His Distraction (Assured Distraction Book 2) (6 page)

Peri, on the other hand, couldn’t believe all that had happened in the last several weeks. The first big change was Sawyer, her long-time boyfriend, had decided to go back to California. He’d taken a job with a label that was too good to turn down. Where Sawyer had missed LA, she didn’t want to go back to the LA-way of life. The culture and lifestyle in Austin were the perfect fit for her, and with this new job and salary, she had no desire or need to leave. She could make it on her own here, and she was ready to forge ahead.

It was still heartbreaking to see him leave a couple of months ago. She didn’t need a man to make her life complete, but she loved Sawyer on some level. She missed him, but she was not in love with him the way she needed to be. He’d been a part of her daily life for a long time, and now he was gone.

Their relationship changed with the move to Austin, and they grew apart. They both felt it not long after relocating and tried to hang on to each other, but she knew their time had come to an end, just as she knew a long distance relationship would never work for either of them. The split seemed sedate to her. How could someone you’ve been in love with for two years fade to black so easily? Maybe they were never in the ever-after kind of love. As much as she hated all of it, she knew it was the best thing for both of them. There was so much else going on, and she was numb over that change in her life. She hadn’t even told Chandler or any of her other friends yet. She hadn’t told anyone. She was too sad, and maybe too embarrassed to share it yet. She was still mentally adjusting to it all. The question that lingered, though, was whether she was ready to admit it out loud to everyone else.

“Oh. My. God. Chandler! You don’t mean it?” Peri was talking fast and loud. She was so surprised at the news of Chandler and Ryder’s reconnecting. Peri knew when he showed up at the studios something major was going to happen.

When everyone but Chandler and Ryder came out of the room, the band couldn’t say anything but how happy they were for Chandler. KeeMac filled Peri in on their reunion while Chandler and her father continued to talk. Peri was thrilled for Chandler, too. When Chandler lost her parents and then learned the identity of her birth father, her entire outlook on life changed. She was so torn apart by her parents’ passing and their letter with the news of her adoption.

“That’s right. He’s my dad, and we are both so happy to find each other. Keeton and I are going to stay in his suite so we can spend time together before we both have to get back out on the road. It’s going to be the best visit ever!”

Two days later when Keeton, Chandler, and Ryder showed up at Cash’s office, Cash was surprised to meet Ryder Steel again. This time was under much more relaxed circumstances. Cash was also surprised at how things had turned out with the father-daughter reconciliation and to learn about the firing of Steel’s manager, Paul. If the situation had been left up to Paul, Ryder and Chandler would probably never have found each other. But things have a way of working out as they’re supposed to and that’s what happened for Chandler and Ryder. And now, here they were, standing in the doorway of his office together for some reason.

“Come in, come in! And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? I can see that whatever has been going on, it’s made our Chandler a happy girl.”

“I am probably the happiest girl ever, but I’m possibly about to make you the maddest agent ever.” Chandler was afraid to mention it to Cash at this point.

“So, what’s going on? KeeMac, you have something to tell me?” Cash was afraid to guess at this point. Surely these two hadn’t done something crazy like decided to quit the band or something.

Ryder spoke up. “Well, I’ve been talking to my guys, and we’ve decided we need a new opening act for the European portion of our tour. We are going to add a few more overseas dates, and postpone the ones here in the U.S. for now. The band wants to take some new blood with us with the ability to get the crowd ready to rock. We want Assured Distraction to open for us. It’ll be for three months, and if we can get them set up in time, we want them to leave with us.”

“Hot damn. That’s outstanding news.” Cash jumped up and congratulated them all. “I do believe we can get the logistics worked out for everyone. It’ll be quick but we can do it.” He returned to his desk and picked up his phone to call Peri into his office. “Peri, we need you in here to discuss a change in scheduling.”

Cash knew when she walked in Peri was confused as to what was going on with these four. “Is there a problem, Cash? Is something wrong already? We haven’t even left yet, and there’s already something changing?”

“No, Peri,” Chandler jumped in and hugged her tightly. “Everything is the best, EVER! Assured Distraction is going on the European tour with Steel!”

Their time had finally come. They would be playing the big stages in the largest venues and making big money, maybe long before any up-and-coming band had a right to. They had to grab this by the horns. Even more, they would realize their ultimate dream of playing their music for big crowds, getting recognized for their talent, and appreciated by fans. After this tour, they would be launched into stardom.

The band had one weekend before departing for London, where Steel’s tour kicked off, and AD was quickly finding themselves in a storm of activities to get ready. Now that the group was banking funds, they had surplus cash for a change, so the guys wasted no time blowing some on celebrating.

“We are fucking kissing Austin goodbye!” Carter yelled over the loud music in their favorite old haunt, their last hurrah before embarking on new adventures in Europe.

