Emily hesitated and then put her hand in his and let him draw her up the stairs to where the blanket was arranged. He sat, releasing the towel, so it only just covered him. She was going to have to do the same, she realised. Even if she tied the towel sarong like, it would work its way free quickly. They had skinny dipped together, had amazing sex, and now they were going to eat breakfast together in the bare.There was something delightfully naughty about that, she decided despite her misgivings, and she released the towel to fall around her as he opened the picnic basket. He grinned, sliding a look from the corner of his eye knowing that he had won this round, she thought.“An unanticipated advantage of this set up,” he commented cheekily.She was surprised into genuine laughter.He set a bottle of champagne onto the floorboards, and a small bottle of orange juice. “Mimosa?”“Why not?” She agreed. “Weak for me, though, please. Got to watch the calories.”He retrieved two glasses fro

They slept, still tangled, somewhere between dressed and not, in the bottom bunk, until day turned into night, and the bus pulled up at the first destination. The sudden stillness and quiet of the engine being turned off woke her, groggy, and lethargic from the nap.“Show, Em,” Owen encouraged as she found clothing that would see her to the changerooms.“Yes, I know,” she was grumpy in her sleepiness, but managed to get herself dressed and her suit bag and case in hand, trailing him from the bus and avoiding the driver’s eyes, embarrassed that he might have seen more than he should have. There had to be some type of hazard pay, she thought with flustered amusement, for the drivers of bus bands – she was pretty certain that sex in the busses was pretty common with horny fans and band members doing what came naturally to them.The shower woke her, and she grazed on a salad as she let the stylist prepare her for the show, the men’s conversation in the background rising and falling, the c

In the crowd, a familiar voice called her name, and she turned instinctually towards it, smiling. Something soft was thrust into her arms, and she met the man’s dark eyes, the smile falling from her face at his vulpine expression.“Who-?” The crowd jostled against the barrier, and he let it push him back so that she caught a flash of a grin before he disappeared.She looked down at what he had placed in her hands. She already held a bunch of flowers, and some other oddments fans liked to give her. This was a teddy bear, but… The stitching down its stomach had been cut open, and the soft white fluff within and the fur around it was stained a brownish red. There was something brownish red stuffed inside…“I will have that, thank you,” Aaron snatched the teddy out of her hands and dropped it into a plastic bag, which he ziplocked and passed to his PA. He put his hand on her back. “Keep going, Em, smile,” he encouraged. “Smile, Em.”Her expression had caught Owen’s attention, although the

She next woke when James banged his hands rhythmically along the outside of the bus calling their names. Owen groaned. “F-king drummers,” he complained. “What is the time?”“I don’t know, but I am starving.”The bus engine was silent, and the driver had already departed, so they had arrived a while before, they realised, and slept through it. They used the en suite and dressed, pushing sunglasses onto their faces as they staggered down the steps into the daylight and squinted against the unfamiliar glare of the sun, fuzzy brained and groggy from sleep.“This is different,” Owen commented as they were joined Seb, Jeremy and James on the pavement, the three guys looking brighter and more awake than Emily felt. Seb held a black espresso coffee in his hand which might, she thought, account for their alertness. “Being at the venue bright and early.”“It is midday,” Seb pointed out. “Most people don’t consider that early.”“Early for us,” Owen grinned lopsidedly, his dimple appearing. “I wo

The bus pulled up. “Shit,” Owen muttered, and got up to pack away his guitar and notepad. “Planes might be faster, but on a bus, you are not stuck in one seat the entire time.”“You could still work on your lyrics during the flight,” she shouldered her laptop bag. “I write. You could get a laptop, or a tablet, and do your music electronically.”“Gawd, no,” he grimaced. “There is something so sterile about that.”“Music snob.”“Opera singer.”“Are we flying first class?” She added as they stepped out onto the pavement. The two security guards who accompanied them were already there, carrying their bags over their shoulders.The roadies were busy organising the transportation of the equipment, and she saw several people in the airport uniform step over to them. James was fussing over his drumkit, and Jeremy was surrendering a guitar to the roadies’ care. Seb had his arms around Jacinta, and they were oblivious to the activity behind them.“Yeah, I think Aaron has been setting us up with