It seemed like we went from leaving Seattle to hopping on a tour bus with Avoiding Redemption in a blink of an eye. The transition happened so fast, that I had a horrid feeling that I was forgetting something as we stepped onto the bus that would be our home for the next several months. I was pretty sure I wasn’t forgetting anything—I had my clothes, my toothbrush, my laptop, my notes, and my rock star husband—what else could I possibly need, besides some privacy? All of the bands were sharing two busses this tour, so there was going to be a lot of people around us; privacy would be hard to come by in the coming weeks.
The first venue was the House of Blues on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. I thought it was the perfect place for the boys to kick off their tour. It was well-known, iconic, yet still intimate; everyone in the audience would have a great view. Fans were everywhere I turned backstage, screaming and hollering, giddy over all of the rock stars in their midst. It was a little chaotic, which only added to the anticipation in the air.
Kellan and Justin were signing autographs with some of the other musicians while I wandered the area. It was fun to see everyone in D-Bags shirts. On the tour before this, Kellan had been a last-minute addition and still relatively unknown. He wasn’t anymore. I was positive that everyone here had heard their single with Sienna; most of them had probably picked up the album too. This time around, people experiencing Kellan on stage wouldn’t be a happy accident. No, a lot of these fans, the majority of them from what I could tell, were here specifically for the D-Bags. It made this moment feel so much bigger and so much more exciting. Even though Justin was headlining this tour, it was definitely Kellan’s show.
Besides the D-Bags and Avoiding Redemption, there were three other bands on the tour. The first one started off the show and the music reverberated through the walls. The crowd loitering backstage didn’t lessen any now that the concert was in progress. If anything, it ramped the party up a notch—some people in the center of the room even started dancing as they lifted their drinks in the air.
While I watched Kellan from across the room, smiling and talking to a fan in bright red pigtails, I listened to the people around me. Most of them were talking about Kellan’s looks. “Holy crap, he’s hot! How the hell does he look even better in person?” “Fuck, look at that body. You can tell he’s cut . . . but we should go rip off his shirt, just to be sure. Research, you know.”
I snorted into my drink after hearing that line, and subtly turned away from the girl who had said it. He was cut, but hell if I was going to let her strip him. Her “research” would just have to be imaginary. Walking away from the girl who thoroughly wanted to examine my husband, I started picking up conversations that I found a lot less amusing. “He’s dating Sienna, right?” “I don’t know, I heard he said he wasn’t in an interview.” “They always say that, it just means they don’t want to talk about it.” “They’re such a hot couple, have you seen the video?” “So jealous, but they’re perfect together!”
I heard that sentiment repeated about three dozen times as I worked my way over to Kellan. When I finally got to him, I was already sick of Sienna . . . and she wasn’t even here. Grinning at me, Kellan leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Thanks,” he muttered in my ear as he stole my beer from my fingers.
I glared at him as I watched him tip it back. “Just so you know, I totally backwashed.”
Kellan paused mid-gulp, then shrugged. Smiling wide once he was finished, he husked, “That’s all right . . . I like your fluids.”
Justin was staring at us with his nose crinkled. Lightly smacking Kellan in the stomach, I muttered, “You’ve been hanging out with Griffin too much.” Kellan just chuckled and continued drinking my beer.
Justin laughed at our banter, then turned to face a fan when she stepped right in front of him and let out an ear-piercing squeal. It drowned out the music pounding around the room. “I love you, Justin!” she screamed.
Justin’s expression shifted into the courteous, professional one that Kellan’s often did when he talked to fans. “You’re so sweet, thank you.” She squealed again and forcefully shoved a CD case into his hands; she almost made him spill his beer. Not at all fazed by the outpouring of excitement in front of him, Justin nimbly signed his name across the hard plastic.
The girl fanned herself, then glanced over at Kellan. Her eyes practically popped out of her head. “Oh my God, Kellan Kyle! I am your biggest fan!” Justin looked offended for a minute, then laughed as he rolled his eyes behind her back.
Kellan’s biggest fan plowed past Justin to get to her favorite rock star. I bit my lip to contain my grin; the girl was shaking. Kellan gave her a polite smile as he smoothly told her, “Thank you, I appreciate that.”