Chandler was the only one who had been there before, so the rest of the band was excited about the trip. Top off the international tour with playing venues with Steel – the global gods of rock music – and everyone was on an adrenaline high.

Gunner stood with the group and raised his glass. “To Assured Distraction: may Europe be filled with hot women and our songs make them all love me.”

Everyone laughed. “Hey, douchebag - they’ll love ya – so long as the girls don’t understand English,” Carter added before clinking his beer glass with the others for the toast.

Peri and Chandler had talked Krissy into trying to smooth things over with Ryan. She still was not happy with him but didn’t want him leaving when she was angry.

Ryan walked around on egg shells with her, praying he wouldn’t do anything else wrong to set her off. They were friendly at best. He hadn’t slept with her since he had returned and it was killing him. At least she wasn’t yelling and screaming at him. He was still waiting to hear if the eviction would happen, and all he could do was pray it wouldn’t. It seemed to be the only thing keeping his head off the chopping block for the time being.

Hayden joined the celebration, too. The band had adopted him as a mascot over the past week since he was always around and seemed eager to help out. Ryan was going to let his new-found cousin stay in his apartment for the three months the band was on the road, which would work out great for them both.

Ryan learned from Cash that he was already lining up performances at bars and clubs all over Austin for Hayden, as well as setting him up with time in the studio to lay tracks for some iTunes singles. Ryan was happy when Cash told him he believed Hayden had several songs written with great potential and wanted him to cut a CD with all of his music as quickly as it could happen.

The week was nerve-wracking for everyone, and Krissy seemed to be the one most on edge. After agreeing to take the part of Peri’s job as a receptionist, she found out she couldn’t start at 13 Recordings until the same Monday the band flew out. All of this was making her nervous. Peri brought in a temp to take her spot while she did her new job, and the temp would teach Krissy, who prayed the temp listened and took good notes.

Krissy’s nerves were on edge being around Ryan and the rest of AD who all seemed like it was such a great thing to be leaving for three months. She fidgeted with irritation, turning her phone over and over, again and again in her hands, when it vibrated in her palm. “OMG, it’s him.” She jumped up from the booth, with Ryan on her heels, and ran out the door to talk to her landlord. “Yes, this is Krissy.”

“Okay, I see,” she replied flatly after listening for a few minutes, her face devoid of expression making Ryan even more nervous.

“Yes, I know. You’re right. I’ll come by in the morning then.” Ryan knew it wasn’t going to be good.

She hung up the phone. “Shit, shit, shit. What in the hell am I going to do? He says I have to move out. Thank God he’s not kicking my roommate out, too, but where the hell am I supposed to go? I can’t afford a decent apartment in Austin without a roommate. I don’t even know if I want to live alone.” Ryan saw the fire in her eyes. He knew this wasn’t going to play out well for him.

“And you! Damn you, Ryan! Everything going wrong is your fucking fault. You did this to me, and now you get to hop on a plane in two days and leave me alone here, high and dry!” She was to the point of screaming now, unleashing her pent-up anxiety and frustration.

“Krissy, we’ll figure something out.” He needed to calm her down.

“Yeah, right. You can start with going over there and paying for the damages you caused, because I’m sure as hell not going to, nor do I have the damn money,” she barked.

Ryan stood and took her jabbing him in the chest with her stiletto-sharp nails that she’d had done at the spa with his money. He needed to say the right things, especially now.

“Right, no problem, and I’ll pay to have you moved, too. It’s going to be alright, baby,” he reassured her as he tried to grab her wrist to stop the poking.

“Damn right, you will move me, and I want someone to pack it and unpack it, as well. I’m not lifting a damn finger. And when that’s all done, I never want to see your sorry ass again. EVER!” she yelled. “Go to Europe with your little fucking boy band and don’t ever contact me again. Do you understand me?”

Ryan gasped. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Now, wait, Krissy. You don’t mean that. I love you.”

“No, you don’t. You love the band, you love the fame, and the attention from those fanwhores, and the traveling, and ‘the music’, but you don’t love me!”

“You’re wrong; I do love you.” He couldn’t come up with the right words to convince her.

“No, Ryan, you do not love me. If you did, you wouldn’t enjoy spending so much time away. You would give up this band dream and get a real job so we could be together.”

“A REAL job? What the fuck, Krissy? The band is my dream job. I’ve been working my ass off, living poor, working odd jobs, playing in smoky bars for years trying to make it. Now that I have, you want me to walk away? If you loved me at all, you would want me to do what I love, and you’d celebrate my successes with me, not brush off my dreams as an inconvenience.” Ryan was yelling right along with her now until he noticed heads turning and staring at the scene they were making.

