12: Bad Roadie
"Does she know you kidnapped her ass?" Bill asked with a resigned sigh the following day. They had left to head for the gig, and when they reached their destination, he had gone to wake up Chris. Chris was already up, out on his couch, eating something that looked gross and he had spotted Samantha tangled up in the sheets through the open curtains. When Chris shook his head no, he groaned. "Is this semi-serious? Should I be worried?"
"If you mean is she my woman, then yes. She's my woman and she's going on the road with me until Friday." Chris hadn't meant to oversleep, it just sort of happened. Due to copious amounts of sex between the two of them. Delicious, unbridled, dirty sex, it was incredible. "No reason to be worried, though I've decided Benny needs to be fired. He put his hands on Samantha last night for no reason, Bill." His eyes darkened slightly at the memory. "Gave her sand burn too. His ass needs to go."
"All right." Bill dropped down opposite of him. "I've got her size, I'll have someone get her some clothing." He rubbed his temples briefly before pulling out his cell, sending a text. "Benny is gone." And he had sent his own assistant out to do the clothing thing. He cleared his throat when Sam emerged, wrapped in the sheet. "Good afternoon."
"Huh?"
"Morning baby, slight problem, well, not really a problem, but it's more of a situation." Chris smiled easily enough, deciding he would be the one to break the news to her and could tell she noticed the bus was moving. "We – uh – overslept and when I got up, the bus was already rolling toward the city I'm performing in, so you're my roadie until Friday. Surprise!"
Sam was staring at the time on the digital clock over the driver's seat. It was way past morning and she shook her head, trying not to smile before dropping down on the couch alongside Chris. "What does a roadie do?"
She was more of a groupie actually but Bill knew better then to say that one out loud.
"Roadies usually put up the stage set and handle all the bullshit lighting, shit like that. But you, my baby, are my personal roadie. Meaning, you stay by my side, except when I'm on stage, and distract me until showtime." Chris informed her, a lewd edge to his tone and grinned at a disgusted Bill, rolling his eyes. "Get used to seeing her around, Billy boy!"
"Oh shit…" Sam squealed, shaking her head as her hands flew up to her flushed cheeks. "Chris, I didn't bring my things," Because duh, this hadn't been in the plans last night. At his 'so what' look, she groaned. "I don't have my birth control pills!"
He sent another text. "On it." No way was he letting some groupie get knocked up.
"What's wrong, baby? Don't wanna have my baby? It'd be a hoot to show the kid the ways of the road and everything." Bill was physically paling at this words and he laughed wholeheartedly, slapping his knee. "Relax, Billy boy, I am in NO position to be a Dad right now. Maybe down the road, but definitely not now. Go ahead and tell Bill whatever you need for the next few days, Sammy. He'll take care of you."
By the time they parked, Bill had a very short list because she didn't need much and Samantha had not been amused with Chris' have my baby comment. The man was insane. "So while you're having your concert, what do I do?" She asked curiously, once Bill was gone, which was great because she didn't like hanging out almost naked in front of the guy when he was very obviously uncomfortable with her presence.
"Stay on the bus and be bored out of your mind, or come join in the fun, sweetheart." Chris grinned, getting dressed for the concert in his black leather pants, silver sequined shirt with the buttons undone and his hair was half up and half down in a crazy up-do. "Got a front row seat for you, if you're interested. What do you think?"
"Is there a bar?" At his nod, she smiled. "I'll just park my ass there." Because bars at these kind of venues tended to have the best security, and drinks. She'd sip on something, be away from the crazy, and get to see him lighting shit up. She shrieked when a bag came flying through the curtains and landed on the bed. Dresses spilled out, yay, her shit! She began rifling, gathering Bill had noted her preferred style. Maria called it 90's country chic, she guessed it worked. "Cool…" She held up the black dress that was sort of similar to the one she had been wearing the night they met.
His eyes instantly darkened at the sight of that dress and snatched it from her, instead pulling out a flowery getup. "This dress you'll wear for only me, baby." Chris ordered, holding the black one away from her as she tried reaching for it to snatch it back. "Uh-uh, Rockstar's rules, Sammy. Now go get dressed up and I'll have you escorted to whatever bar you want. Do you know this area?" They were in Atlanta, Georgia currently, which wasn't overly far from the Florida location.
