that he’d been better than her fantasies, because he so far outshot those it was almost laughable. Being with Cam? Made her realize all the other guys she’d been with had been boys. Cam was a man. No, a Man. A Man who knew exactly how to wring every last drop of pleasure from a woman. A Man who had very likely spoiled her for any other future hookups. And a Man who was very much off-limits for the next four weeks, per their mutual post-sex agreement.
“If I didn’t think you’d be safe, I’d tell you.”
“I know.” She straightened to give Amanda a quick hug. Kylie didn’t want to make her worry. Of course she’d be safe. Which was one less reason to not be brave and get on the bus. “But my whole bad-decision kick made a lot more sense with a few ounces of gin in me than it does now.”
“This is an adventure. One you’ll be telling stories about for the rest of your life. And it is only a month. I’ll even look for an apartment for you the whole time.”
A short, swarthy man with a buzz cut jogged right up to them. “Which one of you is the new goody girl?”
“Me. I’m Kylie.” She tapped her chest. A few of the jitters disappeared. She had a title. A purpose. A job. Might not be much, but it was a way to keep her self-respect while she figured out what to do next.
“Tony Saviola.” He pumped her hand hard enough to snap her elbow. He practically vibrated with energy, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “We’re running a lean, mean operation for this tour, so I’m production manager, stage manager and tour manager. In other words, if you have questions, I’m your man.”
She didn’t want Tony to be her man. Kylie wanted Cam. Damn it. Sleeping with him had been simultaneously the best and worst decision of all time. Kylie didn’t regret any of it. But she knew being in such close quarters, knowing what was just out of reach, was going to be super hard. Superduper hard. Harder even than Cam right before he orgasmed. Aaaand that thought made her giggle. Inwardly. ’Cause she bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t have to explain an outwardly unwarranted giggle.
“Nice to meet you. I’m all set.”
Before she finished the sentence, he’d grabbed two of her bags and started hustling toward the bus. “We’re pedal to the metal in five, with or without you,” he hollered over his shoulder.
Guess she’d run out of time to panic and dither. Kylie picked up the rest of her things. “Wow. I’ll bet he gets caffeine injected straight into his veins.”
“Or maybe he ate a bag of chocolate-covered espresso beans, thinking they were candy. Tony looks like he’s got the energy to push the bus all the way up I-94.” Amanda threw herself into another hug, one that almost toppled Kylie over. “Call every day. Text all the time. FaceTime me every night.”
“I’ll miss you like crazy.” And then Kylie jerked out of her friend’s embrace.
She’d said good-bye to hundreds of people in the last two weeks. Graduation meant good-bye parties and ceremonies. Yanking out the cords that connected you to your friends until your emotions were a bloody, raw mess. She’d barely been holding it together before getting dumped and losing her job. So even though Amanda deserved a long, heartfelt sobfest of a good-bye, Kylie simply couldn’t. It was too much.
Luckily, the stiff breeze off of Lake Michigan whipped the tears from her cheeks before she wrestled herself and her bag up the high steps. Then Kylie froze. Last night, Riptide had played a small club. No real lighting effects, no sets. Just them and the music. This tour bus was a reminder that they were, in actuality, a group that filled stadiums. A group that, when they did a free concert, fans lined up days ahead of time. This bus was everything kids dreamed about when they whacked their pencils on desks in a drum riff.
A long, black ultrasuede couch on one side, with an honest-to-God recliner across from it. Plasma TVs hanging