“I’m leaving. When you come home from Europe, I will not be here waiting.”

Ryan stared at her for a long minute before letting out an exasperated sigh. “Krissy, I know you don’t mean that. You’re angry right now, and I get it, but we love each other. I don’t want to see things left unsettled while I’m gone. I thought maybe you would go ahead and move into my apartment while I’m gone. We should have moved in together before I left the first time. The rent’s paid and there’s another bedroom for Hayden. I will have the door repaired. I know it’s not perfect, but you’ll have a good place to live, and I won’t have to worry about you living alone.”

He had never mentioned them moving in together before. Maybe this idea would placate her until he could get back and figure things out.

She softly laid her hand in the middle of his chest. It was a familiar touch to her, and one Ryan had been seeking since returning to her. “Ryan, I know this is hard for you. It’s hard on both of us, but I need to know I am as important to you as this band. With you willing to leave me without a thought as to how it effects me, it makes me feel unimportant to you.”

“Kitten, you are important to me, and what I’m doing ensures we will have a great life.”

She tightened the material of his shirt front bringing them closer together. “Babe, take me home. I hate that all we’ve done is fight since you’ve been here. I need to know you love me like you say you do.”

He pulled her closer and kissed her. He decided maybe they were getting somewhere, finally but wasn’t quite sure with her about face all of a sudden.

Ryan dressed to leave the next morning quickly, knowing he had a lot to do before flying out. He leaned in to give Krissy a kiss and tried not to wake her.

“Where are you off to so early, Babe?” Her voice was thick with sleep.

“Kitten, I have so much to do today. I need an early start to finish it all.” He rushed around the room finishing up to leave.

“Like what? I thought we could enjoy the morning a little longer.” Her sex-tousled hair and heavy-lidded eyes were enough to make him want to jump back in with her, but he knew if he did, he would never get finished in time to leave.

“I still have to pack. I want to get over to your apartment to take care of the door and then see to having your stuff moved. I need to get all of my guitars ready to go. There’s a lot of things that need to be done.”

She came straight up to her knees on the bed. “What?” she screeched.

He spun around taking in her nakedness. “What do you mean, what? You know I need to get finished.”

“You mean after last night, you still plan to go?” Her voice escalated with each word.

“Yes, Krissy. You know I would never change my mind. I thought we had this worked out already.” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing from her.

“If you go, we’re done Ryan.” She laid down the ultimatum from last night.

“Krissy, I’m going. I want you to think hard about what you are saying and while I’m gone come to your senses about us.”

“Fuck you, Ryan.”

“No, Krissy, you’ve done that already, and look where that got me.” He spun around and slammed the door behind him.

She leaped from the bed stomped and thrashed, screaming and growling her frustration. She had to make some quick decisions or she was going to find herself homeless in a week.

The landlord had agreed to let the roommate stay if she left ASAP. Possibilities were popping in and out of her mind on her way back to her apartment. At least, her landlord gave her a week to move. When she put her key in the door, her roommate yanked it open.

“The landlord came by and told me the decision. Oh, Krissy, what are you going to do? Finding a new place in a week is going to be impossible.”

“No, I’ve already decided. Ryan told me he was going to ask me to move into his place. There’s the extra bedroom there, the rent’s paid for three months while he’s gone, and now all I have to do is convince Hayden not to tell Ryan.” The ride in the cab gave her time to think of a plan, and this plan would save her a lot of money she would probably need when he returned.

“Why wouldn’t you tell him? I’m sure he would be happy to help you move. You don’t have much stuff and only your bedroom furniture, so it won’t take much for him and the guys to move it all.”

“Yeah, well, I kinda told him to fuck off. I can’t take playing second fiddle to his stupid band anymore. He’s coming here to pay for the door, and he’s paying to have me packed and moved. I’ll wait until he’s on his plane to God knows where and then I’ll move into his place. If he’s gonna fuck me over, he, at least, can take care of me while he’s out of the country.”

“I don’t know Krissy; that’s kinda ballsy on your part to take over his apartment without him knowing.”

“You’re right, but he owes me. He’s leaving
me
, and he got
me
evicted. And besides, he offered it to me, so I’m taking it. I just didn’t tell him I would. He never has to know. He won’t be home for three long months and by then, I’ll have money saved and plenty of damn time to find my own place.

“I’m taking a shower. It’s going to be a long day with all I have to get done.” She turned with purpose and walked into her bedroom, passed the splintered door hanging off its hinges in the broken doorframe. She was so pissed at Ryan, and she wanted to cause him the same pain, no – more pain – than she felt at being pushed aside for his foolish ambitions. Aside from shutting him out of her life, the only way she could think of to get back at him was to take advantage of his generosity and stupidity. And she decided she was going to do just that.