Effortless (Thoughtless #2)(58)
Author: S.C. Stephens

Instead, the group played all of their biggest hits, all the ones that I loved and that the fans back home loved. Even though the night hadn’t gone as planned, I was still glad that I’d impulsively flown out with my sister to see this. I knew I’d remember it forever.

Giving a final bow, Kellan shook his head, then leaned over and kissed the crying girl on the cheek. I blinked, a little surprised that he’d do that, but when the girl slumped back into her friends like she was fainting, I had to smile. I shook my head at the oddness of it all while Anna adorably snorted.

Hopping down the stage two steps at a time, Kellan scooped me into his arms. Obviously running on pure adrenaline, he spun me in a circle, laughing as I squealed. His arms were firmly around my thighs as he held me up, and, leaning back, he looked at me. "What did you think?"

Sighing, I threaded my fingers back through his hair and rested my head against his. "I think it was perfect, Kellan."

Setting me down, he smiled warmly at me. The last band to perform swept past us and Kellan twisted to watch them bound to their microphones. Looking back at me, he smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to stay and watch your favorite band?"

Flushing, I glanced at Justin onstage for a microsecond before looking back at Kellan. "Second favorite," I said, shaking my head. Kellan laughed and I laced my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder. "I just want to be with you…wherever that is…," I whispered in his ear.

Nestling into my hair, he nodded and held me tight. "Okay," he murmured, before the sound was drowned out by the band onstage.

As the rest of the D-Bags dispersed, Evan and Matt excitedly talking about the deal they’d just inked, Griffin with his hands all over Anna’s body, Kellan and I stayed just where we were, holding each other, slightly swaying to the music around us. It was peaceful and I felt that familiar contentment again. If I could, I would have held him like this all night long. I would have held him like that forever.

But forever wasn’t in the cards for us tonight and before I knew it, the show was over and the roadies were moving in to tear down the set. Kellan pulled me out of the way, back to the backstage area where a group of fans were hanging around, waiting to hang out with the guys.

Being the professional that he was, Kellan stayed and signed autographs while I waited on a chair in a corner. None of them paid any attention to me, and I was fine with letting Kellan have the spotlight.

After a while, someone from the club finally stepped in and cleared out the room. The man stepped up to me, an imposing look on his face. "You too, missy…everybody out."

He grabbed my elbow and I instinctively pulled back. He didn’t like that. "You can’t stay, groupies gotta go."

I narrowed my eyes. "I’m not a groupie."

He rolled his eyes, like he heard that every night. Just as I was wondering how to convince yet another bouncer that I wasn’t some trollop following the guys around, Kellan intervened. "Sorry, she’s with me."

The bouncer shrugged and let me go. Kellan laced our hands together and led us back out to the secret exit. As we walked, he got a devilish smile on his face. "That little incident reminds me…what exactly did you do to get backstage?"

I sighed, running my hand over my face. "You don’t want to know."

He giggled, twisting to walk backwards down the hall. "Now I definitely want to know." He raised an eyebrow at me expectantly.

Not able to resist the sultry look on his face, I murmured, "I flashed the guy at the door."

Kellan stopped in his tracks and I ran into him. "You what?" he said flatly.

Bunching my brows, I shook my head and took a step back. "He wouldn’t let us through until Anna and I showed him our chests. I kept my bra on, though…Anna didn’t."

Kellan clenched his jaw, his expression hardening. His face reminded me of the night he’d stopped that perve from fondling me, the night he’d gotten the scar along his ribs. "What did he look like?" His eyes scanned the hall behind me, like he was searching for the guy.

I brought my hand up, focusing his gaze on me. "Hey, it’s okay." I grimaced and added, "It was mortifying and humiliating, but he didn’t hurt me or anything. He didn’t even touch me." I didn’t mention that he’d rubbed Anna a little. I also didn’t mention that he’d also offered to "do" me. The first of two unwanted invitations I’d had that night…wasn’t I popular all of a sudden?

Kellan exhaled, shaking his head. "Why would you do that? You could have called me…I would’ve let you in?"

I sighed, stroking his cheek. "I wanted to surprise you."

He narrowed his eyes. "You thought I was sleeping with Lana. Did you want to surprise me…or catch me?"

I bit my lip and shook my head. "I don’t know," I whispered.

Shaking his head, Kellan turned around and forcefully pushed open the door to the exit. Sighing again, I slowly followed him.

Chapter 19

Okay

There was a flurry of activity in the parking lot when I got out there. Guys were loading the vans and busses, band members were hanging around, talking about the show. Even some stray fans were hanging around. I didn’t see my sister and Griffin anywhere, but Evan had stopped Kellan halfway to the bus, and was handing him his guitar as they talked for a moment.

By the time I caught up to Kellan, he didn’t seem peeved anymore. He smiled over at me and grabbed my hand. Evan clapped his shoulder and darted onto the bus after Matt.

As all the other guys started loading onto the busses, I looked up at Kellan. "Are you leaving?"