"A bar IN the venue, Chris, I want to watch. Where are you playing?" When he told her the name, she nodded. It held a few hundred people, there was a bar. She had gone to a country music thing there a few years back. At the very least she had her purse and ID, and money. "I'm not 'dressing up'," And she couldn't, because Bill had bought stuff that was low-key, comfortable, and she grinned. The man was good at his job, or his assistant was. She pulled out a denim skirt, white baby tee and a denim shrug jacket. "How about this?"
"You look good in anything you wear. Hell, wear a paper sack for all I care, just not that dress." Not for anyone except him. He pulled her into his arms, passionately kissing her and smacked her backside, hardly able to get this show on the road. The concert would go off without a hitch and then he'd come back here, or track her down if she was still at the venue bar, and have his way with her for the night. "Alright woman, enough distractions."
Distraction… his disco shirt was a distraction. Sam was ready soon enough, skipping make-up and braided her hair back over her shoulders before letting Bill escort her off through a general admissions entrance while Fozzy went through the band's entrance. She wasn't supposed to be hanging out with Chris in a way that gave an indication into the nature of their relationship, and she appreciated a bit more just how HARD Bill's job was when he spotted photographers. "I'll stay right there." She said, gesturing at the bar. She'd be set far enough back where she wasn't going to get crushed, but close enough to see Chris and the rest quite nicely.
"Thank you." It was already getting packed and the opening act was hitting the stage.
Winking at her, Chris made his way backstage, nodding and waving at his screaming, adoring fans. He was all smiles, completely in his element and laughed at how raucous the crowd was. This would be a lot of fun. He loved crazy crowds.
Samantha settled her backside at the bar, knowing she would be sipping on light drinks all through the night if she wanted to keep her perch. Her purse was slung across her chest and she pulled out her cell phone, idly playing on it while she tried to ignore the very loud, very heavy metal opening act. More texts from Paul and as she scrolled through them, she inwardly sighed.
Things hadn't always been this way. Back in high school, while stuck up and snobby, they had also been spontaneous. It had been nothing for Paul to show up outside her bedroom window at random hours and they would just sneak off. Now, everything was done according to a schedule. Gross. Finally, she managed something short and sweet, and stuffed her cell back into her purse, turning towards the stage.
When Fozzy finally came on, Samantha had gotten bored at the bar and tired of being hit on by strangers. She had made her way closer to the stage, able now to place some of the songs since she had downloaded some of their singles. She definitely recognized this song and Chris was sweating like a beast, his blue eyes lit up as he bounced around stage like a madman.
When the lights go out, the walls come down
We sound just like animals
Inhibitions lost and lines get crossed
You get me off, when the lights go out
Sweat dripped off his body as he discarded the sequined top, leaving him bare from the waist up and the pants he had on hung low on his hips. Every performance was exactly like this – powerful and from the heart. Chris wouldn't have it any other way. He crouched, reaching out to the fans, his eyes locking on Samantha, who was nearly front row and smiled at her, winking. Some of the girls in front thought he was doing it to them and began spazzing out. The look on Sam's face was priceless.
Samantha rolled her eyes and shook her head, stepping back to let the screaming women through and moved away. She leaned against a pole, humming along when the band segued right into S.O.S..
"You're that girl from the MTV talent show, right?"
Someone was RIGHT in her ear, yelling to be heard over the music. Sam
lurched away, frowning and shook her head no.
"You are!"
She knew that talent show had been a stupid idea and unlike Chris, she did not get 'hard' or tingly from being recognized.
"Man, leave the bitch alone, that's not her!" Another guy shouted from her right, jumping up and down to the music and growled when he was shoved. "What the fuck?!"
"Don't tell me that's not her when it is!"
"Don't shove me!"
"Fuck you!"
"No, fuck YOU, bro!"
"STOP THE MUSIC!" Chris roared in the microphone, his eyes narrowed and no longer full of fun, only anger at the two assholes fighting at his concert. "What the fuck are you two ass clowns doing interrupting MY performance, huh? You wanna fight? Go do it OUTSIDE, not in here with everyone else! Or I'll come down there and beat both your asses, you understand me?!"
"Hey, this is the broad from the show, right?!"
"HEY!" The stench of sourness, beer, wafted over her as Dipshit #1 grabbed her arm and breathed right in her face.
"She is NOT!"
