. Do you hear me? You’re going to walk out to your microphone and close your eyes while you wait for me to start pounding my bass drum. Then the lights are going to flood your eyes, and the only thing you’ll see is the first few rows of people. We can handle that. It won’t be much different from our old dive-bar days.”

“I know you’re trying to soothe me, but those dive bars are nothing like what we have waiting for us,” I said. “Dallas told me how insane the size of the crowds are at this event, Mike.”

“You can focus on me or Dagger,” Mike said. “You know he’ll be standing at the edge of the stage like a proud papa cheering us on.”

I smiled a bit knowing he was right and nodded at our driver as we walked deeper into the vehicle. The other guys and a few guests were already settled in on the couches and appeared to be ready to party all the way to the show. I couldn’t concentrate on anything except Dallas’s absence. I knew he wanted to ride with us, and I couldn’t imagine what had changed his mind or held him up.

I walked down to the bunks, and as I tossed my backpack onto one of them, the master bedroom caught my eye. A myriad of memories came flooding back of spending those few hours with Dallas in there last night. I wondered if the pillows still had his scent on them or if the room smelled like sex. That made me smile. Being with Dallas had been phenomenal, and I hoped like hell we’d have more time together once this event was over. I also hoped whatever had changed his plans was fixable.

With this glitch in the trip, I wasn’t as enthusiastic to be on a giant tour bus on our way to our first major show. Worrying about Dallas overshadowed what I thought would be hours of fun while making memories as a real band on our way to the big time. I wanted to share that with Dallas, and not having him here really threw a wet blanket on this whole experience.

Dagger boarded our bus and whistled to get our attention. “We’re ready to get on the road,” Dagger announced. “Does everyone have all their bags already on the bus?” We all nodded and gave him a wave of acknowledgment. “All right. I’ll leave you to it, but we’ve got ten hours on the road. Don’t do anything stupid between here and the desert. That means no one gets drunk or too high to be a good representation of your brand. Got it? From here on out, everything you do or say will reflect on your band. Remember that.”

“That’s your rah-rah speech?” Mike teased and a few others laughed.

“No, that’s my don’t act like idiots on the bus ride talk.” Dagger grinned. “I have another whole spiel I’ll give you before you go on stage.”

“Good to know,” Mike said and waved at Dagger.

“Okay, I’ll see you when we stop for gas and food,” Dagger said and exited the bus.

I heard the hissing sound the door made as it closed, and my focus went back to the person missing from the bus. My eyes darted outside again. I was half-hoping I’d see Dallas running after the bus when our driver began to accelerate out of the lot, but I didn’t. I sent him a second text message and got no response. I stretched out on one of the bunks and tried to think of something I could do to find him, but I had no ideas and we were heading out of the city. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my racing heart. A few minutes passed, and I might have dozed off, but I wasn’t sure. Next thing I knew, Mike was yanking on my arm and pulling me out of my nesting spot.

“Get your ass out here and stop pouting,” Mike scolded.

“I’m not pouting, you ass,” I argued and pulled my arm free from his grip. He was right, though. I was kind of being a dick, but who could blame me? We joined the others who were seated around the table in the living room. Potter was passing out cards to each of us for a filthy game I’d never heard of that had lots of sexual innuendoes. I found myself laughing at the