Miles of Pleasure

Chapter 1

Look at him standing over there surrounded by all those women...acting all smug and showing off his chiseled body! He thinks he's Mister Perfect, and those women do nothing but feed his over-inflated ego, like it's not big enough already.

Even the guys worship him. Why? What is so great about Ashton Hunter? Sure, he sings pretty well, but there are plenty of good singers out there. Me? I'd take a drummer over a singer any day.

"Watching me again Kaylee?" Ashton asked, as he brushed past Kaylee, bumping his shoulder into hers. If she had been paying attention, she never would have let him get that close to her. Ashton always managed to inflict some sort of bodily harm when he got within two feet of her.

"Don't talk to me," she snapped.

"You sure you're 21? You act like a little baby."

Kaylee clenched her fists and glared at his back as he walked away. That boy was so infuriating! Of all the guys that her brother could have picked to be the singer in his band Miles of Pleasure, why did he have to choose Ashton? He just loved to pick on Kaylee any time he could. It was like a sport to him, to see how far he could push her.

No matter how strong Kaylee was, he always got to her. Any time someone else gave her shit, she could give it back to them two-fold. But when it came to Ashton, he seemed to get the best of her every time. Sure, she was able to come up with a few witty comebacks, but she always thought of them long after the fact. More often than not, she was at a loss for words.

Kaylee Miles was rarely tongue-tied or upset. She was always laid back and easygoing, usually getting along well with everyone - except Ashton, of course. She had friends far and wide, all of whom were drawn by her loyalty and openness. She made friends everywhere she went, even if she was in town only for the day when the band was touring.

She went everywhere with the band. Her brother Noah had started Miles of Pleasure about four years ago, and over the past year their popularity had grown immensely. Everywhere they went, they were recognized, either from the magazines and TV shows that had done features on them, or just on the virtues of their music itself.

Not only did they perform in the cities on thetour, but they also did a lot of publicity at each stop. Since the band was always so busy, Kaylee helped her brother by being hisPersonal Assistant. Noah didn't exactly need a full-time PA, but he and his sister were so close that he used it as an excuse to keep her around. Neither one of them had been very close to their parents, and had learned to rely on each other at an early age.

Most young men on the road might hate having their sister hanging around, but it never bothered Noah. He never felt that having his little sister around all the time was cramping his style with the ladies. Kaylee was a lot of fun, and never looked down on him for the choices he made when it came to female companionship.

But when the tables were turned, it was a different story. Noah was very protective when it came to guys wanting to be with his little sister.

"Breathe, Kaylee." Noah laughed as he walked up to his sister and put his hands on her shoulders. He found the bickering between his sister and Ashton funny, for the most part. But sometimes they got carried away, and Kaylee wound up with that stormy look on her face, and that annoyed the hell out of Noah.

"Come on, the bus is leaving soon," he said.

Soon after, the whole band was on the bus. They left the thruway rest stop and set back out on the road. Ashton and Colton, the bass player, were in the back of the bus playing a video game on the Xbox, while Kaylee, Noah, and Jayden, the drummer, sat up front playing cards.

The card players were having a great time, laughing and hollering as each hand came to an end. They were betting with pretzel sticks, and at the end of the night - just like most nights -- Kaylee was the one with all the pretzel sticks. She could bluff better than either of the guys, and in the end, that's what won her all the loot.

"Well, guys, it's been fun taking all your pretzels, but it's time for me to hit the sheets." Kaylee yawned as she got up from the table. They all said their goodnights as she walked toward the bunks. She grabbed her pajamas off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. She reappeared a few short minutes later, then hopped up into her top bunk and closed the privacy panel.

Ashton was getting bored playing video games, so he went up front to see what the others were doing. "Game over so soon?" he asked.

"Yeah, we lost it all man, we're broke," Jayden told him.

"Must have been a big loss, huh? Those pretzel sticks, what're you going to do without them?" Ashton laughed. "So where's the princess?"

"She went to bed for the night. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow with all the interviews and the concert," Noah said.

Ashton nodded and went toward the back of the bus. He slowly, quietly slid open the partition of Kaylee's bunk. She was already sleeping peacefully, and this invoked an evil smile. He lowered his head so that his mouth was right near her face and took a deep breath.

"Whatcha doing Kaylee?" he asked, and definitely not in a whisper.

Kaylee shot up out of a deep sleep when she heard the words in her ear. She banged her head on the top of the bunk.

"Owww," she wailed.

Ashton closed the partition and laughed as he walked away, feeling completely re-energized. He lived to torment Kaylee.

The next morning, they arrived in the city and had three different appearances to handle before they performed later that night. At the first publicity event, a morning radio show, the two female deejays were really looking forward to getting Miles of Pleasure into the studio to grill them.

"Good morning, guys. It's great to finally meet you in person. I'm a big fan of your work, and can't wait to hear you live tonight," the tall blonde woman gushed.

"Excuse her, she turns into a total groupie with the younger males," her redheaded counterpart quipped.

The guys all laughed, and Ashton wagged his eyebrows at the blonde.

"So, Miles of Pleasure is really coming into its own. You've had some songs top the charts, and you've done a couple of videos. How's it feel?" the blonde asked.

"It's great. It's so much better than we ever expected or imagined. We have really cool fans who we want to thank for supporting us from the beginning. We couldn't do it without them," Noah said.

"And with all the success, you've been getting a lot more press lately. I've heard some stories about Mr. Hunter. Is it true that you're a wild man and you can't keep your hands off the ladies?" the redhead asked.

"Well, I don't like to brag, but..." Ashton winked at the deejays.

"We're trying to get him trained, but the zookeeper has his hands full," Jayden joked.

The interview went on to talk about the band's music, while Ashton and the blonde made eyes at each other. When the chat session ended, the band hugged the women before leaving.

Ashton left with more than a hug though. He got the blonde's number and a groped member, just a little preview of what was to come later in the night.