“You’re on Journey duty from here on out. Where she goes, you go. We clear?”
“Of course, sir.”
Nobody fucked with Dave. He could crush anyone with his finger alone.
“Oh my God! Now I get a babysitter? This is bullshit!”
“Junie, don’t cuss.”
“Nobody knows who I am! Why do I need a bodyguard?”
“Wit’ the way you’re dressed, you’re lucky I don’t get ya two of ’em. On second thought, Vic—”
“Cash! Don’t you dare!”
“People know who you are, Junie. Your brother is an NFL god.”
She rolled her eyes. “The press knows who I am, not normal people.”
“Yeah, well, there’s fifty thousand normal people who are ’bout to find out who you are to me. So you’ll have a bodyguard everywhere you go from here on out.”
“Wait, what? This isn’t just for today?”
“Hate to break it to ya, darlin’. Welcome to my world.”
“Fine. Whatever. He’s not following me into the bathroom. I draw the line at peeing.” She looked at Dave. “When I pee, I do it alone.”
“Of course, ma’am.”
“No.” She put her hand in the air. “We’re nipping this ma’am thing now because we’re about to become best friends, Dave. The name’s Journey.”
He glanced in my direction, and I nodded in approval.
“Sounds good, Journey. Cash has never assigned me to anyone before, so you must be something special. I’ll make sure to guard you with my life, like I do his. Anything you need, I’ll always be right outside the door if we’re not in public.”
“Thanks, Dave,” I drawled.
“Now that you have complete control over my life, what’s next?” Journey declared after Dave left the room.
“Junie, it’s for your own good.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You can make it up to me by taking me to rehearsal with you.”
“Already planned on it.” I grabbed her hand, tugging her onto my lap. She straddled my waist, while I held her face in between my hands. “If I ain’t on stage, you’re by my side. Wit’ me wherever I go. Understood?”
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” She smiled. “I mean, unless you’re in the bathroom doing the deed.”
I laughed so hard my head fell back.
“I grew up with two brothers. I know what goes on in there. It ain’t pretty.”
“Oh yeah? I’ve wiped your ass, baby Journey, and most of the time it wasn’t pretty either.”
“Cash...” She hid her face in the nook of my neck.
I grinned, I loved it when she was being all shy. “Stop bein’ so fuckin’ delicious.” Her shirt rode up a little higher, exposing the bottom of her breasts. “Are you wearin’ a bra?”
“Nope.” She turned her neck, peeking up at me through her long dark lashes. “I don’t own any of those.”
“You will after today.” Just as I was about to kiss her pouty pink lips, we were interrupted by my stage manager.
“Cash, you ready?”
“You ready, Junie?”
“I was born ready.”
I couldn’t agree with her more. Grabbing ahold of her hand, I led us outta my trailer. Making sure to watch her every move in the element of my home. This was the closest place I’d ever referred to as home.
A stage.
The adrenaline in the air was running high with each step that brought us closer to the forum. People were scattered all around the stadium, preparing for the success of yet another one of our performances. Every individual job was significant and important. From the lighting, to the stage setup, to the wardrobe, to the security, and the props.
The list was endless.
I appreciated the dedication of our team, always doing whatever needed to be done at the drop of a dime. Most of them had been with us since the beginning. Our success was their success. We didn’t like change, and trust was a huge part of our management. They ran our lives, knowing a lot of what made us Life of Debauchery.
The last thing we wanted was for someone to run to the press and sell a bullshit story just to make a quick buck, which had happened before. It fuckin’ sucked every time someone betrayed our trust for money. Making it hard not to become jaded with who we let in our lives. I wasn’t lying when I told Jamie I trusted Journey with my life.
I did.
It wasn’t an easy task by any means. However, having her there was no worry on my part. The only thing that concerned me was what she would think about tour life.
The after parties.
The groupies.
The booze.
The drugs.
The insanity that came with the title rock star.
I wasn’t ready for her to see that part of my past, and to be completely honest...
The truth was, I wasn’t ready to be around the drugs and liquor without wanting a taste of it myself.
Chapter 15
“I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.”
-Tom Waits
<>Cash<>
Until I got my shit fully under wraps, we wouldn’t be attending anything but the shows. I was looking forward to doing our own thing afterward anyway, craving to spend as much time with Journey as I could. Make up for lost time. Get to know each other again on a more personal level.
I wasn’t referring to sex either. There was so much more I didn’t know about her, and I was jonesing to know everything I could. Our flirty banter and making out was enough for now. I’d spent my whole life sleeping around with women whose faceless names I didn’t even remember.
It was meaningless.
Empty.
Lonely.
The next chapter of my life would be focusing on the girl I couldn’t stop thinking about. It was time to put my old ways behind me and move forward with the bright light that was Journey Pierce.
Who was now sitting front and center, watching our rehearsal with stars in her eyes. I thought I’d seen every kind of fandom possible, but hers was on another level. Junie was making love to my music.
Swaying her hips.
Rocking her body.
Bouncing her ass.
She knew the lyrics to every song we played as if it was an extension of her soul. Like she’d spent hours and days with us in the recording studio, writing them herself. We were all blown away by Journey and her response to what mattered the most to us.
Our music.
Softly strumming the melody, I got lost in the lyrics and power the music always held over me. Only now, she was right there with me, soothing my tortured soul. My sensations were stirring crazy with everything that was going on around me.
The memories came rushing back of when and where I created this symmetry. I battled to keep my emotions and thoughts in check. They attacked the forefront of my mind at a sharp pace.
One right after the other.
Refusing to let me go.
I channeled the euphoria into my performance. Strumming out the harmony perfectly, allowing the sound waves from the band’s instruments to bury themselves deep into my chest. Into my vocal cords.
Making itself at home inside of me.
All of our lyrics were written by me, and each song reflected some part of my life in one way or another. These weren’t just words to me. They were my entire existence. The emotions bled off my voice. Journey right there with me, and this was only our rehearsal.