Kellan frowned as he stared at the phone. “The public thinks my wife is a whore. I’m really not okay with that. And now that you got what you wanted, and Nick got what he wanted, it’s my turn. And I want you to admit the truth. All of it. From the very beginning.”
Sienna inhaled a deep breath. “Here’s the thing, love. If we confess that we fabricated our entire relationship to bump sales, there will be a public backlash that will negatively affect us both. The scandal will stay with you for the rest of your career. Do you really want that monkey on your back?”
Kellan closed his eyes. “This scandal was your doing from the very beginning.” He opened his eyes. “And now you’re asking me if I’m okay with it? I was never okay with it!”
Her voice all business now, Sienna told him, “You went along with it, Kellan. No one forced you.”
His jaw dropped. Mine did too. No one forced us? We’d been bullied and manipulated at every corner. Kellan had done what he could to persuade the public, but he’d been way outmatched in this game.
“No one forced . . .” Kellan couldn’t even finish that statement.
Exhaling in frustration, like we were raining on her good-news parade, Sienna told us, “Look, I only said that the truth couldn’t come out. I didn’t say that Kell-Sex couldn’t end. If you’re so bent out of shape about it that you can’t even enjoy being on top of the world, then we’ll ‘break up’ after the tour. I’ll be heartbroken, but I’ll quickly move on, and when everyone sees how happy I am with my new beau, you and your wife will be free to date in peace. Problem solved.”
My thoughts were so jumbled, I stuttered a few times before I could speak clearly. “How does that solve anything? I’ll still be the other woman who broke you up.”
Sienna sighed. “We’ll be at the venue soon. I just wanted to call and . . . congratulate you on your success.” With another forlorn sigh, the line disconnected.
Everyone at the table stared at the phone in silence. Anna was the one who spoke first. “She’s really not going to help you guys at all, is she?”
Kellan shook his head. “No, she was never gonna help us. We have to fix this on our own.”
Anna grabbed my hand and squeezed. She’d seen firsthand just how despised I was.
Griffin and Gibson finally rejoined our group while Evan and Matt exchanged conflicted expressions; our drama aside, the band’s success was amazing, something we should be celebrating. “Why the fuck does everyone look constipated. Bad coffee or something?” Leaning over, he peered inside my half-full cup.
Kellan was contemplative as Evan filled Griffin in. Griffin flipped his lid when he heard the D-Bags’ album was number two. Afraid he was going to drop his daughter in his exuberance, I quickly stood up and plucked Gibson out of his arms. She smelled like baby powder.
Griffin tossed his hands in the air as he jumped up and down. “Whoooooooooo! Number two, baby!” He ran down the aisle of the bus screaming. If any of the members of Holeshot were still sleeping, they weren’t anymore. Laughing, our bus driver shook his head.
It was hard to not get caught up in Griffin’s enthusiasm. Evan and Matt joined him in the center of the bus while Kellan stood up and walked over to me. The grin on his face was completely worryfree. Our drama could wait; the guys needed a minute to bask in their accomplishment.
As the boys jokingly pushed each other around, Matt looked back at Kellan. “Number two, Kell! We’re number two!”
Seemingly at peace, Kellan laughed and took Gibson from my arms. “I know, man. It’s crazy.” Smiling at his band mates, Kellan bounced Gibson as he swayed from side to side. I swear she smiled at him.
Evan was clearly dazed as he shook his head. “Number two . . . right behind Sienna Sexton. Six months ago, I never would have pictured that happening.”
Griffin started grunting and thrusting his hips in a provocative way that made me want to shield Gibson’s eyes. “Not me. I always knew I’d be banging on Sienna’s backdoor one day.”
The members of Holeshot trickled into the lounge area of the bus while Griffin was simulating sex with Sienna. They each barely gave Griffin more than a cursory glance before sitting down; they were used to his antics. When Griffin started “climaxing,” I quickly sealed my ears shut so I wouldn’t have to listen to it. It was bad enough when I accidentally heard the real thing; Anna and Griffin were not quiet lovers.
Griffin bowed to all of us once his erotic performance was done. I couldn’t help but laugh along with Anna and the boys. Anna clapped. Griffin’s crudeness was beginning to grow on me. I kind of liked it, not that I would ever in a million years tell him that. It would only encourage him to try harder to gross me out.
Shaking his head, Matt clapped Griffin on the back. “It’s nice to see that becoming a husband and father hasn’t changed you in the slightest, cuz.”