“Of course, Mom. Love you.” I heard another loud huff as I ended the call and giggled before giving the cab driver the address of the arena where the guys were playing. Since the first time I met Leah in high school, she had always been so mature for her age. I guess that’s what happened when your horrible mom ditched you, along with your newborn brother. I was still amazed by her every day.
Luck had been on my side with the parents I was given. Yeah, I guess I could say they spoiled me a bit, especially since I never really worked a day in my life. I think it was because of the fact that I was their only girl, so they felt like I needed to be taken care of. My brothers, Ben and Owen, were essentially the same way, always overprotective of their baby sister. I think that contributed to how I turned out. I wouldn’t say I was rebellious, but I definitely liked to do things my own way. Luckily, my parents never judged. Whatever I decided to do in life, they always supported me one hundred percent.
I paid the taxi driver after he pulled to a stop right in front of the shiny silver tour bus that had become my home for the past two years. Yeah, the thing might only have one real bedroom, the rest of the sleeping space being made up of tiny cubbyholes, but to me, it was like a mansion on wheels.
Before Teddy and the guys really made it, we were roughing it between grungy motels and sleeping in cars. Thanks to my mad marketing skills, the band had managed to go from an opening act to a headlining one. The spotlight that came along with that had been a little overwhelming at first, but I think we all handled it pretty well, for the most part. It never seemed to put a strain on Teddy’s and my relationship, which was a little surprising.
The stream of girls between Mark and Tyler picked up along with their fame, but whatever—more like whoever—they wanted to do was up to them. Except for when I had to hear it, but I guess I would have to get used to that since Teddy and I took over the one and only bedroom on the bus. After a while, I had invested in a good pair of earplugs.
I really didn’t know how long we would be living this life. For in between breaks, Teddy had purchased a house for us back in Indiana, but we didn’t really spend much time there. He had started hinting towards wanting kids lately, but I really didn’t know if we were ready for that. I couldn’t imagine trying to cram a crib onto the bus, and I really didn’t want to raise a kid alone while Teddy traveled all over the country. Plus, I think I wanted to do something with myself before I brought a little baby into this world.
I grabbed the last of my luggage just as I heard the bus come to life. My heels clicked across the pavement as I hurried towards the glass door, smacking my hand on it just as the tires began to turn. The squeal of the brakes told me I’d made it in time, and I blew out a breath when the doors opened. Bobby, our bus driver who had been with us for the past two years, squinted at me through the darkness, those gray bushy eyebrows that I had come to love, knitted together.
“Miss Ally?” he called out, his southern twang laced with confusion.
“Yup, the one and only, Bobby.” He jumped out of his seat, leaning down to help me with my bags. I had clearly over-packed. It was something I always tended to do, but I needed a different outfit and shoes for every occasion.
“Well, I...uh, wasn’t expecting you, Miss Ally. Mr. Sampson said that you’d be arriving once we stopped in Florida.”
“I decided to come back early. Don’t try to act like you’re disappointed. I know you missed me, Bobby.” I squeezed him tightly, and he patted my back as I breathed in the spicy cologne he wore that reminded me of my dad. Bobby was my little piece of home away from home.
When the guys put me in charge of hiring a driver, I felt like fate had intervened when Bobby walked through the doors for the interview. His wife had recently passed away, so he decided to come out of retirement to pass the time.
We connected over the past two years, and I think he secretly always made sure I was his number one priority, when really the band should always come first. He wasn’t afraid to tell the guys to cut the bullshit when he needed to and remind them that there was a lady on board. Teddy snorted every time he said it but never argued with Bobby.
Hey, I could definitely be a girly girl, but Teddy knew just about every side of me, too, and knew I could handle just about as much bullshit as they could throw at me. If I could deal with him, I could handle any one of the other guys.
“I believe Mr. Sampson’s working on music in the back. You probably won’t want to disturb him right now,” Bobby informed me as he re-buckled his seat belt with a sigh and shifted the bus into drive. He was all about staying on schedule, which was a good thing. He certainly helped me out a ton by doing so. If you had to give me a title, I guess you could call me the guys’ personal assistant. I made sure they were on time, showed up sober and dressed as appropriately as they would. I took care of all communications from the manager and their label, and helped with planning their tour schedules.