A Rocker's Melody (Dust and Bones) by Katie Mars Read Free Book Online

smoking five years ago. A little something to take the edge off would have been nice.
    Then she saw something better than cigarettes, better than alcohol, better even than sex. Across the street from the bus bay, proclaiming its presence in bright, neon colors was her salvation: Uncle Danny’s Burger Shack.
    “Come to Mama, she murmured.
    **
    “Jesus. I don’t know if I’m disgusted or jealous,” Jesper muttered.
    “Definitely jealous,” Tank whined. “She should have brought enough to share.”
    “That is enough to share,” Rip pointed out snidely, glancing up from his laptop. “Or at least, it should be.”
    “How does she stay thin?” Dylan murmured in wonderment. 
    “There has to be some kind of a catch here,” Jesper said.
    Melody grinned around a big bite of the double bacon cheeseburger with extra Thousand Island dressing. Mmmm. So good.
    Her stress was quickly melting away. The meaty grease was working its magic, but so, too, was the idea that she was horrifying her band mates with her gluttony. Who would have guessed that the hard-drinking, hard-partying, womanizing rock band would be so grossed out by trans fat?
    “Is there even lettuce on that?” Dylan asked.
    Melody shook her head, swallowing. “I tell them to leave it off. I mean, it’s iceberg, so what’s the point? It’s just in the way.” She popped a French fry in her mouth. Mmmm, crispy, greasy, salty .
    “You could at least add some sriracha,” Dylan suggested. “Hot sauce has an antioxidant effect to counteract...all of that.” He gestured at her meal, raising an eyebrow in distaste.
    “No, thanks,” Melody said emphatically, talking through a mouthful of burger. “Nothing hotter than a latte goes in my mouth.”
    “Oh God. Too many things to say. Brain can’t compute,” Tank moaned, as if actually in pain.
    “She’s inhaling it,” Rip commented as he watched her, the celebrity gossip blog on his computer all but forgotten. “How does she breathe?”
    “Clearly we’ve discovered her drug of choice,” Jesper pointed out. “Come on, let her eat.”
    The guys quieted down after that, and left her alone to devour her food in peace. As Melody ate, her sense of stress-free abandon began to chip away. They were quiet... too quiet. Jesper was all right, but the rest of them? She didn’t trust them as far as she could throw them. She heard a rustling sound, and half wondered if they were building a blanket fort with a No Girls Allowed sign. She snickered at her own private joke.
    “Huh? Yellow?” Rip’s muffled voice drifted towards her from the sleeping area of the bus. “That’s unexpected.”
    “Not really,” Tank said, his voice equally far away. “It’s that happy yellow. Like sunshine. Or a smiley face.”
    Melody furrowed her brow. What a strange conversation. She was curious, but if they were trying to get her attention or interrupt her meal, they were going to have to try harder. She refused to rise to their bait. Another French fry went into her mouth.
    “I can’t believe there’s nothing blue,” Dylan called out from further down the hall.
    “Still looking,” Tank called back. “Ooh. Purple. That’s close to blue.”
    “Maybe the purple phase is coming,” Dylan said. That finally clued her in, because a purple phase was coming; she had a small bottle of purple hair dye stashed away, which she’d been planning to use for the Seattle show. Melody spun around in her chair, her burger forgotten, and darted down the corridor to the sleeping area.
    Sure enough, there was Rip, holding up a pair of yellow lace panties. Her yellow lace panties, which she had actually gotten because they reminded her of sunshine. Tank had a purple bra dangling from his index finger. Dylan was smirking and leaning negligently against his bunk, not actively participating in the impromptu panty raid, but clearly enjoying the show. Melody wasn’t sure which one of them she was going to kill first.
    “Out of curiosity,”