“You’re in bed?” he asked. I couldn’t really tell where he was because most of the background was blocked by him.
“Yeah. I’ve been watching TV. I lead a really exciting life.”
“Trust me when I tell you lying in bed with you watching TV sounds very exciting to me right now.”
“Why?” I pushed myself up. “Did something happen on the tour? Is something wrong?”
“No, baby. But you’re there and I’m here.”
Goosebumps tingled along my skin. I loved it when he called me baby like that. The way he’d said it sounded like he didn’t even realize the word had come from his mouth. It just happened and took no effort.
“Oh. Right.” I tucked my hair behind my ear. After my shower, I hadn’t done anything but brush it and let it air dry. It probably looked like a wreck, but I didn’t care how I looked in front of Bonham. He still seemed to want me.
“Sorry I missed your call earlier,” he told me. “We were doing soundcheck and then we had a bunch of other shit to do.”
“I understand. Actually, my sister guessed that’s where you were. You’ve explained this. I was just excited and you were the first person I wanted to tell.”
“I fucking love that.”
We sat there silently watching each other and I would’ve sworn I could feel his body heat through the phone. It was so palpable that I had to readjust myself, which left me bouncing across my bed with only one hand since I was holding my phone.
“Wait.” He sat up straighter. “Are you not wearing a bra?”
“Who’s not wearing a bra?” Van suddenly pushed into Bonham’s space.
“Get the fuck out of here.” Bonham pushed his brother back.
Only a second passed before I heard Lexi say, “You two are idiots.” Then there was a struggle over the phone and Lexi’s face appeared. “Hey, Jurnie. How ya doing?”
“Fine. What’s going on there?”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Brothers. Hey, I didn’t get a chance to ask you—”
Her words were cut off by Van. “If you touch her, I’m going to have to kill you.”
My only guess was that he’d said it to Bonham, who probably just wanted his phone back.
“Oh my god.” She sighed. “Anyway, are you coming to the show next weekend?”
“I plan to. Bonham won’t let me buys tickets, though.”
“Good. Then I can convince you to come on tour.”
The phone was yanked from her hand before I had the chance to respond.
Me? Go on tour with them? I couldn’t do that. Could I?
“Sorry.” Bonham was on the move. After some hassle, he was in a much quieter area and looked like he was lying down.
“Where are you?”
“My bunk.”
Oh. Where he slept on tour. I was learning. “So how was your show?”
“Great. Felt like home.” His eyes got this faraway look to them before he came back. “Well, almost like home. I miss you so fucking much, Jurnie.”
“I miss you too, but next weekend, right? We get to see each other again?”
“Absolutely. We’re staying the night in Detroit because our show the next day is just in Cincinnati.”
“The whole night?” I was suddenly more excited.
“The whole night.” Oh, the possibilities. “So about what Lexi said… I want you to know that I would love for you to come on the tour. I know you may not be able to do that, so don’t think I’m pressuring you. Just know that I want you here and if at any time you can come, even if just for a few days, I will make that happen.”
This was when I had to say the words that tasted like vinegar on my tongue. “I can’t do that, Bonham. I have the internship.”
“I know. That’s why I said I’m not pressuring you, but if you find even a weekend where you can leave right after work on Friday, I’ll get you home on Sunday night to work on Monday.”
“Why would you do that? It’d be expensive, right?’
“Don’t worry about that,” he countered. “I’ll make it happen. But you asked why? You haven’t figured that out yet, baby?”
I supposed I had. He wanted to be with me the same way I wanted time with him. To be able to touch each other whenever we wanted, sure, to have sex, but really just to be with each other and talk without a screen.
“I will see when I can do that.”
“Thank you. Just let me know. I’m looking at my schedule too.”
A giggle escaped my lips at the idea of me, Jurnie Evans meeting my rock star boyfriend on the road. How did this become my life all of a sudden?
“So tell me what you’ve been doing.” Bonham laid back into his bed, keeping his eyes on me as he got himself comfortable.
We talked like that for a long time that night about anything and everything that we’d been doing. Since we couldn’t be together, this was all we had and we were going to make the best of it. When we ended the call, I missed him all the more.
20
Bonham
I hadn’t talked to Jurnie since Saturday and now that it was Tuesday, I was staring at the picture I’d screenshotted from Snapchat a few days ago. She looked tired but damn beautiful. I hated that we hadn’t been able to Facetime each other in three days. Yeah, through a screen sucked, but it was all we had right now and I was counting down the hours until I got to touch her again on Friday.
My thoughts were consumed with getting back to Detroit. I’d thought it over. What we could do to be alone. Van and Lexi were going to the apartment, but I didn’t want to share Jurnie’s time with Lexi. At least not in the evening.
Mack had it worked