He looked down at me and shrugged. "Yeah." He pointed over to a bright-eyed bus driver drinking a very large cup of coffee. "They rotate the drivers so someone is always ready to go. Since we can sleep in the busses, we don’t stay in one place unless we’ve got another show nearby." He tilted his head at me. "Our next one’s in Reno." Pausing, Kellan raised an eyebrow at me. "You could come with? Catch a flight home from there?"

Slinging his guitar over his shoulder, he laced his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his, smiling at the thought of a very long bus ride with him. Then I frowned, considering the logistics of it all, plus the roundtrip ticket burning a hole through my duffel bag. "I already have a ticket home, and it’s from here…"

I shrugged, hating that I couldn’t be as impulsive as my sister. She wouldn’t think twice about hopping on a bus to destinations unknown. Kellan pursed his lips, thinking. "Well, what if I get you a ticket from Reno to here?" He leaned into me, grinning mischievously. "Then you could still use your ticket."

I leaned up and kissed his chin, glad that he wasn’t too angry over my admission that I hadn’t really trusted him. "I don’t want you to spend your money on me, Kellan."

He leaned back and shrugged. "Who else am I going to spend it on?" Shaking his head, he added, "Besides, this would be for me." Pulling me close, he rested his head against mine. "I want some more time with you."

Sighing contently, I conceded. "Alright, but only if Anna goes too. I don’t want to leave her alone here."

Kellan grinned and started leading me toward the bus. "I’m sure she’s attached to Griffin as we speak." I cringed, knowing that was probably correct…in every sense.

And sure enough, when we hopped back on the bus, the sounds of someone having a good time drifted back to us. I flushed instantly; Kellan only grinned and shook his head. As the sound of something vibrating mixed in with clear sounds of approval, I closed my eyes, horrified, remembering all of the…toys…Anna had packed.

Leading me to an empty seat where he’d tossed my bag earlier, Kellan set his guitar down and nodded towards the curtained area. "I could go get my Discman, if you don’t want to listen to them?"

I grabbed his arm, embarrassed for Anna, even though she probably wouldn’t have cared if he walked in on them. "No!"

Chuckling, Kellan sat on the same side of the table as me and grabbed my hand. "It’s okay, they’re probably in the back bedroom."

I looked over at him and frowned. "There’s a back bedroom?" He hadn’t seemed to be leading me that way earlier?

Kellan twisted his lips as he tilted his head. "Yeah…Griffin’s kind of taken it over though, so I figured you wouldn’t want to…hang out in there."

I twisted my lips at just the thought of doing anything remotely intimate near places Griffin…laid in. "Yeah, no thanks."

The driver hopped on the bus, taking a count of his rock stars. Frowning as he clearly heard what we all heard, the paunchy man sighed and said, "Alright, which one’s back there? I don’t want to have to go look…again."

A cluster of boys shifted their attention from the back of the bus to glance up at the driver. Laughing, one of them replied with, "It’s just Griffin back there."

The bus driver rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Why am I not surprised?" Sighing, he headed to the driver’s chair; it was plush, more fitted for steering a sleek spacecraft than a bus. As he started it, the rumble of the engine helped to block out my sister’s cries for more, but not nearly enough.

Hating all of the boys listening to her, their eyes staring through the heavy fabric like they’d all developed the ability to see through it, I twisted to Kellan. He wasn’t looking, but his head was down and he was smiling to himself. Hoping he wasn’t envisioning what every other horny guy on the bus was probably envisioning, I muttered, "Are you mad at me?"

Looking over at me, his small smile faded and he shook his head. His finger came up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear as he quietly said, "No, I’m not." Sighing, he searched my eyes. "I get it, Kiera. I get why you’d have doubts, I get why you’d question…" Closing his eyes for a second, he looked down at our hands resting between us. "I wish…"

Not finishing that, he looked back up at me. "It’s okay, I get it, and I’m not mad."

I exhaled slowly and nodded. Then he put his arm around me and I cuddled into his side. He kissed my head and we stared out the window, watching the streetlights blur past as we made our way through the city.

Just as I was starting to be lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the vehicle, a chorus of cheers erupted in the bus. Startled awake, I lifted my head off Kellan’s shoulder just in time to see Griffin bowing. He’d finished with Anna, apparently, and they’d finally come out of hiding. As he walked out of the back, he high-fived some guy in the closest seat.

Grossly enough, it was the same douche that had walked in on Kellan and me. The man sneered behind Griffin’s back but immediately stopped when Anna walked out. Then his jaw nearly hit the floor. That made me smile for some reason…probably because I knew the jerk would never get a chance with my sister. I may not understand her infatuation with Griffin, but she did have standards.

And Anna was someone every guy wanted, the female equivalent to Kellan. Nearly every jaw dropped as the beauty walked past them. She looked like a movie star, fresh from filming a love scene, with her hair perfectly messy in a way that only made her more appealing, and yet her makeup still looked completely flawless. I had no idea how she pulled off looking so great after a romp like that. If it had been me, I’d look…less than great.