And this is why Sam didn't drink, but she sure as fuck DID wear steel toed boots and she kicked the idiot in his shin, like she had Benny the night before. Alcohol had a way of dulling pain though, but not for her, and she ducked when a very wide, graceless punch came her way. She heard idiot's bellow of pain when his fist connected with the steel pole behind her, wincing. Oops?
Now truthfully, Chris enjoyed having Samantha at his show and he knew this wasn't her fault, but chaos seemed to follow her wherever she went. First the incident at the beach with his prior guard and now there was a fight at his concert. What the fuck was going on? He hopped down, twisted the man's arm behind his back and shoved him right in the waiting arms of the security guards of the venue."GET HIM OUTTA HERE! We're here to party and have a good fucking time, not fight!" The crowd roared as Chris got back on the stage to start up a new song.
Samantha kept her ass back at the bar for the remainder of the concert. Boredom set in quick when jumping people obscured her view and honestly, that little tiff had drained the fun for her. She idly toyed with her cell, eyeballing the picture Maria sent her and groaned. A shit ton of red roses, all over her side of the dorm room, with Maria's 'Paul. Gross' caption, and now she was curious. Paul had sent her flowers? He had to be mad at her for bailing on him, and it wasn't a secret anymore she was still in the talent show. What the fuck? That wasn't normal for him.
Once the concert was over, she lingered there, watching as security ushered the stragglers back as shit was torn down. Equipment and stage stuff, the merch tables, she would not want to be a roadie, it looked tedious. She sipped the wine cooler she had ordered, not minding it now being room temperature and watched as Chris emerged from backstage again. Soaked in sweat, no shirt… kind of like how she had met him. "What? I'm busy."
"Heads up, Paul is on his way back here."
"I'm sorry, what?" She regret answering the call.
"Apparently, you're not answering your cell for him and he says he wants to 'support' you during the finals Friday. I call bullshit. He'll be back in the morning."
Tomorrow was Thursday, Chris said they wouldn't be back in Florida until Friday. "Uh…. cover for me?" At Maria's laughing assent, she growled and hung up.
"What's going on, baby? You alright? Anyone else bother you?" Chris wanted to ring that man's neck for laying his hand on her, but he couldn't stir up trouble at his own concert. Bill would have a coronary and he rather liked the man catering to his every whim. He got paid well for its. Chris draped a sweaty arm around her, laughing when she informed him Paul was on his way back to campus to 'support' her on Friday. "Well, he's in for a rude awakening because we have one more concert to do before going back on Friday."
"No, Rockstar, YOU have one more concerts and I am going to stay on the bus, or go explore." That could be fun, and it wasn't something she got to do very often these days. How in the blue Hell was he going to get through tomorrow and then Friday with all this shit lined up back to back? "And that dude just took a picture of us!" Sam cursed, watching as said dude took off with his camera before security could grab him even as Chris was moving to hide her face.
His chest was DRENCHED and now it -sweat- was all over her face. Thankfully, she had skipped the make-up or else she'd of been fucked. She had decided: Chris could have ALLLLL the fame he wanted, she was good with being a nobody. The invasion of privacy and not being able to go anywhere without causing a commotion seemed depressing.
"Find him!" Chris ordered his guards, watching them head off in different directions to try to find the bastard that had snapped the photo. "No, you need to go back to campus. You're not happy here, that much is obvious. I didn't mean to bring you along in the first place, but at least you know what happens in my world." He kissed her soundly, knowing sex wouldn't be enough to keep her with him. "I'll have Bill book you a flight back to Florida and I'll see you on Friday after the talent show." Providing she didn't get disqualified if that photo surfaced online.
"Wait, what?" Samantha was confused, and a bit hurt, trying to understand where that had come from. "You're sending me away? I'm not unhappy Chris, I just don't want to cause anymore problems at your gigs."
"You're going to wind up disqualified from the show."
"I don't care, I never expected to make it as far as I did and I kind of already won the grand prize and then some, now didn't I?"
She had a pretty solid point. "I'll go get her a ticket home." He said after a long moment, walking away. Chris hadn't said anything to the contrary so… maybe he was bored with Sam. Or maybe he wasn't happy with her starting a fight tonight.
"I don't wanna hurt your feelings baby, I want you here, but now your boyfriend is coming back to campus. You need to break things off with him. Take this time to do that and come Friday, we'll be back together again. It's only two days, we can last that long." They'd have to learn to last a LOT longer, especially since she was in school and couldn't leave to be on the road with him whenever she wanted.