The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology(241)

“Ben?” a deep voice called from the hallway. I knew who the voice belonged to. Gage, of course.

He stepped around the corner and at first sight of Cal, his eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

“Ho-ly shit.” Cal dropped his bags and rushed for Gage. Gage looked at him, slightly inconspicuous, before shaking the hand Cal held out toward him. “I’m Calvin Avery, but you can call me Cal. I work for It’s Real magazine, and I’ve been asked to write an article on you and the band in August after the tour is over. I have to say, it’s going to be amazing to be up close and personal with you guys and to get the full effect. I know the readers will love to read about my adventure and road trip with you all, the ladies especially.”

Gage forced a laugh, looking from Cal to me. “That’s great. I can’t wait to get to know you… I guess,” he said, looking at Cal again. Cal nodded and Gage glanced at me once more before going for the stairs of the bus and stepping outside.

“This should be fun,” Cal said, sighing as he took in the feel of the bus. He looked at Montana, who was snoring. He’d fallen asleep that fast. “So, Eliza, would you like to show me around the bus?”

I snorted a laugh. “I can, but there’s not much to see.” I stepped to his side and looked at the kitchen. “That’s obviously the kitchen,” I said, pointing at it.

He nodded, smirking. I slightly oozed on the inside, holding back on a grin.

I turned for the hallway but stepped past the first bedroom. That was the room Roy was in and I refused to go in because he always made situations awkward. He could have been cutting kittens’ heads off in there… Okay, that wasn’t true, but that’s how much he creeped me out. We passed the bunks and I mentioned to Cal the top bunk was Gage’s and the bottom one was Deed’s. My room was diagonally across from it and I swung the door open. I was slightly embarrassed as I took it in from a bystander’s point of view.

The bed wasn’t made. I had pencils and drawing paper all over the place. Paint was sitting in the corner, and my clothes weren’t too organized in my suitcase. I grabbed the door handle and tried to shut the door after telling him it was my room, but he held up his hand and pressed his palm against it to stop me.

“Hold on now.” He chuckled. “Are you embarrassed about me seeing your room?”

I shook my head as he took a step in. “No. It’s just not too clean right now.”

“Hey”—he shrugged—“clean isn’t even in my vocabulary. I hate cleaning. It’s just something I’ve despised for ages. And besides…” He sighed, reaching for one of the pencils on my bed. “I kind of like dirty girls.”

He’d definitely lit another fire within my cheeks. He noticed the way I tried to control my girly emotions and laughed smoothly. “Shall we continue the tour?” I asked.

“We shall,” he said, dropping the pencil on the bed and following me out. I led him down the hallway and showed him the bathroom. Afterward, I mentioned that the last two bedrooms belonged to Montana and Ben.

“For a bus, it’s kind of big,” he said as we stepped into the living room again.

“Yeah. It’s big, but I kind of love it.”

“A girl who loves big things,” he said, smirking. “You know, Eliza, you’re making me more and more interested in you by the second.”

I giggled, blushing. “How?”

“It wouldn’t be fair to tell you unless we get to know one another, now would it?”

“Get to know one another how, exactly?” I asked, my head tilting. I was still smiling, which shocked me a little.

“We have almost two months ahead of us. I’m sure we can figure it out way before the tour is over.”

I laughed. I couldn’t doubt he was flirting with me. It was obvious, and as someone who didn’t really care for guys who flirted with me, I was finding it fun with Cal. He was adorable, especially when he smiled and his cheeks sank in, revealing his dimples. I couldn’t deny it.

The front door of the bus swung open and in came Gage again. He looked at us and then noticed how close I stood in front of Cal. Gage’s hazel eyes were like steel and, if I wasn’t mistaken, held a hint of aggravation. I figured he was still upset about his argument with Penelope, but I took a step back anyway.

“Gage, you don’t mind if I get a few questions in with you tonight, do you?” Cal asked, taking a step back as well. “I have some from the fans, but I won’t bombard you with them. I have a few for the whole band, but it seems like everyone wants to hear what you have to say most.”

Gage shrugged. “Happens when you’re lead singer of a band.”

“Cocky much?” I teased.

He laughed at me, running a hand through his hair. “Never that, Sweet Ellie. Never that. Just confident.”

Cal laughed with him and then went for his suitcase. “Great. When would you like to start?”

“We could do it now.” Gage sighed. “I have plenty of time to practice my vocals later.”

“Awesome.” Cal dug into his suitcase and unzipped a small black bag, fishing out a cell phone and a notebook. “At the table, shall we?” He gestured to the table.

Cal went for it quickly and Gage nodded with a sigh. As he stepped by, he paused to take a look over his shoulder and winked at me. I frowned. I was still annoyed with him and his act with Penelope; plus, I knew the interview was going to take a while so I headed for my bedroom.

I allowed drawing to consume me and even did some drawings and T-shirt designs for the band. They turned out way better than I thought they would. There weren’t skulls or anything grunge. It was actually on the softer side but with a hint of masculinity.

I dug around my suitcase for my colored pencils to fill in the logo I’d created. Orange, red, and black were already the band’s official colors, so I had to make do. I preferred the cool colors like blue, teal, green, and maybe a little bit of black for the boys because it fit them more, but I couldn’t change much just yet. I knew even if Gage were to set something up for me, I wouldn’t be able to make too many changes. I’d have a minor say-so, especially because of my age.

The night carried on with me making a ton of designs for T-shirts, their next CD cover, and even their instruments. It was fun to plan and I didn’t even realize how late it became or that we were on the road again until a knock came from my door.

I looked at it quickly, wishing I could just pretend to be asleep, but I was sure they saw my light on from the dark hallway. “Who is it?” I called.

“Your enemy, I guess,” Gage said from behind the door. There was humor in his tone.

I rolled my eyes before pushing up from the bed and going for the door. Swinging it open, I looked into Gage’s bright eyes and folded my arms. His hands were gripping the frames of the door and his head was tilted down. He was way taller than me, which wasn’t unusual at my five feet and three inches.

“I haven’t talked to you much today,” he said.

“And that’s my fault?”

“No.” He shrugged, stepping into my room. My eyebrows drew in as he looked toward my bed. He spotted the FireNine drawings and smiled as he picked up one. “You’re working,” he noted, smirking. “Dedication.”

“I don’t consider it working. Just thought it’d be fun to test some things out for you guys.”

“Seems like the testing is going well. This looks like something I’d definitely wear,” he said, holding up the sheet of paper. “The colors I love most. Blue… it’s my favorite color. And black.”

“Yeah,” I scoffed. “I can tell black is.” I laughed as I looked him over in his black T-shirt and black sweats.

“Are you finding my clothes a problem, Ellie?” he asked, eyebrow arching as he sat on the end of my bed.

“Not at all, Gage.”

He sighed, dropping the paper back on the bed and then scooting toward me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Were you upset about Penelope being over earlier?”

I scowled at him, taking a step back. “Why would I be upset?”

“Maybe because you’re interested in me.” He smirked confidently.

“Not likely. I don’t really care about you or Penelope, to be honest.”

His eyebrow rose. “Really? I find that hard to believe—not about Penelope, but about you not caring about me.”

“I’m just starting to know you and right now you’re coming off as an arrogant ass. I don’t favor people like you.”

“An arrogant ass?” he repeated, chuckling with wide eyes. “You’ve called me arrogant twice in less than a week. That’s funny.”

“Is this what you came in here for? Because you think I like you and I’m jealous of your ditzy girlfriend?”

He winked. “Maybe.”

I took another step back and sighed. “Well, I’m not, Gage. As I’ve said before, you’re my friend. That’s all.”

He licked his lips, nodding slowly as he looked into my eyes. “And that’s final? You’re completely sure about that? You want nothing more? Not even after what was about to happen between us last night?”